Oh Happy Day..

Definitely feeling the love from this Happy Day...

Beautiful sunny day, up and out the door with amazing ease this morning to get the big kids their sports physicals. Yep myself and 5 kids crowded into one tiny room so the Dr. could assembly line their physicals for the year. I always dread taking them but today things went off without a hitch. Always nice when you can check stuff like this off of your to-do list..

Although after hearing about Cross Country, Volleyball, Football, Baseball and Softball I am a bit weary just thinking about what I have gotten myself into. 3 kids in sports is quite the juggling act. Especially when 2 weeks out of the month Scott is gone working. But that's life..

I know Sports physicals aren't all that exciting . And it most certainly isn't the only reason for the Happy Dance. For fear of being jinxed yet again after a long long stretch of "your going to the board, oh wait no your not" I kept quiet about my Hubby's upcoming trip to the Army promotion board. And holy heck it worked, he went today!!!

He came home this afternoon with the good news of passing with max points,which will lead to a higher rank finally. Although I would be lying if I didn't say the extra money will be so nice. and while I am jumping out of my skin excited for him he is snoring on the couch. Mainly from studying all night but more so I am sure from just pure relief that it's finally behind him.

So so proud of him!

Oh and little ole me, with all my pent up energy waiting for the news from Scott.

Literally threw together this scrappy bathroom rug. It's just bits of random fabric with a layer of batting for a bit of cushy, backed with an Ikea dish towel, super simple. The downstairs bathroom is super plain and downright blah, so I am trying my hardest to be creative and liven it up. I am thinking maybe some chalkboard paint ha ha...But this is a good start right?...

I am off to get dinner on the table, it's taco night. W/crock pot shredded chicken..YUM...

It's been a good day, hoping the same for you!

What's in my phone?

I figured since I am always snapping quick pics of the kids and such with my cell phone. I would share a little of my adventures periodically....The quality is super lacking but you get the point....:)

Girl time, I love this photo mainly the way Sophie is staring at the camera!! Lucy is just a tad jealous of the new addition. But she makes sure to get her loves in any way she can like making me feel guilty with this sad puppy dog look.. :)

Just a bit of swing time for Shay from our Wednesday hang out time on base. He keeps me busy on those days. Between this and bathroom runs I can't tell you how many times we get in and out of the car those days.

Back to the Future.....We were at Knott's Berry Farm and as we left the kids noticed the Back to the Future Car..This thing was cool. It had everything I am guessing it was visiting from Universal studios. Wish I had my Nikon with me but the cell phone had to do.

The Tree is Trimmed

This year was hands off for me since the A's are old enough to be in charge. So I got to sit back and enjoy the show...They did a great job!!

Snow in the South

It's a rarity...And on top of that it's their first time seeing snow fall not to mention Shay's first experience with it all together. Other then the fact that we did not have the right wardrobe for it. They have been having a blast, hopefully there will be some left in the morning!!!

Easier then I expected

Well as most of us with multiple children do. I stressed over this year's Christmas Card picture......

Although it wasn't as creative and fancy as I would have preferred. I really needed to get these things ordered so I set out for a simple photo with all the kids looking at the Camera......And within 5 mins. I got it!!!!!!

Go Me.......




I ordered them through Vista Print, used them last year and everyone liked them so I did it again this year :)...30 cards with envelopes $15...Works for me!!

Costume parade

We had a great night!!! Although I wasn't sure it was going to go that way by the looks of Shay when he first put on his costume. But once he figured out what he could get with each "trick or treat" it was on!!!









No more pictures mom...Let's get a move on!!!

Sunday afternoon....

Thankfully we all stay up rather late on Saturdays so Sundays tend to be a slow start..Which usually consists of a few hours of lazing around the living room before the A's disperse outside and I find a few moments to be crafty or run after Shay, you know how it goes...

Sitting in my comfy chair I had one of those...Ahhhh this is family life moments and thought I would share my view :)

Just to my left....Shay tackling Ayden what you can't see is daddy sleeping next to them..I don't think he would like that too much...I don't know he catches a nap in this madness anyways...


Lucy thinking it's playtime. (what's new?)


Andrew doing his chores so he can sneak off and play. Yes I know my boys all need haircuts...Today is the day despite what they think...


On my right...Alexis concentrating hard on her video game.. Any minute Shay will be begging to steal it from her...


And oh I have to brag...A new hat... A slouchy crochet hat, isn't it cute..It was pretty quick and painless to create so I bet if you keep an eye out I will have a pattern posted quick...Maybe even later today :)....

Blogtoberfest day #2

Often I forget how cute my growing A's were when they were Shay's age. I know a lot of my posts gab about Shay but the older three are just as much my priority as he is..They just really have grown to dislike the camera....

Looking back I can't even believe I survived through 3 kids so close together at such a young age myself. But I did it!! And so far they are healthy strong smart kids getting ready for their teens..YAY ME!!!

Here are a few pics from their younger days...

School and 1 week down...

First day of school for the A's, three kiddos in three different schools. Thank goodness for the bus system I would never stop driving....And I can't even believe I have a 7th grader who will also be a teenager in less then a few months..Holy Cow...

And we officially have one week down on the 3 week "in the field" stint..It's inching by and I am bored as ever but I am a little more optimistic then I was a few days ago so I guess that's a good thing...Maybe this week will go a little faster then last...:)

Yay for Shay, and Mommy too!

The A's are home!!! Of course they are all hyped up and jumping around goingc razy but honestly with Scott being gone it makes me feel normal again.

And Shay well he is in heaven already running around hitting his brothers over the head with one of the toys they brought home...Go figure...

Andrew is excited Dad is in the field so he can catch up on the game he is playing, hoping to get up to where dad is in the game.

I am just so glad they are home safe and sound and I can sleep easier at night. Now time to start preparing for school on friday. I can't believe I have a 7th grader on my hands. I remember those days, I thought I knew it all. I am sooo in trouble lol..

My break from cleaning and going easy with dinners is over and I couldn't be happier.

A quiet house...

The A's are gone for 2 weeks...And I don't know what to do with myself..I don't have to clean every 10 minutes but Shay is all over me since he has no siblings to mess with. I guess he is just trying to make sure everything evens out :P...

As a full time mom you long for those moments of peace and quiet. The "alone" time. But when it comes it's impossible to enjoy. I worry about them of course and I wonder what they are doing and if they are enjoying themselves. I know it's good for them to get away and feel a little independent from mom. And yes it's nice to be able to sit back and not hear bickering or argueing all day but I miss those stinkers.

And of course now that I have more free time I find myself vegging on the couch trying to figure out what to do. BLAH...I want to do everything I can't or that it's hard to do while they are here but at the same time I just want to sit around and do nothing cause well that qualifies as one of the things I can't do while they are here lol...

We'll see how it goes...

It must be the heat...

Or my kids are just crazy, appparently I am starving them or something????

Last night at dinner we all had our nice size helpings each and fair as I could possibly portion. Cause Lord knows we can't have uneven amounts between the 3 A's it just isn't right...

So when it came time for seconds of course it was time for the battle to begin...They bargained and pleaded with us who should get what and why etc. Afterwards there were a few extra bites of cheese shells remaining in the pot..Scott who can never pass up a challenge between the A's decided to let Andrew and Alexis get to it as fast as they could whoever got to eat the 5 or 6 whole shells left...You would have thought it was GOLD...Without out thinking my wonderful daughter reaches into the pot with her hands and grabs the remaining shells...While Andrew wasted time with grabbing the spoon. Of course he was only halfway there before the shells were in her mouth..

Ok it was totally not dinner table behavior but we absolutely could not help but laughing...Mainly because usually Alexis is the blonde of the family who is slow on her feet but this time she redeemed herself in what was probably the most odd way possible but hey whatever works..I do have hope for my ditzy brunette yet...Go Alexis!!

But it still raises my eyebrow that they appear to be sooo starved...On the other hand maybe my cooking is just that good...:)

A's in action

Well the softball/baseball season is finally coming to an end...Next week/weekend should be the final week...I had a great time and I am so proud of the A's but I am so ready to have my weeknights back. Atleast until the next sports season lol.

What have I gotten myself into

So the A's started practice this week. Fun for them but one thing I said I would never do because my mom forever did it to me was, leave my kids alone to practice. So Yesterday we spent 3 hours at the fields for Andrew and Alexis and today Ayden has practice so another 1 1/2 hours they each have 3 practices a week and so far none of them have them at the same time "even though they have 4 fields" grrr..It's only a few months and they are doing so good I am so proud of them..I just hope I am able to keep up with this new demanding schedule. Dinner has become quite the obstacle.

A first for the A's

They shot guns with dad and grandpa...Nope I didn't go and had I not been deep in dreamland due to driving all night I would have been quite the nervous nelly. But thanks to deep sleep I only pondered nervousness for oh 20 seconds or so when Scott came in to tell me they were heading out to shoot guns...SHOOT WHAT???

They not only came out unscathed they had a blast and still haven't stopped talking about it...How does a cali girl end up with wilderness children..

Here is the gang!!

Makes me wonder

What school's these days are teaching my children.

Last night Andrew was making his specialty, deviled eggs or as we call them Angel eggs. In walks Ayden, and a silly but serious to them conversation ensued. Here is an excerpt.

Ayden: You had to go and kill them didn't you? They were good til you took the shell off.

Andrew: What the eggs? No they died when I boiled them.

Ayden: No Andrew they liked that, it was like a jacuzzi for them.


Huh, what???? These are the things that make me laugh and make me feel like a bad mom at the same time...As least I was able to set them straight on the whole egg debacle...And I got a good laugh out of it so that's always good. :P