An Easy Day

 Braylon had a WONDERFUL morning!  He woke up happy, joyful and excited to get to gel his hair for class pictures at school.  He had his second session with a new behavioral therapist yesterday, and I could see a difference.  Besides keeping a daily behavioral log, she suggested some reading material...so I will be tackling that this weekend.  After school, he played for a bit with his younger siblings then Mimi picked him up for some one on one cooking time (meatballs-YUM!).

Daddy didn't have to go into work until this afternoon, so we hit the Aquarium after dropping Braylon of at school.  We are there probably once every 1-2 weeks.  My kiddos LOVE it and so do I!  It's educational, low cost (we have the annual membership) and an easy place to smuggle food into.  shhhhh.  During the Summer they have an entire splash zone for the kids, too.  It's an easy place that I can safely take all four by myself.  Below are some photos :)

Trying to get smiles out of Pey and Kyan!

 "Work with me, children!"

 Mommy and Daddy with 2!

 Looking for the Otters!

 Awake and active!

 Playing in the shells.

 He is sitting up by himself now!

 Tracking the big fish :)

 She's such a little mommy. 

 Daddy getting some Paxtyn lovin'

 So pretty!

 Too much fun for an 8 month old!

Looky What I Discovered After Nap Time!

Ooooweeeee!!!  I nearly gave my husband a heart attack as I screamed, "RUUUUUUN!!!!  It's an emergencYYY!!!"  And it truly was!  Such a big boy now.  And project Lower the Mattress commenced immediately!

 So proud of himself!

 Look at all that hair!

Car Wash = ?

Yesterday my husband was out of town for a conference and after a day of at-home learning with the children and running errands, I had a flash back from the movie Corrina Corrina ( a 90's movie about a bi-racial couple, featuring Whoopi Goldberg and Ray Liotta...awesome movie!!!).  Anywho, they had a super fun scene with little Molly in the car at the carwash and thought what a great ending to the day.  All four kids in singing along with the wishy-washy-soap-bubbles in the carwash!  That was the idea.  I promise, all I had was good intentions...

So I paid the $6 and got all giggly and squealy driving in.  Oh, they were going to love this!  The washers started, and so did...the screaming.  Ear piercing, glass shattering, Saw-like shrill screaming.  It was a chain reaction starting with Kyan, then Paxtyn, then Peyton, then Braylon plugging his ears and yelling for everyone to, "PLEEEEEASE stop screaming!!!!!  It is just bubbles!!!!!!!"  I started boucning around like a jack rabbit...clapping, singing, desperately trying to get everyone to calm down.  Once it became apparent that wasn't going to work, I decided to just head out.  However, looking at the blinking red light and the black, bold warnings of "Do NOT Pull Forward Until Green," I was trapped.  In a van.  With four terrified, screaming children.  After about 2 minutes, I finally gave in and put my head on the steering wheel and started laughing.  One by one, the kids stopped crying and started laughing.  At me.  And it was glorious!  We survived the car wash and I truly hope that I have not scarred them for life.  I can see it years from now... "Hey Bray!  Are you going to work the car wash for the school fundraiser?"  "Um, that's a negative.  I have a severe car wash phobia from this one time..."

:)

Peyton actually invited Kyan onto her bed to share her toys!  He was in heaven!

Top Ten Tueday 1/18/2010

I am linking up with oh amanda today for her Top Ten Tuesday!  Jump right in, folks!

Top Ten Things to do in the Carpool Line

1.  Flashcards:  Depending on my husbands schedule, I am in the carpool line with all the children about 50% of the time.  Therefore, we have gobs of flashcard packs in my "car learning box."  Everything from Presidents, letters, Bible verses,solar systems, colors, animals...its fun, educational, and a great way to pass 10-15 minutes in line.

2.  Sing songs:  We have a variety of kid sing along cds...make it fun!

3.  Journal:  At MOPS a few months ago we made Journals and I've found it's a great way to squeeze in devotion time if the morning started off rough.

4.  Read:  Let me state that I am NOT a reader.  However, the past six months I've been trying to curb my stay-at-home mom mushy brain (sometimes all I feel I talk about is the potty!  haha).  So, I've started reading books that I want to read, not parenting books.  I am currently in the middle of Kristin Hannah's Magic Hour and Michael Crichton's Pirate Latitudes.  Fun stuff!

5.  To-do Lists:  Some days I start off the day super organized with lists, and other days it just doesn't happen.  A few minutes in car pool line is just enough time with "free hands" to make notes.

6.  Thank You Cards:  I have a stash of thank you cards and stamps in the van.  This is one of my big New Years Resolutions to make sure to send out thank you cards!

7.  Blog Ideas:  I am obviously very new to blogging, but with four kids I rarely have time to brainstorm without little hands tugging on me.

8.  Apply Lipstick:  I'm not a huge make up wearer (with my sweat issues it's basically an impossibility anyway), but it's amazing what an application of lipstick can do!  I feel vibrant and ready to tackle the second half of the day!  I have a stash of colors in the van.

9.  Eat a Snack:  I sound a bit hypocritical since we have a strict rule with the kids of absolutely NO eating or drinking in the car.  However, some days I get so busy taking care and feeding them, I forget about taking care of me.  I buy the mega packs of almonds from Sams Club and leave them next to my seat.  I cannot tell you how many times they have saved my day!  They are healthy and the crunchiness satisfies me.

10.  Regroup...and just breathe.  The days become longer, but the years become shorter.  I know I will miss these years with my littles, regardless of how challenging the days are.  Ten minutes in line is enough time to regroup, recharge and refocus.

Multitudes on Mondays 1/17/2010: A Holy Experience

I stumbled upon this site a few months ago and am in love with it!  Anne has such a rich and detailed writing style, it's beautiful.  Reminds me of some of the amazing English Majors I had the privilege of writing side by side with in college.  Every Monday she hosts "Multitude Mondays:  One Thousand Gifts," and I am going to jump right in and join.  Her faith is inspiring and I encourage you to stop by her site!




1.  My God.  It's been a journey but I have arrived and am eager to learn more.

2.  My husband and soul mate.  You inspire, encourage and support everything I do.  I love you.

3.  My parents.  It took me becoming a parent to truly understand what you have and continue to do for me.  I love you both!

4.  Creating sock puppets on a rainy day.

5.  Rays of sun making a brief appearance!

6.  Baby yawns.

7.  Being challenged to think outside the box.

8.  Leftovers...yum.

9.  Night time giggles from the boys bedroom.

10.  Schedules :)


Here is a beautiful video from her site. I encourage you to watch and listen!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhOUaszMGvQ&feature=player_embedded

Sunday Supper 1/16/2010 and Weekend Recap!

It's been a fun but not "busy busy" weekend.  Love those :)  I had a play date with my long time friend, C (11 years and counting!), a birthday lunch for my mother-in-law (71 years young!), a quick stop at Tampa's Gator Fred's on the way home (we had buy 1 get 1 free coupon), Church "attempt" (when we arrived Kyan acted up) and a dear friend's birthday party which was AWESOME!  We also watched my parents dog, so the poodle got lots of little kid lovin'.  My husband was off on Saturday (well, he was on call at midnight but had some evening time together) and we watched our first movie together in I don't know how long!  We watched Avatar...soooo good.  Tonight I got home from my grocery run and saved a whopping $98.00!  Super excited to be back to my couponing!

Sunday Supper Meal Plan

Breakfast:  Dry cereal for kiddos, egg whites and peppers for mom and dad

Lunch:  Turkey Sandwiches, Cheese tortillas, left overs with fruit

Monday:  Tuna and Pasta Cheddar Melt with broccoli and rice

Tuesday:  Pizza

Wednesday:  Lazy Chicken Crockpot (seriously, looks way too easy) with broccoli over rice

Thursday:  Spicy Chicken Wings in crockpot (I actually scored the Apricot Preserves for FREE during my grocery run!) with Ranch (have gobs from my buy 1 get 1 free) with Broccoli

Friday:  Leftovers and Broccoli

Saturday:  Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese

Sunday:  Chicken Nuggets, corn and rice

Lots of dress up time!

 Happy birthday, Banoi!!!

 Her gifts :)

 Paxtyn with his Baco and Banoi

 Climbing a wall at Gator Fred's!

 "Shopping"

 Bray checking them out.

 Kyan :)

 Such a good cashier!

 The Rubik's Cube Champ! 

 Happy Pax!

 Star Wars Bingo!

 So much fun!

 Intense...

 The war is on!

 Woohoo!

 They had sooo much fun!  Such a marvelous party!!!

 Bray just adores W...they have so much fun together!

 "YEEEEEAAH!!!!!!!!!!"  May the force be with you.

 Parental attack!

 Adorable cookie party favors.  SEE!!!  Pax DOES look like Yoda!  hee hee