#4's 4th birthday

We've never really been big on birthday celebrations so #4's birthday was just a family affair.  She got to open gifts, watch Frozen, and choose where we ate dinner.  She chose Jason's Deli.  For the salad bar.  And she got an ice cream cake, although we didn't get any pictures of it because we had to wait until Sunday to get it for her.  She hasn't stopped playing with her news toys yet.  Always a plus! 

Hard to believe our munchkin is four, but we're not sad about it either!  She continues to love to cuddle and is starting to come up with the funniest things to say.  She is coming out of her shell a little bit around strangers, but she still isn't completely comfortable with new situations and new people.  She still wavers between wanting to "do school" like her big sisters and being happy having all the toys to herself while they are working.  I'm enjoying watching her come out of the toddler stage and enter into the little kids stage.

Sickness, a Birthday, and Insects

Baby Girl #2 turned 10 on Tuesday.  It wasn't the original plan, but she actually got to celebrate all week long.

On Tuesday Daddy made her some eggs for a quick breakfast and then I surprised the three oldest with a painting class.  It wasn't exactly what I thought it was going to be, but they all had a good time anyway. 

 The best part of course was getting to take the day off of school.  No school for anyone on birthdays around here!  Well, that was the best part for the rest of us.  The best part for #2 was a toss-up between getting to finally wear dangling earrings and getting to read Harry Potter.  Once they turn 10 is when those two things happen for our girls.  She's almost done with the first book and she hasn't worn anything but danglies since Tuesday!

And for her birthday dinner she chose CiCi's Pizza.  Ugh!  But we let them choose wherever they want to go (within reason) so CiCi's it was.  Complete with Mac and Cheese pizza.  One of my favorite pizza's there, actually!

On Thursday we went on a field trip to the Insecterium in New Orleans.  Our only time to actually go to NOLA since we've moved here.  Also the only time I've had to go through airport-like security to see a bunch of bugs.  But we got to see friends and eat some more chocolate covered bugs, so it was worth it. 

Of course crawfish are going to be on display!  Especially the blue ones!

Eating chocolate covered wax worms.  We're used to them now.

Can't forget these two!  Notice the one person not in the pictures eating a bug...

We thought he was going to be the only one to have one land on him

But #2 got lucky too

And since we were in New Orleans with friends we decided that we would take the girls down to a famous cafe to get some famous beignets.  First of all, we walked several blocks to get there.  We were in the downtown area and had already paid for parking for the day so we didn't want to try to move the vehicles and have to pay again.  Walking in crowds trying to keep track of 9 children was a little stressful for me.  But we made it in one piece.  We even got caught by a few street performers.  The girls enjoyed it even if I was slightly irritated having to put money in a terrible "magician's" hat.  But the beignets were really good and the time with friends was welcome.

Iced Cafe au Lait--it was humid!

Lovely magician--just lovely

After getting home I took #1 and #2 to get manicures.  This was one of the things #2 wanted for her birthday.  I was originally going to just take #2, but she asked if #1 could come too and since #1 has her own money to pay for it I agreed.  We had a good time.

Tonight #2 is actually going to get to open the rest of her gifts.  I failed to take in to account Valentine's Day and President's Day when I ordered her gifts so they didn't actually get here until yesterday.  Definitely another Mommy Fail to add to my list.  It won't be the last either!

And tomorrow she'll get her birthday breakfast, chocolate chip pancakes and turkey bacon.  So even though it didn't quite work out the way she wanted, I think it was still a pretty good week for her.

As far as school goes, we actually only did school work on Wednesday.  I woke up in the middle of the night Sunday night sick to my stomach and stayed that way for the rest of the day so school was cancelled.  Tuesday was off for the birthday, Thursday was the field trip, and Friday was co-op.  So we did part of school on Wednesday, and it wasn't really good for anyone.  I was still not feeling great so was cranky and short with the girls.  They couldn't seem to get in the school gear and kept messing around.  We didn't really get anything important covered.  And so we'll chalk this week up to "life experience" (because that sounds better than saying the week was wasted, although it really wasn't) and we'll move on. 

I'm looking forward to not having anywhere to go tomorrow.  I'll probably sleep as late as I can get away with.  And we'll be back on track for next week!

#1 Turns 11

#1 turned 11 just a few days after we got back from California.  Because of that we kept it pretty low key, but my Mom and Dad were both able to be here which made it special for her.  Mom and Dad hadn't been to our place since they helped us move in so it was nice to have them here for a couple of days when they could see the house as we live in it now, not full of boxes!

We started #1's birthday by going to an early lunch at PF Changs.  This is my favorite place to eat and #1 really likes it to. She had asked before if that could be her birthday dinner with the family, but we told her no because it was too expensive.  But then the other plans we had for her birthday fell through so we decided to splurge a little and go for lunch.  We all enjoyed it. 

Grammy, #3, Pappy, and #2

Birthday Girl and her Daddy

Some more than others!

After lunch we went and watched Despicable Me 2.  I love those movies!  The second one wasn't as funny as the first one, but it had minions in it, so it was worth it!  And I got to go to a funny movie with my Dad, which is always entertaining.  If you ever get to watch Toy Story with him, do it.  You'll laugh harder at him than you will the movie!

The next day we went bowling.  Um, is anyone aware of how expensive bowling is now?  We all really love going and would do it more often if it didn't cost $60 for 2 hours for our family.  Good grief!  Do they sell annual passes or anything, because it is almost as expensive as going to a theme park.  But we did have fun, despite the last 30 minutes or so being the glow ball bowling, where they turn off the lights and everything is lit with black lights.  Yeah, the adults used that as our excuse for not scoring well.  Whatever helps us sleep at night!

And for dinner that night I made the girls' favorite meal--sweet and sour chicken and fried rice.  I think I've finally figured out a technique to make it where it is not quite as much work, but it still requires more effort than I normally like to exert for one meal, especially considering clean up, so it is still going to be an occasional dinner, not one on the regular rotation.

An ice cream cake that she wanted so bad!

Sunday was church and then the parentals had to head home on Monday.  We always miss them when they leave, even after spending three weeks with Mom, but we were thankful for the time we got to spend with them and looked forward to seeing them again.

Baby Girl #4 turns 3!

Age 2

Age 3

Baby Girl #4 turned 3 this last Friday.  She actually got to string the celebration out over a couple of days since Daddy was out of town for 3 days.  Good thing she is 3 and has no concept of when  her birthday actually is or that she could have milked it more than she did!  As it was she was just glad to be able to go out to dinner Friday night with Mommy and her sisters and open a couple of gifts.  Saturday we waited until Daddy got home and then had cake and opened the rest of her gifts.  I was reminded once again that it was just as exciting for her to get a sleeve of stickers as it was for her to get her brand new tricycle.  Everything is so simple and black and white when you're 3!  And I love that.  It's possible that by this time next year she won't be as excited about the stickers, so I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts! 

Stickers!

Not crazy about the sombrero!

She really was happy!

No Peeking!

Big girls lift the whole cake up!

 This last year has seen a lot of changes for #4.  We moved towards the end of the year which meant learning to adjust to a new home, new faces at church, and trying to understand where her friends where that she used to see all the time.  She has adapted very well to these changes. 

So well in fact, that she is now going to sleep in her bed without Hubby or I having to sit in the room with her.  We've been trying to break her of that for at least a year and a half.  Did I mention that she is the youngest of four and one of the most stubborn children I know?  But she has apparently decided that now it is OK to just lay in there with her big sister to go to sleep instead of having to have Mommy or Daddy.  I am extremely happy about this! 

About a week before she decided to go to sleep on her own she also started sleeping all night in her own bed.  Around the time she turned 2 and started coming in and getting in bed with us without either of us noticing, we stopped trying to put her back in her own bed multiple times each night.  As a result, each night between 1 and 3 a.m. she would come in, tap one of us on the arm and then fall right back to sleep when we stuck her between us.  Neither Hubby or I were crazy about this, but neither of us was willing to actually get out of bed and sit with her for 30 minutes while she went back to sleep in her own bed, so we dealt with it.  I have no idea why she started staying in her room all night.  It just kind of happened all of a sudden.  My sleep and my back pain have both improved dramatically as a result!

One more big thing is that #4 is completely potty trained!  She has gone several weeks without a single accident and is very proud to be wearing her big girl panties all the time.  Once again, it was like a switch just turned on in her head and she decided that she wanted to go in the potty.  She stopped having accidents after just a couple of days.  This aspect of her personality is something I'm going to have to remember when she starts school!

So I'm breathing a small sigh of relief with her turning 3.  This last year as been one where she has tested her limits and pushed her boundaries.  But as much as she has frustrated us, she is also full of joy.  She has a smile that lights up a room and a laugh that is absolutely contagious.  She gives the best hugs and kisses you'll ever get.  She loves to play with her sisters, usually without fussing at them, but she also plays really well on her own.  She walks a fine line between wanting to be grown up like her sisters and wanting to be a little girl cuddling with her Daddy.  I love each new stage that she comes to and watching her go flying by it and on to the next one.  If this next year is anything like the last year, it's going to be a blast!

Finally got to use my birthday present

My birthday is exactly two weeks after Christmas.  Now that I have children that usually means that after we purchase Christmas gifts and gifts for Baby Girl #3 whose birthday is actually only 8 days after Christmas, that there is usually not a lot left to purchase gifts for me.  Hubby does his best to make sure that I get something, but it's a little hard when there is no money.

This year Hubby asked what I wanted for my birthday at the beginning of December.  At that time I was going a little stir crazy.  Usually I'm OK being home all day every day with the girls, but every so often I have had enough and I really need a break just to myself.  When he asked happened to be one of those times.  So when he asked what I wanted all I could think of was having a day to myself and a little bit of spending money to spend on whatever I wanted.  And that is exactly what I got!  Actually, he also got me a Groupon for a one hour massage, but I don't get to use that until the first part of April. 

The money has been sitting on my headboard since the first part of January, but with my sister's wedding at the beginning of March we were pretty busy and I didn't have a chance to have my day.  But now that that is behind us I finally got to go.  I did a whole lot of nothing.  I had a coupon burning in my pocket so I went shoe shopping and found a couple pairs of shoes for $25 total.  The only thing better than buying new shoes is buying new shoes and getting a great deal!  I also went to a couple of movies, browsed Hobby Lobby and sat in the shade and read a book.  I got home after the girls were in bed.  The house was clean and I had no jobs waiting for me to do. 

I enjoyed the time to myself.  Even though the cabin fever had passed, I still enjoyed shopping on my own and having no one asking me a million question for several hours.  And to be perfectly honest, I enjoyed not having to share my candy and popcorn at the movies!  But at the end of the day I wondered if I would ever request this gift of a day to myself again.  I enjoy being around other people too much.  While the peace and quiet was nice, I don't think I need it that often.  Time without kids, sure.  But I would rather spend time with Hubby or friends than be by myself. 

I am very thankful for the time I got to spend by myself.  I do feel recharged.  But I think that the next time I'm asked what I want for my birthday I'll pick something else.  Like Sees chocolate--just in case you were wondering!

#2 turns 9!

Today is Baby Girl #2's birthday.  We kind of celebrated all weekend long with her.  Or more correctly, she's gotten pampered all weekend.  And she has taken full advantage of it!

Friday we went to Chuck E. Cheese.  I'm sure you remember that that is one of my least favorite places to go.  We thought there was another pizza place that had games in it here, but when we looked it up online there were no games.  So Chuck E. Cheese it was.  Fun was had by all the girls.  Although I think #1 is getting why I don't like it.  She told us that she was disappointed because the games there don't give out hardly any tickets.  Exactly! 

This is what $30 in tokens will get you!

 Anyway, after Chuck E. Cheese we took them to get an ice cream cone.  Baskin Robbins has some of the same flavors now that they did when I was a kid.  Anyone else remember the bubble gum ice cream that had actual bubble gum pieces in it?  Seriously, who thought that was a good idea?  The girls enjoy me telling them what flavors I used to get.

For dinner we had nachos, #2's request for the night.  We also had red velvet cupcakes, also the request of #2.  Want to know my Mommy fail moment of the night?  When I went to put candles on one of the cupcakes I realized that I only had 8.  She turned 9.  Kind of defeats the purpose of having candles if you don't have the right amount. My solution?  Hubby held a lit match up next to the cupcake as we walked it out singing.  It counts, right?  I think it is safe to say that we were done with junk food for the rest of the weekend.

Early in the week last week I got online with #2 to have her pick out an 18'' doll.  Why she wants one, I don't know, but she did.  We ended up getting one that was exactly what she wanted on Ebay.  It actually came on Friday, but she didn't know it so she didn't open it up until today.  She loves it!

The biggest moment of today was that she got to get her ears pierced.  #1 got her ears pierced the first time when she was 8.  Turns out her ears are very sensitive and they got infected a couple of times and we had to let them grow back in.  She got them pierced again at 9 and has done much better with them. Unfortunately for #2, that experience taught me that 9 might be a better age to get the ears pierced than 8, so #2 had to wait until this year.  She's been talking about it since her last birthday.  She was excited all day today, but as we got closer to actually getting it done she got more and more nervous.  I took her to dinner with just the two of us first, thinking that after she got it done she wouldn't feel like eating.  In retrospect, I probably should have taken her to eat afterward.  She was so nervous before hand that she could hardly eat anything.  Even when the staff made her a birthday treat, she just couldn't eat.

They made a really cute little palm tree out of bananas and kiwis

 But she did very well getting them done.  She cried a little, which is totally OK.  But now she is feeling fine, and loving her earrings.  She feels so grown up and special. 

Look close, they're there!

 I'm just amazed that it was 9 years ago that she was born.  She was so unexpected and arrived at a difficult time in our lives, but we are truly blessed to have her as our daughter.  She is so much like me in so many ways, which is great for the rest of the world, but it drives me a little nuts.  She has the best laugh and biggest heart.  She loves to think she is so grown up, but she still loves to play with her little sisters.  She creates songs and plays that are beyond impressive.  I can't wait to see what the coming years with her brings.  I don't know what they'll hold, but I can guarantee they'll be a blast!

Baby Girl #3's birthday

Poor kid has a birthday just over a week after Christmas.  Since my own birthday is exactly two weeks after Christmas I am aware of how much it actually stinks.  It's not that I didn't get enough gifts or attention growing up on my birthday.  It's just that everyone is always so partied out from Christmas that there isn't much celebration left in them when it comes time for your birthday.  The one good thing is that we're usually around extended family for Christmas which means I'm able to throw a celebration for her in there somewhere.  So far she doesn't seem to mind.

This year we were up at my parents' and my brother (D) and his wife and daughter were coming up a couple of days before our family Christmas.  #3 had told me multiple times she wanted to go to Chuck E Cheese for her birthday.  I really dislike that place.  I'm not exactly sure why.  It is entirely possible that I dislike it solely based on the cliche aspect of it.  And the fact that it always seems dirty to me.  And that I have never been to one where I did not see a child climbing on the ski-ball machine.  (Once it was my child--but that's another story).  Regardless, I did not want to do Chuck E Cheese.  Instead, I thought we could go to a place called Incredible Pizza, which as it turns out is now called Gatti Town.

Gatti Town is like a grown up version of Chuck E Cheese.  There is a Pizza/Salad/Dessert Bar that is all you can eat for as long as you are there.  And you put money on a card for the games instead of having to carry 4 cups filled with a million tokens.  There are also a lot more games that actual adults can enjoy like putt-putt and go-carts and miniature bowling.  But also plenty of kid games as well.

Baby Girls #1, 2 and 3 with Uncle on Bumper Cars.  Baby Girl #4 and cousin are looking on morosely because they are too short to ride.

Baby Girls #1 and #2 on the go-carts

 I had a good plan.  We went on a Thursday and got there about 3:30.  My plan was to play first and then eat and then leave, missing most of the evening crowd.  It didn't quite work out that way.  Which is OK.  One of my other brothers (S) was able to get off work a little early so he was able to come, so the extra stress was worth it.  But seriously, it is so stressful to me to try to keep track of 4 children, make sure they all get to play and do everything they really want to, count tickets, and then take 15 minutes at a crowded counter to decide whether they want a pencil or plastic ring.  I had 6 other adults there with me and I still left completely exhausted, and quite frankly, a little hungry.  All you can eat doesn't help when you're trying to make sure your children get everything they want.  Don't get me wrong, my family did most of the work for me.  But I try to not just assume they will handle everything so I was constantly jumping up to get another breadstick or refill a drink.

Baby Girl #3 actually enjoyed the little kid section more than anything

She loved this train

So we left a little later than planned.  And then we swung by my brother (S) and his wife's place so brother (D) and family could see their new house.  One does not simply "stop by real quick" in my family.  Our quick stops involve making a pot of coffee.  But luckily I have done this before so I knew to bring the girls' PJs for them to change in to.  We had an hour and half drive home.  Made slightly longer due to the fact that even though I have made the drive several times in my life, and was actually following my Dad, I was talking instead of paying attention and took the wrong exit.  Onto a turnpike.  For those of you who are not familiar with the Oklahoma turnpikes, suffice it to say we had to go several miles down the road in order to turn around.

We made it home around 11, all the girls went right bed and the adults were not far behind.  I was pretty proud of myself for being able to give Baby Girl #3 a celebration at a pizza/party place, even if it wasn't Chuck E Cheese, and even if it wasn't on her actual birthday.  That proud moment disappeared on her actual birthday when she asked me what we were going to do for her birthday and then got a blank look when I explained that Gatti Town was her party.  *Sigh*

It's my Birthday!

And I did a whole lot of nothing!  I had a tuna fish sandwich for lunch and tacos for dinner.  We were late getting home from our trip so school had to start today.  I got to open all my gifts early so I had nothing to open today.  Baby Girl #1 made cookies after dinner but since Hubby and I started counting points today I can't eat more than one. 

And you know what?  I'm OK with my day being like that.  The gifts that I did get were pretty awesome.  Hubby fixed my wedding ring that has been broken for several months!  He also got me a certificate for a massage and money to go and do anything I want to for an entire day.  I'm really looking forward to that day, whenever it comes.  My parents got me a bracelet that I love.  Hubby is making my favorite breakfast for brunch on Friday. 

So my actual birthday wasn't one that will go down for the most spectacular day of my life.  That's OK.  My blessings are many.  And if the gifts and breakfasts and special treatment get drawn out over several days instead of being all in one that may be even better.  That's just that many more days that I get to say, "But we're celebrating my birthday!" to get out of cleaning the dinner dishes!