kk's 10 year celebration

kk has become like family to us! our kids have been going there for almost 6 years! :) they celebrated there 10 year anniversary with a family party . . . face painting, balloon making, bbq, bouncy house, and lots of fun! :) the girls had a great time . . . ken loved checking out her "old stomping ground", mck loved showing us the things she likes to play at school and seeing her friends, and kam thought she was super cool hanging out where her big sister goes! :) b.c. was content to hang out in his carrier sporting his "i am NOT a girl" hat! :) what a great saturday! :) we are so lucky to have such a wonderful place to send our kids! :)

first spelling test

ken insisted on wearing this shirt to school on friday . . . in honor of her first spelling test! :) yes, she is a dork just like me! :) i love every bit of her nerdiness! :)

is it sad that i was sooooo excited to see her spelling list come home? sadder that i was excited to give her a practice test at home? :)

she did great on her first test . . . "100"! :) go ken!

bye, bye baby girl!

ken rode the bus this morning. i was so flustered i only managed to get one shot of her. she sure looked tiny walking up those stairs. she was totally excited . . . so happy she finally got to ride the bus! i can't take all this growing up!

back to school

we started off our way to early morning with donuts, lucky charms, and cookie crisp! (yep! nothing like several cups of pure sugar to get you going!) we had some shoe issues . . . ken's sparkly silver shoes didn't fit, then she realized i wasn't going to the store to get her other ones, so she wore them because none of the other ones matched . . . and mck's sparkly silver shoes fit fine the night before, but were a source of about 10 meltdowns in 5 minutes, so she was forced to pick another pair . . . but other than shoe issues, the way-to-early morning went well . . . the girls grabbed their backpacks and gathered their treats from the "backpack fairy" . . . books and back-to-school p.j.'s! :) (ken was disappointed when she realized there wasn't a backpack fairy when i signed the notes "the backpack fairy"/mom" . . .) we started piling into the car and realized we forgot to take pictures! so everyone got out of the car and headed to the front door for their picture session. i am proud to say we were all in the car and pulling out of the driveway at 7:20 . . . did i mention that ALL of us were dressed? yes, all 4 kids were dressed . . . i even had a shower! :) i felt like a champ! :) (then, driving to ken's school i realized that 7:20 is the latest we would even need to leave the house . . . we have to head to the bus at 7 . . . but i tried not to dwell on that for too long! :)

ken heads to first grade!
ken was so excited this morning! she popped right out of bed and got dressed! she wasn't nervous at all . . . a new school where she knows only one kid . . . you'd think she would have been a LITTLE nervous . . . she didn't get that from me! :)
she let us (all 5 of us!) drive her to school and walk her to class only because i convinced her that everyone else's mom would be walking them to class . . . okay, i lied a little, but I needed to walk her! :) she posed for a few pictures, hung up her bag and took her seat to start on her work. she didn't even turn around to get a last look at us before we left . . . yes, i teared up again this year, but i didn't cry!
she had a great day . . . the highlight begin a scavenger hunt for corduroy! she was chatty, new lot of new friends, and was really happy! :) we can hardly wait to see the amazing ways ken grows this year!


mck heads to pre-k!
after dropping ken off kid's kottage was our next stop . . . they are like family there! mck has the same teacher as last year (a family friend!) and was feeling really cool because she remembers when ken was in pre-k! she got to see all of her old friends and old teachers . . . but bless her heart, little mck teared up a little. (and to be totally honest it was kind of nice to know that someone was goign to miss me!) mck headed out on the playground with to catch up with her friends and we headed home. holy crow, the car was quiet . . . we lost half of our "bunch"!mck had a wonderful day too. the highlight for her was paint stamping with a strawberry (she liked that they got to eat half first!) we know this will be a great year for mck! :)


kam and b.c. head home!
kam was looking forward to some mommy time! we enjoyed some quiet time watching . . . of all things, DORA (i swear, she is an addict!). we had lunch together at the kiddie picnic table . . . she always insist i sit at this little table with her, so that was a treat! then we made cupcakes for the girls. kam loved being able to surprise them when they got home! there aren't any pics of b.c. because . . . well, because i was holding him pretty much all day . . . he decided not to take a break from being high maintenance! we're working on that! he enjoyed lots of mommy time while kam took a nap and even decided to sleep for 15 minutes and let me get a load of laundry done! :) we're looking forward to lots of quality time together . . . just mommy and the little kids! :)

summer evening at the splash park

we met our bffs for a picnic dinner (well, if mcd's and pei wei qualify as a picinic . . .) and let the kids run around in the splash park. in case you haven't heard, we are in a MAJOR drought situation here. no rain. period. and even if there is any rain it hasn't been enough to make a difference. well, wouldn't you know we get settled in at the splash park and see some pretty ominous looking skies behind us . . . only to be followed by thunder and lightning . . . so, our stay was short, but the kids still managed to have fun. mck enjoyed being a "bucket head" and playing in their usual mud hole! ken just ran around like crazy getting soaked! mck loved pouring water on herself! and little b.c. didn't get wet but enjoyed sporting his super cool swim suit (yes, i know he'll hate me for it later on, but it was too cute!). can't believe we have to start waking up at the crack of dawn in a day . . . the end of summer stinks. :(

my little puppeteers!

this was the BEST craft kit EVER! 5 martha stewart puppets . . . no glue or scissors required! ken and mck completed theirs on their own and kam only needed a little bit of help! one hour of fun for 3 little girls for $3! can't beat that! ken and mck even put on a puppet show from behind the couch when we were done! :)

i am one month old today!

hard to believe a month has already gone by. it has flown by . . . okay, the nights aren’t exactly flying by, but the days are! you have already changed in so many ways . . .you are less wrinkly and scrawny . . . more filled out! you are easier to calm now – or we’ve just figured out what works! you look right at us and are starting to follow objects. you smile . . . you listen to my voice, look at me, and smile! it melts my heart and makes me so happy! you love to listen to your sisters voices too! you are not affected at all by them screaming, fighting, yelling, or making any sort of loud noise . . .it’s like you knew what you were getting into! you are still eating every 2-3 hours, but we’re chalking it up to the fact that you’re working hard to grow! you are just starting to outgrow your newborn clothes and fill out your 0-3 month clothes. you fit right into our family. it is already impossible to imagine our family without you! we love you, little bentley cole bailey!

a wonderful wednesday!

We had a wonderful day on Wednesday! Bailey took the day off to spend with us . . . one last day full of fun before we start school next week! We got an early start and headed downtown to the big top candy shop . . . an old fashioned candy store. The kids were so surprised and LOVED picking out their candies from the bulk candy section! Bailey and the girls enjoyed checking out the bug candy too . . .crickets, scorpions, and ants . . . all ready to eat! Ewwww! We all shared a cherry limeade from their old fashioned soda fountain, got a box of candy cigarettes (ken’s comment was “it’s okay mom, I know smoking is really bad for you!”), and each of them chose a giant lollipop to save for home! It was great!


after we got our fill of sweets we headed to jo's - a great sandwich place. their fries are delicious too! :) then we walked over to the children's museum and played for 3 hours! the girls loved that both of us were there so they actually got to create things and explore! mck and ken even sat for a very lengthy story time . . . 30 minutes! :) ken loved that the slide was open . . . we tried to send mck down, but she was too short!
at around 4:30 we went to the car . . . only to find that the girls had left the lights on in the back (they were playing in the car while i was nursing!) and the battery was DEAD. nice. so we're in a parking garage with 4 worn out kids and a dead battery. thank goodness for a really nice guy who helped us out!
when we got home we filled up all the pools (despite the drought!) and made a picnic supper and hung out outside until 8! the girls dug in the dirt, put it in the pool, and then swam in it! lots of dirty fun!

daddy and dell

the girls, b.c., and i headed up to dell to meet bailey for lunch today. the girls were excited to see where he works and to get to see him in the middle of the day! :) i think bailey enjoyed showing them all off to his co-workers and his boss. ken thought his boss was "really cool"! they loved getting to play with toys and get candy from "daddy's friends"! :)

we enjoyed lunch out at jason's deli . . . eating out is a rare treat these days! seems that heading out with everyone is too expensive and WAY too much work. (never thought i would say eating at home is easier than eating out, but it is now!)

no, it's not just gas!

b.c. was in a great mood this afternoon and smiled at least 100 times . . . and yes, i truly believe he was smiling (not necessarily at me, but they were smiles!). he was content to hang out on his playmat for a good 30 minutes! :) i was just enjoying staring at him! :) look at all the smiles i captured! :)

"come see this cool thing, mom!"

i was holding b.c. and cleaning up in the house when i heard ken open the garage door and yell, "come see this cool thing, mom!".

thinking it was another one of their little outdoor treasures that she would show me, i headed outside . . .

hmmmm. here's what she shows me lying on the driveway. not exactly what i was picturing . . .

when you see this one with ken's foot next to it so you can see how big the thing is. (she's 6. the centipede is big!) this was in our front yard. nice, huh?

the scary thing is, i was disgusted, but all 3 girls thought it was pretty cool! :)

b.c. is 4 weeks old today!

wow. 4 weeks already. here's a picture of b.c. trying out his playmat. he really seems to like it . . . especially when ken, mck, and kam all lay around the mat and talk to him! :) he just takes it all in!

a weekend with the cousins

bailey's dad, sister, and her two boys came to meet b.c. and visit for the weekend. they all went out on the boat and hung out on lake g'town sat. morning. kam fell asleep while codger was holding her! the kids had a great time playing with each other! :)

painting . . . with REAL paint!

the girls got these disney canvases for christmas last year, but the fact that they came with REAL paint, as opposed to washable, was scaring me! well, i finally caved the other day and let the girls paint! they actually turned out pretty good! :) (notice kam and b.c. were sleeping when we did this!) :)

time with the kids

i have been a huge slacker! i had this great idea before kam was born to spend time with each of the kids - one on one each week by taking them to do something special . . . well, that lasted all of a few months. i have been wanting to start doing that again, but with b.c.'s birth, it seems like 4 kids and only 7 days in the week make it really tough . . . so, i devised an easy little plan . . . cooking with them!

dinner has to be made every night. the kids always want to help, but three little ones in the kitchen make dinner preparation painstaking at times . . . especially when b.c. picks that time to be fussy . . . so everyone now has a "night" that they help me cook!

ken helps mon, mck helps tues., bailey does dinner on wed. (this after i said i need at least one night off!), and kam helps on thurs.! they get to pick (from a couple of choices) what we're making and they get to pick what everyone has for dessert! they help set the table and do as much as they can to help get everything ready! it has been really fun! they actually want to know when their night is to help! :)

this great plan is allowing us the one-on-one time the kids and i both need without spending money . . . and we're getting something done that has to be done anyway! :) can't beat that.

rain and rice krispies!

we had planned to spend the afternoon at the park and getting an ica cream . . . but we got some welcome and unexpected rain! so, we decided to make rice krispy treats! the girls loved stuffing their mouths with the marshmallows!

b.c. poses . . . at least for a little while!

i'm having so much fun dressing b.c. everyday . . . must be the fact that i have certainly had my share of dressing up the girls . . . it's so funny to me that everything for girls looks sweet and babyish, but the boy stuff looks like a minature version of bailey's closet! i love it . . . okay, bailey doesn't have coordinating socks, but you get the idea! b.c. posed for a few pictures and then let me know he'd had enough! :)

dancing in the sprinklers!

with the drought situation we are able to water only once a week . . . this week, the girls took full advantage of the sprinklers! they all loved dancing in the water with their dresses on! :) b.c. enjoyed the time outside by snoozing! :)

daddy, take our picture!

the girls are all about having their pictures taken . . . they asked bailey to pick up the camera and started posing . . . i think they thought the shots with their feet would turn out like mollie's! :)

a real treat . . . lunch and play with the big cheese!

i surprised the kids with a lunchtime trip to chuck e. cheese today . . . another little "last hurrah" before school starts in less than 2 weeks! we met our bff's there and the kids had a wonderful time! pizza, coins, tickets, and soda . . . what more could a kid ask for? ken and mck are pretty independent there . . . they like being able to walk around and play games/rides all by themselves . . . and kam, well she totally has the concept down and would like to do everything herself . . . "mommy, i need MONEY!" she kept telling me! :) b.c. enjoyed his first trip to cec by sleeping for the first hour and a half, nursing, checking things out for a bit, and then letting us know he'd had enough by screaming as we packed up our stuff and headed to the car! :)