Wordless Wednesday!

First day of spring and I'm done with the Snow Clean-up! It's not the shoveling snow that's the problem- it's the indoor clean-up, keeping the kids entertained on all these snow days!!!

Mermaid Activities

As a prize for earning enough stars on their chore chart, the girls were going to be allowed to watch The Little Mermaid movie for the very first time. Tracking down a copy of the movie was no easy task, thanks to the Disney vault, but luckily Amazon came through, and the movie arrived just in time for family movie night, which at our house, occurs most Friday nights. In honor of the movie premiere at the Lily Pad we had an entire afternoon devoted to an "Under the Sea" theme.  We kicked off the festivities with an indoor beach party in the basement playroom. I cranked the heat and my bikini clad mermaids splashed in the kiddie pool which I hauled in from the shed and with Jim's help, filled with a couple inches of warm water. We also filled some containers and buckets with a little more depth so the girls could experiment with objects that float and sink.  After the pool party, we set out to make  a Little Mermaid craft. The girls painted two paper-plates then glued on seashells and sequins. I then stapled the plates together to make Ariel's clam-shell house.  We printed images of Arielle off the computer and glued her in along with some green seaweed.  We folded Arielle and the seaweed so they would pop up when the clam-shell was opened. For dinner I served fish, more because it was a Friday during Lent, not really thinking about the theme.  In hindsight, serving Flounder for dinner before watching the Little Mermaid wasn't the best idea but I think it went over the Littles' heads. We snacked on Goldfish and Swedish fish as we watched the movie and although there were a few scary parts where the girls had to hide there eyes and one part where Ella shouted, "Oh My God!" with nervousness that the prince wasn't actually going to kiss Arielle and break the spell, all in all it was a great family movie and the boys even enjoyed it!

Happy Birthday to the "Bestess" Dad Around!

We celebrated Jim's birthday over the weekend, a two day celebration for a very loved dad and husband.  Jim and I enjoyed a fabulous dinner out in town on Saturday night at a brand new steakhouse- a trendy spot for a trendy guy. If you know Jim, you know he's not the kind of guy to splurge on himself, so it's our job to spoil him.  Sunday, Jim got to sleep in while the kids and I made a yummy bacon, cheese, tomato and mushroom strata.  Jameson made a tasty fruit salad to go along with it as the girls set the table.  After cards, presents and brunch, I was hoping to have a nice relaxing family day, but between church, two kid birthday parties, four tennis lessons, a hockey game and a basketball game- it just wasn't in the cards.  We did finish the day off with a nice little birthday party, some Chinese take-out, and homemade chocolate cake. And of course no birthday party would be complete with out a big game of duck-duck-goose around the dining room table. Happy Birthday to the most amazing man in our lives. I hope this 34th year is the best so far!

Addie Updates

Addie is as sweet as sweet can be.
She runs the roost and she's not even three.

She started preschool in the fall;
friends and projects- she's having a ball.

She attends classes in gymnastics and in ballet
Practices her somersaults everyday.

She runs real fast everywhere she goes,
Has so much energy, surely keeps me on my toes.

She loves her sisters, but often is the odd man out,
it breaks my heart to see her pout.

Her brothers get such a kick out of her.
She is just so funny, always causing a stir.

Lovable and affectionate is she ever
always getting into things- Boy is she clever!

My baby girl is getting so big and so long, 

she's independent and very headstrong.

She is all potty trained, and talks non-stop.
I love her "lithp" and her joyous hop.

She smiles so bright all day long,
although when she tempers its hard to be strong.

After she recently fell out of her crib and onto her head,
she was happy to move into a big girl bed.

Naps are tricky as she doesn't want to rest,
but we both need a break to be our best.

She is such great company one-on-one,
quite the conversationalist  and so much fun.

She is able to play quietly by herself or with her imaginary friend.
Sometimes I hope these days will never end.

I love her imagination, she's always so busy.
I love her curiosity though it makes me dizzy.

Although she is the littlest one, she's often the loudest
When she asks, "Are you happy at me?" it makes me the proudest.

She certainly is a piece of work,
 but how do I love her beautiful smirk!

Her strong little hugs simply are the best
especially after putting me to the test.

She is my princess, outgoing and kind.
Another Addie you'll never find....    

You Know You're Tired When...

You Know You're Tired When...

1) You park in the preschool parking lot, help get two children out the right sliding door of your minivan, shut the door, walk around the car to get the youngest out of her car seat and realize that in that time you have somehow managed to lock the keys and your child in the car.  Thanks to the fast work of the local police department, the car is unlocked, the child is freed, and no damage done to either the car  or the child...for now, emotional damage in the works.
2) You escape to the grocery store childless and after briefly relishing in the quiet of the check-out line without being harassed by your offspring for a pack of gum, you reach in your purse for your car keys and realize they have gone missing. You empty all the contents of your purse, check your pockets and pronounce them "lost". The manager of the store helps you retrace your steps, an announcement is made over the loud speaker and finally you decide to check the parking lot.  You return to your car, where you do find your keys, in the ignition of the car which you left running.
3) You drive to the next town desperate for some caffeine and wishing to take advantage of the drive-thru Starbucks and not have to unbuckle the three kids in the back seat.  You make it home only to discover that after paying for your coffee, you left without it.
4) You finally get a minute to enjoy your coffee which is now cold and you stick it in the cabinet instead of the microwave to reheat.

In conclusion, I think I need some more sleep since the coffee thing just isn't working!

And We're Back!

Missed Me? Well I'm back after a break from blogging, which got longer and longer as the stories and ideas  which I wished to share grew and grew until the list so overwhelmed me that the prospect of starting back up seemed just too daunting.  So I will start fresh instead of playing catch up and sharing the many great memories of the holidays; Halloween with Cinderella and her Two Step Sisters, along with Frankenstein and the Stay Puffed Marshmallow man, Thanksgiving with family, grandparents and great grandparents, Christmas with my three little angel girls who were terrified of Santa, but enjoyed the Polar Express, their first Nutcracker, Christmas Tea, and Holiday Spectacular-  Little girls who Christmas morning were delighted to receive princess dolls, bikes among a pink sea of tutus and dress-up clothes, and my two handsome boys who enjoyed an electronic Christmas, receiving the Itouches they had been asking for and discovering an Xbox which they had earlier overlooked right before they went to bed Christmas night.  Although I'd love to share lengthy posts about our February vacation in Florida, the twins first trip to Disney World and why I came home desperate to sign the youngest three up for swim lesson; I realize it would take forever to get back on track so I'll leave you with this- many more updates, stories and ideas to come...     

Summer Catch-Up

How is it August already? Summer is just flying by, and I alternate between wishing I could hold  onto the beautiful weather, the endless afternoons, the freedom from schedules, the lazy mornings, the relaxed bedtimes and all the extra time with all five of my kiddos, to wondering how I will possibly survive the next month until school starts with all five of those kiddos! We have been spending almost all of the summer by the beach.  The kids love the change of scenery and the respite that Cape Cod provides.  They have been taking swim lessons and Avery and Ella are close to swimming on their own.  Jameson has been working on his endurance during his Junior Lifesaving class, swimming between jetty's further than I would attempt, and Cam has been perfecting his strokes, while Addie just loves to bop around in the waves or float with her life jacket on.  The kids were so excited to reunite with their summer friends and were able to pick up right were they left off last Labor Day.  The beach is somewhat more manageable this year, although we do have to almost pack up a small Uhaul to get all the toys, towels, umbrellas and chairs down onto the sand, and of course two coolers full of food and drinks.  They all love the water and digging in the sand and are all taken with the sea-life as well. The boys can usually be found swimming out to one of the docks or playing wiffle-ball or pickle on the beach with their buddies or cousins.  The girls are usually busy making castles (or wrecking eachother's), snacking or splashing in the waves. The boys have also been playing baseball for the club and both are enjoying that and I think it is good to have something scheduled to start off each day.  They also love being surrounded by family during the summer months with both sets of grandparents, Aunts and Uncles, and cousins, all doting on them!

Some things I would like to remember from our July at the beach:

Avery and Ella learning to dive underwater
A fun family night at the County Fair
Me establishing a solid running schedule and making it to Bootcamp a couple days a week
Nightly trips to get ice cream and five messy faces and clothes from biting off the bottom of their cones
The boys fishing excursions with Ampa and each enjoying tasting the fish they caught
The girls first motorboat ride with Nanny and Ampa
Biking the picturesque bike path with all the kids in tow
Cam earning enough points to get himself a new bike
Paddle boating and turtle catching out back
Addie speaking so clearly, saying just about everything.  Favorites include "Oh my Gosh" and "Buddamatos" for bananas- the one word she still can't pronounce.
Watching the kids bounce and have the time of their life on the water trampoline.
Nightly bunny-hunts
First trip of the summer to the penny candy store
A rapidly growing sea glass collection now that Avery and Ella have joined their brothers in this favorite past time
Jogs with my Jameson as he trains for his first roadrace
Trips to the aquarium
The four oldest catching crabs while Addie so proudly catches periwinkles
Fourth of July Parade where all the kids loved decorating their bikes and the party after where Jim and I almost won a 3-legged race
Hearing fireworks and the foghorn
A lobster bake with Nanny and Papa.
Jameson taking on the kitchen clean-ups after dinner
Runs along the beach with my hubby
Opening a bottle of wine at the beach at sunset.
Making it to a few outdoor concerts and baseball games in the evenings
Cookouts with friends and family and the kids each eating at least 2 ears of corn at every meal.