Like I said yesterday - 

we spent our time two weeks ago

getting ready for our visitors.

I am not sure if I have mentioned it before

but paperwork

and

clothes are my 

nemesis!!!

(ask my husband, he will agree!)

I 

FINALLY

got around to 

going through all the 

clothes

in the two youngest's drawers

and dressers...

they were on top,

in

and beside their dressers. 

I had no idea what was in each drawer that actually fit!

Discovered that each of them

had no less than FIVE

different sizes of clothes in their drawers.

My daughter had bottoms as small as

6-9 mo.

Why you ask?

Because they FIT!

She is a skinny mini - 

but they were way to short.

So in the give away box they went.

The baby had the same problem,

but,

he gets mainly hand-me-downs.

As mentioned a few months ago,

I kept almost every stitch of clothing

from my oldest,

then my second boy wore it,

now the baby.

Before we knew our 4th was a boy,

I kept all of my daughter's clothes too.

You should have seen my attic!

It was neat, just full of boxes.

How was it so neat?

Cause 5 1/2 years ago,

when we moved into our house,

my husband spent quite a bit of time,

much to my displeasure,

in the attic

building shelves.

I was NOT a happy camper cause 

there were WAY more important 

things DOWNSTAIRS

that needed doing.

(in my opinion)

HOWEVER,

every time my husband ventured into the attic

over the next 5 1/2 years, 

he would 

proudly boast how happy he was

that he had taken the time to build those 

shelves.

Yes, they were beneficial,

yes, they were well done,

yes, yes, yes...

(but don't tell my husband)

Luckily I had labeled and sorted all the clothes

prior to storing.

But upon making the move,

my dear sweet husband informed me that he was

NOT

shipping 20 boxes of clothes half way across

 the country!

So, with the help of family and friends,

I painstakingly went through each box

and widdled them down to

6 keepers.

So, the baby gets most of his clothes from those boxes.

Poor thing may never get "new" clothes.

But they are all in good shape,

so its not like he is walking around 

in holey items.

We did our normal co-op classes

and A made a monkey.

It was cute!

So I had to share!!

Here are all of our monkeys in our co-op class.

Over the last few months,

we have watched a very diligent mommy bird

build her nest in one of the corners of our patio 

overhang.

I have periodically been climbing on a stool 

and raising my camera above my head to take 

pictures to see if there was anything in there...

we finally found something!!

This was taken on April 20th.

This was taken on April 21st:

When our guests arrived!

Think they have missed their Nana??

Random Picture:

I couldn't help but snap this hairdo after taking the 

baby out of the bath a few weeks ago.   ;)

See - Told You...

Told you we weren't slowing things down around here!

I missed posting last week due to some wonderful visitors!

Decided to entertain and enjoy my company.

We took 2 weeks off from school

Week 1 to prepare for our guests

and

Week 2 to enjoy our guests:

My mom & grandmother!

Yeah!!

So I am going to attempt to catch you up 

over a few posts so as not to make them

*too* long.

Once again - I am TOTALLY looking forward to 

the start of a new month and new budget,

again,

we have BLOWN this one

again!

UGH!!

And I have a feeling May is going to be just as bad

if not worse than April.

We are planning a mini-vacation to Dallas 

in 2 weeks to celebrate 

our oldest's 8th birthday.

We have been talking about dong this for months...

we better do it before we don't.

I haven't worked out in 2 weeks due to the cleaning

and

visitors.

PRAYING I can get up tomorrow morning

WITH my husband

and get my BUTT

in GEAR

and work out and shower before the kids get up

at 7am.

HAHAHAHAH!

Then back to the grind to finish up our school year.

Our new books should be here sometime next week.

And I am ANXIOUS to get 

our new books

and get organized 

for next "year".

We will probably start in June,

July at the latest

(which is what we are used to back in the 

year-round schools that we came from in NC).

This afternoon we will find out whether

we are expecting a niece or nephew in September.

I am guessing niece,

but God does have a wicked sense of humor

and He might bless me and my sisters

with a slew of boys

since we grew up

with nothing but sisters.

Let me just tell you how nervous I was

about having a boy

when I found out 

with my oldest.

I didn't know a THING

about BOYS!

Except for what my sweet,

God-fearing 

Aunt told me years ago...

Raising boys is a helluva lot easier than raising girls!

She has 2 boys and 1 girl. 

Wonder if she has changed her mind recently!

(ha!)

On a totally unrelated note

a family in our local homeschool community 

is burying their 11 month old tomorrow.

One week ago, Monday morning at 4am,

he cried out,

daddy got up to console him

and he heard a gurgling noise and then the baby went limp.

Mommy did CPR while daddy called 911.

His heart had stopped.

An hour later, 

the doctors at the hospital were able to regain a pulse.

However, it was too late.

They disconnected him from artificial life support at 

8:36pm on Tuesday evening.

He would have been one on May 14th.

(One day after my oldest turns 8).

I have never met this family,

but know quite a few families who know them and

love them.

I have heard nothing but praise as to how this family is

handling this loss.

They are pillars of faith

and give Glory to God

for blessing them with this 

child for those 11 months.

As they looked back over his short little life,

they were confident that they had not missed

an opportunity to show this child love.

Hug your children,

tell them and show them that you love them.

and 

as another blogger (who also lost a child)

states at the end of each post:

Cherish every moment!

Slowing Things Down...

HAHAHAHAH!!

Just kidding!

We don't know how to do that around here...

instead,

its just more of the same,

absolute

CHAOS!

We started off our weekend with a
visit to daddy's "office".
We got to go on BASE!
The kids (and I)
were so excited.
We went for a picnic
and
as usual,
we closed the party down.

Then we headed out to a

Friday night soccer practice.

We skipped

2 soccer games

and

a baseball game

on Saturday
and headed to a 

small border town

for a good old fashioned

family reunion!!

It wasn't huge.

It wasn't like the ones I was 

used to either...

but it was so nice

meeting some new

family on 

my husband's side

and visiting with

those I already knew.

Before we headed out of town though...

my sweet husband wouldn't let me 

tempt those "men in blue"

and informed me

that the "extra" tag I received

wasn't a 

spare!

So instead of worrying about 

"the men in blue"...

I should have been worried about 

"my man in blue" jeans!

Dirty dog took my NC State tag off

and put a stinking license tag on.

He told me I had to move back to NC

to legally put it back on there.

OK!

I'm ready when you are.  

(wink, wink!)

En route, 

we grabbed some good old McD's breakfast 

YUM!

(loaded with sarcasm here!)

But our sweet little girl,

started making letters with 

her pancake strips!!

These NEAT little trays you see her 

using (and the others)

are a MUST

for traveling!!

We purchased these a few years ago

and use them ALL THE TIME.

We started out with 2

now we own 4.

They are used for:

eating,

writing,

games,

legos,

play-doh,

you name it!

And on our last trip out west

2 years ago,

we only turned the DVD player on ONCE

on the way out there.

Anyways,

we got to visit with a lot of family

while we were at the reunion.

This little shin-dig didn't get 

STARTED 

til 7:30pm!

Here is the sunset over Laredo...

Luckily the little ones took naps...

My husband's grandfather is 

totally enamored with these kids.

Our oldest was named after him

(and his son, and his son...

so yes, our child is the 4th)

Grandpa LOVES hearing

our oldest say his 

FULL name.

He asks him a couple of times,

everytime we see him,

to say his full name.

Grandpa swells up with pride

and I think even gets tears

in his eyes.

And our daughter's middle name

is after my husband's late grandmother.

So grandpa loves saying her name too.

And he loves J's red hair!

And calling the baby...

anytime he would walk by,

grandpa would call out to him!

We met Tia Lupe,

98 years old!

She drank more than me

AND

stayed longer than us!

MERCY!!!

J made a friend...

he and "Sugar"

were best buds.

Anytime we couldn't find J,

we just hollered for Sugar.

Here is what 4 kids look like at 1am.
(this was one party we didn't close down)

It was only a 10 min drive to the hotel,

but they were so tired,

they tried to fall asleep.

Poor J!

A serenaded us the whole way there.

I told her to be quiet

(cause she just wouldn't hush)

and got the response

"I singing mommy".

Oh, ok, since you are singing...

Sunday, we drove 2 hours

through butterflies

LITERALLY!

You should have seen my car!

I sweet talked my man 

into washing the beast...

he had a little help.

More than he wanted.

(so he says)

After the car wash,

we took them to the 

neighborhood pool to rinse off....

this was our first visit to this pool

and apparently we were a few weeks to early

for them.

We didn't last long til they were 

FREEZING

and

ASKING

to go home!

Random picture of the week...

A made this at co-op on Thursday,

I loved it so much,

it went up in the window of the kitchen.

A LOVES having her art work up there!!

Accountability Check Up

Time for an accountability check up...

What have we been up to and how are my

"projects" going?

Well the budget is going...

QUICKLY!
Between purchasing next year's school books
(more on that later)
Paying Taxes (yes, paying - FIRST time ever - don't ask!)
Easter
An out of town family reunion
(also more on that later)

April's budget was blown before the month even started.

I am keeping up with my workouts

and enjoy them most days...

I manage to do it about 4-5 days a week

for 30 minutes each time
yet I am still

chasing those first 5 pounds!!!

Meanwhile, 

my darling husband is 

QUICKLY 

approaching 30 pounds
LOST!!

I don't get it!!

I am trying to stay motivated

and it definitely helps 

that I am not breathing as hard
during my workouts

and I feel better, 

but 

the weight is just NOT

melting off of me

like it is 

my sweet hubby!

UGH!!

We have all adjusted to the 

nap time/rest time each day.

If you remember, 

the boys have enjoyed sleeping in the

box that the elliptical came in...

I separate the kids at rest time

and one "gets" to sleep in the box.

I feel SO bad saying that...

but they literally 

take turns

"getting" 

to sleep in the box!

It is quite funny.

And they insist on the top being closed 

so its dark.

Whatever works

and

makes them happy

and

gives me a few minutes of
peace
and quiet.

But I promise...
I DO NOT
MAKE THEM
SLEEP IN A BOX!

This week we finally made some decisions
on school books for next year.
I am basically following this
curriculum 
with a few adjustments
that more suit me.

We might be joining a small
co-op for the fall
where each parent leads a different class.
Art, history, science, memory work.
But it is still getting organized.

I have mentioned before that J is
done with his math book.
R got so excited after looking through
the 3rd grade math book,
he came home that afternoon
and did 11 pages out of his math book.
And is so ready for 3rd grade!
Fine by me...
I will NOT squash his drive and desire!

I am thinking about testing him in a few weeks...
gonna look into it.

So besides blowing our budget,
buying school books for next year,
getting my car registration transferred down here,
(after waiting in line with 4 kids for an HOUR)
practices,
scouts
and every day life...

We managed to fit in a couple of fun things.

The Easter Bunny was able to fit some interesting things
into the kids baskets.

The older boys each got a
"paint your own ball"
kit.
J - soccer
R - football

First you have to pump them up,
then paint them,
then let it dry,
then paint again,
then dry,
then paint,
you get the picture.
They might be finished in another month,
when I finally feel like letting them leave them out
to dry between coats.



The littlest two got
some sand for the sandbox
I insisted we ship all the way from NC.
But I wasn't allowed to bring the sand with us!
So it sat empty on the back patio
til now.

And a bubble machine
(that I *just* got around to putting batteries in)

They also each got a chocolate bunny
and I let T eat part of one.
And, for whatever reason,
he doesn't like having his picture taken lately...
so this is what you get...

We were sent another craft from one of their sweet
crafty aunts...

I didn't snap a before picture,
but she sent bunny cutouts
that said
"No bunny loves you like Jesus"
and asked the kids to create a "home"
for the bunny.

So we got out the scissors,
construction paper,
glue,
markers
and
pom-poms

And they created these
masterpieces...

Finally,
we are getting geared up for our first
"official"
visit to daddy's office.
Since he is on base, and a civilian,
he is not authorized to
escort others onto the base.
So...tomorrow is a special event
that families can come to.
In order to get on base,
I had to have an updated registration...
which I didn't...
(blame it on the move)

Hence, the NEED to stand in line for an HOUR
with FOUR kids
to get my car registered here.

While I was swapping license tags...
I *finally*
got around to a few more vehicular updates.

Before
(SOOOOOOO sad to see this go - feel free to send me a new one!)







After
(how stinking cool is this thing??? and oh so true - thank you Mimi!!!)




And I will still be rocking the NC State Wolfpack tag on the front
until I am told otherwise
by those men in blue
that might insist that I put the front tag on my car
that I got when I received the back tag.
(atleast I am assuming that is why I got 2 tags - haha)

And I am sure I will have TONS to share from my first
family reunion with this side of the family.
I am so looking forward to it!!!
(seriously!)

Easter Happenings

Happy (Belated) Easter!!

(as usual, on the belated part)

We went to mass on Sunday and amazingly got there early

enough to get a seat!  Barely...

But oddly - 

we sat on the front row

and the kids were GREAT!

They have NEVER been this good!

I had been told about that trick but we might have to do it again!

I grew up in the baptist church where people 

got all dressed up to go to church every Sunday.

So when we started going to the Catholic church,

It was an adjustment to see people wearing

jeans and shorts and all sorts of clothes

to church,

but realized that

the most important part was that these people

were 

THERE!

In church on Easter Sunday,

Father commented on how nice everyone looked

and how we should always get dressed up to come 

to celebrate Jesus and show Him how much 

we loved Him and were celebrating Him.

Made me feel good.

I would love to see people showing up

in their
"Sunday Best"

like I grew up seeing.

We get dressed up...

in our Sunday best.

After church I snapped a couple of pictures

of the kids in the back yard before they peeled their 

church clothes off

and dove into bathing suits

and play clothes...

Then they hunted the eggs that the Easter Bunny had left 

hidden around the house...

We had a great Easter Sunday 

and 

wound up at SeaWorld,

yet again...

"free" trips to SeaWorld are always worth it,

especially when they do fun stuff for EVERY holiday.

We wound up getting tickets to their 

Second Annual Egg Hunt & Picnic.

It was cute and the only

egg hunt the kids participated in,

so it was worth it.

Then we tried to get a couple of pictures with

Shamu Bunny...

T wasn't having it...

So daddy helped...

Then we got a family picture.  

Notice how far from Shamu T is trying to be.

We caught a couple of shows.

Rode a couple of rides...

R's favorite, but could only see daddy.

Then mommy wanted to ride a "big kid" ride.

Why I chose this one, is quite beyond me!

We got DRENCHED!!!

Leading up to Easter weekend,

we did our annual egg decorating.

However, we do things a little differently in our house.

We enjoy boiled eggs, but don't eat them as much

as we do raw eggs.

And yearly, I throw away boiled eggs 

that don't get eaten and are still in our fridge

MONTHS after Easter.

So last year, I decided to attempt to dye raw eggs.

Why not???

It was a success!!!

And the kids enjoy picking out their eggs for use 

in pancakes, muffins

and what not.

We do occasionally have accidents

and lose an egg,

or two...

(strangely thanks to the oldest kid!)

A is admiring their handy work and counting our eggs.

Happy Easter

From Our Family

To Yours!

(my boys)

MY WORLD!