59-2011

Elijah, sanding Ella’s rocking chair.

 

He had a bit of an audience.

 

I bought this little rocking chair at a garage sale last year for $5. It had these strange black markings painted on it, which I’ve wanted to repaint ever since. Well, I finally decided to do it! Elijah, loves to help out with tools- so I had him sand it down for me.

 

Today, was also Scott’s first day on days! (Did I use the word “day” enough in that sentence?) It was so nice to have him home for dinner. It felt strange too. Like it must be a holiday or something.

After dinner, Keona got out some chocolate that she had won at the shower on the weekend. Jeddy, stole a piece when she was looking the other way. Then, while she was trying to get that piece back from Jeddy- Elijah, reached over and stole a piece. So while she tried to grab it back from him- Jeddy, stole another one.

While we all sat around and laughed at her… 

 

Lesson here: You don’t want to sit in-between your little brothers at meal time.

58-2011

Ella and her friend, very serious about their drawings in the nursery.

This class, is my favourite part of the day. They are such an amazing group of toddlers! :) We sing, I tell stories, they bake me pretend birthday cakes, and draw me beautiful pictures. We definitely have the “funnest” class! :)

Running with Sharp Objects

If you are squeamish, you may just want to click the little red “x” in the top right corner, and skip this post…

Remember way back in kindergarten, when your teachers made up cute little rhymes to teach you not to run with sharp objects, and to carry your scissors properly etc.

 

Well, I’ve taught all those things to my kids too.

 

Problem is, my boys chew on their pencils (I don’t know why) and so when one of them is sitting at the table with a pencil in his mouth chewing on it, and the other one scares him into running away…

 

He may just take two steps away from his chair, and then fall flat onto said pencil.

He put a pretty nasty hole into the back of his mouth.

This picture was about 15 minutes after the fall- once the bleeding had stopped.

Thankfully, it was the eraser-end in his mouth. Had it been the other end- I have a feeling we would have been making a trip to the ER.

 

Maybe he’ll stop chewing on his pencils now?

57-2011

What a day! This morning, I got to pick my Mom up, with all my girls, and go to Nadine’s baby shower! That baby, (I can say “baby” now!) is going to need several dressers and her own walk in closet! Only a few more days until I get to be an aunt! :)

 

Then, we headed over to our church’s ladies’ meeting. Where the girls all continued to eat, after they had already eaten a TON at the baby shower. We heard a great message, that was a huge blessing to me and played some fun games. Keona won a box of chocolates. I may have to steal a few while she’s sleeping…

 

Then, like every loyal Canadian during “roll-up-the-rim” season- we had to stop at Tim Horton’s before getting on the highway. Eve, is 2 for two! Both wins were donuts. The rest of the kids and I, are pretty jealous… :P

 

Oh, and according to Elijah, while the girls were out, all the boys did was “play video games and eat.”

That sounds about right… ha!

56-2011

This has got to be the earliest that we’ve gone to bed on a weekend in… over 4 years!

With Scott working 4pm (or earlier) til 2am, it isn’t easy for him to fall asleep at a normal time. So, I always stay up with him. Or try…

But next week, my hubby is going back on day shift for the time being. :)

I have forgotten what it’s like to have him home for dinner- we are all very excited!

 

This was the best I could do for a picture today, being that I spent the entire day in the kitchen. Baking cheesecake, making sandwiches for a baby shower, supervising Keona baking cookies, and Prayer making a cheese ball, keeping Jeddy away from trying to taste test everything!  Then this evening, we had Nadine and John over for dinner and Dr. Mario. Ha!

  Ahhh… can’t wait for the weekend!

55-2011

Our busy day…

 

I’ve been working on not rushing. As in, the world will not come to an end if we don’t fit in our spelling lesson, if dinner is an hour late, if I have laundry piled up, and the floors all need to be mopped…. So, why ruin everyone’s day over such a miniscule thing, right? Apparently, that all slipped my mind today. I rushed to get chores done, rushed through school work, rushed from music lesson to music lesson, and store to store- and you know what, it made for a pretty crummy day. For both myself, and my kids. Ugh… Thankfully, children are forgiving and I have the opportunity to start fresh tomorrow.

Once apologies were made, and everyone was in bed, it was time for some tea and a book.

54-2011

My crazy girl, who runs around following her big brothers with a light saber in hand.

Who potty-trained pretty much over night.

Who changes her outfit several times every day.

Who insists on wearing some sort of jewellery at all times.

Who asks me to do her hair and doesn’t even flinch when I french braid it.

Who always finishes the last sip of my tea.

Who watches me do my makeup, asks for some lip gloss, then puckers her lips and says, “Thanks, Mom.”

Who cuddles with Dad every chance she gets.

Who colours every morning while we do school, and writes her own name- though her L’s are always upside down.

Who says she “loves kisses” but always wipes them off.

Who asks me, “Mom, you want to take my pictures like this!?” as she gives me her best smile.

But makes all the silliest faces when I actually pull out the camera.

Who sings to herself and loves reading books.

 

My Arabella, isn’t a baby anymore…

53-2011

I think there’s a fridge under there. Somewhere…

 

I started following this art blog on the weekend. It’s full of all sorts of different inspiring art lessons for kids. Today, we decided to try out Laurel Burch-inspired, abstract cats. The kids had a great time using the pastels I bought several months ago. Even the boys, who aren’t usually interested in art projects- got right into it. They both did two cats, and Elijah was upset tonight when I told him that he couldn’t pull out all the art stuff again to do a third! Ella was quite disappointed that we had all this fun without her when she woke up from nap, so she did one as well. :)

 

Love this blog, and I’m looking forward to some inspiration for new art ideas each week!

Family Day

 

Photo booth style…

52-2011

 

Ella and “her boys” - as she calls them.

I finally got around to doing a few of the many pictures that I had planned to take this weekend. I’ll share a few of the rest of the kids tomorrow. But seriously, check out that camera ham!  Even Elijah cooperated for me.

If only they were as calm in real life, as they look in this picture. In reality, Ella was closing her eyes and sticking her tongue out for every picture. While Jeddy, was going bug-eyed and pouting.  I managed to grab one or two, while they were all listening to me talk about crazy things to try and get their attention. Such as, “Imagine having a bath in jello!?”

It made them stop and think for a split second anyhow…

After the pictures, the kids headed downstairs and had wrestling matches in the livingroom. It always scares me to watch them fight. I know that it’s all in fun, but reality is- someone ALWAYS gets hurt.

Jeddy calls out, “Last one to cry wins!”

Thankfully, no one ended up in tears. It was all good fun.

So, Scott and I played Scrabble, the big kids wrestled, and Ella sat in a laundry basket with her baby pretending that it was a boat.

Family Day is the best…

51-2011

This, is exactly what I wanted to do when we got home from church. Sunday, is such a long day for us. Especially when Ella doesn’t nap and there is a baby shower after church! Chasing a deliriously-tired 2 year old around for an hour, will make anyone want their bed. But instead of coming home and sleeping, Scott and I stayed up and played Dr. Mario. Is it strange that instead of counting sheep, I fall asleep playing Dr.Mario in my head? Maybe we need to take a break from that game…

 

P.S. I’m loving the newsprint look of my cranked ISO along with PW’s black & white action. I’m trying to find “my style” in photography, and preferences in editing. So, I’ve been experimenting. Grainy, black & whites are definitely a fave.

Friday Morning with dad

I wonder where Ella gets the faces from?…

Push him off! :)

50-2011

The girls, telling Anne a story.

 

Our girls’ loud voices, and their need to talk constantly- definitely comes in handy at the seniors’ home. The old ladies’ adore them. Anne, (a 94 year old lady from Rome) just listened to story after story. On our way out, she thanked me for bringing the kids, and said that they were the best company she’s had in a while.

Ella, started asking for Ernie as soon as we got there. He came in smiling with a handful of candy for the kids. He knows how to quickly become their favourite!

Another lady named Theresa, sat in the front quoting all of the verses Scott read during his sermon. She gave all of the girls big hugs before she left.

I’m so thankful that we had the opportunity to start serving in this ministry. It’s something that our whole family looks forward to each month.

49-2011

While Scott was helping me serve dinner on Friday night he said, “Wow, I feel like a caterer or something.”

 

Welcome to my world, honey.

 

Keona, signed up to bake chocolate chip cookies for a baby shower this weekend. I sat in the livingroom and played Dr. Mario with Scott, while she used my recipe book, mixer, and oven. They are the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve had in a long time. I could definitely get used to her baking.

The best part- she cleaned the kitchen! ;)

 

I think I’ll teach her how to make cheesecake on Monday…

48-2011

I’m promising myself, to get a bit more creative with the photography over the weekend. I’m going to take advantage of our 4 days off and plan some shots of the kids.

 

Today, was spent sleeping in, and then running from lesson to lesson. Eve needs a new violin, Prayer’s glasses broke, Keona needs new piano books… one of those days.

 

On another note, I’m halfway through “One Thousand Gifts” by Ann Voskamp and I thought I’d share a little excerpt from the book that rang true to me today…

 

“Is that why I escape motherhood at the dinner hour, because I can’t see the glory there, here, right in the moment? Still? And the slowing for the hunt, looking for even one thousand more gifts, sanctuaries in moments, seeking the fullest life that births out of the darkest emptiness, all the miracle of eucharisteo. Yes- maybe that woman-child. The one who lives her life in circles, discovering, entering into, forgetting and losing, finding her way around again, living her life in layers- deeper, round, further in. I know eucharisteo and the miracle. But I am not a woman who ever lives the full knowing. I am a wandering Israelite who sees the flame in the sky above, the pillar, the smoke from the mountain, the earth open up and give way, and still I forget. I am beset by chronic soul amnesia. I empty of truth and need the refilling. I need come again every day- bend, clutch, and remember- for who can gather the manna but once, hoarding, and store away sustenance in the mind for all of the living?”

47-2011

Today, was spent doing tests with the kids and then adding up scores from the entire semester. The lowest average was 92.7%. I’m pretty proud of my kiddos! Prayer, had the highest average and has won the trip to the CN Tower- we’re just waiting for some nicer weather to plan it!

 

I would love to ramble on more, about something interesting or exciting, but really- after a day of watching kids do tests, marking tests, and then filling out report cards… my brain is pretty much done. :)

Family picture Link

46-2011

  Uncle Robbie, pretending to give Jed a chance at arm wrestling…

 

As of today, I can still beat my little brother at an arm wrestler. I figure that I want to get it down in writing, cause any day now- I’m not going to be able to beat him anymore. It was a close one.

 

Notice the chocolate all over Jeddy’s face? I waited until the day after Valentine’s Day to go and buy all the kids some chocolates. We may have eaten dessert, before dinner tonight…

 

Speaking of dinner…

While I was cooking tonight, Jeddy was in the kitchen with me- as per usual. He started talking about how much he loved broccoli and the conversation went like this.

Jeddy: When I grow up, if I eat all my broccoli, I’ll be big like Dad. And I’ll have big muscles like Dad. I hope I can have hair like Dad, and do it like Dad’s when he goes to work. And have no hair in the front- like Dad does. I hope…

 

I have a feeling that a few years from now, he may decide that he wants to keep his “hair in the front”…

haha

45-2011

School time

 

He decided to read his new book for school today. On the couch. Upside down.

That can’t be comfortable.

Hey, atleast he’s reading!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

44-2011

This, after 2 minutes in the van.

And he didn’t want to take a nap…

43-2011

He still makes me laugh til I cry

 

Today, we dropped the kids off at my mom’s place and went “thrifting.” We went to the first store, looking for jean skirts and instead, we left with a bag full of books. We found a full collection on Jane Austin books, for $3.99! Not to mention a 9 volume set of Children’s stories- from the 1950’s- for $8.00! Gotta love thrift stores.

 

Once we finally found the jean skirts (3 stores later) and stopped at a Starbucks, we headed to a couples’ date night. Neither of us, had ever played “Guesstures” before.

It was hilarious.

I would try to tell about it- but really, you had to be there.

While Scott was acting, we were guessing, “Beaver!?”

Apparently, his word was “stake” and he was attempting to look like a vampire…

That, and his mom acting out “sumo wrestler” were definitely the highlights of my night!

“Don't marry the person you think you can live with; marry only the individual you think you can't live without.”

  ~James C. Dobson

42-2011

There’s my boys…

 

This morning, Scott and I were listening to Ella play “monsters” with the boys. A game, kinda like tag, but you pretend to die if the “monster” catches you. However, Jeddy didn’t want to fake-die, so he decided to scratch Ella’s face instead. Not hard enough to leave a mark- just enough to make her cry. We then listened, as he tried to convince her to scratch his eye back, rather than go and tell. So she did. Then Elijah chimes in, “But you closed your eyes first, Jeddy. Ella, didn’t you have your eyes open? Did he scratch your eyeball?”

Trying to convince his little brother, to let his little sister, scratch him in the eye with his eyes open??

I was laughing hysterically at the “kid justice” going on- Scott didn’t get why I found it so funny.

Savages, I tell ya…

Apparently, Ella was satisfied with the scratch over closed eyes, and they all went back to roaring and growling, while they chased eachother around the house.

She is going to be such a tomboy.

41-2011

Early this morning, my husband crawled into bed beside me, and wrapped his hardworking arms around my waist. I snuggled back into his familiar embrace, as he kissed my shoulder and whispered, “I got you something. It’s on the counter.”

 

I love his special “I was thinking of you” gifts.

His “just because” gifts.

The ones that I didn’t do anything to merit.

They aren’t trying to buy my forgiveness, or get something in return.

They aren’t big, or expensive; they are thoughtful.

 

They are, just because he loves me.

40-2011

Ella with her new hat…

 

Her new hat that she didn’t want to wear- until Eve claimed it.

Then, all of a sudden, she wanted it back.

And… she wore it all day.

Funny how that works, eh?

 

If you ask this little 2 and three-quarter year old, what she wants for her birthday, I can guarantee she will say,

“I want holes!”

“Holes” as in earrings.

She is obsessed!

I was planning to take her to Build-A-Bear, but it looks like she has other plans!

Good Healthy Competition

Last Friday, we had my little brother Robbie sleepover for the night. Scott, picked him up at school and they stopped at The Superstore on the way home. I had made a grocery list for Scott, and at the bottom, I put “Yellow cardigan ;)”

I told him that it was only $15, and I have been looking for a yellow sweater for over a year now to match a skirt that I bought on clearance. When he got home, he handed me a bag and said, “This was all I could find. If it isn’t what you wanted You can exchange it.” He bought a mustard yellow, off-the-shoulder shirt.

“But, there was a huge display right at the front of the store… How did you miss it???” I questioned.

He claimed that there was NOT a $15 display, and the was the only yellow shirt in the place.

I refrained from saying “I told you so”… :P

The girls, think that Scott and Robbie bought the wrong shirt on purpose.

 

While I was at the Superstore exchanging the shirt, Prayer and I saw these adorable popcorn bags. We figured they’d be perfect for movie night!

Charity, took a picture of Scott and I while we were making popcorn together.

We forgot she still had the camera, and started goofing around…

She felt the need to take a picture and then laugh hysterically.

She is my daughter…

Do I seriously make that face???

I don’t even remember what was going on…

 

We play-fight at our house.

Alot.

Usually, I tell Scott that ‘I can take him…’

Which was true- 11 years and 50lbs ago.

(50lbs for him- not me. I’ve only put on like, 49… and in all fairness, he was a twig. Those 50lbs, are solid muscle. Well, mostly anyhow…:)

 

But I still try.

Did I ever tell the story of when he threw a potato at my head?

Today, I got a piece of cantaloupe in the cheek.

But then, I beat him at Dr. Mario- so it’s all good.

 

Just to show the healthy competitiveness carrying over into the next generation- here’s Ella, with her tea for keeping her pull-up dry for five nights in a row, telling Jeddy, “You should keep your pull-up dry. Then, you can have tea and cookies like me!”

He looks like Scott after I beat him at a video game.

 

P.S. I love you, hunny! ;)

39-2011

Keona vs. Mom

I played checkers today, for the first time since I was… 12?

She creamed me.

Then, I remembered how to play.

She didn’t do quite so well the second time.

We already have a rematch scheduled for tomorrow! :)

38-2011

Ella, decided to do a little jig…

 

I made a spur of the moment decision, to take the kids out and do our annual Valentine’s Day picture. Plus, this can double as my February pic of all seven kids. Well, not this exact picture but you get the idea. I’m saving the final one for our Valentine’s Day cards.

It was zero degrees, there were huge, slow-falling snowflakes… the weather was ideal.

So, out we went!

I love pictures that show personality.

Though Ella’s true colours are definitely showing through here, that is not my Jeddy at all in the back!

He’s totally being himself in the picture I chose to use! :)

 

Last year, we gave 4x6 cards to grandparents, and then I printed off a bunch of wallet-sized ones for the kids to give to their friends. I’m thinking that we’ll have to get a bit more creative this year, and maybe tie them to a bag of candy or something?…

Keeping my eye out for good ideas this week!

37-2011

I was sitting with Ella, while they were showing a movie at church and she was getting rather antsy. I pulled out my paper and pen, and handed them to her. She asked me to draw Dad. Then, she asked me to draw Ella. But apparently, she didn’t need any help drawing me….

 

Yep, that’s me- with the evil eye.

She showed the paper to Scott and said, “Look that’s Mom!”

To which he replied, “I could tell! It looks just like her!”

36-2011

Keona, at a tae kwon do birthday party!

 

The instructor told her that she was fast and had a very good kick. I said that it must be from all the practicing she does on her sisters…

 

She had a fabulous time, and learned how to take people down in the process.

 

I drove up Yonge St. (which was dumb. Really dumb.) to get a Chai tea latte during the party.

Yum.

For years, I told Scott that it was ridiculous to pay $4.00 for a coffee at Starbucks, when he could get one for $1.50 at Tim Hortons. I take it all back! I sat there reading my new book, while I sipped on my Starbucks, for a good hour.

Then we drove home in the snow and hail.

 

While we were driving, Keona asked me if we could go downtown for her birthday and visit the museum and shop at The Eaton Centre.

My answer?

YES!

I have been waiting for the day when one of my daughters would ask me to take her downtown shopping!

We’ll take the subway, eat lunch at Green Jeans, and window-shop til we drop! ;)

The museum is good too…

35-2011

A morning without coffee, is like sleep. 

~Author Unknown

I don’t actually drink coffee. Though, I do like the smell.

Apparently, it attracted Jeddy to the kitchen as well.

Although, he pretty much lives in the kitchen…

I have no idea why he decided to climb up on the counter and lay down in front of the coffee pot this morning- but he did- and Scott saw a picture opportunity.

So he said, “Jac, get a picture of that!”

And I did.

End of story.

Interesting, wasn’t it?

 

My little cooking buddy, has decided that he wants to learn how to read all of a sudden.

Today, he passed a whole page in his phonics book. (Which is a big deal for him!)

AND, he read the sentence, “The rat did kick the cat.”

All by himself!

We’re making progress. :)

 

P.S. I have no idea who made up the sentences for this phonics book, but they are a genius!

Four and five year olds, think they’re hilarious.

34-2011

Today, was test day…

And apparently, if you rest your head in your hand – like so- it helps you think better.

 

Last night, was one of those nights. One of those nights where I decided to let my kids stay up and eat candy. Then, I paid for it when my 2 year old woke up in the middle of the night throwing it up. Not to mention that I’m dumb, and I stayed up waaaay too late working on the computer. Although this morning, Charity told me that Ella woke up two more times during the night, and threw up in her bowl. Charity said that she just cleaned out her bowl and brought it back to her cause she didn’t want to wake me up.

How can they go from being so sweet and thoughtful- to duking it out in the livingroom first thing in the morning???

 

On another note, I decided that the grocery shopping could not wait until tomorrow and took all the kids to Superstore with me after violin lessons this afternoon. Things were going great until we got to the final section, and Elijah looked at me all pale-faced and told me that he felt like he was going to be sick… (This is why I don’t usually like to take all 7 kids grocery shopping by myself! ha) Keona rushed him to the washroom, while I sped through self-checkout with visions of my son throwing up on the way out of the grocery store… Only to find out that he now felt “fine.”

In his words, he was “probably just hungry.”

Seeing as we were a whole 30 minutes late for lunch…

 

I had brought my camera along, thinking that I’d take a picture of all the kids with the cart while we were shopping- but the whole sick-thing threw off my plans.

 

Oh, and the entire time that we were out- all day today- Ella was in big girl panties!

Not even a pull-up!

Jeddy has made it a contest now to see who can stay dry for the most nights in a row…

Go, Ella!

hehe :)

33-2011

“Snowflakes are one of nature’s most fragile things, but just look what they do when they stick together.”
- Verna M. Kelly

The kids did not get a snow day today, however, they did spend quite a bit of time outside playing in all that white stuff. I ran out just long enough to snap this picture. As I watched the girls playing together from the warmth of my kitchen window, I mentioned to Scott, “It must be so amazing to be triplets.” They really do have built-in bestfriends for everything they do. Plus, they have the big sister to boss them around come up with good ideas and help co-ordinate everything. Just then, Elijah ran over to the snow fort they were building and jumped on it.

Back to reality…

They chased him down and dumped shovels full of snow on his head.

He deserved it- so I didn’t interfere…

Jeddy, opted to come inside and have a snack with me.

I told him that I was full and he could have the rest- at which point he declared, “I’m NEVER full!”

 We know…

Don’t feed the Geese…

On our way to Lynde Shores today, Jeddy kept talking about how glad he was that there wouldn’t be any geese around “cause it’s too cold.” Wasn’t he in for a surprise. There were geese everywhere! Ella, wasn’t bothered by them at all. In fact, she was chasing the geese!

Problem is, they are right at eye-level for her. I kept telling her to leave them alone because I was afraid that they would nip at her.

But no, she continued to feed the geese all of her peanuts. Right after this picture, the geese grabbed the bag and started ripping it open.

Here she is, telling me that the geese just bit her on the forehead! She doesn’t seem too phased by it, does she?

She must have two big brothers…

Even after being bitten, she kept on feeding and petting them.

Jeddy on the other hand, was petrified. Ha! While all the other kids were having fun feeding the birds…

…Jed, was hiding behind me holding onto my skirt.

The girls waiting…

Here we go!

Keona, had them lining up for her!

  

Every time that Jeddy tried to hold his hand up, he would drop all of his seeds! Prayer came to his rescue and helped him hold his hand up straight.

He “got thwee birds!”

  

(Yes, Elijah is wearing my scarf. He couldn’t find his…)

Not one of them complained that they were cold. I was wearing Scott’s gloves, on top of my gloves, and my hands were numb!

 

One last shot of the woodpecker, cause it was about 12 inches away from my camera here.

Now the kids are looking forward to the 30-40cm of snow we’re supposed to get tonight.

Keona asked if we could have a snow day tomorrow.

I told her, “Sorry! The downside of homeschooling- no snow days!”

 

Though I probably will shorten the lessons so they have lots of time to play outside… :)

I think…

…that I may have burnt the corn.

 

This is what happens when I try to play a game with the kids, while I’m making dinner.

 

Though, the smell of burnt corn, wasn’t nearly as bad as when Jeddy put his bagel in the microwave for 30 minutes…