Alone Tonight!

Kale and I are getting to go out to dinner alone tonight, thanks to my mom offering to watch all the girls for us. I think she may even keep all four over night for once. Not that I really care, usually once Delilah is in bed she is there for the night.

Kale had lunch with Aidan today and read her class a story or two. He even took Sophia with him, which was nice. I got to be alone for awhile as Delilah went down for a nap and is still down. She doesn't feel well and had her immunizations given to her yesterday. I was surprised they let her get them as she was coming down with a cold. I think she is moving on to ear infection now. FUN!

Kale and Sophia are going back to the school here in a little while for Lilly's holiday party. Then after school we are dropping the four of them at my mom's house for the rest of the evening. He finally decided he wants to eat at Olive Garden and have dessert at Cheesecake Factory. Fine by me.

Tomorrow the six of us are going to see Bolt and having lunch at Panera Bread, after the girls clean their rooms. And we have to put our tree up still. :S This is the first time since I have been an adult that my tree has not gone up the day after Thanksgiving. I just couldn't lift it by myself and we have been so busy the last two days.

We were lucky Kale was able to get on the very first flight out of Jacksonville on Wed. I was worried we were going to miss our family picture appointment. That was a whirlwind day. We picked Kale up, went to Walmart, came home, got ourselves and the younger two ready, went and surprised the girls at the school, came home, got them ready, met Jason & Rosy so they could follow us, got our pictures done, high tailed it to the school just in the nick of time for Lilly's play, watched the play, and came home where everyone (my parents and the teens also) had pizza for dinner. It was tiring, but a good day.

All of our days, I think, will be tiring but good. Kale just caught Sophia painting her finger and toe nails. One of my aunts bought Aidan make-up, AGAIN, this year. They never think of me when they buy such things. Last year Aidan painted the walls and her toys with the nail polish. It's not peel off nail polish either, GRRR!

Hope everyone has a fun weekend!

Things That Have Been Going On

First and foremost my grandfather has been in and out of the hospital for three weeks or more. This week they really thought he was going to pass. It's been hard to be in limbo. Technically he is not my grandpa, he is married to my mom's mom, but he has been married to her since before I was born. I credit my mother greatly for not clouding our love for him with her opinions of him. She did not like him and until recently didn't have a very good opinion of him. But she never let it show to me, I never even knew anything about her not liking him until I was an adult. So even though he is not my blood grandfather, I love him all the same. I am worried for him and really worried for my grandma, when he goes she will be very lonely and she can't drive so she will be stuck at home. She hates to ask for help, but will have to learn after he passes.

In other news Judy (mil) broke her foot this past weekend. Not bad enough to require a cast, but she has to keep it wrapped and wear a special shoe. The only reason this really affects me is because she will be coming out when my grandpa passes, to take care of the girls while we go to the funeral. While I hope he lives for years to come, I am realistic and I realize he really only has months to live (hopefully). When we thought he was going to pass on Monday she still planned on flying out she just asked if my parents would leave the teens with her to help. My mom didn't have a problem with that, it will just be a little crowded here at my house. No big deal though. The rest of us, probably including Green will drive out and go to the funeral whenever it happens.

Last night my uncle blew through town with his girlfriend Rhonda. We all went out to dinner together, even though I had already fed the girls when my dad called and told me to meet them at Applebee's in town. We had a nice visit with him. And Rhonda told me she has a cabin 30mins from Jacksonville. She said she will pick me up from the airport, let me stay the night, and then take me to the base the next day for my flight to Cuba. :) That will help out a lot, then we won't have to pay for a hotel for that night in Jacksonville or a shuttle to the base. I was a little worried about doing all of this on my own anyways, but now I won't have to.

Last night was a good night of sleep for me. Delilah slept from the time I went to bed until I got up at 7am this morning. It was a welcome change from her recent behavior, waking me every 1-3hrs all night long. I needed to have some continuous sleep.

Tomorrow Lilly and Aidan are having a "character parade" basically it's a Halloween parade, but they have to dress as actual literature book characters. Lilly is an Native American and is going as Sacajawea. Aidan of course is Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. They just have to carry a copy of the book their character is from during the parade. I plan on going to watch the parade tomorrow morning. Hopefully I get another good nights sleep. After the parade I have many things I need to get done before I have to pick them up at 1pm, I am not sure why they are getting out early Halloween I guess. I wish they weren't, tomorrow is pay day and I have a lot of things to do.

I will post pictures of the parade tomorrow. Have a good day!

They're here!

Stella and Meme arrived yesterday. Delilah and I were there to greet them when they came home from the airport. Stella is very tall and skinny, Meme is equally skinny but not very tall. My dad spotted right away that Stella had a hickey on her neck. She said it was from her boyfriend on her last night in Germany. My dad joked he will have to keep and eye on her, I think he is not joking as much as he lets on. She was very embarrassed and said her mother noticed it when she came home that night and was worried what my parents would think. I know exactly what my dad thinks about hickeys, he thinks they are trashy. He told me so the very first (and LAST) time I had one. He didn't even notice it, my mom did and my punishment was to call and tell him about it. He gave me a long lecture about how trashy he thinks it is and how I am better than that, must have worked I haven't ever had another one. I didn't even know I had one that night, it was my very first time making out with a guy. It was his first time too, so we didn't know it would happen. They were huge too, I mean my neck and jawline were pretty much covered. It was quite embarrassing, especially when I had waltzed in my house thinking nothing was there. Then my mom takes me aside and tells me to go look in the mirror. After that I hid it from my dad until he left for work. I am thankful my mother was always conscious not to embarrass me in front of my friends. She waited until my friends were gone before making me call him.

Anywho, Patience did take the girls swimming and my uncle Guy even came along. He doesn't get out much, he has many problems with his back, he had a house fall on him when he was 17. Long story, but he has always been kind of a hermit. He's a great guy, funny, loving, and nice but he just doesn't like to leave his house. He came along because their grandson was going too and she can't handle all four by herself. After 2 and half hours I went back to pick them up. They fussed at my uncle when he told them it was time to go, I could hear them fussing at him from outside the gate. I knew how well that would go over, he is very big on respect. I told them they had to apologize and made them feel guilty for being rude. And then he talked to them about it also. It was Lilly and Aidan, Sophia is too little to scold for to much of that, plus she came out without a fight.

I received the dress I ordered for Sophia's birthday. It's too big so I sent it to K today so she can fix it, along with some fabric I bought since she is going to make the girls halter dresses/shirts. They are going to be super cute! I am glad she can sew, I can't. I took a sewing class and home ec and still can't sew a straight line. I could probably do it, but it wouldn't be perfect and therefore I wouldn't like it. K does such a great job, I am lucky to have her as my friend. In exchange or to say thank you, I am making Abby a necklace and bracelet set with her name on them. I ordered all the stuff these past few days. I have done a couple of bracelets for her when she was a newborn and I made her a necklace with her name on it before too. But K says she needs a new one so I decided to just go ahead and do some for all the girls. I am doing Sophia and Delilah's in their birthday dress colors. I am not sure about Lilly and Aidan yet. K is thinking brown and either pink or aqua for Abby. I ordered a bunch of different colored cat's eye beads, so I have a lot to choose from. I will post pictures when I get them all done.

Today is Alan's 1st birthday party. I have his gifts but haven't wrapped them yet. I don't even think I have any boyish wrapping paper. But it's late and I am going to bed, let's hope I can sleep in tomorrow.

Have a great weekend!

Blog Bum

I kind of forgot to post yesterday, doesn't happen too often during the week. I wasn't busy or doing anything special or spectacular, I was just being a blog bum. At least that what K called me when I told her I hadn't posted yet and wasn't motivated to do so.

I was kind of blah yesterday. In the morning the kids were fighting (nothing new), in the afternoon they were forced to either nap or play quietly in separate rooms. Everyone but Aidan was okay with this and after she threw a fit she no longer had a choice, nap it was. I had a peaceful hour and a half after that, it was nice. I had no TV on I just sat, browsing Etsy. When Delilah woke up I woke everyone else up, don't want them sleeping past 3pm, then they won't want to go to bed. I had them all shower, since we hadn't been out of our jammies yet, bad mommy, I know :P Shortly after that Jason, Rosy, and Alan showed up. Jason was watching the kids while we went to the store to get stuff for Alan's party tomorrow.

After they left I fed my kids since it was 6:30pm and they usually eat at 5pm. They played nicely after that so I allowed Aidan and Sophia to stay up until 8pm (7pm is usually their bedtime). Delilah took a nap from 7-8:15pm when I woke her up. She seems to sleep in later if I give her an evening nap and let her stay up until 9:30pm. Yesterday she slept until 7:45am and today she slept until 8am :) I spent the rest of the evening talking to Kale or K on the phone and Jason or Rosy online, while watching TV and browsing Etsy.

Today I am taking Lilly and Aidan to meet their teachers and drop their school crap off. Then Patience is hoping to come take them swimming, it hasn't worked out any other day i.e. rain, she got stuck at work, and she had to work at her second job. So hopefully nothing will happen today and they will be able to go. We purposely didn't tell the children in case something happened and she couldn't do it. They haven't known all along her plans, it will be a happy surprise if/when it happens.

Rosy's parents and brother get in today, they came for his first birthday. And the new exchange students come in today. Stella from Germany and Meme from Thailand, hopefully they will at least be HALF as fun as Lele and Nais. It should be interesting, their first weekend with us will be a busy one. Alan's first birthday party is tomorrow. And sometime this weekend I have to exchange Aidan's dress for a smaller size. Other than that I will be watching the hours tick away excitedly until Monday 8am, when they GO BACK TO SCHOOL!

This Weekend....

So...... I spent way too much money this weekend. But it mostly went to Lilly's birthday celebration, so I can hardly complain about it. I will start with Friday though and move along to know, lots happened this weekend. Friday I spent my morning shopping, I know SHOCKING! I had coupons and gift checks that needed to be used and had to find a pair of tennis shoes for Aidan before school starts. Did I mention it starts next week? :P

I headed out first to get my new contacts. I have this weird thing with my eyes where protein builds up on my lenses and I miss read the directions on my bottle of cleaning fluid. My eyes feel soooo much better now. While we were waiting in the optometrist's office an older lady was gushing over the girls. It's always nice to hear how cute they are, what beautiful names they have, and well behaved they are, even if they are bouncing around like kangaroos on crack.

After I paused long enough to put my new contacts in, we headed off to The Legends. It's an open air strip outlet mall. I went to Carter's first where I got Delilah's fall wardrobe (most of it) at a really decent price. If I paid sticker price I would have spent around $118, if I paid the sale price I would have paid $68, I paid $48. For that price I got two long sleeve 2 piece outfits, a short sleeved/long pant 1 piece outfit, a set of 5 onesies, a set of 3 onesie shirts, and a pack of 2 pants to go with the onesie shirts. Then we had lunch at Panera Bread, which was packed. Delilah begged and fussed for food the entire time. I kept giving it to her and she kept shoveling it in, boy is she a good eater. After lunch we went to the Stride Rite store where I found tennis shoes for Aidan for $19.99. Our last stop was Gymboree where I spent far too much money and didn't quite get as good a deal as in Carter's. But for Gymboree it was a good deal. I got 3 long sleeve shirts for $8.99 each, a short sleeved shirt for $8.99, and a sunflower outfit for Delilah that I paid probably $25-$30 for, I can't recall now exactly how much. It's cute though and makes a perfect fall outfit, maybe she'll wear it to the Applefest, if it's not too hot (which it will be).

After that store my patience (and pain killers) had worn thin. It was time to go. As I was walking to the car Rosy was calling to say she was meeting me there. I politely had to bow out, I had been there for a couple of hours already and was DONE. I had asked her to meet me there earlier but she couldn't. We went to my mom's to wait for her to get off work as she was riding with us to pick Lilly up and then we were all going to get my dad at the airport. When we got to the camp Lilly was wearing her PJ's, she said she ran out of clean clothes because it rained so much. I was not fond of her walking around in her PJ's and was even less fond of the idea when we found out my dad's plane was delayed. To kill time we went to the new JCPenney's and Target (where Patience now works). My mom tried to convince me people would just think she was wearing a short set, but I was still not thrilled with the whole thing. Then we were 5mins late getting my dad and he threw a small hissy. He's such a girl sometimes. :P

We went back to their house so they could feed us. Then we went home where the girls had showers and went to bed. Saturday morning came far to soon for me. Delilah decided to wake us up at 6:00am and we all know how much I love that. At least her pooping went back to normal but why does it always happen The.Day.After.The.Doctors.Appointment? So not cool. I had to be up anyways on Saturday, even though I didn't want to be. I started the morning by giving Delilah and Sophia a bath while I shaved my legs in the sink (TMI?). Then while they were all having breakfast I showered. I rushed them to get dressed, teeth brushed, and shoes on so we could be out the door by 8:30am. Just as I got off post I realized I forgot the gift cards to Chuck E Cheese, had to turn around and go back for them. Got to my mom's early enough to print coupons for CEC, then we headed out to pick up V (who lives around the corner from my parents, how cool is that?).

We arrived at the mall in time to potty before Club Libby Lu opened. We were the first appointment of the day and had undivided attention for quite awhile. The girls had a blast, as always. It was V's first time so she had so much fun. I didn't like the song they choose to dance to though and the girl didn't have it nearly loud enough. So we didn't get a repeat of Aidan's previous performance that my mom's camera killed. But after $150 they had fun and it was time to eat lunch. I had to stop for -er- "supplies" for my current predicament, since I am always forgetting such "supplies" at home. My mom said I must have a years supply as often as I forget and have to purchase more. But I bought the wrong ones, so that sucked. They work, but aren't my favorite.

CEC was next. That place gives me a headache. All the yelling you have to do for people to hear you. I am NOT a fan of having to yell for 2 hours straight. We allowed Lilly and V to go off on their own, as long as they stuck together, which they did. My brother, Rosy, and Alan stuck together. And Mariana a former exchange student (Rosy's friend) was visiting with them and she took Aidan around. I took Sophia around and my poor mom (she hurt her neck on Friday moving furniture at work) she stayed at the table with Delilah. Sophia had the most tickets (well except for Rosy) she had over 300. Rosy had over 600. We finally started to head home at 2pm. Stopping only for gas and frozen custard. I dropped V off, then my mom, and we headed home. It was early bedtime for the younger girls.

THIS morning I was awakened at 6:15am with a poopy diaper I didn't realize was poopy when I tried to change it in the crib. So my day started off with bathing Delilah, again. I was wide awake, as was she, after that. I came down stairs, feed her, and started laundry. At 8am when she was ready for her nap I went to put her in the crib and ants had infested it, in the 2hrs since I had woke up! I was not pleased. I laid her down in Sophia's room, in the pack n play, that's where Alan sleeps when he is over. Then I got to work, found out they were coming in my window (2nd story window nonetheless), I killed them all with Raid aerosol spray. It about killed my lungs, I was coughing so bad. Then I wiped down the walls with Lysol and cleaned her mattress with Lysol. By then I figured I might as well clean my sheets and such too, so I stripped my bed also. I haven't seen another ant in that room since, thankfully.

After that mess I was sweaty and hot, so I showered. Then I got everyone ready to go. We had lunch at my mom's before taking the kids to Jason & Rosy's. They stayed with Jason while mom, Rosy, and I went to my cousin's bride's shower. It was okay. Their house stunk like cat litter though and it took about an hour for my nose to become accustomed to the smell. We played a few games, in which I found out how very little I know about her. I didn't even know her age and they have been together for four years. Maybe I should get to know her, I never did before because I never thought they'd stay together. They had many problems the first couple of years. We left after the games were over and presents were opened, we didn't even eat cake. It didn't look very good, white cake with white frosting not my favorite.

Since we have been home I have done some housework and ordered some fun things from Etsy. DAMN K! For showing me that website. I have ordered Delilah a birthday dress and bib. I ordered a bow holder and a paci clip for Alan. Now I am just browsing, I cut myself off for a little while. :P

So that was my weekend......how was yours?

Ready to Go HOME!

I am just so ready to go home. I knew I should have told Judy I preferred things to go the way they would have if Kale hadn't left. She was supposed to fly out, then after a few days fly back with the three older girls. Then we were going to drive there with Delilah after two weeks. Well she didn't think I could drive with Delilah by myself, so she suggested that she fly out as planned, cancel their tickets, and drive with me there and back. I knew it was a bad idea, but I didn't want to hurt her feelings by saying "Uh, yeah, I don't want to be with you for an entire month." But it's true, I used to be able to, but since she spent the month with us last summer we just can't take it. Kale said he doesn't know how he lived with her for so many years. I told him it's just because she is getting older. It seems the older she gets the more of a martyr she becomes.

Here are my biggest complaints (all kept inside or voiced only to Kale or Rosy):

1) I was told I would essentially get the month off from waking up with Delilah, it lasted only one night. While I don't expect them to take care of my kids, I don't appreciate being told something and then having it taken back.
2) Listening to her on the phone, in front of me, complaining about what a burden it is to have the kids and I here. How much she has to do everyday and that the kids are wild banshees that she is trying to tame. Yeah RIGHT! The banshees thing is true because she stops me and always has stepped in and overruled me. Normally Kale puts a stop to it immediately, but he is not here. I don't like starting fights with family so I grit my teeth and bear it. I am not a big fan of people talking bad about others Right.In.Front.Of.Them! She should be decent enough to talk about us behind our backs like normal families, I do it about her.
3) When she says she is going to for example give the baby a bath, then starts doing something else. She will have said "You feed Delilah and I will bathe her" so I feed her. Delilah is now covered in food and she is no where near coming to give her a bath. So I freaking do it myself, it's quicker and less aggravation.

I honestly thought coming here would be a break. So far the only break I am getting is from housework and some of the cooking. I am just so ready to go home. I miss MY family who do as they say they will and don't make promises they don't plan on keeping. I also never thought I'd miss my husband this much, it's very hard being apart.

Losing my Mind

It's not unusual for me to forget, like I forgot Wordless Wednesday...Again. I guess with four kids, two of them having extremely busy schedules, I am entitled to forgetting things now and again. Especially since our calender has only gotten busier as the month winds down. Next week alone they have something on three of the four and a half days of school. Our "city" is being awarded with an All Star City award for the schools National Anthem Project last fall. The kids all made a human flag that looked as if it were waving and sang the National Anthem and other patriotic songs. Then that same day they have the school picnic. Wednesday is Fun in the Sun day (we called it field day in my school), plus Delilah has a doctor appointment, Aidan had an eye appointment that we have rescheduled three times now due to conflicts at school. Thursday is the school skating party and Kale's going away dinner. So that basically sucks ass, I have to convince my mom or Lele to take the girls skating, so we can go to the dinner. I don't think they will mind, but you never know. If not I may be able to get my aunt to take them. Plus we have our last two soccer games this coming week.

This weekend is going to be pretty busy too. Nais and Lele are having their going away/graduation party on Saturday. On Sunday is graduation and Aidan has a riding lesson. Sometime in there my mom and I are finally going to get our mani/pedi, we have been trying (not very hard apparently) for the past two weekends. And Monday Nais leaves to go home to France. So there will be lots of crying. I hate crying, but I can't help that I am a girl.

The year is winding down now. Girl Scouts is officially done until Lilly goes to camp. Soccer will be done next week. School will be done in two weeks (but only 7 full days and 2 half left). They are coming to get Kale's stuff on Monday, he will be done clearing officially on Wednesday. Judy (mil) comes the 4th of June and Kale leaves the 6th. Everything is moving very quickly and I am stressed out so much I have a sore on the roof of my mouth. I even went to bed last night at 7:30pm, I was just so tired. We recently cut caffeine out of our diets and it's killing me. I also am starting to crave ice again, so my iron is probably low again. I guess I better take the stupid pills.

Home at LAST!!!

Today was the LONGEST drive ever. At least it felt that way. I am home and I don't plan on going very far for a very long time, which will give me plenty of time to tell all I have been through the last two weeks. I know you are all on the edge of your seats just waiting ;P

It's now time for sleep.

I might finally get some sleep tonight, or maybe not...

Delilah finally cut her first tooth last night. She has been working on it for a week, thus keeping us up late at night. Again last night she was up from 2-3am, we did everything we could (change her, feed her, give her motrin, cuddle her, give her her pacifier a dozen times) and finally after an hour of fighting I laid her down and she feel asleep. We have been going through this all this week. I thought it might be because of teething, but I figured it was just because she was sick and I was hoping it was not going to be a permanent arrangement. If it would be permanent I might actually jump off a bridge (not really, but it sounds good).

It's very strange how much my daughters are very like each other. Lilly & Sophia and then Aidan & Delilah are practically identical twins born at different times. Lilly and Sophia have the same face, same strong personality, they take pain much better than the other two, they aren't as dramatic as the other two, they both are bossy, they both are LOUD, the list could go on and on. They are just that similar. It's hard to tell (beyond looks and the fact that Delilah seemingly is a drama queen with low pain tolerance and tendency to get sick easier just like Aidan) if they will be as similar as Lilly & Sophia are. Everyone thinks all four are clones of Lilly, but really Lilly and Sophia looks favor my own and Aidan and Delilah, even though they do look a lot like their sisters and I, they still favor their daddy just a little. They especially favor his low pain tolerance and his tendency to be a big ol' drama queen, oh and then there is his face shape, they have that too. Unfortunately all four girls got his ears, with Lilly getting the worst of them. At least they are girls and can cover them with their hair :P. They also all have his long eyelashes (they get the thickness from me) and they all had/have his blue eyes. Lilly's changed over to green like me at five years old and poor Sophia, hers are starting to change as well. Mine were blue until I was five as well. And their blue eyes are deeper blue than his. Oh and they are all going to be short, like me.

Bedtime

My kids go to bed early, at least according to my brother. My SIL is Mexican and in Mexico the kids go to bed when they damn well please, at least in her family. They are sugared up on Coca Cola and candy all evening long. I can't believe they actually learn anything in school.

When Lilly started school we really started to enforce bedtime on school nights. Before kindergarten if we had plans or felt like staying out later this night or that night, fine. Now that they are in school bedtime is enforced majorly on school nights. On very rare occasions are they not in bed at the "proper" time. Lilly is 8pm, Aidan is 7pm, and Sophia is between 6-7pm depending on if she took a good nap. Sophia's bedtime is not as enforced, yet.

My brother makes fun of us for this, a lot. I keep telling him to wait, now that they have a child they will see why. They will understand that I need those few hours of alone time before I go to bed to keep my sanity (what's left of it). I will especially be needing every ounce of sanity I can savor in the coming year and a half. Poke fun of me if they will, I don't really care. And someday I will be pointing and laughing my ass off at them.