Ack!

It's been forever since I posted here... I did mention I wasn't good at keeping a blog/journal right?

Anyway, huge things have been going on!! Well, one big huge thing... we bought a house. I love it! It's much bigger than the rental and almost brand new! It was built in 2006 but a musician bought it and she travels all over playing her music so I know she wasn't here most of the year she owned the house. http://www.lynnearriale.com/ Anyway it is beautiful! I love it here!e

Other new things :) Eric is loving school! The transition switching was so smooth! He is reading more words every day. It is so fun to watch that develop. Mark loves his new Pre K too! In fact, we were having trouble at the old school with crying, etc. but for some reason not at this one. YAY! Zack is talking up a storm! I think he is probably caught up to his age level now. It appears once again, mommy was worried for nothing. Benjamin is crawling all over and he can go from sitting to crawling and back to sitting again. He's just growing too fast!

Thanksgiving is coming soon and we are going to Georgia to visit some good friends! I am so excited to be in the Atlanta area for a few days. I just love it there. I love it here too, of course, but I sometimes miss Georgia.

That's about all that's going on with life right now. Just busy as always, chaotic, but I love it all!

Zack hurt himself :(

This happened almost 2 weeks ago but Zack did the craziest thing. He climbed up into Eric 's bed (top bunk) when I thought everyone was sleeping. Somehow he fell off and busted his head open. It was awful. We rushed to the ER (piled everyone in the car & just Zack and I went in.) Thank goodness it was quick and we were in and out in 2 hours. 7 staples later. We got home at midnight and took the bunkbeds apart. I just can't risk that happening again. It was way too horrifying!



Zack in the hospital with his head wrapped (they put anesthesia gel on him & he kept trying to take the tape off... I couldn't hold the boy still even with his head injured!









The staples

The day of staple removal ( (Monday)

He's 2

Two years ago right now I was sitting in the hospital. My water had broken at 4 AM at home and I assumed contractions would start. They didn't so I waited. I was trying not to use pitocin, and to be patient and let things happen on their own. Again, nothing happened. Finally at 1 PM we started the pitocin and at 2:22 PM Zachary was here. I am so sentimental today! Right now he is playing with his toys with his big brothers and we are about to go for a walk and think of some fun things to do today. Tonight we will have cake and icecream.

Mother injures herself cleaning cobwebs... story at ten (rolling eyes)

Ok, mental note for the future. When picking a chair to stand in to reach the cobwebs in the entry way do not pick the rolling computer chair. I just about flipped the dang thing over... Leave it to me to get ambitious & almost hurt myself being lazy getting the closest chair...

He's not a baby anymore... ***SIGH****

It has been coming to me for a long time that Zack is just no longer a baby. It didn't hit me hard even when Benjamin was born. He was only nineteen months old and obviously still a baby. There were just two "babies" in the family. I still refer to Eric and Mark as "the big boys" and Zack and Ben as "the babies." This has evolved from the bigger boys being "the boys" and Zachary being "the baby". Forever I used the excuse that Zachary was too good at being the baby in the family and used to that status so who was I to push him out of that just because we had another little bitty one. But now, I see him moving on. It started to hit me when I realized he will be two very soon. When the other guys were two they were big boys by golly!! But Zack was still my baby. He's starting to talk more and others are starting to understand him, and while it is late (possibly another factor in my denial at him getting bigger) it is so much fun! And now, with his second birthday imminent (two weeks from today) he is spending his very first night in a big boy bed. Now, I've put him back in bed three times since beginning this entry, but now he's sleeping and when I put him in there and said "Zack's bed, night night sweetie." He had the biggest smile on his face. I love it!

I put this bed transition on hold for so long because ... I don't know. I didn't want to go through the transition, I was worried he wasn't ready. But he has been climbing out of the crib on rare occasions for a while now and after our recent trip to Oklahoma he was getting out every morning. Even then I was hesitant but this afternoon I went to check on him in Eric's room and he was quite happily laying in the bottom bunk. It was almost nap time so I put the blanket on him and kissed him goodnight. He is just ready.

He's not a baby anymore, but he is still an awfully cute little boy!

What is a Momma to do????

Sigh. So it's nearing the end of naptime and I hear lots of giggles from Zachary's room. I'm okay with that as it was buying me some much needed quiet time so I let them play. It started sounding a little too fun so I went to check and... da da da dummmmm.... I walk in to this scene. Clothes & bedding piled into Zachary's crib with the little man himself standing on the pile.

But how could I be mad at the little guys when they are soooo cute.

Fun fun fun!!

We had the best weekend! Our friends were down from Atlanta & doing Disney and the whole bit so we got to meet up with them on Friday. FUN. & 7 kids 5 and under between us & everyone survived! We went to the Children's Museum in Lakeland & the kids ran (Shanna and I let the daddys chase 'em while we caught up) and then attempted to make it to the Shuttle Launch at the coast. Unfortunately noone really realized it was RUSH HOUR and it took us 2 hours to get 1/2 way there. By that time Benjamin was freaking out and the other boys were just DONE being in the car. I assume it was the same scenario in the other vehicle. So, we stopped 50 miles short of Titusville (where we intended to view the launch) and ate dinner at Cracker Barrel. So, after eating with a party of 12, 7 of which being kids (I'm SURE they fought over who HAD to take our table) Shanna, Lisa (Shanna's sister) and I took the kiddies outside to run a minute before getting back in the car & we saw the shuttle. The poor dads missed it. They were the most excited to see it too. Poor daddies stuck inside paying the dinner bill. I really felt bad but it was also funny in a twisted sort of way... So then we went back to their hotel, swam and left to go home. It was so fun! Always good seeing friends, especially these guys in particular.