We have been quite busy here the last week or two. I've taken quite a few pictures but haven't taken the time to upload them because my external hard drive has been acting up. It still isn't working right but I wanted to update.
Last Saturday night I let the kids have a movie night out on the couch. They were all out cold by 11 pm (which is unusual for them). I assume it had something to do with being up at 6 am to go do Making Strides! I still giggle when they sleep on the couch because of the positions they all end up in. I cannot fathom how on Earth Caleb was comfortable.
My kids love to have picnics. I thought it was kind of funny last Sunday when they decided they were going to have one out back. It wasn't too warm but by heck, they were having a picnic!
B has turned into a phone hog. She loves talking to her dad when he calls while he's gone. She gets rather fiesty about handing the phone back over too. I put it on speaker so I can hear what he's saying to her and know whether or not she's hung up on him. She has a fascination with the buttons and constantly pushes them so that his picture shows up so she can see & hear him.
This baby girl is turning out more like her older siblings every day. She sleeps with many stuffed animals like Caleb and she now has quite the grip on her book(s) after she falls asleep like all three of her older siblings!
She has started back in with this old trick again. Not happy.
This past Thursday we went out to my in law's house. We had a hot dog roast, a birthday party for me & my nephew & then went to the Pumpkin Walk. We managed to get a photo of all 10 grandkids and not one of them is crying! A miracle I tell you!
B sure liked Jaxton.
It was pretty chilly at the Pumpkin Walk. I was glad I had packed a blanket, hats, and gloves! I was really happy that the hat my mom made B last Christmas still fits too!
Since I had my Aunt Nikki's younger three kids with me I had to keep track of 7 kids! Holy cow! Good thing for me they paired up and stayed together well!
The display that Relay for Life did. I picked up the pumpkins but wasn't able to help decorate & set up since I had extra kids.
On Friday Caleb had his turn at allergy testing. I figured he'd be at least as bad as Sam was but probably more like Nash. Nope. He had a slight reaction to Birch & a slight reaction to Box Elder. The only other things he reacted to were foods. We ended up doing the extended food panel & he reacted to more foods. Turns out he has allergies to lots of foods. Not sure what we're going to do to treat since they don't usually do allergy shots for food allergies.
After we had his allergy test done, we went over to the ENT's office to talk with him about the results and have his post op (from his ears). We didn't see the ENT we usually do because he was out of town. I wasn't impressed and was reminded why we see the ENT that we do. Turns out Caleb's right tube was clogged and we had to have it unclogged. Why am I not surprised? Oh yea, that's what happened the first time the kid had tubes! So, we have different drops & another appointment for Monday afternoon. Good times.
And here's a little proof to show that I'm still on strike. My bathroom looked like this when I went to bed & when I woke up this morning. I told the kids that the cleaning fairy hadn't showed up during the night & that if they wanted to be able to get into their bathroom they would have to clean it up. It's been picked up some, but it's still making me twitch. :)
Travis was able to come home on Saturday ( a day early). Halliburton is going back to Tuesday starts so he doesn't have to leave to go back to work until Monday night. Glad he gets two extra days at home but sad that he won't be coming home until late Monday night after this time off. Oh well, we've done it before and we'll apparently do it again. It sounds like Sam or I will be going to see Dracula (by the Civic Ballet) at the Ellen Eccles Theater with Travis while he's home - homework assignment to see a play. That should be fun. I think we'll let the kids carve pumpkins too. It's too hard for me to man four kids, knives & pumpkins as the only adult!
Sam dances at a corn maze this next Saturday. She gets to dance in her Halloween costume. Should be fun. I still need to find some white tights for her Alice in Wonderland costume though! Speaking of costumes, Nash's is about half way done. I should be able to mostly finish it tonight and start mine tomorrow (hopefully).
My parents came home from their cruise late last night. They brought the kids some salt water taffy from Maine and I got some more tooth pick holders for my collection. I also got some fuzzy warm "pig socks" with moose on them. It sounds like they had a good time. I wish I could have gone (at least to Boston to see all the historical sites that coincide with the book series I'm reading). Maybe someday!
We've been trying to refinance our house for the last three years and we've finally been able to do it! We were able to lock in an interest rate of 3.6% (down from 6.125%). We were able to combine our mortgage & our home equity loan into one loan and the new rate/loan will lower our payment by about $230/month. That will be a nice change!
The weather is getting colder and the leaves are falling faster. I mowed the lawn the other day to get all the leaves picked up and the next day the wind blew so my yard was covered in them again! I think it's time to start the fall baking again...yep, in all my spare time!
