We have lived in our house for 10 years, alomost 11. Above picture is the only one I have of our house and it happens to be the day after hurricane Ike! About 5 years ago I realized I had NEVER been alone in my house without a child here with me. So I started paying attention to make sure I was correct in my assumption. I mean, I have been here with a kids sleeping or kids playing in the backyard, so it seemed like I was alone. Or with a newborn, while my husband took the other kids so I had some quiet. But I have never actually been alone in my house with NO ONE but me. In December one Saturday my bigger kids were at friends houses and my husband was going Christmas shopping, I had a bunch of housework to do so my hubby decided to take the 4 littlest with him. It was 5 minutes later that I realized I WAS ALONE IN MY HOUSE!!! FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER!!! I cranked the radio, texted a friend to tell her the news and wished I had something better to do than laundry to celebrate the moment…. Twenty-five minutes later my husband was home with a sleepy baby whose diaper had exploded as he walked into Target. So I cleaned up the baby and put him to bed, husband left with the other kids for a second try, and I am still daydreaming about my 25 minute home alone experience.
I have never been alone in my house….
Scholastic Mommy Blogger Award!
I don’t blog often. I just barely started this. In fact, I think the only people who read this blog are my family (thanks Mom!) and Kelly (thanks Kelly!). Imagine my surprise this morning when I received an email from the editor in chief (hi Mr. Nick!) of Scholastic. I didn’t even know what to do-I thought it was spam (sorry Mr. Nick).
"What are those?"
Yesterday Anna I took the three little ones and went to run a few errands. Aunt Anna came with us, and of course as soon as we got out of the car Storie Bean said “Pick me up!!! Pick me up!” So Anna was carrying her into the store when Bean pointed to her chest and said, “What are these?” I thought we were going to die laughing and then Anna shot me a look like, “Say something! She’s your kid!” So I smiled, and before I could respond Bean asked, “Where’d you get them?” We started laughing harder (but to ourselves so she wouldn’t be sad…) and I finally was able to get out, “Some people buy them.” Anna followed up with, “Yeah, you can buy them.” Bean looked at her chest again thoughtfully, “They’re too big for me.”
Oh kids say the darndest things.
Lemonade Stand
How could you not stop by this stand and get some lemonade from these four little girls? You can’t! They’re too cute. We decided that it was finally time to dejunk the garage this Saturday, and while we were cleaning we had quite a few people stop and start “shopping around” what they thought was a garage sale. Guess we had a lot of crap.
So the girls thought they’d do a lemonade stand, it’s the traditional activity when Mom and Dad are cleaning the garage or having a sale. It’s perfect for two reasons:
Mardi Gras Parade
Last Saturday I thought we’d enjoy the Mardi Gras Parade in Galveston-even if it there was an 80% chance of rain. So I grabbed Anna (who thought it’d be smart to bring Miller) and we headed to Galveston! Tucker, Paul and Jeff stayed home. Boy, they missed out. Look how much fun Miller was having!
and sitting on Emma! 
The parade itself was super exciting! We had a really good spot up front that we’d staked out before the parade started. Of course, once it started a large group of young teenage girls decided that getting beads for themselves was more important that the little kids they were shoving out of the way. Every time a float came by they ran in front of us!! We were SO mad! They even took beads out of Avery’s hands and ripped a cup out of Emma’s. It was crazy. Fortunately there were enough beads to go around… and everyone else noticed them acting like that … so we came home with more than we needed. But still-how rude!
How’d we get the rain to stop? I bought 7 umbrellas from the dollar store. That’s how. You come prepared and it takes the fun away from Mother Nature. It rained the whole way home though-and all morning before the parade started.
Miller went nuts playing in the sand! He loved it! Good thing Shadow stayed at home or he would have thought it was the worlds best litter box.
“Hey Mister! Throw me some beads!” This wasn’t even all the loot they scored! They kept giving me the beads to hold so they could get more. Thank you Mardi Gras! 
So maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea to bring Miller. He helped hold the necklaces, AND he was a huge hit! Everyone wanted to pet him. He was a mini celebrity out there. The collar probably helped! 
Well-the parade was a success!! The kids fell asleep on the way home and Emma was very excited to hang out with the wet dog!
Paige had to help poor Rush hold his bottle up. He would start to fall asleep and then knock it out of his mouth.. which would then wake him up… then he’d start to fall asleep.. etc…etc… 
So there ya have it! The best way to spend a rainy Saturday afternoon! Not cuddled up with a blanket and a book, but a two hour drive in the rain with a wet dog!
Tips for traveling with 6 kids….
When you plan on being in the car for a 19 hour trip one way you must do the following…
One of these things is not like the other!
This could be a textbook example of the differences between boys and girls!!! Rush tearing it up and Abby using her fork!
Rush had a Birthday!!
Tradition says, You must give a baby an entire chocolate cake and see what happens… Rush was not shy! He handled it like a pro!
Paige's Birthday!
Paige had a great party! She got lots of cool gifts, the best being Heely’s from Grandma and Grandpa! I can hardly believe she is seven now. She is getting to be such a beautiful girl, smart and so fun to be around. We really are so proud of her!
Paige’s Birthday!
Paige had a great party! She got lots of cool gifts, the best being Heely’s from Grandma and Grandpa! I can hardly believe she is seven now. She is getting to be such a beautiful girl, smart and so fun to be around. We really are so proud of her!
Meet My Litter
Baseball Star Dude
Part comedian, part Dad, part athlete. He will boss around your children while they play ball.Baby Sitter Doll!
Just as angelic as she looks, this girl could easily raise a Village by herself, and all the children would grow up to be President.Webkinz Pup!
Self proclaimed, she would be a webkinz dog. Because, "they're cute, and puppies are too. And they're sweet and they always get along with other puppies."Princess
This mini-Martha Stewart can handle ANY craft you send her way. She isn't all bows and rainbows, she's got karate kid moves!Pick-Me-Up
Not "Pick-Me-Up" like caffeine, she wants you to pick her up! AND NOW!Supercute Destroyer
Anything that can be destroyed WILL be destroyed!Mary Poppins
Practically Perfect in Every Way for now! Nicknamed "The Panda" she is rolly polly and lives by the motto, "the little one, is KING!"Miller Dog
The resident Labradoodle, Miller got his name because Mom won and got to name the baby! Need something chewed up? He'll take care of it. Especially if it's expensive..
