New Year's Eve in the Nuthouse

We have a different tradition in our family. Instead of doing new PJs on Christmas Eve, we do them on New Year's Eve. We take the kids to the store and let them pick out their own set of PJs. Then as soon as we get home, they get to change into them and wear them all day and night.

Toasting the New Year (with apple juice and plastic cups)
Showing off their new PJs--even Squirt got some new ones---not that she noticed until she saw the bug feet:)

Happy New Year! (just a bit early)

They are all set up in the playroom for Movie Party and a sleepover in the playroom. (Squirt is sleeping in her bed, and probably Munchkin too.)

Maybe not. It is 7:15 and Munchkin is asleep.

Hubby took someone's shift at the restaurant so I am flying solo...if it can really be called solo with 4 kids.

Sitting Teeth

ET finally let me rip his loose tooth out last night. The tooth fairy brought him a box of pop-its and Cars tattoos. The kids had never had the snaps before and could barely wait to try them out. Thumbelina was afraid and only popped a few. ET and Munchkin loved it and finished off that box in just a few minutes--which was great because it was so cold this morning!

Squirt can sit! She is so excited about it...

Until she falls over and wonders what went wrong.

Totally Worth It

We have breakfast for dinner on Christmas Eve. I found this idea on a blog earlier that day. We were tired of shopping so we worked with what we had. Santa pancakes! I think next year we will do French Toast Christmas trees.

We let the kids sleep in the playroom. Munchkin didn't make it very long before she asked to go in her bed. Then ET and Thumbelina were smashed together on the couch.

We were finished setting everything up by 11:30. We decided that Santa fills their stockings, and brings them a wrapped present and a present already set up. So Santa brought them each an art set and books. Munchkin got her trike, Thumbelina got the barbie house, ET got a Nerf gun set, and Squirt got some ball popper toy.

Santa's helper is setting up Thumbelina's new Barbie Dollhouse,
The dolls were a hit. Munchkin named her's 'Fuzzy' and Thumbelina named her's 'Princess.' Squirt's has yet to be named.

Munchkin--the one woman band. We tried to get the tambourine to balance on her head but her head was too big.

Those little arms and legs are the perfect size for chewing. I stuffed them extra full so it would be a good chew.

Munchkin got a tricycle so she can work on getting ready for Thumbelina's old bike. Everyone took turns on it. ET's skateboard was also much coveted.

It was a good Christmas this year. We started a cousin gift exchange. My kids really liked picking out presents for their cousins. (It was kind of weird on my side of the family because I have 4 kids and my sister has one and my brother has one. So 2 of my kids bought for their siblings.) We also got a bunch of games and have been playing game after game since yesterday. Hubby's parents went in on computer games for the kids. (We got a new computer so the kids are getting the old one in a corner of my craft room.) It is so much fun watching them get so excited about their presents...and then everyone else's presents, and try to share.

Merry Christmas!

Another One Bites The Dust

I finished another project yesterday. These are for my Visiting Teaching Partner and the ladies we visit. (My sister found the idea on a blog and I modified it a bit. They did it in a picture frame with half the stuff behind the glass and half on top of the glass so it was a bit more dimensional. I'm going to try that over the break once I get my new craft room set up.)

Harder

The only harder than growing out your own bangs in trying to grow out your kids bangs!

Please remind me of that once this one's hair stops sticking straight up...
I cut the other girls' hair last week. Thumbelina had a bunch of layers that had all grown out to resemble a shelf on the back of her head. And Munchkin's sides grow super slow so she was kinda growing a mullet. So please let me introduce you to Bob #1:

And Bob #2

Busy Busy Busy

Life is so busy right now and it's all my fault. I keep seeing crafty things and thinking, "I can do that!" So I am! My current obsession is Black Apple Dolls. I made a Santa and Mrs. Claus for Thumbelina's teacher. ET had her last year and we love her!

Here is how they turned out:

Mrs. Claus was going to have red arms and white gloves like Santa but the red fabric I bought that felt like felt was so not felt and I ripped through it trying to turn it right side out. So I had to go back and line every single piece with cotton fabric so it would hold together and hold its shape. But my favorite thing about these dolls is how cute her shoes are!

They were so cute, I decided to make us a set too. Since I only have a basic pattern, I had to figure out all the embellishments myself. So the first Mrs Claus took me a good 4 hours to figure my way through, but I was able to get the second one done in 45 mintues. And after finishing Santa, I need to redesign the body to be fatter and more jolly.

Tomorrow I am going to try and recreate (my own version) of a project for my Visiting Teaching ladies. I made a card using some of the techniques and it turned out super cute. Hopefully the vision in my head matches the end product.

In other news... Hubby went to the store to pick up some things. One of the things on his list was hand soap for the bathrooms. He came home with a big bottle of the clear purple-tinged Softsoap. The very same soap that made me nauseous when I was pregnant with Munchkin. I tried. Nope, still can't stand the smell. With Thumbelina it was apple spice soap--and I still hate that smell too.

Blah

After weeks of

Sick

Sick

Sick

Now I am just

Tired

Tired

Tired

And old!

Happy Birthday to me!

All I am asking for is a nap...and since hubby is finished with finals, I think I may get my wish!

Life Lessons by Munchkin

This is her pre-Curly Sue hair do and she loves it!

Week in Review

We had such a nice, stress-free Thanksgiving break. Hubby ended up getting Wednesday off work so it was an added bonus. We hung out, cooked, ate and played for 4 days! We took the kids to see UP in the theater and they all did really well. They shared the popcorn and drink, they watched the movie, and, as Munchkin kept reminding me, no one threw up. I am calling it a success! Anyway, here are some of the things we took pictures of:

The girls glamming up Squirt.

Raking the leaves. ET and I raked them up and used a tarp to throw them all in the backyard. I wouldn't let them jump in them because I am a mean Mom and didn't want cat poo all over everything!

Guess who tolerates her tummy time for more than 2 seconds? She rolls and plays. It's phenomenal!
The set table for Thanksgiving. I finished that table runner that morning and I love how it turned out. I used remnants from Hancock ($1 each) and two of hubby's old shirts. So this cost me $3 and took about 1.5 hours with all the cutting and ironing and sewing. We started a new tradition that I found on the internet. We used a white sheet for the tablecloth and the kids each drew a picture on it. Then I wrote who all was there and the year. We used fabric crayons for the kids' drawings but I think next year, we will just use the fabric markers. (I am not supposed to put the crayon drawings in the dryer.)

Now back to real life.

Craziness

Life has been nuts here for awhile. Sickness abounds with 4 kids. Two of them are in school and bring home new germs everyday. Then friends come over and share their germs as well.

ET has been the least sick, which I attribute to his lack of thumbsucking. But the boy is coming along nicely with his attitude. OY! Once he gets past that, though, he is the sweetest boy ever. I have been sick twice in the last little bit; once with the stomach bug and most recently with a strep-like-but-not-strep-grossness. And he is always there asking me if I need anything, getting food for the girls, feeding Squirt her bottle, and leading the kids in making me Get Well cards. Yesterday he was the one rallying everyone to rake the leaves. We finished the front yard and he raked about half of the backyard. I'm sure his motivation on that one is the big pile of leaves to jump in at the end.

Thumbelina got the stomach bug and a killer cough that seemed to last forever! She has such an imagination. Always pretending and making up games to play with Munchkin. She brought a friend home with her from school a few weeks back...without any parental knowledge. That was a fun one!

Munchkin usually just rolls with the punches. She started this whole illness merry-go-round with her pneumonia a few months back. She also go the stomach bug and the cough that never ends. She is such a happy-go-lucky kid. She is happy to play along with Thumbelina and ETs made up games or sing songs to herself. She loves it when friends come over even though most of the friends that come are there for her brother and sister.

Squirt has had a rough go of it lately. She started with croup and a trip to the ER. Then she never really got over the cough. 4 weeks we listened to her cough over the humidifier. Then she started being grumpy half the time. So I took her in to the doctor. She had a strep test, a H1N1 test and a confirmed ear infection. 4 days later, she was my happy baby again and the cough was long gone!

Hubby hasn't gotten any of this. I guess there are some perks to being super busy with work, school and more work.

And then, I agreed to host Thanksgiving...

Introducing...

Curly Sue:

Or BOZO the clown...depending on how you look at it :)

My Favorite Faces

(and hubby's, of course, except he's never home for me to see it!)

Happy Veteran's Day

Light Years Ahead of Her Sisters

Squirt is almost 6 months old and has enough hair for a bow. This bow stayed in through two naps.

Let's compare shall we?

Munchkin around 6 months--barely even peach fuzz:

And Thumbelina at 6 months: Only peach fuzz:

(Please excuse ET's lack of pants)

Stage Fright

I was a very shy child. Very shy until towards the end of high school.

It seems I have passed this on to Thumbelina. Remember when she turned 2 and started crying when everyone sang Happy Birthday to her? She does not enjoy people watching her.

She alternated just standing there and fighting tears through the whole program. She didn't want to come and sit with me, so there she stood. But as soon as we got home and I was showing hubby the video, she started dancing along with it. Maybe next time I can convince all the other parents to turn around so she can enjoy herself.

Slightly Jealous

Of these eyelashes.

ET's are so long they curl against his glasses. While mine are short with blond tips. Oh well--that's why they invented mascara.

Trick or Treat

How do you celebrate Halloween and trick or treating with an almost 6 month old?

Like this:

She was in bed by 6:30 and I got to read my book in peace while I gave out candy to the 6 groups that came to our house.

This is Halloween

Our pumpkins:

Thumbelina
Squirt the Head Chef

Munchkin the Sous Chef
ET as Dracula

Costumes at Karate, costumes for school (except for ET losing the note that said to bring your costumes and change into them after lunch), costumes for the church party, costumes for Trick or Treating...if I never have to touch costume makeup again or wash said makeup off, it will be too soon!

We Are Getting There...

I may actually be all ready for Halloween a few days ahead of time. (That's only because ET gets to wear his costume to Karate today so it has to be done by then.)

So 3 costumes are ready and ET's is getting the final touches. Squirt's also needs some accessories.

The buckets are done thanks to this tutorial that is floating around the internet.

The kids are so excited about them. But the best part about them is they stack together! Man I hate those pumpkin buckets! But I used two of our old Easter buckets so we are going to have eat some ice cream before Easter :)

Darth Vader

If you are wondering what croup sounds like....

Pretty much a baby version of Darth Vader:

And it takes forever to go away!

Fickle

Munchkin found Thumbelina's old ballet outfits and decided she wanted to be a ballerina for Halloween. So we found the shoes, and tried everything on to make sure it would fit. Then she proceeded to wear it all day long.

Then she saw me making Squirt's costume and decided she didn't want to be a ballerina after all. She wants to be the same thing as Squirt. Luckily she already has half the outfit so I only had to make parts of it. She would have made a cute ballerina but she also would have been a popsicle by the end of the night.

Sweet Squirt

Not only is she a double thumbsucker, but she has incorporated her feet into her sucking rotation.

Growing Up

The morning of picture day at school is full of instructions.

*Smile good. Not a cheesy smile, a normal one.
*Please don't get dirty before your pictures.
*Don't mess up your hair before pictures.

Aside from Thumbelina looking slightly terrified, I think they turned out well.

I can't believe I have kids this old!