Random Things

R made this with some things she found in our craft area.  She is all about arts and crafts now, but she wants to come up with her own ideas and do her own thing.  She is no longer interested in my craft ideas. That's R - very independent from the day she was born.

C came home from school with this earlier this week.  I was SO excited.  I have wanted to make the Oreo cookie phases of the moon for years, but never did it.  There was no putting it off anymore, I had to extend his learning.  We had fun with it!

We broke A LOT of cookies in the process!!!!!!!!

We also made resurrection rolls.

These are the directions I followed:

• Give each child one triangle shaped section of crescent roll. This represents the tomb.
• Each child takes one marshmallow which represents the body of Christ. 
• Dip the marshmallow in the butter and roll in cinnamon and sugar mixture. This represents the oils and spices the body was anointed with upon burial. 
• Lay the marshmallow on the dough and carefully wrap it around the marshmallow. 
• Make sure all seams are pinched together well. (Otherwise the marshmallow will "ooze" out of the seams) 
• Bake according to package directions. 
• Cool. 
• Break open the tomb and the body of Christ is no longer there

   

C and R enjoyed this.  The rolls were tasty too.  Next time, I have to remember to seal them better because a few of ours leaked marshmallow.

In other news around the house, T has pink eye and I am hoping that no one else gets it.  Also, C took his last dose of medicine for his ear infection this morning and his ear hurts tonight.  I hope everyone is healthy for Easter.

Brownie Pizza

I made Paula Deen's Brownie Pizza for dessert last night and it was a hit with everyone.  Since we were having it at home, and I knew we wouldn't eat all of it in one night, I only spread the pineapple cream cheese frosting over the brownie.

I forgot to get a picture before I cut it!

I cut up strawberries and bananas, and provided m&m candies, nuts, and chocolate syrup for the kids so they could create their own "pizza" slices.

We all enjoyed it.  That last picture is T's slice; it makes my teeth hurt!!!!!  At least there is pineapple in the frosting!

Twenty-eight Weeks

I'm a few days late posting this week.

This is so sweet.  I couldn't resist posting it.

K went to the doctor for her six month well check yesterday.  She weighed 17 lbs 2 oz and measured 27 5/8 inches long.  I'm not sure how accurate the weight is because K was screaming on the scale and it was difficult for the nurse to get a reading.  K screamed through the whole exam too; she does not like strangers to touch her!  She had three shots (DTap, Pneumococcal Conjugate, and Hepatitis B) and the Rotavirus drink.

K had her first fever last night.  I woke up at midnight and thought she felt warm, so I took her temperature and it was 100.1.  I had to get the acetaminophen and the dosing chart, and by the time I gave it to her, she was wide awake and stayed awake until 1AM.  She is fever free today so I assume the fever was from the immunizations.

I was concerned that K hasn't rolled from her back to stomach yet, but the  doctor told me this is typical now and not cause for concern.  It isn't even considered a "milestone" anymore.

K is still working on sitting too; she is very wobbly.  Some may say that she is a bit late in these areas due to the fact that she is permanently attached to my hip.  There are worse things I could do - right?

One of the things I love about K right now is her giggle.  It is so easy to make her laugh!  I will try to post a video soon.  She laughs when I dry my hair (especially if I'm upside down), when Dad plays silly games with her, when R dances around the room, when her brothers act goofy, and when she is tickled.  The dog has yet to make her laugh, but that is probably due to the fact that Kelly is kind of lazy.  Kelly is very patient with K though and is happy to accept pets from her little hands.

K really enjoys spending time in this toy now.  She makes her way around and enjoys playing with all of the toys, especially the piano!  R likes to sit and play with her.  I love the expression on K's face as she watches R.  So cute!

March Art

R made this in school; she used oil pastels and watercolors to create an outdoor scene with a lion and lamb for the March saying - March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb.

A Few Pictures from R's Birthday

R does not like cake; she requested chocolate chip cookies for her birthday.  After the fact, I thought that I should have tried to make one of those big cookie cakes, maybe next year.  It was T's idea to use icing on the cookies, and I love the way it came out.

Before dessert, we had R's meal of choice - pan seared rib eye steaks, mashed potatoes, and corn.  Originally, she had requested spaghetti with butter, but she changed her mind.  Spaghetti with butter would have cost about $2.00; the steak dinner for all of us cost more than $60.00 - HA!

I put six candles in two scoops of black raspberry ice cream.  This worked well.  R requested black raspberry, Oreo cookie, and cookie dough ice cream.

Grandma, Grandpa, Great Grandma, and Auntie Di came over after dinner to celebrate with us.  I didn't get any pictures of anyone - I have to work on that.

R was very happy with all of her presents.  She got a lot of nice clothes, shoes, and jewelry.

I picked out this Barbie head for her, and she has had a lot of fun with it.  I liked this one because in addition to styling her hair, R can also fix Barbie's nails and make up.

R had a runny nose on her birthday (Tuesday) and that turned into a bad cough with a fever.  She was tested for strep throat and flu yesterday, and the results were negative, so it is just a virus.  Unfortunately, R has been sick during the most beautiful, summer-like weather and it is driving her crazy.  She wants to ride her bike in the worst way.  I expect that she will be fine by the weekend, but the nice weather is not going to hang around.

Happy 6th Birthday!

R is six today.  I am so proud to be her mom.  She is an amazing, beautiful, funny, silly, sweet, caring, wonderful little girl.

She woke up with a cold this morning, coughing and sneezing, but no fever, and insisted that she felt well enough to go to school.  She was very excited to have her friends sing to her and to get her birthday crown.  She was also excited to bring in the Kool Aid play dough I made for her to share with her class.  I made pink lemonade, grape, and orange play dough with glitter in all of them.  They all smell so good and look pretty too!  I thought it was sweet that this is what she chose to share with her class on her special day.  I hope they all enjoy it!

Here are a few things I love about R:

- she makes me laugh at least once a day
- she loves potty humor more than her brothers
- she has always loved fashion; she doesn't care if something is a little uncomfortable - if she thinks it looks good, she wants to wear it
- she is the healthiest eater in the house, always choosing vegetables or fruit over sweets, but she does love ice cream
- she loves to try new foods
- she prefers eating a little of everyone else's food over eating her own
- she loves fancy things. like her bed

- she loves to go out and do things, and does not like to stay home
- she likes Barbie dolls, baby dolls, princesses, peace signs, ice skating, swimming, and just recently became a Justin Bieber fan (she called him Justin "Beaver" for weeks and I loved it so much that I couldn't correct her!!!)
- she loves dance (ballet, tap, jazz, and Irish step)

- she loves her friends

- she likes to stash things in nooks and crannies around the house

- she is very social and many, many parents have told me that she is the "one person their child talks about all the time"
- her teachers love her
- she is a very good reader
- she is a great sister

- she is a wonderful daughter

My chubby baby!

First Thanksgiving

R's First Birthday

Second Birthday

Third Birthday with Cinderella

Fourth Birthday

Fifth Birthday

Here is a picture I took yesterday to mark R's last day being five (cell phone photo):

When she went to bed, she shed a few tears about turning six.  She said that being five was great and she was sad about not being five anymore.  I assured her that six is sure to be full of fun too.  She seemed pretty happy to be six when she woke up!  

Sixth Birthday

This morning I asked her what she wants to be when she grows up and she said, "a Mommy".  It made my day.

Happy Birthday Reagan Elizabeth!  I love you more than all the stars in the sky.

Twenty-seven Weeks and my current sappy thoughts

I put this bouncy seat away over the weekend.  As you can see, K is too heavy for it; I took this picture the middle of last week and the seat was almost flat to the floor due to K's weight.  Other than clothes, this is the first thing I have put away.  I know it's silly, and I know that I said I wasn't going to get weepy because I am going to celebrate the fact that she is healthy and growing, but I still got a little weepy over it.  I just couldn't help it.  Sigh.  Time just goes by too fast.

Just in case I haven't mentioned it lately, I am just so in love with K.  She is such a sweet baby, always quick with a smile, always looking to me for reassurance, always trying to get Dad's attention, so easily comforted, and so happy to see her siblings.  I can't imagine life without her; I'm so happy that she is part of our family.

Over the last few days, I have realized that I am just one of those women who will never be able to say that I am done having children.  I'm not saying that we will have more children, but I'm just not capable of saying I am done.  Sure, I have days when things are not going well or one of the kids is in a rough patch and I think that four is all that we can handle as a family, but there are so many more moments when I see them playing together, loving each other, being sweet, telling me they love me, growing up, having fun, admiring Dad, trying to be like their biggest brother, hitting milestones, dancing, playing the piano, excelling in school, excelling in sports, and I just don't want that to end.  I love being a mom; it truly is the most amazing thing I have ever experienced.  I am not perfect and I make A LOT of mistakes, and things aren't always perfect in our house (ahem), and sometimes I wonder if I can do anything right, but I love my children, I love that I am able to stay home and raise them, and I hope that they will always hold fond memories of their childhood in their hearts.