The Cricket Chronicles

The me after kids

2012-02-17T15:05:00.000-05:00

I used to be a perfectionist. I used to be super organized. I used to label everything.

Then I became a parent and I learned that there just isn't always time to be those three things. There's nothing like becoming a parent to rock your organized, controlled, perfectionist world. Sometimes my perfectionism wants to come out and play but then it soon realizes that the play ground is not as accepting of her.

On our wedding day I had a timeline that was passed out to everyone involved in the wedding that had down to the minute exactly where and what everyone should be doing from that morning until that evening. It was quite extensive and detailed. Now having photographed so many weddings I look back at my old self and have to laugh. Being in control of each situation and knowing what the schedule was was super important to me. Now I find myself very comfortable without a schedule sometimes.. That way I don't have to deal with the let down of running "off" schedule and I'm much more spontaneous.

My closet is still color coordinated and my boys drawers have labels on them (well they did before we moved and I do need to print out new ones.) So I still have order in my life. But kids have well rounded me. I think they have a way of doing that. I would think someone who is very messy and unorganized would learn that they cannot live like that either. There has to be a happy medium.

And for me personally there's nothing like kids to point out your bad habits (those will be the ones they pick up one first.) God has a special way of making us better through our kids.

So those sweet little angels aren't just good for early morning snuggles, wet kisses and precious smiles to light up your day. They make you a better person and for me they bring me much closer to God on a daily basis. Even if I'm not sitting down doing a devotional and devoting a chunk of time to read the bible and pray.... I talk to Him all day and He does LIFE with me!

Handsome Dressing Dallas

2012-02-16T17:24:00.000-05:00

Dallas is very interested in how he looks. He always has his polo buttoned up with shirt tucked in and belt just right. His hair is always combed perfectly and everything nice and neat. I never have to worry about him getting dressed for school. When most boys aren't even sure if their shirt is inside out or backwards Dallas has a keen eye for fashion.

A few weeks ago he came home from church talking incessantly about another boy in his Sunday school class that was dressed so handsome that he just had to have the outfit. He asked the boy where he got it and he said I needed to go to handsomeboyclothes.com. Of course that website doesn't exist but today we went on a search online for exactly what he was looking for. I had seen a blue dress shirt and tie and bought it for him today at the store (his favorite color is blue so I thought I had hit the jack pot). But he was disappointed because the shirt wasn't black. I was then informed that he would need a black dress shirt, black tie, black pants and very nice black shoes. Never in my life did I think one of my boys would actually WANT to dress like this. When most mothers are bribing their children to get into something like this for a wedding or special occasion mine wants it for everyday. And everyday is exactly what he means. I asked him when he would wear something like this, to church? He replied very matter-of-factly , "Well... every day mom." I looked at him with a smile and gave him a big hug and said, "I love you so much Dallas. You are oh so special!"

The picture below got him so excited! He said, "That's it mom!!! Have them send it to us!!" Of course it's a boys Perris Ellis suit, my boy has good taste he does.

His wife is going to love his fashion sense. I know I do. When in doubt of an outfit I always ask Dallas and he's sure to tell me exactly what he thinks of it while Boston and Asher look at me like I have three heads.

I love my sweet, fashion forward Dallas!!

Happy Valentine's Day 2012

2012-02-14T08:20:00.000-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day from my crew to yours. Today Dallas is the only one that was well enough to get to go to school and party with all the other valentine's. Boston came home from school yesterday with a fever and then started throwing up. Oh boy. I hope this isn't another illness we are all getting ready to share.

So these are the valentine's we did this year. I have been excited about making these since Pinterest first came out and I pinned them. Now most people might put a lollipop in there's but since my boys go to a school where no sugar is allowed (yah!) we did pencils.

The flu hits the Whitman house again

2012-02-13T14:24:00.000-05:00

As I'm writing this my two littlest kiddos are sleeping away their flu symptoms while I'm nursing my cough and raspy voice (think Phoebe from Friends). As much as I hate the flu shot I am seriously thinking about getting it next year after having battled the flu TWICE this season. It's really getting old. Hummm....might be something to do with my going 100 mph without looking back all the time. Maybe this is God's way of slowing me down a bit. I have to admit I have enjoyed all the cuddling I've gotten with Asher and Sydney over the last few days. And I do appreciate how wonderful it is to be able to breath out of my nose!

My sweet little princess birthday was Saturday but since she was so sick we did not do anything. We didn't want to expose anyone else. We gave her this sweet little doll baby (called the Zippity Princess made by Goldberger that teaches them how to snap, zip, button, etc) and we will just have to celebrate in a big way when she is feeling better. (And I'll do a little 2 year old photo session with her later.)

Italian Wedding

2012-01-30T22:22:00.000-05:00

What a truly amazing wedding this was to shoot. Taking place at EPCOT at the Italy pavilion with beautiful weather and a super cute couple this was bound to a special wedding. The ceremony itself was very unique because the song she walked down the aisle to was written and played by the groom himself. The ceremony was intermixed with lots of personal stories and vows that were as unique as this couple was.

Starting off 2012 with a BIG MOVE!

2012-01-10T23:29:00.002-05:00

It's a new year and it's about time I dust off the blog and get back to it! The end of last year went by with with hurricane speed and in the midst I did more weddings and portrait sessions than I can count, had a bday party for my now 7 year old, celebrated Christmas and moved our family of 6 after 9 1/2 years in our sweet little home. It was mind blowing all that went on and I'm so glad to have made it to January! It's like the storm faded and I've picked up all the debris and life is calm (well as much calm as it can be with 4 little ones) and orderly.

About our move....it was done after much, much, much prayer. Honestly I never thought we would move from our little ole house. As small and cramped as it was, it was home. We closed on that house the same week we found out I was pregnant with Boston. We brought 4 children home in that house. We celebrated many birthdays and holidays there. The kids moved from room to room as we added and added and added. There are dents in the walls from all the playing, artists left their drawings behind on the hallway walls and the memories flood each room.

But it was time.

God worked quickly and easily and it was very evident He had His hand on the whole thing. And now, even though we haven't been in our new house long at all it already feels like HOME! Home with MUCH MUCH MUCH more space. There is a place for everything and everything is in it's place. I LOVE it! I sooooo love it. (And the 3 minutes drive to school is way better than the old 20 min one!)

2012 is shaping up to be new and exciting!

Pumpkin Patch Mini Photo Sessions

2011-09-06T10:08:00.002-04:00

I'm so excited to announce my Pumpkin Patch Mini Sessions. It's going to be so much fun. You will have a 30 minute time slot set up for your kids and/or family. There will be hay barrels, pumpkins, wheel barrels, scarecrows and lots of fall decorations. I will capture some adorable pictures of your little pumpkins. You can dress them in cute overalls, costumes, or clothing of your choice.

Please call or email to set up your time slot for Oct 1 or Oct 6th between 9 and 3.

Spencer Family Isleworth Shoot

2011-09-05T05:53:00.000-04:00

I had the great opportunity to photograph this beautiful couple on the beautiful grounds of Isleworth. It was a combo to create a masterpiece.

And who can resist their precious little girls.

Thank you so much guys for a beautiful evening. I'm amazed at how long the girls lasted at so many different locations. It was one of my favorite shoots to date! I hope to see you again soon!

Mango teething

2011-09-04T06:58:00.000-04:00

When Boston was a toddler and starting to teeth I gave him the seed of a mango and he LOVED it. Ever since then it has been my kids favorite thing to teeth on and Sydney followed right along like her brothers. It might be messy but it sure is fun!

Church Shoot

2011-09-03T21:26:00.004-04:00

I had the great honor of getting to do photo shoots for all the families at First Baptist Windermere. It was very fast paced and no time to really pose people and get them into the positions I would have liked or I never would have gotten threw the almost 200 couples in a few hours. But they still turned out great and I'm excited to share them with all the families.

Hyperdash

2011-09-03T09:47:00.002-04:00

I wanted to share a game with you that we love at our house. It's called Hyper Dash. Not only is it a super fun game for the kids but they can play it by themselves or with others, it makes them active as they run around, and it helps learn colors and numbers. In the picture above I had Asher put them all close together but usually they spread them across the room and chase down the one they need to touch. We have had this game for many years and it never gets old.

Making journaling a priority

2011-09-02T20:48:00.005-04:00

Wow life is moving so fast for me right now that it all seems to be such a big blur at moments. People often ask me how in the world I have time to do a blog with everything else going on in my life and the answer is very simple. If I don't make time to do it I feel like life is quickly slipping threw my fingers like sand. And once the sand has fallen there is no way to remember the grains I was just holding onto. Once I have put something into writing it just feels more like it really happened and I'm not as worried I might forget it. Especially now since it feels more and more like I'm losing brain cells with each night of homework. (It's sometimes hard to believe I was once very good at Calculus and took AP classes in high school.)

I saw a notebook at Target that had the cover above. I had to take a picture of it because it summed up my writing in a way I had never really thought about before. "We write to taste life twice." Ahhh....it's so sweet. And here I have been running a race with school starting, new therapies and diagnosis with the kids, my photography business, starting to shoot for Disney, 4 kids (really that one alone is enough).

There's many nights I sit down lately with a stack of things to do that would put anyone on medication and the last thing I feel like doing at the moment is adding blog writing to it. But if I don't the tension builds in me. I can feel the stress strangling me. I worry about losing moments, forgetting the little things the kids do. And then I realize that it's been several days since I've written and recorded the amazing moments in my life. I'm so blessed with so much.

I do hope that my crazy rambling helps you in some way. If you aren't recording your daily moments I really encourage you to do so. If it's only a few sentences each day. You will cherish them in the future.

So write people!

Take the time.

You will be happy you did and one day your kids will thank you!

Get well soon Uncle Hes

2011-08-23T22:51:00.000-04:00

My brother is in the hospital right now and in quarantine so we are not able to go visit him so I thought we would make him some cookies to send with my mom. Asher was my precious little chef. I so love cooking with my kids!

And then I made this cute little card with band aids for him to send a little humor his way since he doesn't know when he will be released.

He somehow got some kind of serious infection in his back and had to have back surgery to get all the infection out of his back. Poor guy! And they still don't even know what he got and how he got it. He has been in so much pain we are just hoping he gets better soon!

Being a Disney photographer

2011-08-22T22:44:00.000-04:00

While at the beach with the family on vacation I got a call the The Disney Fine Art and Photography group wanted to do a meet and greet with me about possibly hiring me as a contract photographer. How exciting! I drove in for the interview and was excited when they offered me the job. So today was my first day headed out to get some training on shooting at Disney. It was such a crazy day running around all morningin getting everyone dropped off before heading over! I finally ended up at Disney around 10 after dropping all the boys off and Sydney with my mother in law. I met the team out at the hotel they were shooting at and jumped in. I was a little disoriented on a Canon instead of my Nikon and realized it will take me some getting used to. It also couldn't have been a more hot day to be outside shooting. But I'm so excited about this new opportunity in my photography carrer!

1st day of school

2011-08-22T14:46:00.001-04:00

It's the first day of school and a super big day in the Whitman household. Not only are the boys going back to school (Boston 3rd grade, Dallas 1st and Asher preschool) but I am going to work as a freelance Photographer for Disney's Creative Event Team.

Getting pictures this morning was crazy but I was still insistent on doing it. My poor camera was all fogged up and didn't have time to deal with it so the pictures look horrible but at least I have some. (Maybe I'll fake some better ones later if I can talk the boys into it!)

Here's my big 3rd grader.

He wanted a Pirates of the Caribbean backpack and I couldn't find a new one so he said he wanted to use the one he used in Kindergarten. That was easy and cheap for me. But he did ask for the lunch box he has been seeing advertised on TV called so I splurged and got him that.

And here's spiderman Dallas himself all ready and excited about heading off to 1st grade.

And my baby boy is now going to school every day for a half day! He was very very nervous at his meet the teacher (the reason there are no pictures of him and his teacher.) But I was so proud of him this morning as he was so grown up and happy as he entered into his new class. And I'm super excited his little friend Jack from church is in his class as well since all but 1 of the kids in his 3 year old class are in other classes.

And doesn't he look so cute in his Mickey shirt.

Girls sleepover!

2011-08-20T19:46:00.001-04:00

Friday a bunch of girls from my sunday school class headed out to my parents lakehouse to spend the night and have some good girl time. We had such a blast and I'm so blessed to be a part of such wonderful women!

Here's the crew (minus Lynn who hadn't come back yet) who spent the night. The rest of the crew came out Saturday morning. Of course they were all dressed nice with makeup on and we were all grungy, no makeup, in our pjs sitting at the kitchen table trying to recover from having stayed up way too late! (I think some of us forgot that we were much older than we were in the old days of sleep overs!)

Highlight of the night was playing "Imaginiff." There was a lot of laughter...some more laughter, tears from laughter....and for those that have had kids some might have peed a little in their pants.

Amanda (and her precious baby boy in utero!) and Carmen

Carmen and Heather

We all enjoyed Carmen's reading of the cards which usually included listening to her sing the questions

Yep...Heather laughing again....and for those there notice how she's sitting on one butt cheek!

Carmen got a little high on too much sugar by the end of the night

And Stacey's first night away from her first born...she was a brave woman

I can't wait to do this again girls!!!!

10 things you might not know about Aspergers

2011-08-19T07:00:00.001-04:00

1. The conversation around the dinner table revolves around movie quotes and when asked to talk about something other than movie quotes there is a long silent pause and your son responds, "What DO we talk about then?"

2. When I say "Dallas you are smart as a tack" he responds "I'm not a tack!"

3. You cannot serve anything cold or red or smooth.

4. Your child would rather wear their too small, holes on the sides, shoes than change and get a new pair. Doesn't matter how great the new ones are....they aren't the same as the old ones.

5. When playing a game be prepared for the worst when your Aspergers child loses...including but not limited to: throwing, yelling, storming away, and slamming doors.

6. I now know everything there is to know about Spiderman, Star Wars, Roller coasters and Tornado's.

7. It's like pulling teeth to stop the bad habits: picking noses, smelling hands, flapping arms, etc

8. My children have higher IQs than me and I was in the gifted program

9. Everyone at the grocery store, YMCA, church or any other place we go to knows my kids names....even if I never told them.

10. The love expressed by them is so deep and wide that no one can even come close. It's an unconditional love that most people cannot understand. I've been up and down mountains but the joy of this gift from God is worth more than words.

Marble racing

2011-08-18T19:56:00.002-04:00

What do you do when it's the last week of summer and you are running out of steam and ideas to entertain the kids and it's about 100 degrees outside?

Well it involves marbles and pool noodles....

I got the idea on pinterest and it was so easy and fun. You just cut the noodles in half and keep them together with tooth pics. Simple as that!

Of course engineer Boston decided to change the track and make it even better. I know he's gonna be some kind of architect or engineer when he grows up. It's amazing how his brain works.

Best part: this entertained them for hours. $3 spent = SCORE!!!

Meet the Teacher 2011

2011-08-18T19:32:00.000-04:00

It's the time of year again....back to school!

Tonight we had meet the teacher and I'm excited about the boys teachers for this year. I cannot believe they are going to be in 1st and 3rd grade this year. Time flies!

Boston with his teacherDallas with his teacher

After meet the teacher we headed over to Perkins, like we did last year, for dinner. I guess that has become a tradition now.

Universal with new friends

2011-08-16T21:43:00.000-04:00

Sunday we met our new friends at Universal for a day of fun.

We have been so many times and never seen the Mystery Machine! And my boys LOVE Scooby Doo
Here we are on Jaws.

Took up three rows on the roller coaster and 4 of us weren't riding. I think if we all had gone we would have taken up the whole thing.

Wheeee

Not a great pic because these were all iphone pics and this one didn't have a lot of light. But I wanted to capture them on the Jimmy Neutron ride since it will be closing soon.

We will miss our new friends! But we will look forward to next summer and planning a week at the beach again together!

Last days at the beach

2011-08-15T21:09:00.001-04:00

Wow what an awesome trip we had last week. I was so sad to see it end. The older the kids get the more fun things they are able to do at the beach and it's just so fun to watch them explore and enjoy the beach.

We met an awesome new friend and her 3 kids and all 7 of the kids got along so well that we did most everything with them. Below is a picture of everyone except Sydney.

There was lots of crab huntingAnd wave jumpingand boogie boardingand playing with friendsand sand castle buildingMy dear friend Lynn came out with her two friends on Thursday and that just added to the fun!And here is my handsome hubbie who was such a trooper all week with so many women and kids9 kids hanging out at our place waiting for lunch Sean went and picked up some yummy subs from the French Bakery and chocolate eclairs and we all ate outside together!

There were lots of memories made this year

Thursday night we took all the kids to the new ice cream place Smores and there was this beautiful full moonAnd here's the kids waiting for their ice cream at the fire pit Friday night Sean's parents were nice enough....and brave enough....to babysit all 7 kids so us adults could go out! They even brought them KFC and doughnuts and ice cream from Dunkin Doughnuts and they all enjoyed a movie together.

Us adults on the other hand had a beautiful dinner at Oceanside on Flagler Ave complete with cocktails. We saw dolphins and a manatee and enjoyed some fun adult conversation. And I'm so happy to have made a new lifelong friend!

Another day at the beach

2011-08-11T23:10:00.006-04:00

Lots of wind today at the beach which kept things a little on the chilly side after you were wet. But that didn't stop us from lots of fun. And the kids have met some great new friends...and a bonus is that their mom and I have hit it off. It's always fun with more friends on vacation!

I had a great idea for a picture with a frame on the beach. Dallas was my only child willing to entertain mom's creative juices. And he did such a great job posing for me....at least for the 10 seconds that he did and I was able to quickly catch this shot!

The moon and the lifeguard chair.
We went down to the beach after dinner at Manny's. Sean's idea was to take the kids for a walk to find some shells. Of course I saw an opportunity to bring my camera down to the beach.

Boston Dallas

Asher

My goal was to capture a shot of the kids all together. I take pictures of families all the time and find it so easy to get the kids to cooperate with me. Of course like all professional photographers know....photographing your own kids is TOTALLY different.

So...here's the best shot I could get. The boys wanted to pretend they were lifeguards looking out. At least they weren't pushing each other off the stand! And Sydney was having too much fun to stop and look at me.

And here's a nice behind the scenes of me trying to get them all in place.

All my favorite boys

Crabs, waves and rain, rain, rain

2011-08-10T23:02:00.000-04:00

Monday was a great day to start until the rains moved in. Before that I was able to capture a few shots.

Sydney sure loves her daddyand the sand!

The boys and Sean LOVE to catch crabs. They look for a hole and dig to China to find it. Then they watch it try and pinch them and run around. It's very entertaining to watch!

I love the smile on Boston's face

And here was the catch of the day.

Yep....my camera just can't resist this little girl...and her cub legs!

Walking ALL over!

Watching her crazy big brothers.

Dallas and Boston are having a blast in the water. There's not as many pictures of them because they are usually in the water boogie boarding and you can only take so many pictures of that. :-)

Asher was very busy building things with the sand, digging holes and filling them with water and running around in and out of the water. Next year he will probably be out there boogie boarding and jumping waves, but for now Mama loves watching her busy little boy running around in the sand.

And then Sydney found the birds and they became a whole new game!

When the rain came we spent a lot of the day inside until finally the thunder and lightning left and we were able to let our energetic boys bounce out of the condo. Who cares if it was still sprinkling. But my little Asher cared. He did not want to get wet. So I put his hat on and then wrapped him in a towel and he was more than willing to head down to the beach and sit under our tent and build sand castles.

Carter shoot

2011-08-10T09:22:00.003-04:00

Little Carter turned 8 months and it was such a joy to see him again. I did his 4 month old pictures and I couldn't believe how much he had grown. And it was especially nice to finally meet Dad. What a beautiful family outside and in!

Sydney walking and exploring beach

2011-08-09T21:57:00.007-04:00

My sweet little girl finally took her first steps on July 24th and she's been making up for lost time. She now talks everywhere. I think in a week or so she will be running to keep up with her big brothers.

Sydney really loves the beach and everything on it. She loves the sand and enjoys touching the water and having it splash up on her. Its such a joy to watch her excitement and giggles at all these new adventures for her. Little feet in the sand has to be one of the cutest things on the beach

These pics were taken Saturday night right after we got there. I didn't put her or I in our swim sutis because I wasn't thinking she would want to get wet. Boy was I wrong.
She was wet and covered in sand with a huge smile on her face. I love this girl so much! Let the fun begin.....

At the beach!!!!

2011-08-08T15:02:00.005-04:00

My family and I are having such a great time at the beach this week. We came out on Saturday and I have so much to catch up on here. But I'm gonna keep this short right now because the beach is calling back to me....

Sydney loves the beach just as much as her 3 older brothers. The sand, the wind, the water, the waves. I love the smiles that come out of my children at the beach. The joy of watching them run, with their boogie boards in hand, into the surf. I love their tiny little foot prints. I love how tired they are at the end of the day.

On a funny note: as I was packing up on Saturday the boys were watching a show on Shark Week on the Discovery channel. The show was on the Top 5 most Dangerous Shark Beaches. As I'm walking in and out I catch that #2 is Australia and I vowed that I would never go in the waters there. Then to my shock and awe #1 was FLORIDA! AND New Smyrna Beach is the "Shark Capital of the World." Seriously!?! And this is my 3rd summer going to New Smyrna Beach for a week. On top of that I'm a Floridian born and raised. How on earth did I not know this? And this is the beach that my kids and I all swim in.

I told me kids about the time I was in 5th grade at Cocoa Beach with my family and a shark ran into me and knocked me over. Thank goodness it was the side of his body and not his mouth! As I'm RUNNING out of the water all the lifeguards were sounding sirens that everyone should get out of the water. No kidding.

(the picture below is my kids running down to the beach for the first time right after we got there)

I thought this show would deter my kids from wanting to swim in these shark waters but nope. Not a single thought about it again once their feet hit the sand. Oh well. They are in God's hands and I trust Him. No worries here (just a mom that has super focus vision on her kids as they are playing in the water!)

(and below is Boston and Dallas running full speed for the ocean)

Sydney's house

2011-07-29T12:27:00.002-04:00

We have had this little playhouse since Boston was a toddler. It's been sitting outside since the boys never played with it the last few years. I thought Sydney would enjoy it now since she is so much more mobile. Boy oh boy was she excited!

It's so cute to watch a toy be used by each of my kids. And now a little girl in her own little house!

And of course my water obsessed little girl loved the fact that mommy put water in the sink!

Baby Hudson shoot

2011-07-28T14:04:00.004-04:00

I don't normally post pictures from my photo shoots on this blog but I thought I would try and in clude some of them now. If you want to see more of my work you can check it out on my website at www.cricketsphotoart.com or on my facebook fan page with the most recent shoots
I had the pleasure of shooting this family for the second time a couple of weeks ago. I did her maternity shoot and now it was time to meet this precious little boy. I love babies! Here are just a few from the shoot.

Boston: the new direction

2011-07-27T13:30:00.000-04:00

The last two weeks have been a whirlwind of appts for Boston and wrapping my head around the results. I haven't blogged much because I had all that going on, on top of all I talked about in my last post. It's been crazy. But today I realized that I cannot move forward and post anything else until I talk about it.

We have been going through testing for Boston because I was almost positive he had a severe case of ADHD. We tried everything all natural last school year (including gfcf) but nothing helped at all. I was convinced that he would need to go on medication in order to function and get anything done at school. He is a great boy and everyone loves him but the poor child just can't keep focused and keep still for the life of him. Someday he will be able to channel that into something and be uber successful....but until that time I needed to figure out how to help him be able to do the best he can in school.

My pediatrician wanted us to just put him on meds right away. No questions asked. But inside me, my motherly instinct said I needed to dig deeper to be sure that medication was the best route. The only thing I knew to do was to go to Dallas' neurologist because I knew she could get me in with the Neuropsychologist I loved so much that diagnosed Dallas. I also had the teachers and some staff hinting that there were some social issues going on with him. I knew when they mentioned it that it could mean Aspergers (especially with all his stemming- for him stemming is the typical jumping and flapping his arms that a lot of kids with Autistic Spectrum do.) But honestly I really didn't think he had Aspergers because to me Dallas and him are so different.

Making this long, long story shorter: after Neurologist visits, 3 visits with neuropsychologist (including an evaluation that took the whole day) he was diagnosed Aspergers. I was shocked in so many ways but then after it settled in and the psychologist was explaining things all the dots started to connect and I felt like I finally understood him better than ever.

It doesn't change him, it doesn't change his future, it just means that I can understand him better and we can help him to understand the world better.

From a mothers perspective it was the harder diagnosis. It's not like finding out your child has ADHD and you can use medication to help him. This one means your road down parenting isn't the rocky one that most people go on but one that includes a bolder, snow, ice, floods, and a mountain. It's still beautiful but you have to be prepared for anything. Things are always changing and you have to think outside the box. You can't do things like all the other parents do. You will be judged. You will feel like you are failing. But somewhere down the road there will be much reward. And I have to keep moving on knowing that.

Messy house, busy days and lots of editing

2011-07-26T12:44:00.004-04:00

Wow it's been a very busy last 10 days or so. So much to catch up on. I've had so many shoots lately (and I'm not complaining) but I've been holding lots of balls up in there air. And when there's editing to be done, meals to cook and kids to love on some of the housekeeping goes to the side. All my spare time has been spent editing photos and the mess creeped up on me so I took an hour and while using the FlyLady method of timing myself I got a lot done. I set the timer for 15 minutes in each room and conquer the laundry area, living room, kitchen, Asher room, boys room, Sydney room and my room. Well it took me almost 2 hours doing all those. But it was done and the house looked great....that is until the boys walked back into their rooms. :-)

Don't believe me....here's a few before and afters

It really is amazing what you can do in 15 minutes when you set your mind to it!

Sydney in the owl nest

2011-07-23T07:15:00.000-04:00

I have been dreaming of having my own birds nest prop and thanks to my mom for making me one! I am so in love with it. A few weeks ago Sydney was my test model in it. My original vision was for infants but I now realize it can work with even older kids. And I can't wait to get a birds hat as well!

And here is the sweetest little owl!She loved her toes and fingers in the yarn.
We had to do the shoot inside because the mosquitoes were insane outside.Yes I know I'm so prettyAnd thanks it mom. I'm done. Can I run around with the boys now and stop being so pretty.

Sickness hits the Whitman house again

2011-07-13T08:35:00.002-04:00

The boys had tutoring Friday morning. We have been blessed to have Boston's assistant teacher from last year be able to tutor the boys for a few weeks to help keep things fresh and new. She is so awesome!

Boston complained about a stomach ache at the end of the session. The space shuttle was going up for the last time and we were rushing to get home to see it. I had wanted badly to drive over to let the kids see it up close and personal like I have so many times but the idea of spending many hours in traffic wasn't appealing. And I was sad that, just like the last launch, there were lots of clouds in the sky so they wouldn't be able to see it go up. But we rushed home to see it on the tv and run outside to see if we could see at least a little bit. No such luck. But they were super excited to witness it on tv like the rest of the country.

Right after the launch Boston got more sick. He was running a fever and a few hours later the throw up started. Poor guy. This 24 hour bug seems to be going around here so much and our poor family keeps getting it and spreading it amongst all of us.

Our sweet cat Memphis crawled up on Boston to comfort him.

On Saturday Boston was doing much better and by the later afternoon he was begging to go to Universal Studios. So we loaded everyone up and headed to the park. But once we were in the park at the fun ball playground I noticed that Sydney was pretty lethargic and warm. I headed back to the stroller when Dallas grabbed me and said he was really hot. So he went with me and then I noticed he felt really warm as well. I popped out the thermometer and sure enough they both had fevers. So we packed up the crew and headed back home.

At least this time they only had the fever and none of the throw up....other than a fun diarrhea mess Sydney left for us in the car seat. Don't you love this post....hope you aren't having a snack while reading this! I think it's time to up the vitamins that I have been lax on giving. It looks like we all need them!

Vinyl Chalkboard decorating

2011-07-12T07:39:00.000-04:00

I love chalk boards. I have been dreaming of painting my entire fridge with chalkboard paint for a long time. There's a show on the Disney channel called "Good Luck Charlie" that has a chalkboard fridge as well. When you have an old boring fridge you gotta do something to make it better. I got super excited when I saw this idea on Under the Sycamore, which meant I could put off the long process of painting the entire fridge but still have all the fun! I bought my chalkboard contact paper roll here. I looked all over town for chalk board markers and everyone looks at me like I have three eyes. So I'm gonna have to break down and order some online. Until then we will have fun with old fashioned chalk.

I also replaced my white dry erase board for this sleek, fun, flat chalk board from the contact paper. Now it fits in with my Tuscan theme kitchen more than the big white board.

And here's a shot of our kitchen. It's been a slow and long transformation. It used to have green counters and wood cabinets. I LOVE paint. With it you can transform anything for very little cost.

Below you can see the table that sits our big family for meals. There used to be a green table attached to the wall with 4 green chairs. The old owner was obsessed with green. Our carpet is green and the fans used to be green. The last green left is the carpet in the house. One day....

Below is another new addition Sean added a few months ago that I don't know how I lived without! Now I have more space in my cabinets and I'm not having to rummage through a ton of pots to find the right one and then go looking for the matching top. Below it you will notice the Menu I designed for my family. To see more about it go here. I used to have it hanging on the wall but recently put it in a recipe holder instead.

Live well....Laugh often...Love much

I painted the cabinets beige and then went over them with brown to make it a more Tuscan look.

These bar stools go way back. When I was going away to college my mom and I found these at Salvation Army. They were covered with green leather (what is it with green people?). It must have come from a smoking home because the foam smelled awful. I got new foam, covered them, refinished the wood and here they are still being used 15 years later.

Photography website updated

2011-07-11T21:29:00.005-04:00

I have been so busy with photoshoots, kids and life that updating my Photography website has been ssssllllooww. But finally I carved out some time to get it done. So for those of you that I have taken pictures of you can go on an Easter egg hunt to find yourself on there. Hope you like the new design!

You can click on the design above or get there by typing in http://www.cricketsphotoart.com/

And thank you to all my sweet clients for calling on me over and over again and for all the referrals. It feels so special to be blessed to take pictures of all your special moments in your lives.

Whitman original lego men

2011-07-11T19:56:00.006-04:00

I have been wanting to do this craft ever since I saw it here a few months ago. We ordered our lego ice tray here and when it came in the boys couldn't wait to make their own lego men! I have some serious lego loving boys in my house and what better way to get them excited about doing a craft!I also pulled out our cookie cutters to give us a little variety. I have a lot of cookie cutters my mom saved from when I was a little girl. Some of my favs are Miss Piggy, Kermit the Frog, cupid Mickey, and Ronald McDonald.

I love this picture for several reasons: Asher's smile, the fact that he is eating instead of helping, and that Boston is pounding the heck out of his dough.

Dallas working with super hero focus to get them just right.

And here they are getting ready to go into the oven.

A few days later we got to paint them!

I love how Asher sticks his tongue out when he concentrating.

Instead of just using paint I also brought out my assortment of paint pens. I liked them better. make sure you spray them with clear acrylic afterward to protect them.

More 4th of July pictures

2011-07-05T13:44:00.003-04:00

The whole clan!

We always take a whole family picture on 4th of July....this year it was like pulling teeth. Well....at least we have a picture (even if my elbow is blocking Boston's face) :-) And you gotta love Sydney's hair blowing up.

Dallas was going to go tubing in the 3 man tub but decided against it at the last minute. He did do it last summer but doesn't really remember.

Sydney enjoyed another day of fun in the sun, sand and water.

Asher swimming his little heart out

Daddy's little girl

Boston with Haley climbing the tree

Lots of fun beach time....here's Asher with Haley and Joy

Suzanne teaching Asher how to play checkers

My cousin Trisha (who was a bridesmaid in my wedding) meeting Sydney for the first time.

Dallas and Guy being silly

Poor little Asher was exhausted from all the activities for the last few days and crashed before dinner with a little tummy ache. And he managed to sleep in the midst of all the crazy noise going on around him and in the room we had the Casey Anthony trail playing on the tv. I had to wake him up for the family photo and fireworks (and if you look at the first picture above you can see how tired he is.)

Happy Birthday America!

2011-07-05T10:56:00.004-04:00

Little Miss Firecracker....for sure she wins the award.Boston and his dogSydney sure loved hanging out with her Aunt Debbie this weekend. She loved to love on her, eat her food, and store her pacifier in her cleavage. LOL

Sydney with her great, great Aunt Margie. She is my grandmother's sister and is like my grandma to me since mine passed away 10 years ago and before that had Alztimers for sometime. What a blessing she is to everyone in her life!

All the kids who were at this reunion. We are missing 10 kids who are all under the age of 9. Can you believe it! You can see they are all wearing the shirts I made them with their first initial and name on them. They were a big hit and I was hoping to get a picture of them all standing in a line but of course my kids were not going to have it so I settled for this photo on the golf cart. You can see Dallas is "thrilled" about it.

My brother, his wife Suzanne holding Asher, my mom, my great Aunt Margie, Dallas, Boston, my Dad, me, Sydney and Sean.

I should be walking very soon with all the practice everyone gave me. Everyone was trying to get me to walk. Of course I have a mind of my own and I still think I can get around a lot fast on my knees. Although Mommy was very excited when I kept standing up on my own a lot.

Having some girl time with my cousin Joy

Getting some lovin from Aunt LeeAnne

Me and my girl

.The boys all loved the sparklers as well as their cousins. Here is Boston having a blast!

Tavares fireworks! Best part is that we don't have to go anywhere to see them. And they do an amazing show!

You can see all the boats below the fireworks

All my boys

After the fireworks we made smores. YUMMY! Here is Joy and Dallas

Little Miss Firecracker and Marley the dog

2011-07-04T14:22:00.002-04:00

My sweet little firecraker enjoyed playing around in the grass while Papa and mommy blew up the water slide. I'm amazed still that I have a little girl! And she is such an easy going little girl.... happy all the time.

I can clap now and wave bye!

With Sydney loving the sand so much I put her swimsuit on and let her play in the water. My mom had bought her a huge blow up pool but she wanted nothing to do with it. The water in it was cold and the water in the lake was very, very warm. You can tell that she has 3 older brothers. This girl had no fear at all. The waves were crashing up over her, splashing her in the face and she kept continuing to laugh and go out deeper and deeper. Thank goodness she knows how to swim. She might not be walking but the girl can swim!

And I couldn't resist posting a few precious pictures of Marley again. The next time my cousin is down with him he will probably be bigger than our dog!

Marley really loved playing with Sydney and Asher I think because they were the closest to her size.

Day 1 of Family Reunion

2011-07-03T21:50:00.001-04:00

We headed out to my parents lakehouse today to start the 4th of July family reunion festivities. A lot of my family from all over the country flew in and drove for a fun weekend. Here are a few pictures of day 1. The boys and Sydney sure were excited about seeing everyone. And Sydney got a WHOLE lot of lovin!

Sydney's first time playing in the sand at my parents lakehouse. I have always just held her on the side while the boys played. But it was high time for her to get in the on the action. And she jumped right in and had a blast!

Wow mom what is that stuff!

Boston swimming in the lake with Aunt Donna and his cousin Kaitlyn.

My parents pulled out all their lake toys and the kids were quite entertained....and worn out!

Kaitlyn's new puppy that came with them all the way from New Jersey to have some fun with us. Her name is Marley and she lives up to her name.

Boston and Kaitlyn in the other blow up water slide that was on the grass.

Boston's 1st camp: Music Camp

2011-07-02T23:25:00.001-04:00

This week Boston was at music camp during the day from 9-3. The first day he was not happy at all after I picked him up. They had just sat and learned songs all day and my active boy was not into that. But I knew once they learned all the motions he would have a good time. And after much deliberation we had decided to have him finish out the week since he was the one that had wanted to do the camp anyhow. It was at my church and on Friday they put on a performance that night for all of us parents.

I had picked Boston up at 12 on Friday to go see his cousin at Universal Studios for a few hours and then we raced home to get him to his performance. Dallas, Asher and Sydney were so tired from Universal that we decided to have Sean stay home with them and just have me go and video and take pictures.

I was so proud of my boy. He did such a great job!

Afterward Boston and I went to this awesome ice cream place here called Orange Leaf where you fill up your cup with soft serve ice cream of your choice and toppings. It was super yummy and some good time with my oldest son.

Whitman Ticket System

2011-07-02T12:24:00.004-04:00

We have been using this ticket rewards system I designed for our family for over a year now and I have to say it's been the best system I've ever implemented into our family. It worked wonders when the boys started school last year. For Dallas it was a lifesaver. His teacher even used it for him in class and it was the best thing to help him. When you have a child with Aspergers you have to be on your toes and think outside the box when it coming to discipline and raising them. Things just don't always work as easy as it might with other neurotypical children. This system speaks so well to him!

At first when I started it I wanted to make it a positive rewards system so I never took away tickets. Once we had been doing it for several months I then added in getting tickets taken away for certain things. (I need to make a chart for that too now that I think about it).

For example if they lie they get 5 tickets taken away, if they hit they get 3 tickets taken away, if they name call it's 2 tickets and if they stick their tongue out or make a bad face at someone or roll their eyes it's 1 ticket.

This is also a system you can take with you where ever you go. Dallas teacher would even take tickets with her in her pocket when they would go on field trips. We take the baggies and my tickets to hand out when we go on vacation.

It's also a great way of managing tv and video game time. If they have to buy their time on those things they will think twice before they spend time doing it. And when they get rewarded for playing out side and being active it reinforces those positive things in their lives. Book reading is another one I reward for and they get even more tickets when they read their bible or memorize scripture.

I LOVE giving out tickets. I especially love giving them out for random acts of kindness. If you use this system you can adjust it to work with you and your family and especially with each child in your family. I hope this gets your wheels turning.

I also posted here where we display our ticket system and keep the tickets. It's hanging in our kitching dining nook, a high traffic area and usually where I am...in the kitchen. I'll explain what the papers are hanging behind the ticket baggies another day. Another really fun thing to do with the kids!

Unique 4th of July shirts

2011-07-01T06:55:00.000-04:00

We are having a family reunion this weekend for 4th of July and I decided to make all the kids matching, yet unique to them, shirts. I designed them on facebook and then printed them on Fabric Transfer paper. This was my first time doing this and it was very easy. An important note is to make sure you print your image "Mirror" so that when you iron it on the tee it's going in the right direction.

I was really happy with how they came out. I used a 4th of July free font online and colored the top blue and the bottom red. (Except as you can see on Kaitlyn's I was a little distracted by the running of 8 feet all around me and reversed the colors on hers....but it's still cute...hindsight I wish I had reversed all the girls...oh well.) I didn't want their names plastered all over the shirt but I still wanted them on there so I added it small in the letter on each shirt. I thought they came out super cute and can't wait to photograph them on the kids this weekend!

And as you can see I always had lots of help. It's no wonder I didn't have more mistakes than the one color reversal! And to a mom with only one kid I'm sure this picture looks mortifying with Sydney not only near the iron but unplugging it. I assure you I was very careful. And those of you reading this with multiple kids you understand that you have to do what you can when you can with all the little fingers helping you when they do!

Sydney swings

2011-07-01T00:28:00.001-04:00

I know it seems like Sydney overload on the posts lately but she's the only one that ENJOYS me taking her picture. :-) And of course watching her experience life for the first time in so many ways is just so breathtaking! So here's her fun in the swing....my little cutie!

The swing has been a favorite among all 4 of my kids. They never liked the little infant swing that most people have in their house. None of them ever used it! I think it's because it just didn't have enough excitement in the settings. They needed super high, lighting fast speed and that just doesn't come preloaded.

Hi sweet girl.

Behind the scenes was Asher with a pouty face because Sydney was swinging. His ticket held the most punches lately until she got old enough to ride and now he's having to share with her and Dallas. Sad face Asher....poor thing.

But it didn't bother her one bit!

I could photograph you all day my little princess

I love the pure excitement in this one. And if you look really close you can see how high up the arch in her mouth goes. Mine and all three of the boys and Sean are the same way...except her's is even higher than the boys. She can hide food up in there and store it for later. (I was told from one of my vocal coaches in college that it means you have a high soprano voice....that was sure true with me....we shall see with her)

My 3 Brothers shirt

2011-06-30T05:57:00.001-04:00

As I was working on 4th of July shirts for all the kids coming to my family's reunion this weekend I had some extra paper and didn't want it to go to waste so I quickly came up with this little design for a shirt for Sydney. I LOVE the final results. Something personal and cute.

Hey big blue eyes

I love this bow my mom made for her. So many different colors and so many outfits it goes with perfectly!

"Hey mama. Wanna see what I can do?"

"I think I can do it"

Almost there.....Oh yah!

"Look at me! Standing all by myself!!!"

Learning to walk

2011-06-30T00:05:00.001-04:00

Sydney and I have been working extra hard on trying to walk because I was really hoping she would be able to walk by this weekend for our family reunion and 4th of July party. She sure would be able to enjoy it a lot more standing than on her knees everywhere.

We took to the streets today.

The boys all learned to walk pushing this kind of toy (Boston and Dallas had a Mickey one and Asher got this Pooh train one that Sydney is using now...poor girl sure needs a Princess one but I'm sure there's more pink to come in her future.)

She fell several times onto her knees and skidded them for the first time. But not once did this girl cry. Just kept getting right back up and trying again. You can tell she's tough with that big brother influence! She had had enough of the pushing after a certain point and decided to climb on and ride

I love these chubby little baby fingers! And I especially love it when she quickly crawls over to me to hug on me and pat my back. She's oh so kissable!

Pretty little girl you will be walking so soon....and then running....and then dancing....and not climbing up in my lap with your itty bitty body. I promise to cherish these moments for they will soon be fleeting.....

Sydney is drinking from a cup

2011-06-29T14:33:00.003-04:00

Yep....this girl is so much more laid back than her big brothers. She's easy going and not in a hurry to do much of anything. She's 16 months old and still not walking. But finally, FINALLY she started drinking from a cup. She never had a bottle (like her brothers) and I stopped nursing her a month ago so it's been a battle to have her drink anything. But a few weeks ago she finally started drinking from a cup only if we held it for her and squeesed it out. But last week VBS was as big help. I think she saw all the other little kids holding there cups by themselves and she finally got the hang of it. The last few days shes so addicted to it and making up for all the loss of milk! I can't seem to get food down her now because all she wants to do is drink!

She's also eating on her own big people food. And she loves that! And so does mommy! But it sure is messier!

Fun in the Rain

2011-06-27T20:02:00.001-04:00

Who said rain spoils the fun! (Well as long as there's no lightning here in the lighting captial of the world).

We had a monsoon of a rainstorm and Boston and Dallas had a blast playing in the backyard as the stream of rain made into a waterfall down in to the ever shrinking pond. Hopefully Hurricane season will fill it back up!

In the picture above the boys are kicking water in the stream and their neighbor friend Julia is running out to join them. In the picture below they were walking back up. They would lie on their bellies like a slip n slide down into the pond. I took pictures from the patio behind the screen.

Last day of VBS

2011-06-26T19:51:00.002-04:00

I have to say this was my favorite VBS we have ever done. The kids all had such a great time and it was so much fun to see the joy on their faces as they sang the songs, play games and made new friends each day. The volunteers loved on my kids more than I could have asked for. I was sad to see it end.

Asher having fun singing all his favorite VBS songs. He plays them over and over on my iphone dancing and singing "Big Apple Adventure!!!"

Boston with two of his new friends

Dallas loved sitting in the front row doing all the motions and singing loud
Until next year.....

Farris and Fosters Date Night

2011-06-25T20:08:00.000-04:00

Last night we went out with our Life Group from church and had an absolute blast! We are so blessed to be in a group with such a fun combination of people. There was lots of laughter, lots of chocolate and lots of silly acting adults. We made a pound of chocolate (including 2 shark chocolate lollipops and a train for the boys). Looking forward to the next night out! Our whole group
Yep...that's the group
Yummmm

Some of us girls

Father's Day 2011

2011-06-25T19:38:00.000-04:00

I'm a little behind in posting about Father's Day but better late than never. After church we stopped by my parents house and swam and enjoyed some time together and then went over to Sean's cousin Laurie's house for lunch. After lunch Sean and Mike took the kids to the pool and they swam for a few hours while the rest of the woman and Sydney and baby Sadie hung out. It was a relaxing day and the kids really enjoyed themselves. Happy Father's Day to my sweet husband and daddy to all 4 of our kids! And to my dad and Father in law...I couldn't be more blessed!

Boston and Dallas playing

Asher and their cousin Ellie
Sydney with her great Grandpa Dale and Shirley

My Father's Day cupcakes...which will most likely be repeated this weekend for 4th of July

My summer job: Referee

2011-06-24T17:42:00.000-04:00

So far this summer I'm starting to feel like I hung up the "Mom's Taxi" hat and glued on a Referee's. It's stuck there and I keep trying to pull it off but just when I think I got it....yep it's needed again.

And I don't think what I'm dealing with is all that unusual. I've talked to so many families and they are all going through the same thing. I stepped back and got some perspective on it and what I'm realizing is that in this day and age we can't just let our kids go outside by themselves and play. They can't ride their bike around the neighborhood without having their mom and the rest of the siblings tag along. And then in the stifling heat we are stuck inside and there's not many places to go where there isn't someone else right there. Anyone would get sick and tired of being stuck with the same people all the time. When we were little I remember at 8 years old riding my bike down the street to my best friends house and all over the neighborhood. I remember going to the community pool all by myself. I wasn't forced to play with my younger brother all day long. We most defiantly would have killed each other.

So I realize I can't change the times. I can't just let them roam the neighborhood. So we have to figure out a way to have some space and how to get along with each other without yelling, "Moooommmmm he touched me!!" every 5 minutes Otherwise mom will pack her bag and head on down to the insane asylum and check herself in. Ahhhh relaxation at it's finest!

I had bought this little checklist years ago and never used them. It was high time I wiped the dust off and got to it. We reviewed, trained and trained some more the first 3 and I think they have them down. Tomorrow we will continue until we have reviewed them all and we will do training on it each day. I'm determined to nip it in the bud. Otherwise it's going to be a long summer in timeout.

This is where I have all the charts I have purchased threw Doorposts. We have them hanging here so we can always refer back to them. Our "If Then" and "Blessings" charts have just been erased and ready for new consequences and rewards since the kids are getting bigger. If you look closely Boston put a sticker on the "If Then" chart that says "I didn't do it." Too funny when I found that there one day.

Mama

2011-06-23T19:37:00.000-04:00

Sydney is 16 months old now and her favorite thing to say all day long is "dadadadada" and I respond with "mama" "Mama" "Mama Sydney." She doesn't say it often but my heart flutters when she does. I have noticed a pattern that when I'm cooking in the kitchen and she's hungry the "mamamama" starts coming out. Yep....just like the dog....and the boys....and the husband....FEED ME!

VBS

2011-06-22T18:10:00.003-04:00

We have been at VBS all week long and the kids have had a blast! I'm a little tired because I am doing photography for them and had to have all the pictures done and back to them by tonight so I've been burning the midnight oil sorting and editing some of them. But they are done and now I can relax. Here's a few photos from my sweet kids having a fun time this week:

Dallas loves to sing his heart out!Asher finally was dancing and doing all the movements by the second dayI noticed the Boston wasn't sitting with his whole groups row but in a row by himself. When I asked him after the first day why he said, "Mom I needed more move to dance and do all the motions." By the second day he had recruited Grant back to his "dancing row"
Sydney loved her room and never once cried when I dropped her off. She is such a sweetie. And she had her first goldfish here at VBS and loved them so much she would steel from her neighbors

Dallas and his group at Rec Time

Boston in the sheet being pulled.
Asher at crafts with his fav volunteer

Dallas cool New York Attitude look

Wall Art

2011-06-20T16:27:00.006-04:00

I hung these old clipboards on Friday as a way to display the kids art. They love to bring me pictures more recently and my fridge is only so big (and since I'm a visual person when I look at things I like to have them be clean and this was a much more visually organized way to display them for me.) I got the idea from this boys bedroom. I snagged a few old clipboards my parents house they no longer use. I already had the pictures of the kids hanging so it just made sense to put one clipboard under each person's picture. Of course then I wanted them labeled so very quickly I printed out some letters, cut out black circles and glued them to the clipboards. What's funny about the picture below is that I have kids sissors. All of my adult ones are missing...of course. By the way this was Sydney's first piece of art work. She is always picking up crayons and markers but I had not yet taken the time to sit down with her and let her color. I honestly didn't think she was ready, but my baby girl is growing up fast. Of course mama picked out PINK!

So far this summer....

2011-06-18T09:13:00.005-04:00

Our first week of summer vacation was fun....and long. It feels like we have been on summer vacation for about a month. When I looked at the calendar I was shocked when I realized it had only been a week. I need to make a much longer list of things to do....we went through a lot of them in one week. I think we swam most everyday because it is so hot it's hard to do much else outside.

Above the kids were coloring because they were excited about the new things I hung to display their art work. Pictures of that to come. If you notice the tent is still up. This is the front room in our house that has been so many things since we moved in...a dining room, office and more recently a second living room. (And usually the room that stays clean) The wall painting of all our names I designed myself in photoshop and painted it on the wall. I love it and it's the first thing you see when you walk in the door to our house.

I thought this huge bag of blocks that I recently bought since our old ones did not stand the test of three boys and were scratched all over (I use them for photo shoots too) would entertain them for a while. This only occupied them for about 15 mintues....and on to the next thing! As you can see our dog Dillard is usually in all the pictures because she thinks she's like Nana on Peter Pan.

One day the boys cousin Ellie and Sadie came to swim with them at my parents house. They sure loved that! I had to post this picture because I thought it was so funny that Asher was tryin to drive the car and eat popcorn at the same time.

Poor hot dog people

2011-06-18T00:39:00.000-04:00

I swear I must have done a post on hot dog people in the past but I've been horrible about labeling my posts (not to self...need to always do that). Basically you cut the hot dog up the middle and up the sides and then cook it to make a hot dog person. This is how we always ate our hot dogs growing up.

Well with three boys in the house hot dog people are bound to get interesting. Today they took pretzel sticks (at their request) and tortured them. To my they looked like some kind of voodoo dolls. Well ate least they ate them! Boys will be boys!

Sydney stands

2011-06-17T22:28:00.005-04:00

Sydney is not very motivated to walk or stand on her own. Yes she will push things around or walk around at the couch, but when it comes to doing it unsupported this girl is not interested.

I needed to move the car back into the garage today and in my attempt to keep her from taking a swim in the dog bowl (her favorite thing to do) I put her in this little box (can't you tell she's the 4th child) and went into the kitchen to get my keys. I walked back in to find her standing in the middle of the box not holding onto anything! Of course I ran to get my camera and got these pictures. The one below she was clapping because she was so excited that mommy was excited for her.

PVC foam swords

2011-06-16T14:45:00.011-04:00

This morning Sydney had swimming lessons at 8:20 and the boys rolled out of bed not long before having to leave. So I decided that after swimming we would just head to Chickfila and have breakfast and play on the playground. I have to say it was a lot of fun, especially the part where the stay at home dad and his 4 kids (3 girls and 1 boy) wanted to know how in the world I stayed sane with 3 boys. It seems like everywhere I go lately this is the comment I get...."wow, three boys! You have your hands full!" And yes it's a lot of work....a lot of craziness....a lot of energy....but I wouldn't have it any other way!

So after getting some of their wiggles out I made a spur of the moment decision to go to Lowes and make these PVC foam swords today. Yet another project from the fabulous Ashley! I have to say it was a fun trip in Lowes with three boys trailing behind me with pvc pipe in hand with big, excited smiles! I thought the guy in the PVC dept was gonna give me a strange look but he just replied, "You wouldn't believe the projects people come in here with to use PVC piping." Humm I thought...I need to research more things to do with this cheap stuff!

Sydney thought the sword was funny. When she gets a little older I might make her a little one...but I'll have to find some pink duct tape!

It was a really easy project and the kids sure enjoyed it. We had extra piping and made the neighbor kid one (in the first pic he's the one on the left). It made for much more fair fighting with 4 kids....silver vs blue!

Custom Bleached T-shirts

2011-06-15T13:21:00.009-04:00

I'm trying to find new and fun things to do each day since the newness of summer vacation has worn off and I feel like a referee in a WWF match everyday. I recently found my way to an awesome blog called Under the Sycamore and I have completely fallen in love with her DIY kids ideas....among many other things...especially the fact that her kids are about the same age as mine and she had three boys and then a little girl.

Yesterday we made these bleached shirts and had a blast doing it! I had never used Freezer paper before but now my mind is racing with all the fun things I can do with it! I can't wait for Sydney to get older because the boys attention span isn't always as long with crafts, but they sure loved spraying bleach on their blue shirts!

This picture is a miracle in itself....or my kids are just getting older. They promised me one good picture all together before stripping and getting into the pool. And Boston and Dallas were gracious enough to hold Sydney's hands so she could stand since she still isn't doing that on her own. Don't they all look like such angels in this picture....

Boston, now 8 years old and getting ready to enter 3rd grade!!

Dallas, 6 years old going into 1st grade

Asher, 4 years old entering into preschool

And my sweet little Miss Sydney, 16 months....staying close to Mama for several more years!

Snakes galore!

2011-06-14T19:51:00.002-04:00

Last night Dillard woke me up to take her out and as I was walking threw the living room I noticed the cat was focused on getting something under the bean bag. I figured it was some kind of bug...here in Florida bugs are unfortunately a way of life. So I lifted up the bean bag and to my surprise in the faint light I saw a snake! At first I didn't believe my eyes because it was very hard to see but sure enough the snake that was curled up stretched out and tangled around the cat. The cat was having the time of his life! I yelled for Sean, not caring if I woke up kids, I needed this snake OUT of my house! Sean stumbled in half awake and wasn't sure what he was looking at. Thankfully he grabbed the thing before it slithered under the couch.

Then.....

Today I took the boys over to my parents to swim and as I opened my car door there was a huge corn snake. At the time I didn't know what kind of snake it was. All I knew was that it was longer than me and fatter than my arm. The kids of course thought this was the best day ever....well everyone but Dallas who was crying at the snake to go back to it's home. Not knowing if I was poisonous or not I thought it was probably a good idea to try and kill the thing. So I grabbed a big brick and Boston threw it at it's head. That only made it mad and it coiled up ready to strike. We backed up and it slithered threw the fence into the backyard. Of course Boston insisted on following it. It ended up going into the bushes next to their office and into a hole. Thinking he was gone we went on the patio swimming. Not 3 minutes later the snake appears on the patio! It had come threw a pipe. Finally it left and we all stayed our distance.

Hopefully I won't be seeing anymore snakes for a while!

(write after I finished writing this blog I went in my bathroom to find this. What will it be tomorrow?)

Peace and Quiet

2011-06-13T21:42:00.002-04:00

Today I built a tent in the house....stuffed it with book and all 4 kids and zipped it up.

Some may call it camping....I call it peace and quiet!

Cooling off

2011-06-13T20:28:00.000-04:00

It's so darn hot (notice the sweat on Boston's face) that you just have to be in the pool if you want to play outside. And with 3 very active boys we have to be doing something active. So we have been heading to my parents house a lot lately in and effort to not only have some fun....but wear these kids out! ;-)

Asher is a little fish this year. Last year he wanted to badly to be able to do all the things his brothers could do and would do his best to do it but this year he has the power to dive all the way to the bottom of the deap end and keep up with them swimming all over the pool. I'm so proud of him.

Dallas loves to do cannon balls and "big arms". You won't find him in the pool without his googles on that are tinted so the sun isn't as bright. The kids have never had googles before but Dallas really likes them especially for the sunglass aspect with such sensitive eyes. And today Sydney played in the car for the first time! She absolutely loved it. Asher wasn't very keen on sharing his favorite car but I reminded him that he had a brand new one and he speed away satisfied with that answer.

But seriously...isn't she just the cutest!!

I love summer

2011-06-12T21:05:00.001-04:00

I love summer. Not Florida's over the top heat, but the easy goingness of summer. We don't have to get up early head out the door for school. There's no packing lunches, deadlines, rushing, and homework! But my most favorite might be that there's no socks to wash, sort and put away!!! Bring on the crocs!

And even though the school year affords some sort of break from having 4 kids to watch after 24-7.....it's so great to get to be with them all the time. To have the freedom to do and play what we want to. I love the just being able to curl up and read a book together anytime of the day. To eat lunch together. To jump in the car and go swimming at Nenas house. And of course to be able to watch my 3 boys cover themselves in dirt and mud. (Thank my lucky stars I have an outdoor shower!)

Hello Summer....welcome stomach bug

2011-06-10T17:11:00.001-04:00

Yep. It was quite the way to begin our summer break. Asher had come down with a 24 hour bug on Saturday, then Sean on Monday. I thought we were in the clear when Wednesday morning, the last day of school, Dallas woke up throwing up. Poor thing had to miss water day at school. A few hours after Boston got home from school he started throwing up! I thought maybe Sydney and I had some great girl genes since we had avoided it....and then the worst happened....I came down with it Thursday morning. It's not good when mama gets sick....especially when she has 4 little kids to take care of.

A sweet angel....whose name may or may not be Carrie Barner....came to my rescue! She showed up at my doorstep with homemade chicken noddle soup from a place in College Park and coke and sprite. And the best part was she took Asher with her!

I put Sydney down for her daily 3 hour nap and Boston, Dallas and I sprawled out on the couches in hopes of recovering soon. The sleep sure helped and before the end of the day we were feeling much better.

And praise the Lord Sydney did not get it!

(The picture is of one of the many water slides at the boys school for water day....poor Dallas had to see all this fun he was missing out on. I assured him I would make it up with a trip to Chuck e Cheese in the near future.)

Tomorrow's leader

2011-04-27T11:55:00.003-04:00

This little guy is giving me a run for my money today. God sure has a sense of humor giving me so many strong-willed children. I didn't think any child could be more strong willed than Boston....and then little Asher was born. His first 3 years were easy breezy, but he was only saving up the fun! And his really is one of the sweetest, most precious little boys. But then when this child wants something he puts his whole heart and soul (and vocal chords) into it. I think I might have permanant damage to my inner ear from his screaming fit on the way home today from Sydney's swim lessons. All because I wouldn't buy him a popsicle. (Darn that Southwest Aquatics and the need to have a freezer of ice cream goodies on our way out the door.)

I can't wait to see what things this little leader does one day. I remember having a strong feeling while he was in my belly that he was destined for great things so it shouldn't be of any surprise that he is a strong-willed child growing into tomorrow's leader.

He is now sleeping soundly in his room after having cried his determined little body to sleep. I just pray he wakes up in a much better mood!

Sydney starts swimming lessons

2011-04-26T11:41:00.002-04:00

Sydney started swimming lessons yesterday. It looks as if she might follow in Asher's swimming footsteps. Asher only took 10 days to learn and he was the little protege at Southwest Aquatics. Sydney cried at first but I think it was the because the water was colder than she's used to in the bath. But after a couple of minutes she was calm and down to business. She was kicking and swimming with her little arms and legs. And today was floating on her back, even playing with a toy while chillin on her back in the water. What a sweetheart. I'm so proud of her! (her's a few photos from the iphone)

Dallas is written in The Book

2011-04-25T23:26:00.001-04:00

Today was a big day for Dallas.

Today he asked Jesus into his heart.

After a devotional together at the dinner table he had a lot of questions. The topic of the devotion was on Satan. For months Dallas has been asking a lot of questions about God, Heaven, the Holy Spirit, Satan, etc. And I always make sure to add that as long as you have Jesus in your heart you will go to heaven when you die. His big concern usually when we talk is what happens after you die and where do people go. Over and over again he would talk about it. And always afterward I asked him if he wants to have Jesus in his heart and he used to either answer "I'm not ready to have him in my heart" or "I'm not ready to die!" That's the Aspergers in him, very literal. But after so many months of trying to really understand it all last night it clicked. Without me even asking he said, "I'm ready to have Jesus in my heart." So we prayed the prayer and then he asked me "Will he come out?" with this sweet sweet voice cracking over the smile and joy coming from within him. He was so excited he was jumping up and down. I reassured him that He would never come out but be with Him always. With the biggest smile and loudest voice he said "YES!!!!!" Then he told us he was so happy he needed to scream and he screamed so loud I'm surprised the glasses in the kitchen didn't break.

I told him that when he was ready he could get baptised to show everyone that he had asked Jesus into his heart. He said that he wanted to do it right now! Sean told him we would have to wait and do it at church. Then he asked when we would be going to church. He had an urgency to proclaim the change that had happened tonight. I told him we should celebrate and have a party. So we ate the Easter cupcakes we had and enjoyed popcorn and a movie.

Thank you Lord for Dallas sweet heart. I told Sean the other day that Dallas sweet, gentle, kind, loving heart will do big things for the Lord. I can see Him using him somewhere in the ministry someday. A couple of days ago Dallas came into the kitchen and said that after he was reading his bible (which he chooses to do on his own a lot) he talked to God. Sean asked him if God said anything back and Dallas repied,"No Dad. He never does. Why not?" Then we tried our best to explain.

So tonight I smile and thank God for another saved soul, my precious son Dallas.

Therapeutic writing

2011-04-05T14:02:00.004-04:00

Where does the time go? Trying to find time to keep up with everything after having my 4th child now a year ago is a daily, daunting task. Sydney turned 1 on Feb 11 and it's been a fun and eventful year adjusting to 4 and having a little girl in the house. I always thought that having one more after having three would be no big deal. Boy was I wrong. Of course we have had our share of other "issues" to face head on this year in regards to the boys and Autistic Spectrum Disorders. God sure isn't going to make things easy for us.

Last week at church the pastor said that people in the states get comfortable and that you need to get uncomfortable and do things like take a mission trip or something to challenge yourself. Sean and I looked at each other and said "we sure are UNcomfortable!" Our mission field is our children...and for me....right now....it feels sometimes like we are out in the middle of no where trying our hardest to figure it all out.

And yet I don't have to figure it out. God knows the path. He knows just what roads I need to take. I just need to be quiet enough....still enough....patient enough to listen to his still small voice. Instead.....most of the time I'm running a hundred miles an hour, dishing out orders to everyone, disciplining and just trying to get through the day. Hardly ever do I stop to enjoy myself. I realized this today as the boys were all at school, Sydney was sleeping and I'm looking at my to do list and trying to figure out where to start. Sean has been out of town for 6 days (and it's been spring break) so I have been going, going, going. So this afternoon God stopped me in my tracks and I felt the need forgo all the to dos and blog for a few minutes.

The main purpose of this blog is for me to keep a log of my family. So I can print it out each year and have a recollection of all the fun we had that year. I'm reading Ann Voscamps book "One Thousand Gifts" and I realized why writing is so therapeutic. When you write it's more like it really happened. Kinda like how she describes writing down what she is thankful for. When she does that it makes the gifts God has given her more real. When I write down thoughts, events, feelings, it makes it all more real and I know it won't be forgotten. Trying to remember everything is stressful.

So, yet again, I'm blogging....and hoping to bring back the consistency I once knew here.

Three: a hard soft age

2011-02-24T16:05:00.001-05:00

There are many days that I wish 3 away.

3 is an age full of discipline...pushing the limit....and testing mom's patience.

But 3 is also full of giggles, precious smiles, finding your voice, a twinkling in your eye, silly comments and a belly full of love.

God knew that 3 can be difficult as I try and direct a strong-willed little boy to do what is right....and that is why He gave me these precious moments....to push me threw the hard ones.

The right mom for the job

2011-02-23T09:42:00.006-05:00

God spoke to me this morning. And He didn't do it in the normal way.

I so often ask Him, "Why me Lord? Why give me children who have these extra needs that most don't have? Why send me down this dark road that not many have walked before? I'm not strong enough" As we venture into testing for our oldest son the road is all too familiar. The doctors all know me. I understand the diagnosis's. And I know the process. But I get tired of living in a world filled with so many letters: ASD, SPD, VPD, ADHD.....And the devil fills my head with "You aren't the right mom. You aren't doing enough. You aren't....no...aren't....can't....." But I press on, holding onto God with a fishing wire thin string with white fisted knuckles.

Then....this morning....He spoke to me. I was catching up with my dear old college friend Erica and we were sharing Autism war stores and the words came out of my mouth, "God gave them to us because He knew we would be the moms to FIGHT for them. And we have girl. With doctors who didn't support our initial gut feelings we took the bull by the horns and went at it full force. And our kids are healing because of it." They are not just surviving.....they are thriving! I have never had that thought before, but the Holy Spirit moved in me and not just spoke it to Erica, but also to me....through me. They weren't my words but His.

I am the right mommy for these kids. I have fought the good fight and will continue to do so. I have researched enough to be well on my way to my PHd in Aspergers, ADHD, SPD, VPD, gluten free-casin free, supplements, supplements, and more supplements.

I am aware of all the numbers:

4-7% of population with ADHD,

0.3% have Aspergers,

5% have Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD),

80% of marriages with a child on the Autistic Spectrum end in divorce.

The odds are stacked up against us on paper but we have a secret weapon. God. We can do ALL things through Him and the glory will be to Him for He will be the one to work it all out for His good.

So to all the parents of children on the spectrum, I understand your days. I know the difficulties presented each day. And I know that it's not in our power to do it on our own. So look up and not within. Open up the Word and let His words empower you with the perspective you need to get through the hour, the day and the week. You are amazing in His eyes and you should feel blessed to know that he thinks so much of you to bless you with these challenges.

(I have to add that Boston insisted on taking a "serious" picture and that's the photo above.)

Halloween 2010

2010-10-31T22:54:00.007-04:00

It's Halloween time and my boys who love to dress up think this is just perfect...dressing up, going out on the town...AND getting candy!

And this year I introduce you to.....Batman and Robin!

Robin...aka Boston

Batman....aka Dallas

And super daddy And my little Miss Minnie Mouse with me as a cat

I made her outfit and earsOur family of 6We went trunk or treating at First Baptist Windermere and it was so much fun! The kids really enjoyed all the different trucks and costumesDallas with matching bucket

Sydney was a little frustrated with the lack of candy coming her way so she chewed on the stroller.

And after the candy it was time for some fun

Here is Boston waiting in line with Asher ready to take care of him on the tall slide. He was such a great big brother. Even taking the initiative to talk to the guy running it and asking him if he could go up with Asher. He really cared about taking care of him.

Asher loved it to say the least!As well as BostonAnd finally DallasThen they went in the space ship for a little laser tag....the highlight of the night

It was then time to head home and trick or treat around the neighborhood some before heading in and calling it a night. Of course I think they were just as excited to pass out candy to the few kids that were still coming around.

And then the tradition since the boys were born of The Great Pumpkin. Since it was getting late and it was a school night we opted to give the great pumpkin just a little candy which resulted in a letter stating that it wasn't enough candy this year. Usually the boys empty the candy, pick their favorites that can fit in one zip lock bag and the rest they leave for The Great Pumpkin. I have a feeling if they don't give more next year then he might stop coming!

This year (like many in the past) they received a costume and a new electric toothbrush....let the eating begin!

Pumpkin carving

2010-10-31T14:08:00.001-04:00

We had a lot of pumpkins this year to carve and had a fun time doing it. Boston did his own. He drew it, pulled all the seeds out and carved it. It was the first time he did it all by himself and he did an amazing job! Sydney enjoyed watching the festivities. Dallas didn't like the seeds inside at all but was excited that daddy was going to put the batman symbol on his. Asher...well Asher wanted to paint his, then he didn't, then he wanted the pumpkins away from his seat, then he was crying.....well....he was acting like a 3 year old. Maybe next year Asher.My little pumpkin celebrating her first HalloweenSome of the pumpkins finishedDallas had batman, Asher was mickey mouse, then there was a pirate and some funny faces. I don't know where Boston's had walked off to at this point

And here they are all lite up. Boston's masterpiece is the far right one.

Winter Garden Halloween Festival

2010-10-30T22:00:00.000-04:00

Tonight we headed to downtown Winter Garden to check out their fun Halloween festivities. Boy was it packed! It was like a swarm of people. But the boys really enjoyed looking at all the different costumes. And we even ran into Uncle Wes and Aunt Suzanne with Stuart and his fiance. We didn't last long because we were afraid we might just lose one of our four little ones in the madness so we headed out and drove by the old plantation style home in Oakland that always gets all decked out for Halloween. Boy was that a hit with the kids. We got out (along with many other cars) and walked around.

Didn't get a lot of pics but here is little Sydney dressed pumpkinish.

We ran into the Heltons and grabbed a quick shot of our boys with their pirate boys. And just to be real and honest here is a fun picture! Sydney is crying because she's tired and ready to go home and Asher is being a little stinky 3 year old with his tongue out. I really second guess whether I should have fixed his tongue tie. They were in cute matching shirts but Asher refused to take a picture....as well as get even 5 feet of wearing a costume of any kind.

End of Baseball season

2010-10-30T21:38:00.001-04:00

Today we celebrated the end of baseball season with a big party at the Y. They had pizza and everyone brought food to share. We had a great time playing baseball for the first time this year and it was a great way to end the season....not to mention beautiful weather!

Here is Dallas getting his trophy from Coach AdrianDallas and "Coach" as he always refers to him

So excited to recieve his first trophy! Sydney hanging out in her Peek-a-BOO! shirt Pizza!

And here are some pictures from their last game

Dallas with some of his teammates waiting to hit

Boston with his trophy...his coach couldn't come to the trophy party

Wes, Grandpa, Suzanne, Sydney, Sean and Grandma
Boston was #3 this year and Dallas was #13

Boston hitting

Sweet Sydney loving on Aunt Suzanne Asher running around on the fields

Dallas hitting

Home run!

30 day revival

2010-10-30T09:35:00.001-04:00

Last Wednesday as I was having quiet time with the Lord (something that rarely happens lately) I realized that if something was going to change within me, if my attitude was going to make a shift, if my outlook on life was going to be positive I have to have Jesus in my day...all day....every little minute. I have to be daily filled with the Holy Spirit or I'm giving into my sinful nature and dwelling on what is bad and not what is good.

Romans 7:17-20 (New Living Translation)
So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.

And the Lord spoke to me. Clear as day he gave me the greatest of ideas. It was to devote 5 minutes out of every hour to focus on him. I have The One Year Bible (New Testament) for Busy Moms. It's broken down the New Testament into 365 5 minute readings. I felt the Holy Spirit leading me to read for 5 minutes every hour. Then I figured out if I take 12 hours and read 5 minutes out of each of those I will have read the New Testament in 30 days!!

Since Asher and Sydney are at home with me I have been reading to them outloud and it's amazing how Asher runs over to me each time I say I've got to read my bible and he jumps in my lap to listen.

Want to join me in a revival of your walk with the Lord? To show Him that no matter how busy your life is that you still acknowledge that He is the Lord of it all and you so desperatly need Him. How much time do you spend on emails, facebook, twitter, text messaging, blogs, phone and other unimportant things that only effect this life? Wouldn't it make since to devote time throughout your day to your eternal life?

Feel free to join me in this journey. You are welcome to use the logo I created as well.

Dallas Class Halloween Party

2010-10-28T13:03:00.002-04:00

Today Dallas had a Kindergarten Halloween party at school. He was so excited about it he could hardly wait all week long.Playing a game of keep the balloon in the air Making his spider

Dallas new pet spider

A game of shoot out the candle in the pumpkin. All 9 kids on Dallas team went first but non of them could shoot out the candle....until shooter Dallas. He was so proud to be the first.

I did it mom!!

I REALLY did it!Lets see if I can do it with this gun this timeA little closer.....

Time for apple bobbing....or tonging (they used tongs to pull an apple out) And there's Dallas apple

Yummy apple smileSmoke bubbles with friends

Sack race. Dallas hopping along really well.Passing out is popcorn monster hands to all his friends

And more balloon fun Ms Dubeau, the Kindergarten assistant teacher. Dallas is so blessed to have two amazing teachers. Which pumpkin do you think is Dallas........that would be the BLUE one. Not only is it different, carving its own unique path, but it's also Dallas' favorite color. He ONLY likes to color with blue. Just one of those odd, cute things that makes him the Dallas that I so love.

Monster Hands

2010-10-28T12:49:00.000-04:00

I've been making these since I Boston was in preschool. They are easy to make, just tedious getting the popcorn down in each finger. I use the gloves that the food industry uses to serve food.
In years past I usually put a candy corn as the finger nails but the boys school is strict about no sugar so those were eliminated this year. But I did add the plastic spider this year!

Sleeping Beauty

2010-10-22T12:52:00.001-04:00

Here's my little princess sound asleep in her bed. I had to capture this because she had her butt up in the air and it was just so darn cute. My baby girl is just a good sleeper, had been sleeping through the night since she was 4 weeks old and loves to take long 3-4 hour naps.

Sweet dreams little girl....

Boston's Field Trip to Green Meadows Farm

2010-10-21T12:01:00.012-04:00

My car group standing with Boston's teacher Mrs Pikalow Boston with his horse Peanut

Milking the pregnant cow Time for Thanksgiving! Train ride....they all loved the haunted tunnel Boston petting the donkey

This parrot was obsessed with my camera and kept inching closer to me and finally flew over to me to get it

Hay ride with Boston's 2nd grade class

Hello Mr goat And this is what they call a Zorse. It's a horse that mated with a Zebra

This little piggy went to the market..... Baby chick...this really made Boston ready to get some at home

But then they brought out he baby duck and I fell in love....might have to get a few for our pond come spring!And then there were tons of funky chickens

These goats where having a full on fight while we were in the pen with them. Of course the kids LOVED it!

Ms. Ward and boston

My favorite picture of the day.

Duck feet

And of course we end our stay at the pumpkin patch

Boston and I with our pumpkin picks. I was quite proud of my find. A tall, skinny pumpkin

Mrs Pickalow and Ms Wards 2nd grade class

Dallas field trip to Green Meadows Farm

2010-10-20T11:17:00.011-04:00

It's that time of year. Fall has come and it's time to load up the kiddos, pack a lunch, visit some farm animals and pick your pumpkin.....yep....it's GREEN MEADOWS TIME!

We skipped going to Green Meadows last year and this year I'm making up for it by chaperoning both boys field trips back to back. Today it's Dallas day.

The last time he came he was 3 so I really didn't remember it at all. Donkey

The train!

CHICKENS!

The joy in his face is priceless. He sure does love animals...all kinds.

Watching everyone ride the horses

Yeehaw cowboy

Milking a cow

Having a snack break

Our car group. On the ride back they all decided they needed to pick who they were going to marry when they grew up. Dallas and the little girl next to him decided they would get married and the two on the far left decided they would. It sure is funny to listen to 5 year olds talk.

What a great group of kids in Dallas class.

I was so ready to take one of these home with me in my pocket!

Isn't he just the cutest!

pigs!

Feeding goats

I actually made it into one picture thanks to another sweet mom

Dallas having a little quiet time with his pumpkin

Mrs Hollands class

2010-10-17T23:48:00.000-04:00

Forgot a few pictures from the mountains.

Here is Asher cleaning the bench at the front door. He took it upon himself to do this and spent about an hour making sure it was spotless. Humm....need to put him to work at home. And here is Dallas eating roasted peanuts....a new thing! Its so exciting when he tried....and LIKES....new things!!

Last day in the mountains

2010-10-17T22:38:00.013-04:00

Today was our last day in the mountains and also my mom's 65th birthday. We started the day by having breakfast at the Dillard house and hanging out with some of the farm animals. I forgot my camera at home :-(

Then we came back and had a fun day just playing around.

Here's my sweet Boston loving on his sister....the eyes will melt your heart

A quick shot of Dallas

They loved crossing the stream that leads into the pond over this fallen tree.

Sydney gets a lot of love from her big brothers

I'm truly beyond blessed!

And this little sweet muffin I photograph all day, just like her brothers. My little blue jean baby queen today

This is Moo...yes Moo is a horse. Moo lives just next door and we love to visit her each time we visit and bring her some goodies.

Dallas is so loving and gentle with animals

I love how she is closing her eyes while Boston is feeding her

"Bye boys! Thanks for the yummy carrots!"Going for a ride with Papa

and me!

Off hiking to the waterfall near the house

There's just something so precious about watching a boy explore in the great outdoors.

Dallas climbing the slippery rock to get a better view of the waterfall....meanwhile I'm praying that the Lord has angels around them and trusting Him that they will be ok.

These two were so cute together jumping rocks. They could have stayed here all day....and their smiles show just how happy it made them. Amazing view below the waterfallLook at the muscles of yours Dallas!Boston and the waterfall

Asher is feeding the fish off of the 2nd floor patio. The fish usually come running when they hear noise on the patio

And here's my baby with a scarecrow while we feed the fish

And finally a shot of her in this old box car that sits at the front door of the house....until next time.....

Dollywood here we come!

2010-10-16T22:59:00.000-04:00

Today we drove over the Smokey Mountains to Piegon Forge and went to Dollywood. I grew up going here, even before it was Dollywood and used to be Silver Doller City. It was very exciting to bring my kids for the first time. They were also didn't know who Dolly Parton was, how in the world did I not teach that to them sooner. Now they keep talking about "Dolly this" and "Dolly that." Dallas really thought she was very pretty and Boston liked her music.

Here's a pic of my and 3 of my kids....Asher didn't want in the picture

But he did get in since Papa was in this one.

Riding in the Classic cars....Boston and Uncle Mike

Nena and Dallas

Me and Asher

All Asher wanted to do all day was ride the train....it was the highlight of his dayWoooowoooooSydney playing with Dallas Nena loving on her granddaughter

And Papa!
The boys were also excited about riding on the ferris wheel but then weren't so sure once we were on it, but they ended up liking it. Dallas was most excited about riding on the bubble bee kids ride and the bumper cars.

Asher having a meltdown while me and the boys were on the ferris wheel. He didn't want to go, but didn't want us to either.

And the finished the day off at this course were you are all ropped in like you are going mountain climbing and hooked into a track system. Then you can climb, walk over a water fall on a rope, scale the side of a mountain and jump from block to block high up in the air. The boys and I LOVED IT!

Here is a pic of Boston crossing with me behind

Boston reaching out to crossAnd there's me

Boston chillin

It was such a fun day! Lots of thanks to my parents who took us on this great trip. And the best was finishing it off with HOT Krispie Kreme doughnuts on our drive home.

Sydney's first trip to the mountains

2010-10-15T23:25:00.001-04:00

This was Sydney's first trip to the mountain house. Dallas was not much older than she is now when my parents first bought the house and we started going up there.

Here's my beautiful big blue eyed girl

The new golf cart my parents bought for fun. Here are the boys helping Papa and Uncle Mike work on it.

Uncle Mike and Papa

Boston caught this caterpiller and we all thought it was so cute. My dad happened to be on the phone with my Godmother and she quickly mentioned to him that a lot of times they sting. Boston quickly threw it down on the ground and we all laughed. Thank goodness he didn't get stung...and I was able to capture it.

Sydney snuggling up to Uncle Mike

She loves her papa

So sweet

Oh this carpet is oh so interesting

Yes you are sooooo cute

And here are the big boys exploring near the pond.

Day 1 in the Mountains-sleding!

2010-10-15T22:23:00.001-04:00

First day in the mountains and the boys had a blast. The spent the whole day outside. We didn't go anywhere but just played and played and played. I use "we" very losely since I was still not feeling great due to the strep throat, but there's nothing like the mountains to cure anything!

Here are the boys sleding together.....they went up and down the mountain so many times that they all passed out! I need to pull up their picture from last year doing this together and compare!

Be sure to pay attention to their facial expressions as they head down the mountaingotta love Asher's tongue, Dallas' pure joy and Boston's confidence!

Back up the hill

Ahhh...fallThere's not many pictures of Dallas because he forbid me to take any....of course I snuck in a fewAnd he did pose for this one. I took this same picture last year Boston loves the leaves
This picture cracks me up as he lands in the leaves. The Thor shirt fits his expression perfectly

He tired every way possible to slide down the hillEven standingAt first Asher didn't want to go down alone but once he did he was a maniac

Another rare shot of the always moving and dodging cameras Dallas I gotta pull up some archived pics because I'm now remembering Boston wearing this same outfit playing in the leaves at the mountain at this age when my parents first bought the place

And now look at how grown up he is

Family get together

2010-10-15T10:58:00.001-04:00

Wednesday night before we left my mom's side of the family got together for a mini reunion. The Browns were in town from Phoenix and The Vasquez were in town from California. And all of us locals came over to my parents house.

Here's a group shot of everyone there

Sydney with her Great, great Aunt Margie Aunt Leeanne, Haley and Aunt Margie with SydneyMy cousin Haley and SydneyThe boys with their cousin's Haley and JoyTired little Miss SydneyWe also celebrated my mom's 65th birthday!The girls singing Happy Birthday to my mom in ChineseAnd here's is Ralph chilin' with the birthday hat It was a great night! Wish they lived closer but it's always good to get time when we can with out of town family!

Mountain here we come

2010-10-14T21:38:00.001-04:00

I left for the mountains today.

My parents have a mountain house in Dillard, Ga and the fall weather, changing of the leaves and a mini vacation were calling me.

The boys were finally all over strep and finishing up antibiotics, but yesterday afternoon my throat got a little scratchy. Sean had mentioned that his has been hurting horribly for 2 days (my dear sweet husband never complains so I didn't even know....unlike his wife who needs to give a play by play on my condition). So I took immediate action knowing I was going out of town. I called our friend Karen, who is our PA and she called in antibiotics for us in case it did appear to turn into strep.

Last night I had a fever all night and woke up feeling like I got run over. Needless to say, the antibiotics were picked up and I somehow managed to pack up the rest of our stuff, load the car, take a 15 minute nap (because, yes, I felt like I was dying - hear the drama of this horrible patient) and managed to be at a beginning of the year conference with Asher's teacher at 12pm. Then pick him up, drive to get my mom (who thank goodness decided to ride with me) and head to get the boys.

2 hours into the drive my fever had spiked to 102 and I was freezing and exhausted. My mom took over and I napped. It was a long 10 and a half hour trip dreaming of the nice comfy bed.

But we made it....and the boys are oh so glad!