Happy Birthday

Today is Max's 7th birthday!! Only about 1 hour left of it. I guess I need to update my profile with the ages now. Joe's was 6 days ago. The big 3! Pete's was 3 days ago.

Happy Birthday, Joe, Pete and Max!

--Our vacation was fun! The kids had a blast, well Joe wasn't so sure, but he still had fun --

Here is Max, Joe and then a picture Max drew while we were driving home. I was surprised by it. Great job Max!

birthdays and vacations

Last weekend we celebrated Max's and Joe's birthdays. We also celebrate my nephew's birthday at the same time. We usually do the parties at my mom and dad's house in Springfield, MO. 3 hours away from us. Max will soon be 7 years old! June 29th. Joe is almost 3 years old! June 23rd. My hubby is almost 19 years old (!!!) - June 26th. I am guessing he will be 19 since he wants to celebrate his big "20" next year! Yeah right!! And if there is any questions- no he really isn't 18 years old with 4 kids!

June is a busy month for us. First the birthdays are taking over the month of June. My mom (7th), my nephew (10th), Joe (23rd), Niece (24th), Pete (26th) and Max (29th). I also just got a call about 30 minutes ago that I am a new aunt. So add the 19th to that list now!! I have a new niece. (Congrats to you guys!) May 31st is my dad's b-day so really that is close enough to count as June. Our wedding anniversary is July 1st, so again, just adding to the June crazy's!

We are leaving for the Dell's on Saturday. Really we are leaving for Chicago, then go to the Dells on Monday. This will be one big birthday week!

I left the dogs at my moms so she could dog sit for me. This week we are dog less! Which really turns into a lot more work for me. I have to vacuum a lot and even have had to clean the carpets as well. My kids are some messy little people!! Right now, Ike, Joe and Sam have managed to spill Honey combs all over the dining room floor and smashed up cookie as well. It really needs vacuuming. I have not done one thing to get packed yet. I am doing laundry so I can pack, so maybe that counts!

This afternoon Joe has a follow up appointment for his finger. I haven't noticed much change from the last time we went 4-5 weeks ago. I think she will say just keep splinting it. We'll see. Of course, the 4 kids will be with me. Oh fun! I have only taken all 4 of them once before. That was fun. So let the fun continue!!

OK, well, apparently, the kids have forgotten how to survive while I have been on the computer...

He finally said it!!

Roughly 2 weeks before his 7th birthday, Max can finally say "Momma" and "Mom"!!!!

He has been able to say Daddy for a long time. He has even been able to say "bob-bob" for Spongebob for months maybe even over a year. But no Momma until today. Yay, I finally am ranked up there with Spongebob. His SLP at school tells me he can say Mom and mommy, however, I never believed her. I still don't. She says he says all sorts of words, but really I just think to myself "whatever- I know better"

I got him on video and once I get it off my camera and on our our site I will let you know- it may be a bit-

Have a good weekend!!

adventures of shopping

I have always said it would be great to have Wal-Mart right down the street at a certain corner because it was a big open space, and would have easy access. Well, last fall it was announced a Wal-mart was going to open in that exact corner! It opened just about 2 weeks ago. We noticed it was open the day we left for vacation.

I hated going to our Wal-mart because for me, it was across town and a huge pain in the butt to shop at. So I went there only a hand full of times during the year. Now that we have one less than 2 minutes away, I am sure to be shopping at Wal-mart much more.

I took the kids there last week so we could check out the new store and more importantly because I had a huge list of stuff I needed to get! I dread going to stores with all 4 kids in tow. Basically Max, as much as I hate saying that! He is a runner- to say the least. He will run away the second he sees an opportunity. It is a game to him. He will run, and run, and run while laughing at you because you’re so close but just can’t grab him. Then eventually he is gone. You can hear him stomping around and may be on his trail but soon, even that is gone. So after doing some searching, I usually tell an employee and they do their version of “code Adam”—by the way at Target, I believe that code is code yellow (it’s been a while since I have been there!).

So last week Max decides to run off at Walmart. Why not, right? Sam and Joe know that once Max runs off, they need to stay right by me and keep up! We will be doing lots of running and turning around, over and over… However last week, I was able to catch Max by myself- without a code whatever at Wal-mart! I kind of tricked him and he came to me! It worked- usually he could care less if I am walking away from him.

Today after dropping Sam off at VBS I take all 3 boys with me to Walmart. I needed to return a few things and buy some more stuff. This new Wal-mart, so far, as been pretty died. I get premo parking on the non-food side. However, as soon as you walk in, they have a special room just with games and ride on toys. Of course, my kids go straight to them. Then finally 5-10 minutes I am dragging them out of there while cursing Wal-mart for putting that there! I am thinking of parking on the other side and seeing if they have a special room on that side as well. I hope not.

So anyway, back to today, Max insists on pushing the cart. I let him. It takes twice as long to get anywhere but I still let him. I get yelled at when I even place my hand on the cart. You know, to stop the cart from mowing down a person that doesn’t get out of the way in time! He did great, he stayed with me the whole time. We were done but needed one more thing from the back of the store. We go back there and get our much needed ice cream! I show him how cool the lights are there and he then needs to see them all. The lights (inside the freezer cases) are on sensors. They are off until you walk close to them and voila, they turn on. After that, he was done with the cart. All we needed to do was make it to the front of the store, check out and make it to the car. It took forever to get up front because Max has to stop at the benches they have places every few yards. Why, they have benches, I don’t know. Really, if you need to sit and rest while shopping at Walmart, maybe you should just leave! Max sees a basket to carry, and fill up. So I give him stuff out of the cart instead of him piling new stuff in it. We check out and he was very helpful. He helped load the stuff up on the belt then loaded all the bags into the cart. He didn’t even fight me over who gets to sign the pen pad to pay with credit card. That is usually a struggle with him.

We get to that dang special room with all the ride-ons and such. Since they were so good at the store and I am a sucker mom- I let them each ride a toy. The ride is over, time to make it to the car. Max will not get up. Joe comes and is holding on the cart like a good little boy. Several minutes of me saying, come on Max. If you want to help unlock the car, you need to come on NOW. Not coming. Then the chocolate milk falls off the bottom of the cart and the top gets a hole. Chocolate milk is pouring out. The door guy cleans it up as I help. He keeps saying, just take it over there and have them bring you up a new one. I said, I think it’s OK, we’re just going home. That really translates into, I have made it this far, we have only a few more feet and we are free of this store and I really do not want to walk back into the store dragging my son while he is screaming and fighting to run away. After several times of the guys telling me to get a new one and telling me that he wouldn’t take that home, I cave and drag Max BACK into the store and go to customer service. I tell them what happened. She tells me to go get a new one and just show her before we leave. I ask if someone could just bring one up. That works. Max is busy playing with the “out of order” pay phone. Then moves on to the computer they have set up to apply for a job. The guy brings my milk to me and we’re ready. Max won’t move. I get a lollipop for Joe and Ike (yes, Ike) from the bank right there and try to tempt Max. Doesn’t work. I finally have to grab his arm, and kick the chair with my foot to get his butt up. I was holding Ike at this point and Joe was in the cart. I also forgot to mention that Joe’s pants were soaking wet because while we were checking out his diaper overflowed. So I drag out Max and the cart with one hand and hold Ike with the other. We made it to the car- Thank God! I accidentally drop Ike’s lollipop in the parking lot. He cries and is not very happy that I took his candy!! Max won’t get in the car. I pick up his whole body and put him in his seat. However, he can unbuckle himself. He does so and gets back out of the car. He runs around it like a wild turkey. I start the car thinking this may get him in. It worked. I load up and head home! Our ice cream was somewhat melted but that’s alright.

I unload our stuff at home and we have a few minutes before we have to go get Sam. It took us about 2 ½ hours to shop, load up and drive home. Holy moley, shopping with Max can be an adventure!! And in case you’re wondering, this is normal. Actually, better than normal because he didn’t run off!!

It's -somewhat- quiet

Besides the screams from Max that occur every few minutes, it is quiet. I signed Sam up for VBS at a church just around the corner. It is all this week 9 till 12. Holy smokes, it is so much quieter without her talking non-stop! I am sure she is loving VBS. I asked her if she would be interested in it on Saturday morning. She loved the idea of going to 'school' and has talked about it since I brought it up. She even got ready for bed early last night, not that she fell asleep early though. This morning she was up around 7 ish, and the first thing out of her mouth was "school?" I hope she is still as excited when I pick her up in an hour and a half. Tomorrow I will get her early though because she and Max have gymnastics at 11.

Since we're talking Sam here, let me tell you what she told me yesterday. Can you guess why?..... "I wish I had a new mom!" "My new mom would tell me to make the house a mess and not pick it up!" HAHA!!! She just loves to pick up so much- especially the clothes she had on for about 10 minutes before taking them off, leaving them in floor (just where ever!) and getting an entirely new outfit on. Repeat that all day and you would understand why the bedroom is covered in clothes. I tell her to hang them up all the time. She does some but then tries to find a good place to stuff them and hope i won't notice them missing. She has stuffed them in drawers, behind the door, under the sheets and blankets in the closet and under the bed. She also does this with MY clothes as well. She likes playing 'dress up'.

New Jersey vacation

Our vacation was fun. It didn't start that great but we got over it. We planned on leaving super early Thursday. After all it was a 2 day drive from the Kansas City area to New Jersey. We left about 9:30- not so early- huh!? Pete and I both felt like crap! I had packed the van up the day before. I had only a few things left to throw in as we left. We finally get going after stopping by CVS first. I brought a 'puke bucket' - just in case. Thankfully I had it when Max started doing his pre-puke cough! He always gives some warning coughs before he vomits. So all day long I kept grabbing the puke bucket and turning around just in time to catch his flying puke, well, most of it. Sam was still a little sick from the days before (remember 3:30 post?). Joe and Ike were doing pretty much OK. The positive side of this? We didn't have to stop for food pretty much the whole day! I did load the car with snacks and drinks though so if anyone was hungry we had food. We drive till somewhere around 11 or 12 that night. Sleep at a hotel for roughly 4 or 5 hours then load the kids back in the car and drive even more. We were making pretty good time. So when the kids all got super fussy and cranky we had time to stop at a park and play for a little bit. We borrowed my FIL's GPS and it was so easy to look up a nearby park. My husband now thinks we need a GPS. So I guess in a few months we will be getting one. We finally arrive in New Jersey around 2 or 3 Eastern time on Friday afternoon. We stayed at Pete's aunt's house in Clinton, NJ. She doesn't live there anymore as she moved in with her now husband. Her sons stay at the house some so she still has it. Her sons are both in college.

Saturday afternoon was the wedding and reception (Pete's aunt). The wedding was a very private one (basically immediate family) but the reception was for everyone. Saturday morning we had time to go visit where Pete used to live in Chatham, NJ. I saw his old house along with his grandparents old house. His grandfather (who passed away several years ago) used to have his own store- like a little deli/lunch place (I think). We ate breakfast at the store and visit with some people Pete knew. We made it to the reception about 30 minutes late! The food looked really good but I still felt pretty sick so I didn't eat any of it. I did finally try a little cake (Who can pass up cake? not me) only to feel worse later on. Pete's bother and family arrive that night and also stay at the aunt's house. Their 2 girls are aged 6 and 4, only a few months difference between them and Max and Sam. They all love paying together and have so much fun.

Sunday Pete's parents had a picnic/family reunion at the RV park they are staying at. There were tons of people, some of that I had never meant. That was fun and I finally started feeling a little better that day.

Monday we left for Cape May, New Jersey. About a three hour drive South to the very bottom point of New Jersey. We got there late afternoon/ early evening. Of course one of the first things to do was visit the beach. It was somewhat cold and VERY windy! The sand even hurt some as it was being pelleted into your legs! The kids had fun though and, surprise, Sam was soaked. She doesn't know that the ocean was cold. Cold water never even phases her. We then went to the Lobster House for dinner. Pete tries to order the 2 or 2 1/2 pound lobster but being a holiday- they were sold out. The food was very good though.

The rest of the week we hung out and did different things. We went to the beach a few times, visited and went up the Cape May lighthouse. Pete, me and the kids went to the zoo. The kids enjoyed it. Joe kept talking about the snakes- he likes snakes! We went to Wildwood and walked along the boardwalk. We did not go to Atlantic City since we went to Wildwood instead.

Friday night, our last night, we went to the Lobster House again, still trying for that lobster! Pete wanted the 3 pounder. They were out. They did have the 3 1/2 pounder however. So he settled for that. Around $50 for one lobster. It was HUGE. I got the 2 pounder. Again, food was very good. When we went to Maine 2 years ago, we ate lots of lobster, most being 2 or 2 1/2 pounds big. Yummy!

Saturday we left at 5:20 Eastern time, 4:20 Central time (our normal time zone). We were thinking of trying to drive straight through. We had several little stops for potty breaks, snack breaks, gas fill-ups, etc. We stopped for dinner at McDonalds in Indiana. They had no playplace but they did have a couple of GameCube stations. Max liked that! We drive some more. and some more, and well, some more!! We arrived home 3:40 AM Central time. 23 hours and 20 minutes. We made it home!! 1256 miles all in one day. Ike was up and ready to start the day at 7 in the morning. So I got about 3 hours of sleep.

The most we saw gas for was $4.05 a gallon- that was in Pennsylvania I think.
The most we paid for gas- was $4.05!! Yeah, about 2 miles down the street it was cheaper.
The most I saw Diesel fuel for was $4.95! wow!
The least I saw gas for was $3.69- that was in Missouri, around Columbia.
Pennsylvania takes forever to drive across. The first half didn't smell all the great either. It smelt like a farm. It did have some cool tunnels through the Appalachian mountains though that the kids loved.

Some records for us-
biggest lobster at 3 1/2 pounds
longest driving time- 23 hours and 20 minutes
most paid for gas $4.05
I know there is more....

We also shared our sickies with a few of our family members. We know they love us for that!

We had fun. Just wish the weather was a little warmer and the water would have been a LOT warmer. It was in the 50's. We were glad to finally be back to our bed sleeping, even if it was only about 3 hours of sleep.


Pictures- I will get to them- someday!! Hopefully soon.....

Home!

We are finally home from vacation number 1!! It was nice. I will write more when I get the chance. But for now, we are home.