Random pictures and bragging of my monkeys...

First, here is a slide show from the wonderful Memorial Day picnic with Nana and Papa:


http://s212.photobucket.com/albums/cc98/luvmy5monkeys/May/?action=view&current=dbcf2a6f.pbw
Here are the boys watching for Nana to finish her first 10 K at our Apple Blossom Festival! Go Nana Go!!

Lincoln is test driving his brand new stroller. Now, we have a Joovy sit and stand stroller that I love, I seriously love it (and, no, Pee-Wee, I'm not gonna marry it). We bought it when I was pregnant with Lincoln, and it's a bit pricey ($150), but it is sooooo worth it. I could go on and on, but since I'm not a paid spokesperson, I'll shut up (unless someone from the Joovy corporation would like to pay me for endorsements? Yes? No? You'll get back to me?). Anyway, we (and by 'we' I mean me) decided that the Joovy was just too big for our Washington DC trip. It will take up to much room in the trunk, and also since we'll be using the subway most the time it will be to bulky. We learned that last year in NYC. So I started looking around for an umbrella stroller. Well, the cheap ones just weren't going to work, we needed one that had a bar for the handle, not those curved separate handles. That would have killed my back. So I settled on this stroller, it's a Combi brand, and it was more then I was hoping to spend ($70) but it is wonderful! It only weighs 10 pounds, and it folds up small like an umbrella stroller does. It moves like a dream, turns very easily. And again, I'll shut up (Combi?? Do you need a spokesperson? I'm cheap. I'll endorse the heck out of this stroller if you want)And, here is Louis Armstrong...er, wait, that's Moira and her prize from the duckie game. She was jonesing for those trumpets as soon as she saw another little girl with one.

Ok, now on to funny things the kids have said:
The other day Spencer was talking to Lincoln saying "Whose my favorite brother? Whose my favorite little brother?" and from the other room, I hear "Bastian!" Haha, Bastian's timing is impeccable.

And, just now when Moira was heading upstairs to bed she tells me that she is out of gas. I asked what happens when she is out of gas and she said "That means I can't walk up stairs any more. You will have to carry me"

Boy, sometimes I sure wish the boys were out of gas...and I'm not talking about the walk you up the stairs kind if you get my drift......

*sigh* I'm too lazy for all this activity.....

I think I've gotten spoiled from using Fridays as my day to run errands. Friday is the day that Dennis usually works from home, so after lunch when the babies are napping I'll go do grocery shopping or whatever while he stays home. But, today I needed to grocery shop, and I wanted to run to JoAnns for some crafty type stuff...'cause I'm crafty like that.

I knew if I didn't do my workout in the morning I wouldn't get to it at all. So, I decided I better get up with Spencer at 6am. I get up with him, and get him off to school. Then get Gideon and Bastian up and ready. Moira woke up on her own at 8. The boys get the bus at 8:15 and Lincoln wakes up at 8:30. I've been awake for 2 and a half hours and I'm still in my pajamas. Have I mentioned before I'm not a morning person? Finally at a little after 9 I start my workout, and I'm done by 10. Then I get the babies dressed, and finally at about 11 we leave.

We head to JoAnn's first. Have you ever noticed how close together those shelves are? Lincoln kept taking things off the shelf and throwing them in the cart, so I move him to the other side of the aisle, and he just grabs things off that shelf. So I move him to the middle of the aisle, and he just starts grabbing things from both sides. As I'm taking out and putting back all the things that Lincoln threw in the cart, Moira is saying "Mama! Winkin wants that pink ribbon! It's his favorite. He loves it. He wants you to buy it for him." I told her that we don't need a pink ribbon and her answer is "But it is Winkin's favorite and it will make him soooooo happy!" What can you say to that? No, really, what can you say? Do you have any ideas? Because what I said was "Oh, ok then honey. I guess we should buy it" Yep. I'm a sucker, aren't I?

We did manage to leave JoAnn's without buying too much else that we didn't need. Then we went to wegman's. Moira got to play in WKids ("Because I'm big enough now Mama! I'm a big girl!" *sniff sniff* she sure is). Lincoln and I did our shopping. He is normally very good for most the shopping trip. He's a very easy going baby. But, there comes a point when we are done, no matter how many things I still have on my list to get. That point of stopping is when the back of the cart is full. Because once it is full then Lincoln likes to pick something out of the back of the cart, look at it, turn it over in his hands a few times while saying "huh" and "ahhhh". Then when he is done examining said item, he tosses it to the floor. So, that my friends, is how I know I'm done shopping, even if my list says I have more to get.

We then get Moira out of WKids, and hustle to the car. I buckle the babies in, then load up all the groceries, and give the babies their Lunchables to eat on the way home. I then rush home because it takes 30 minutes to get from wegman's back home, and Spencer's bus is due home in 40 minutes or so. We got home about 2 minutes before him *whew!* and he helped me carry in groceries. I put babies down for their naps, then put the groceries away...then, finally at 3pm I sit down to eat my lunch.

Now I feel like I've been awake forever. And it's all dark and rainy and perfect napping weather...but I've got chores to do and it's almost time to start dinner. I think tomorrow I'll have to be super lazy to offset the activity from today.

Bastian counts down to Mothers Day!!!

Oh, the mind of a 5 year old...it's a wonderful thing!

Bastian comes home on Thursday and says to me "I made you a picture for Mothers Day. But I'm not supposed to tell you about it."

Then on Friday he comes home, runs in the house, and runs upstairs. I thought he just really had to go potty. A few minutes later he comes down, and as we are fixing his snack he says "I had to hide your Mothers Day present so you don't find it......so I hid it under your bed.....so don't look under your bed until Sunday. Because Mothers Day is on Sunday. So don't look. Under your bed. At your present. From me. It's under your bed." At this point I couldn't hear him anymore because I was laughing too hard.

So, from Bastian and I to all you mothers out there.......

Happy Mothers Day!!!!!!!!!!
I hope you have a wonderful day and get pampered like you deserve. But, don't look under your bed until tomorrow. Because Mothers Day isn't till Sunday. And we had to hide your gift. So it's under your bed. The gift. For you. From us. For Mothers Day. That we can't let you know about. Until tomorrow. Ya know, because tomorrow is Mothers Day? So we made you a picture. But we can't tell you. So we hid it. Under your bed........

What a way to spend a rainy Friday night!

We went to the drive in yesterday. There is one in Perry NY, so about 90 minutes from us. It is a really nice one. First run movies. Double features. There is a big lawn and playground in front of the screen. Last year we usually sat on the lawn, with our camping chairs and blankets, and the pack n play for Lincoln. Well, yesterday it had been raining a lot of the day, so we told the kids that they couldn't play on the playground. Since we got there 45 minutes early, man did we hear about that. About 20 minutes before the movie was going to start, a guy walks over and introduces himself as the owner. He said he likes to "welcome" some people during his announcements before the movie starts and asked all our names. Haha, bet he didn't realize there were so many of us! Anyway, so we give him all our names, and he says he hopes we have fun, and that was that. Until he came back about 15 minutes later. He asked if Dennis and the boys could go with him to (and I quote..which is the reason I'm going to use quotation marks, also known as bunny ears) "start the movie". So, Dennis and the big boys go with him. A few minutes later we hear his announcements, all the normal "this is what we are showing tonight, this is what we are showing next week, don't forget to get your snacks, enjoy the show, etc etc" and he says "And a special welcome to Lincoln, Moira, Sebastian, Gideon, Spencer, Jessica and Dennis joining us tonight" and Moira looks at me with big eyes and says "He said Winkin! And Me! And you Mama!" So cute. Then the trailers start to roll and a few minutes later Dennis and the boys come walking back. The boys are each carrying a big bag of cotton candy, and Dennis has a gigundous tub of popcorn. Which struck me as odd, since we are cheap and we brought snacks. Turns out that they boys got "paid" for helping start the movie. And by "helping start the movie" I mean literally starting the movie! They got to go into the projection room and see the huge projector and Spencer got to push the button! He said it was (cue dramatic music) behind the actual film, and he had to be careful because if he (dum dum DUUMMMMM) touched the film it would ruin the whole thing. And possibly the projector would explode. Which would cause mass-hysteria, and rioting, and the collapse of Western Civilization. Or I may have just made that last part up. But, the gist of what I got from Spencer was "Push button = Good, Touch film = Bad". Luckily, Spencer has nerves of steel. And, the pushing of the button was good (DUM DUM duummmm).

Then we settled back to watch the movie. Normally since it had rained most the day, and there was a 60% chance of showers that evening, we would not have gone to the drive in. But, they were showing IRON MAN. So, do you really think there was a chance of us not seeing it? (by 'us' I really mostly mean Dennis and the geeks-in-training-formally-known-as-the-boys). So, we are all set, with our snacks and our blankets. Dennis had backed the van in, and the trunk door was open and we were sitting in front of it in our camping chairs. And it was wonderful....for 15 minutes. Then it started raining. Ok. Huh. Here's what we do: I climb into the back seats with the babies and Bastian. Spencer was with me for a bit. Dennis sits in the trunk with Gideon (after a bit Spencer climbs over the seat to sit with them). So, I'm trying to keep the babies happy, trying to keep Bastian from climbing into the front seat and playing with the steering wheel, and trying to fit my butt into the seat sideways, next to a carseat, so I can watch the kids and possible catch a minute or two of the movie. Honestly, in the end it worked out. The babies really were pretty good. The boys and Dennis loved the movie. I liked what parts I saw. I thought Robert Downey Jr did great. At one point Lincoln was happy feeding me popcorn. Which I've never let any of the other kids feed me things...I don't know where their grubby little hands have been haha. But, he was laughing every time he did it, so I let him. It was cute. I just hope I don't come down with a raging case of cooties from it.