Family of 6:Con 2

Not only do I have to tell little white lies to one child, but I have to somehow maintain these lies for her younger siblings.

Hurricane Irene

We have truly had a year of crazy natural disasters! From the tornado a few months ago and the small earthquake last week to the hurricane this weekend, it's been one thing after another. Luckily, we ourselves have not had any damage, but our thoughts are with those that have had damages and lost loved ones.

The outer bands of the Hurricane Irene started to bring rain into our area around 5:00pm Friday night and the wind picked up, but by 8:00pm the rain had stopped and the sun was setting.

Pics taken right at 8PM

Around midnight, I noticed that the kiddie pool had blown back into the yard, so I told Paul he better put everything into the garage. I went out to help him (as in opened the garage door because I have issues with the backyard now) and it was such a perfect night! The breeze and temperature were amazing and the clouds rolling by were absolutely breath taking. I tried to video the clouds but it was too dark to see them on the video (I am sure there is a special camera for that and I need to look into getting it). It literally looked like you were in a time lapsed video because they were moving so quickly across the sky!

By the time we came back into the house, it had started to rain. The rain and wind continued all night but we never lost power. I expected it to get worse out the next day but the rain and wind stayed about the same throughout the day. The power did flicker a few times around noon, but never went out for good. YAY!

Irene allowed us to clean out the closets and dressers, so today we dropped of a huge lot of clothes at the Goodwill. I can't believe all the clothes the kids have outgrown. With all 4 of them, I could probably have my own consignment sale LOL I just can't imagine tagging all those clothes to sell!

Today, you can't even tell that we experienced any weather from a hurricane. The skies are clear, the sun is bright and it's 93* out!

Am I going to be sick or is my house really shaking...

Yesterday, while Jenna and Addy were napping, I was enjoying some quiet peacefulness on the couch. It was about 1:54 and I heard this weird creaking sound and then noticed that the house was actually shaking. Initially, I thought I was hallucinating and wondered if I was still feeling the side effects of the illness I had over the weekend. Then, I thought that maybe they were way off on the hurricane arrival and the strong winds were already starting. Though when I looked outside, nothing was happening. My cell went off and my neighbor was asking if my house was just shaking, confirming that I was in fact not crazy.I e-mailed Paul, and he called to tell me that they felt it too.

Marbles Kids Museum

8/21/2011- I've been wanting to take the kids to Marbles for a while now, so we decided to take them this past Sunday. The kids had a fantastic time and there was plenty to keep them all occupied. I think we were there for at least 3 hours and we didn't even play with everything.

Jenna had her own play area for children under 18 months:

There was an ambulance and a boat:

A Pirate ship:

The kids in the street overlook window:

They have a super fun sports section (ice hockey,soccer, surfing, gymnastics,etc)

The kids spent most of the time in the Moneypalooza section. The can pretend to work and be bankers. There is a big piggy bank hanging from the ceiling and mulitiple ways to fill it with balls. The balls travel on tracks into the piggy and every so many minutes (or when it's full), it drops the balls onto whoever is underneath. And the process starts again.

It is a super fun place!  Now fingers crossed the kids don't get sick since most of these places are germfests!

Family of Six: Con 1

Con 1: It takes forever to schedule appointments!



Wrightsville Beach

8/7/2011- We headed over to Wrightsville Beach on Sunday with Christina and Jeff. The sun was hot and the waves were big! We brought our canopy tent, so we set that up and lotioned everyone up. The water felt great!

Pilot Mt, Kennywood and Seneca Caverns

Our computer crashed at the beginning of June and we didn't get it running again until mid July, so I missed a few posts. So here's a little catch up....

Fort Fisher and Kure Beach Pier

8/9/2011-  It never fails, every time we are in the area, the Fort Fisher Historic Site Museum is closed. It's about 25 minutes from the Wrightsville Beach,NC area, close to the Fort Fisher Aquarium. Since we were going to the aquarium on Monday (post here), Paul was pretty excited that we would finally get to go into the museum. Guess what? What are the two days they are closed? Sunday and Monday!!!

Spider Scare

Our yard was in desperate need of a makeover. The grass needed cut, the hedges needed a good trim and the edges needed edged. The problem was that I had left the kiddie pool in the yard and forgot to close the lid on the sandbox, so everything was full of water from the storms we have had.

Toasted Cheese, Anyone?

Today, I walked downstairs to check on the kids since I could hear them in the kitchen. I assumed they were getting their snack.

Empty Room of Our Nest

Today I got a little preview of what it will be like when the kids begin to move out.

Whore or Hoarder?

Today was a little stormy out, so I decided to go through my underwear drawer. Ya know, do a little spring cleaning when summer is almost over:)

Mudcat Adventure

Last night, we took the kids to their first minor league baseball game. We saw the Mudcats vs the Biscuits. Yep, the Biscuits!

Sandy Fail

This past weekend we went to the beach ( I didn't actually blog about the beach part yet because all the pics are on Paul's phone and well, what is a post without pics?). Can I just ask, what could be more fun than going to the actual beach? It turns out, alot actually, especially when an infant is involved. Don't get me wrong, I love the beach. Like LOVE it! I could totally live on the beach and we did have loads of fun, but I totally did not want to go to the beach the next day.

Airlie Gardens, Fort Fisher Aquarium, and More

8/8/2011-  We all woke up early and I was starving. We got dressed and head down to eat breakfast at the hotel. They served a hot, made to order breakfast, so I got french toast...yummy.

We had decided we would visit Airlie Gardens since 1)we've been to Wilmington a ton and never went 2) I was totally burnt and 3) I could not handle the sand with these kids another day. Christina and Jeff wanted to spend some time at the beach so they skipped the garden tour.

Early Birthday Gift

So today, in the mail, was the best birthday gift ever!

Raleigh State Capitol

8.6.2011 (cont)- It had turned into a beautiful day once we were done at the museum, so we headed over to the capitol. The kids wanted to take a tour but I didn't think it was open. Once we got around to one of the entrances we noticed people going inside, so the kids just had to go in. I sat in the shade outside to feed Jenna while they went into the building to look around.

Raleigh Natural Science Museum

8.6.2011- On Saturday, we woke up to some thunderstorms but we had already planned to go to the Raleigh Natural Science Museum, so it really didn't put a damper on our day.

Raleigh Durham Airport

8.5.2011- My best friend Christina and her boyfriend Jeff were flying into RDU on Friday for their visit, so I told them we would pick them up. The kids have never been to the airport so I thought it would be cool to take the to the observation deck to watch the airplanes.

Addy's Fashion

How Addy wears her robe...LOL

Crack'n

Quick background: Ever since I can remember, my ankles make a clicking sound whenever I walk. Not sure what causes it, but there's no pain, so it doesn't bother me. I don't even notice it. Paul used to call me "Snap, Crackle and Pop".

Thought for Thursday

I was thinking...I know, I know...ya'll are like "what the what? Danielle thinks?". Yeah, it happens. And sometimes I think I actually have a good idea.

When Ash first started school, her bus stop was literally right outside our door. I mean the school was like right next door to our house, so she only rode it for like 3 seconds to and from school anyway. Well down here, we live in a cul-de-sac. The bus is not permitted to actually enter our little subdivision, so we have to walk them out to the main road for the bus to pick them up. It's not a far walk, but none the less I still have to get them to the bus stop before it comes in the morning and also be there before they get dropped off in the afternoon. The school is in a different town, so the kids are riding the bus for about 15 to 20 minutes now.

Normally, the bus is right on time in the morning (8:10). During the afternoon it is a total toss up as to when the bus will get there. Usually it's 4:20, sometime 4:30, sometime 4:10. That means I could potentially be standing at the bus stop for at the least 30 minutes. Then are days where the bus breaks down, or a student missed their stop, and we are waiting even longer.

Can someone say Bus Tracker App? This has to be possible! With all the new and improved electronics and GPS stuff out there. Now, I am a total noob when it comes to technology. I mean even though I know I can figure out how to unplug the Wii when it needs it, I still wait for Paul to come home to do it. It just seems to complicated. So I need someone out there to develop an app for my cell phone that can track may children's school bus. It can make some sort of cool sound when the bus is like 5 minutes away and I can pull it up on GPS so I can see where they are whenever I want. Oh and if they break down or are in an accident, I should receive some sort of notification.

If you know of such a tool, please don't hold back. Tell me about it! If one doesn't exist, than can someone please get on it...I am way too hot standing at the bus stop...and not in a great looking hot way, more like a sweaty hot mess. Thanks

My New Addiction

I love to browse the Internet for fun, exciting, and interesting things. The problem with this is after a while, I can't think of anything to search for on my own (I have very little imagination). While planning Genevieve's 1st Birthday, I came across a new site. Well, new to me that is. Pinterest.

It's basically a place to view all sorts of fun things that are out there on the Internet (craft projects, fun sayings, decor, food, etc) and you can also "pin" things you enjoy to your board so that you can go back to them at a later time. This is perfect for me since I usually write something down on a piece of paper or sticky note and then it gets lost is the clutter that is my life.

At first, I was like "this is cool". But now I am borderline obsessive! Check it out if you get the chance!

Death by Laundry

Laundry, the bane of my existence, my arch-nemesis, but totally a non-fiction story of my life. It is the one constant in my life because I am unable to buy an outfit for everyday of the rest of our lives for the entire family.

Growing up, it was just me and my Mom. I have no memory of laundry being such an atrocious task. Then I moved out...

When Paul and I lived out in Chicago our first apartment didn't have a laundry room in the unit and their laundry room for the entire complex was suspect. Our only decent option was to take our laundry to the laundrymat. Nice because all of the laundry was done at once but stressful since all the laundrymats were always spanish speaking (getting some Bounce was not easy and I never understood what the TV shows were saying).

In our first house, our washer and dryer were literally right in the hall by our bedroom. It didn't matter. I would wash clothes and immediately forget that I washed them. I'm a "show me something shiny and I'm easily distracted"  kinda girl. When I would realize that I forgot to put the clothes in the dryer (usually when I needed to wash more clothes), I would have to re-wash the forgotten load. Once I finally made it to actually getting the clothes dry, then came the folding. WORST. THING. EVER! Personally, I hate touching hot clothes out of the dryer. Once folded, they would be put away.

We bought a new house when I was pregnant with Ashleigh and the dryer was in the basement. Not an ideal set up for someone that has the out of sight, out of mind attitude. At this point, once finally washed and folded, clothes would just remain in the basket. We always had at least one basket of clothes in our bedroom. I would usually put Ashleigh's away but for some reason I didn't always put ours away. I could still do laundry about once a week, even with the new addition.

After Cooper was born, we bought a new house. Again the washer and dryer were downstairs...in the garage actually. Then Addison was born. Laundry was insane. I worked full time out of the house and laundry was always backed up. Pulling into the garage everyday was an awesome reminder since you could see the piles of clothes on the laundry table. Ugh...at this point, if the clothes got washed, they ended up in a basket. Period. No folding. No putting away. I would say laundry would get folded about once a month and put away quarterly.

We have since moved to NC and added another addition to our family. Our laundry is located in our second floor hallway, right outside the bedrooms. I am so thankful that most NC homes do not have basements ( I hate going all the way down to the basement to wash clothes). Even though the washer and dryer are in the most convienent location possible, I still have a ton of laundry. There are 6 of us and the kids change clothes at least twice a day. At one time, I did one load of laundry a week. Now I do one load of just bedding a week. I have to wash at least 2 loads of laundry (1 whites, 1 darks) a day to maintain and just when the basket is empty, somehow something becomes dirty and gets thrown into it. Folding is still a challenge and there are many times where we get dressed out of baskets full of clothes. I have been trying super hard to get into the habit of folding while taking out of the dryer, but sometimes it's just not possible. You might ask why I don't have the kids or Paul fold clothes. Well, they probably get less wrinkled by remaining in the basket than if they were to "help" fold them.

You also might be asking yourself "what about ironing?'. Yeah, that doesn't happen to often to really comment about it. Paul irons his clothes for work and if I need something ironed, I toss it in the dryer to get the wrinkles out. Not sure if it is a southern thing or not, but Paul is always talking about how the guys he works with all have wives that iron their clothes for them. Umm, yeah, he's lucky he has clean underwear at this point.

So, short of hiring someone to just come in and fold/put away our laundry, do you have any sure fire ways of doing laundry? Or do you just really enjoy it? If it's the latter, we are destined to not be friends. Then again maybe you want to come to my house and do my laundry for free ;)

Growth of a Bean

 

10 Months 

At 10 months, Jenna is now crawling! She started crawling about a week and a half before turning 10 months old! Taking her 10 month pictures was quite the challenge since she takes off as soon as you put her down. She's kind of like a puppy...loves shoes and puts anything on the floor in her mouth. One plus, my downstairs has never been cleaner since everything always has to be picked up to keep it out of her hands.Since she began crawling, her nap schedule really isn't a schedule anymore but she is still sleeping through the night.

She recovered from her ear infection and her 4 front top teeth are all poking through. The incisors are more visible and she looks like a little vampire.

9 Months

At 9 months, she has started pulling herself up in her crib, at the coffee table, actually anywhere she can. Genevieve seems to refuse crawling. It appears she would rather roll or pivot to her desired destination. Her newest word(s) is "Nite Nite" and Uh Oh but she say "eh eh" . Whenever she is ready for her nap/bed she repeats "Nite Nite" over and over again. It's totally adorable!

She experienced her 1st ear infection and was put on her 1st antibiotic (amoxicillian). She has been teething (her top right incisor came in), which I think is the root cause for the infection. We were also traveling, which could have also added to her teething congestion.  Her not being her usual happy self was the only clue that she wasn't feeling well.

8 Months

At 8 months, Genevieve looks like she could be starting to crawl at any moment. She doesn't particularly need to crawl though as she loves to roll all over the place. She will roll herself in circles if you let her!  She  has perfected sitting up from lying down, which is making diaper changing slightly more difficult. She now waves Hi and Bye and says "Hi" and "Bye".  When the cat meow's, Jenna make a "meow" sound LOL She pays close attention to what you are saying and trys to repeat it.

7 Months

At 7 months, Genevieve is able to sit all by herself with no worry of her accidentally tipping over. She is beginning to eat very well and seems to love all foods. Her "ma ma's" and "da da's" are directed towards us for sure now. She asks for "da da" all day long, especially right after she wakes up. She gets so excited when she sees that he is home from work!

6 Months

At 6 months old,Genevieve is beginning to sit and roll all over the place. She is now saying
"da da" , which was way overdue for Paul LOL When she has a dirty diaper, she tells us by blowing raspberries! She also had her first trip to the ocean and loved it!

5 Months

At 5 months old,Genevieve cut her first teeth. The bottom 2 teeth came in within a few days apart. She has now officially started to say "Ma", "Ba" (bottle) and "Na"(Nuk). We started her on purees and she had Sweet Peas for the first time. Genevieve also caught her 1st cold, which turned out to be RSV, but she recovered quickly.

4 Months

At 4 months old, Genevieve is really getting good at rolling over. She loves to play with her toys and is always in a very happy mood...always smiling. She is now sleeping through the night from 8PM to 8AM!

3 Months

At 3 months old,Genevieve is starting to play around with the whole rolling over thing. She is very vocal and constantly "singing".  She loves her sisters and brothers and they can always put a smile on her face.

2 Months

At 2 months old,Genevieve celebrating her 1st Christmas by taking her 1st trip to WV to surprise all her Grandma's and Gran since they dan't seen her yet. It was a great month and Santa even found us at Grandma's house!

1 Month

At 1 months old,Genevieve celebrated her 1st Thanksgiving. She began to sleep through the night at about 6 weeks (10-6) and was spleeing until 8AM by 8 weeks.

Birth

During Genevieve's first few weeks, she visited a pumpkin patch and celebrated her 1st Halloween! She already goes with the flow and it feels as though she has always been a part of the family. We love her so much!

The Function of Eyebrows

So this weekend was Ashleigh's first soccer practice of the season. Even though it was 104*, practice was still on and it was being held at the park at 11:00AM. We packed up the family and headed over to the park. Obviously, habits are hard to break because Paul parked in the parking lot where Ash used to play soccer, so we had to walk the entire length of the field to get to the last possible field where her practice was being held. Nice:)

Paul took Cooper, Addy and Genevieve to the playground to hang out in the shade and I stayed to watched Ashleigh practice. They had to take a water break every 5 min and everyone was red faced. I couldn't believe how hot it was. Even though I was just sitting there, the sweat was just pouring off of me. About 30 minutes in, my eyes started burning from the sweat. At 40 minutes, the coach called it quits...thank goodness. As we got up to walk back to the car I noticed Paul was already on his way ( the kids couldn't handle the heat even in the shade).

I told Paul how my eyes started burning and he laughed and said my eyebrows weren't doing their job.  Their job? What job? To keep sweat from rolling into your eyes. Huh, really? Guess you learn something new every day. Personally I thought they were just aesthetically appealing. I mean, I doubt I would look cute sans eyebrows. So I guess my eyebrows just aren't ready to go up against this NC heat and I'll have to start wearing those sweat head bands...adorable,right?