Catch-up

Things have been a little crazy around lately trying to get ready for school and getting back into a somewhat normal routine. Min’s kids were here this past week while she was busy getting her Kindergarten room all set up. It was fun for the kids to have a “play date” all week, but a bit hectic for me, hence the lack of blogging.

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Rewind to the previous weekend. Jason’s mom celebrated her 60th birthday on August 13th. Jason came up with the idea of sleeping over at her house that Thursday and getting to spend the entire day Friday with just her and us. The kids LOVED all the attention from Grandma. In a family with 36 grand kids and 2 more on the way attention like that is hard to come by. A few of the highlights with grandma were:

decorating sugar cookies (grandmas favorite)
coloring
swimming
and of course reading

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Somewhere in between Jaden came along with the Mia Maids to go rock climbing. I love that he looks forward to Wednesday nights and wants to go to mutual, but I think we will be having a talk about how he isn't 12 and that mutual really isn’t for kids under 12. Hopefully when he is 12 he will have the same enthusiasm to go.

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Poor Cloey got her fingers shut in the front door not just shut on her fingers then bounced off kind of shut, but door completely shut with her fingers in it kind of shut. It has been really really painful for her. The first couple days I had to give her Tylenol every few hours and you could really tell she was in a lot of pain. Her fingers were swollen up so big and had stuff oozing out from the fingernails. Once the fingernails lifted off and all the pressure under them was relived she felt so much better. For now she had completely lost one fingernail and the other is lifted off but still attached at the bottom. Poor girl.

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And last but not least…School has started. Jaden started 3rd grade and is already complaining that he is soo bored. We are only 4 days into the school year and I hope that attitude doesn’t last all year. Yesterday he told me that the teacher had some extra things for him to work on while the rest of the class was finishing their assignments and that she didn’t make him just read while he waited. She sounds like a teacher that will be perfect for him.

Macy started Kindergarten and is off to a great start. Her birthday just barley missed the cut off last year and she has been very anxiously waiting to go. I have my fingers crossed her excitement won’t wear off too soon.

What a sad thought that ½ of my kids are in school. I hope time slows down.

Duck Creek August 2008

This month my Grandpa Batt turned 84. To celebrate we headed up to Duck Creek for a little reunion with him my Aunt Kathy, her kids and all Grandpas great grand kids. Growing up I have been very privileged to know and have relationships with all my grandparents whom are all still alive with the exception of my Grandma Batt who passed away last fall. I even had the chance to know my great grandparents. My last great-grandma who we called Grandma Grape passed away a few years ago. Jaden was her very first Great Great Grandchild and the little town she lived in published in the local newspaper that she has become a great, great grandma when Jaden was born.

I have lots and lots of fond memories with each of my grandparents and great grandparents and I was really excited to meet grandpa at the cabin and let my kids build some memories with him. Although my kids were more excited about:

Riding dirt bikes and 4-wheelers
Taking walks
Shooting bow and arrows
Playing the Wii
Playing games with cousins
Exploring outdoors
Yummy dutch oven cooking
and eating lots of candy

I am glad they had the chance to get to know their Great Grandpa Batt a little better.

Shark Reef

Even though I feel so embarrassed about the bad rumor I spread about the $3.00 tickets I still wanted to share pictures from out trip to the Shark Reef. We met up with Leslie Terry and her kids for the tour. We thought it was pretty exciting and worth seeing at least once. I was amazed at how big the place was. I had imagined it to be much smaller. We were there for almost 2 hours and the time flew by. The kids could have stayed longer but I was a mean mom and made them leave. I do think the walkways could have been much wider but other than that I would give it a thumbs up.

My Favorite part was the Piranhas
Macy’s favorite part was petting the stingray
Troy’s liked the Octopus and Puffer fish
Cloey’s liked the jellyfish
and Rykers favorite part was getting to eat fish (goldfish that is).

Apology.

I am so so so SORRY to those of you who went to the SHARK REEF off the information that I had given you. The price is $6.00 for kids and $10.00 for adults Children under 4 are still free. I feel horrible spreading bad info. And shouldn’t have said anything until I had personally gotten that price. I am really sorry for any confusion that you may have had with your ticket agent and for putting you in a bad spot. Sorry, Sorry, Sorry.

$3.00 Mandaley Bay Shark Reef Tickets

Anytime tomorrow (Wednesday August 6th) between 10:00 am and 10:00 p.m. You can purchase tickets to the Shark Reef for $3.00 ages 4 and up. 4 and under are free. To get this price let them know you are with the Mommy-Poppins group. Just thought I would let you all know. Maybe I’ll see you there!

10 interesting things about me.

I don't think that I am that interesting, but I will try my best to come up with something you may not know about me.

I have been put out 3 times for surgery. Twice to remove a cyst under my tongue, and once to remove a cyst from my back that was the size of a chicken egg.

I constantly wash my hands at least 20 times a day probably more I have never really counted. I love my hands to feel fresh and clean. Needless to say we go though a lot of hand soap around here. I also keep hand sanitizer wipes in the car to wipe my kids hands and mine after we have been in a store.

I get really scared when sales people, or other strangers knock at my door. I totally panic. I won’t answer and I tell my kids to be really quite until they go away. I think I have my kids freaked out also.

I wouldn’t say that I have low self-esteem, but I always worry that I am not good enough. Not a good enough wife, mom, sister, friend, church leader, that I don’t look good enough, that my house isn’t clean enough. I just worry that I am failing or am going to fail.

I am so not racial. I don’t like racial jokes or comments. I don’t think they are funny. I am a firm believer that the world needs all kinds of people. I am grateful for the crazy looking guys that work at 7-eleven so that I can go there to buy a Slurpee. I am glad that there is someone happy to do that job.

This one is only recent but I love to watch the grocery store ads and get coupons. It is like a game for me. I like to shop all the sale items then look at how much I saved. I feel dumb for not doing that before.

I LOVE newborn babies. The newborn stage is my favorite stage. I love when they are so tiny. I wish my babies could have stayed that size forever. If they did I would have a dozen more.

Though I can’t hang with some of the Mohlers I love to stay up late and sleep in in the morning. Having kids kind of makes that impossible but that would be my sleeping preference if I had a choice.

My dream vacation would be to Prince Edward Island, Canada in the fall, and we would stay in our own little cottage. I also would love to do the Canada/New England cruise.

I love to sing. I sound horrible. I sing in the car, I sing while I am doing my chores, I sing to my kids, I sing to myself. I have always wished I had a singing voice.

10 things that would make my life sweeter

My sister-in-law Erin made a list of 10 things that would make her life sweeter for her 30th birthday. She tagged her readers to come up with their own lists even if it wasn’t their birthdays, so here goes mine.

In no particular order

I love to cook. Not that I am claiming to be a good cook, but cooking is something that I enjoy very much. I love cooking dinner for my hubby and kids, and enjoy cooking with my extended family any chance I get. Often when my family is getting together and I am in charge of a meal I borrow this from my mother-in-law. She is always so kind to let me borrow it but I am sure she would appreciate if I just got my own.

I have wanted one or two of these for quite a few years but have never broke down and bought them. Instead I store baked goodies in whatever odd shaped container they will fit in and sometimes several containers. It is one of those things that I would love but every time I pick them up at the store I think, “I better wait.”

One last thing in the kitchen department and then I promise to move on. Over the years with small children these have been disappearing. We are down to just a few of each. It would be a little less embarrassing when people come over if my drawer was stocked.

Speaking of my little kiddos. This was one of the favorite things we did last year. We have missed it soo much and would all love to have one again. I think it is definitely worth every penny.

When my birthday rolls around in April on the top of my list will be for my husband to transform my windows from boring to this. Although this picture is not exactly the way I want them you get the idea.

I have the perfect spot in my house picked out for this but they no longer make it. I can’t seem to find one used or even find one that looks a lot like it. I can’t even find another one that I like at all.

Since mine is getting snug and I don’t know what I was thinking getting one that was all fitted to by teenage body almost a decade ago. I would like a new one of these.

As for an item that is not going to happen because the one we have does the job and who cares anyway that it is 15 plus years old. I would love to have a brand new one of these if money was no issue.

Next year my babies will be going to kindergarten so I have been doing a lot of thinking about what I would like to do when all my kids are in school. This subject is all together very bittersweet for me. I am so sad that I am moving out of the baby stages but looking forward to being able to also do something for me. I have always wished that I had gone here and am excited to go in the next year or two. So I will add the tuition to my list.

And the last item on my list I would love for Jason to build me. I think this would look great in my upstairs hallway. It is the perfect spot for a kids computer a place for all the kid's books and coloring stuff.

So that’s my list. I do agree with Erin that if I never get any of these things I won't be any less happy. I couldn't really ask for anything more. I have a GREAT husband, Beautiful Happy Healthy kids, and am most blessed to know that I Am A Daughter of God. But sometimes it is fun to dream.