Cooking 101

A few of us moms got together and held cooking classes for some of our children. At my house I taught the group of 5 to make bread sticks. At the next class Anne Marie (Hayley's mom) taught them how to make homemade spaghetti. And at the last cooking class, Tara (Madalyn and Lauren's mom) taught how to make pumpkin pie and a green salad. All of us had so much fun. And the girls really looked forward to it. For the 4th class, the girls had to cook for us moms. We sat back and visited. They did REALLY well. The mess wasn't too big and the food was very good. Of course between the three of us moms we had 14 children combined. I was glad the other moms were willing to host the cooking class in their homes, all those children can be a bit overwhelming. But you can't beat good food and great company. The girls learned some great cooking skills (and so did I). And it was a nice way to break up the summer. Way to go girls!

The Children's Museum

Pictures, pictures and more pictures! One day this summer we decided we needed a break from swimming, so we packed a lunch, made our beds, and as long as we were ready by 9am, we were going. All the kids pitched in and helped and we made it by the time deadline and drove to the children's museum. We made it there by 10am. We had so much fun. It was crazy crowded, so I don't think I would ever buy a season pass there. I can't keep up with all my children and it took too much energy do go very often. But, we stayed until closing at 6pm and we played and played and played. Nathan took a short cat nap and played. Taneal's favorite part was the climbing maze. Camie's was the store where she got to check groceries, put the groceries away, and kind of run the store. She was in there for hours! She really liked how you used real/fake debit cards to buy things, how you could use the ATM to deposit and get cash, etc. Danielle like the restaurant. She really enjoyed serving my food and having me pretend to eat it over and over again, This was during Nathan's cat nap, so I was actually able to spend time playing with her. Spencer's favorite part was the police car and ambulance. Nathan was an amazing sport through it all. He had learned to walk a few days before, but hadn't learned to walk in shoes. I tried with the shoes and he kept falling. I really didn't want him walking around barefoot with so many kids running around, so I held him a lot and he spent time in his stroller. But he had fun and really didn't cry. So much fun, so many pictures, and so much energy. But it was all so worth it and we made some wonderful memories and it contributed to the wonderful summer we had together.

Danielle turns 5!

A little late posting. Danielle's birthday was the end of July.

Danielle turned 5. That means she can go to kindergarten. That means she is going to have to figure out how to feed herself, use the bathroom on her own, be away from home for 8 hours each day, and

ride the bus. Turning 5 brings on so many changes. I'm not ready for my little girl to grow up.

Danielle had a wonderful birthday. She wanted a castle cake. It required 3 cake mixes. That is a lot of cake. But, to achieve a castle, I had to use that many. Cake mixes are only $1/box, so I was able to justify that. And, it made one happy little girl.

We had donuts for breakfast, grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch, and for supper she wanted rice, potatoes, blueberries, and strawberries. No salad. Hmmmm. The cousins were coming over for dinner, so it needed to have some uniformity to it. I added her favorite chicken patties, kiwi, and country gravy. It was a hit and everyone was happy.

Although I don't like to make birthday at all about the gifts, I must mention her favorite gift. Make-up. The girl LOVES makeup. When she gets together with her friend, that is all they want to do. She has played with this gift more then any toy she owns or anything else. It was a hit.

Balloons are also a tradition in our family for birthdays. We got all the colors of the girl rainbow and Danielle was pleased. She said it was the best birthday ever. And, because her friend Lindsay was out of town, she only wanted a family party with Uncle Troy, Aunt Becky, Austin, Tyler, and Audrey. And she wanted a castle cake. If Lindsay couldn't be there, she didn't want a friend party. Cute girl.

Happy Birthday, Danielle!

Swimmin Pool Fun

I decided to take my camera to the pool and snap some pictures of what we do almost every day. I needed help from Taneal to hold Spencer and Nathan while I got pictures of them in the pool, and she really was a great help. The last few times we have been to the pool, Taneal has tried to work with Spencer in getting his swimming. She is pretty good. She got him floating on his back.

Danielle started swimming a few weeks ago. She has the doggy paddle down well and can float pretty good on her back. She still doesn't like to put her face in the water, but she will get the hang of it soon.

Before the summer started I was really worried that the pool would be too hard to manage all by myself with five kids. It has worked out remarkably well. Taneal and Camie swim well enough that I don't really have to worry about them. Danielle started swimming a few weeks ago so she just has to stay close to me. Spencer uses a life jacket and I hold Nathan. We stay as long as Nathan is happy, which lasts about an hour and a half to two hours. He is quite the trooper.

And Nathan LOVES to step off the side of the pool while holding my hands and goes completely under the water. I know I have heard that babies can do that, just never witnessed it myself.

Fun, fun sumer.

Sleepy time

For those of you that know Evan, you know how easily he falls asleep. If can be frustrating at times, but my girls took this to their advantage. It was Sunday afternoon and Evan was taking his nap. They got all giggly and kept coming in and out of my room. I decided to check out what was going on, and this is what I found. It was too funny to pass up without taking pictures. I don't think Evan knows I got pictures, so we will see if he reads my blog and discovers this. Fun times.

Nathan's Favorite Hangout

This cute little boy LOVES to hang out at the bottom of the stairs. He crawls up to the first landing and plays. It's pretty cute except that he hasn't learned to come down the stairs without falling. We are pretty careful and he has only fallen down a few stairs once.

When Nathan gets to his favorite hangout, he really starts talking and using a particular happy and excited voice. And he will hang out in this spot for ten minutes at a time! I can always tell where he is by his voice.

Spencer's Date

Spencer and I were able to spend some one-on-one time together recently. And he really didn't want that pedicure like I gave to his sisters. What he wanted was to go find bugs with the bug sucker he got for his birthday. So, we found a jar, decorated it, and went outside in the sweltering heat to find bugs. We found a few and Spencer was one elated boy. He was so proud of his bugs that we had to drive a few minutes away to his Dad's work and show off the bug find.

We also went up to the pool, just Spencer and me. We left all the floaties at home and we practiced teaching Spencer to swim. He can float on his back a little and just into the pool and goes under the water. He is getting better at putting his face in and is so close to swimming. Good chance we will get there this summer. He keeps asking me if he can be on swim team next year with his sister. Maybe?

We also put together some puzzles and played some games. Spencer is such a cute and sweet little boy. He is very inquisitive. It was so much fun to spend time with Spencer. I really am so blessed with great children.

Specerisms

Spencer often tells us lately that he wants "sea

shells" in his closet. Evan is in the process of cutting, painting, and making shelves for my closet (and Evan's too, we share a closet) and also for Camie's closet. Evan built shelves for Taneal's closet last year, so Spencer's closet is the only one that doesn't have shelves in it. He calls "shelves" "sea shells". It funny. Evan has tried and tried to explain that they are S-H-E-L-V-E-S, but Spencer sticks to the "sea shells" he wants in his closet.

Another good one that makes me chuckle is when we go swimming Spencer wears a "swim soup". I haven't corrected him on that one because it is so dang cute!

And this picture is one that Taneal took of Spencer while he was still sporting his bed head. Crazy hair!

Quality time

I have some really amazing friends. Friends that are some of the best mothers, friends that try to do good and be the best that they can. Friends that I learn so much from.

One of my friends came up with this great idea of one-on-one time with her kids this summer. She asked if I would be interested in trade baby sitting so we could spend individual time with our kids. I haven't really done anything like this with my children before, so I thought it was a great idea.

Danielle got the first date. We went to Olive Garden for lunch and then to the mall to get her some school clothes. She had fun. We then came home and I put make-up on her and gave her a pedicure. She LOVED getting her feet soaked, rubbed, and nails painted.

We also made this necklace. Danielle thought that was way cool to get a grown-up necklace with a real clasp and one she designed herself. (And thanks to my sis-in-law Katie for getting me started on beading)

We played some games, put some puzzles together, and had so much fun together. I feel so blessed to have such a sweet little girl that is so much fun to hang out with!

More to come on the other dates with the rest of my children. And thanks to my great friends who are willing to watch my other children.