Adventures in Dennieland...: 01/01/2018

January 31, 2018

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Bible study morning and my people were awake on time and were quickly dressed. Though, when I reminded everyone that chores needed to be done before Bible study, they all acted like they had never heard any of this. Everyone was agreeable and did start to work on their chores. Most all of this weeks chores are already accomplished so that is good.
We left a few minutes later this morning but it really doesn't matter what time we leave for Bible study because we always seem to arrive at the same time. The kids all enjoy being first-now, Reagan may not enjoy it too much. Her class came into our opening time this morning to watch our video. She was the only one from her group the entire time. I guess she has a late arriving class.
After Bible study was over, we headed to the park. It was fairly warm outside so said the kids. Thankfully, I had my winter coat and happily wore it. This was our big kid swap day-the kids want to go home with someone every Wednesday or have someone come to our house so today, we had planned to all swap kiddos.
Keaton and Campbell left with Sara and Candice and I took my big 3 and Whitman along with Noah and Alyssa Kate home, They played laser tag and ran around outside for most of the afternoon.
Whitman and I did some school work, and then he painted while I picked up. The others ate 3 huge bags of popcorn, and then watched some tv. Soon it was time for us to leave for church. I ran to the library on the way.
It was friend night at church so the big guys ate there while Whitman had his supper on the way to church. Everyone had a good night and had lots of fun. When we made it home, Robby had cookies ready for everyone.
They all cycled through the shower before having a few minutes of down time before bed. Whitman had a bit too much of a smart mouth so he was sent to bed earlier than everyone else. Wednesdays seem to wear my crew out-I know that I am exhausted.

January 30, 2018

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Robby left crazy early this morning to go to a Bible study at church, so I got on up with him and made hims some breakfast before he left. Nope, I'm lying. I barely heard his alarm go off, and only stirring when he came back home this morning.
I woke up Whitman and started trying to get him ready for school. He was excited to go except he didn't know what he wanted for breakfast which made things difficult. Once he left, the rest of us worked on our breakfasts. I fried some eggs and scrambled a few and then made some cinnamon toast for everyone. It was a pretty good breakfast if I do say so myself.
We started on our school and things went fairly well. Anderson still had a bit to do after lunch along with Campbell who conveniently forgot some of her work. It is strange how that seems to happen around here.
We had our lunch and then the kids started on chores. The main extra chores this week are cleaning the baseboards in this house. I am not sure what normal people's houses' baseboards looks like but our look like this is an abandoned house. Hopefully, after today at least some of them look a little bit better.
Robby and I ran to a focus group at Tacos for Life while the kids hung out here. They had plenty of excitement since Anderson's new Lego arrived today. He is still spending his Christmas money-I think that he may possibly be broke now.
After we picked up Whitman, we headed home. I did Whitman's school work with him. His story that he read today was "the ram is sad." Most everyone else went outside to play some and stayed outside until the neighbors went in.
I put Campbell and Keaton to work chopping potatoes for our supper. Campbell received some new plastic knives for Christmas, and they are pretty cool. I usually give them my sharp knives but have to hover over them. These knives are sharp enough that I could use them but probably not sharp enough to cut yourself.
I used the instapot tonight and cooked some frozen chicken breast. They were already seasoned so maybe that was why they were so good, but it was a hit either way. We had that along with green beans, fried potatoes and corn muffins. Robby wasn't looking forward to my meal, but I think that he liked it.
Everyone that had not had a shower before supper, took one after supper. Then we watched a bit of the hogs play followed by a bit of Ellen's game show. Graham was not too happy that he had to go to bed while the Hogs were still playing. Robby made an agreement with him that he would get him if they pulled within 5 in the last little bit. There is 9 minutes left and it doesn't look like that will happen, but I guess it sure could.

January 29, 2018

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Campbell woke up first this morning (or maybe Graham was already in the bonus room) but she quickly came to our bedroom instead of being in the living room alone. I headed upstairs to get Whitman up when I heard someone sliding down the steps. It was him so that made things a bit easier because when he is sleeping, he is sound asleep and is pretty hard to wake up.
Whitman was the first to have his doughnuts this morning and once he left, everyone else had their doughnuts as I read to them. Then we worked on our together work. Anderson had done some of his reading last night and started on his work before breakfast. Needless to say, with this extra work and fairly focused work (he was sitting in the same room as me today), he was done around 10:30. The boy didn't know what to do he was finished with school so early.
Everyone else finished around the normal time, and it was nearly 12:30 when we finally ate our lunch. Afterwards, everyone helped on chores. Then the kids had some downtime. Keaton and Campbell painted, Anderson played Legos and worked a new Lego set, everyone but Reagan played basketball outside and soon Whitman was home from Nonna's house.
I worked on Whitman's reading book with him and soon I was in the shower getting ready for out night out. Just like last night's adventure, we had a coupon to spend tonight at Chickfila so that is where we went for supper.
And since Robby had found a gift card a few days ago while cleaning out his office, we then headed to Dunkin Donuts. We might have possibly been trying to bribe the kids with chickfila and donuts since our next stop was church.
They were having an evangelism conference at church, and we attended church tonight. The Master Singers sang wonderfully, The Skit Guys, who the kids loved, did a skit, there was wonderful worship time and the preacher was excellent as well. After church was over, camp Siloam was handing out pieces of cheesecake so we were at church tonight until ten. After 2 nights of Big Church, weary Whitman asked Keaton, "When does Big Church end?" She quickly replied, "It never ends."
Once we came home, Campbell and Anderson took showers (she wanted one and he was itchy) and everyone else headed to bed. It was late and tomorrow is a normal day around here so everyone needs their sleep.

January 28, 2018

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Sunday morning and getting ready for church was fairly easy this morning. Whitman didn't balk too much at his button down shirt, Keaton was fine with wearing her boots with her leggings, Campbell picked a cute shirt, Reagan looked dressy enough, Anderson's dress shirt fit and Graham had on his clothes probably before 7.
We were actually early this morning-early enough that I was confused and thought we were late until we met a line of cars pulling into the church along with us. Church was excellent this morning, and our Sunday school class is always enjoyable. The kids all left with a doughnut so everyone left happy.
We then headed to Nonna's house for lunch. She had spaghetti and meatballs along with chocolate chip cookies and blueberry cobbler. After we ate the kids had plenty of time to play before we headed home.
Once at home, we made it clear to everyone that it was nap time for Robby and me. It seemed to work well because we were able to sleep some. Robby did say that at one point, it sounded like the girls were jumping off of their beds onto the floor right above us, but I did sleep right through all of that.
Around 4, we all stirred and put our church clothes back on. We had a few minutes to pick up around here and even got some gas on the way to church. There wasn't a bit crowd at church tonight, but we were still glad that we went. Afterwards, we headed to Dairy Queen for our weekly free Blizzards and after that, we went to Krispy Kreme to use our coupon for a free dozen doughnuts. Those will be for breakfast tomorrow.
Once at home, the kids had a bit of downtime and Robby spend some time working on the googles. Then it was bedtime for everyone. I am not sure how bed time will go tonight for Whitman since he slept through ALL of church tonight.

January 27, 2018

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The rain was softly pitter pattering outside of our bedroom window this morning. It was still early and not many folks were stirring. It could have been the most perfect peaceful Saturday morning, except for those three boys having a Nerf gun battle right on the other side of our wall
When that noise would die down, then Whitman would come hopping into our room on his bouncy ball. Thankfully, even though we went to bed pretty late and didn't sleep too much, we were still in a decent mood and didn't kill anyone.
Robby made cinnamon rolls this morning, and they were delicious. I think that I probably helped with this since I was the one who took them out of the even. The kids ate at least 2 and a half a piece while Robby and I split three while back in our bed.
After we picked up from breakfast, Robby and I marinated some meat for our supper tonight. Then Keaton and I ran to pick up Reagan from her sleepover. She went to bed at 5, and if you were around her today you could tell.
While we were on our way home, Robby ran to pick up Campbell from her night out at Grannymom's house. Campbell has always been my home body and was worried that she might miss something over here.
Not much happened over here-the highlight was cleaning out Robby's office. It can get kind of cluttered in there. I can't say much because my school room closet is a danger zone, but I am waiting until the end of school to clean it. Robby and I both have our messy closets, but at least most of the rest of our lives are fairly organized.
At 2, I left the closet clean out and took Campbell to a birthday party at church. It was for a little guy in her Wednesday night class. Campbell didn't seem to mind that she only knew one other girl and that it was a Nerf gun party. She had a blast, so much so that I tried to convince her to have a Nerf gun birthday party.
The others played outside a bit while we were gone and soon my kids and the neighbors were out. When everyone came back in, the kids cycled through the showers while Robby and I watched the ballgame and worked on supper.
We had mongolian beef stir fry with rice and edamame, It was delicious, and for the most part the kids ate it up. Afterwards, we all huddled around the tv again to watch the last few minutes of the Hog game.
Afterwards, the kids watched one tv show, had an ice cream sandwich and then went to bed. It was 8 when we did send everyone to bed which is an hour earlier than usual. There were a few complaints but my people are tired and needed their rest.

January 26, 2018

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We weren't as quick to wake up this morning since there was no cookie decorating class to go to. I was out until around 10:30 last night, and Keaton told me this morning that Whitman had said that I wasn't home this morning. I was staring right Whitman when opened our bedroom door this morning, but I guess he didn't see me.
I was home and stumbled through the kitchen to start on breakfast. I opted for muffins since this is Friday, and Keaton helped me make them. Reagan, Campbell and Graham started working on their school s the muffins baked, and Anderson read some to Whitman. Graham was concerned that he was not going to have enough time to do his school because the muffins would get us off to a late start.
Even though the muffins took a minute to bake, everyone devoured them. We cleaned up the kitchen, and then started on our together work. After watching The Greatest Showman, I ordered Robby a book about Barnum from the library and thought I found one for the kids too. The kids got a good laugh at me when I figure out the the book wasn't about the circus Barnum, just about a man whose parents loved the circus and named their child, who became a paleontologist, Barnum.
Everyone finished close to lunch time. Anderson "skipped" his Bible today possibly by accident or possibly not. He did earn himself a spot right next to me during school all next week. We will see if that helps any with his distractibility or maybe he will be more distracted, we shall see.
At noon, we started on chores. I tried to make sure that everything was finished before I left with Campbell. I took her to Grannmymom's house to spend the night over there before running to a doctor's appointment. Afterwards, I ran to the grocery store and struggled finding everything that I needed. Even though I didn't but a whole lot, I spent a lot and was there forever or so it seemed.
The kids were outside playing while I was gone. The neighbor boys came down and played some, and before too long I was leaving again to take Reagan to a birthday party sleepover. Reagan wrapped her gift for her party this afternoon and Campbell, who has a party tomorrow, wrapped her gift. I probably should have helped Campbell do a bit of the wrapping, but she got it done and did it by herself.
I picked up pizza on the way home and both neighbor boys ate with us and then one ended up spending the night. The boys have played in the bonus room most of the evening and have watched at least one movie.
Whitman, Keaton and I read a few books, played the game of Life and they played on their ipads while I dozed and then fixed popcorn and drinks for everyone. They went to bed around ten, but Whitman was not happy about having to sleep in the girls room. Robby sweetened the deal with volunteering to put up his tent so they are both comfy cozy in the tent in the middle of their room.
The boys just came downstairs and are now getting their bedding to sleep in the bonus room. Maybe that way when they wake up, they will just quietly stay up there and we can sleep a bit longer tomorrow. We shall see!

January 25, 2018

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When I first saw Anderson this morning, he told me that their bedroom door was open in the middle of the night. I told him that I know, and it was because Whitman came down to our room sometime during the night. He is pretty cozy and all but I do like having my own pillow.
From talking to Anderson, I headed upstairs to wake Campbell up. I, first, opened the boys' blinds since Graham was already awake in the bonus room. Today was a big day for Campbell, and it took just one try for me to wake her up.
She was so excited about the day that she eagerly took my suggestion and even wore the outfit I suggested. Robby was already waking Whitman up when I came back downstairs. Soon I was loaded in the car with Whitman, Campbell and half of my kitchen.
We dropped Whitman off at school-he had a load of things with him this morning. There was his jacket, a snack for his class, his homework, another sheet to turn in and a little bag of items that started with the letter Q. It was a big day for him at school, and he was happy to be heading that way.
For Christmas, Campbell received a cookie decorating lesson along with a basket of baking supplies. Today was the day of her lesson, and I think that it might just have been the best present ever. Since we wanted to make her lesson special and didn't want everyone in and out of the kitchen the entire time, we had her cookie lesson at Nonna and Pops' house.
We arrived early and were able to unload all of our stuff. I wanted to make sure that we could make and decorate the cookies just as well at home, so we brought all of our own stuff even down to the measuring spoons. Ms. Robyn arrived at 10, and Campbell could not have been more excited.
Ms. Robyn told Campbell how to make the cookie dough, and Campbell made it all. While the dough was chilling, they made the icing. Soon Campbell was cutting out cookies from her dough, and we were baking them.
They baked just right, and Ms. Robyn then showed Campbell how to ice them. Campbell did great and took her time on most of the cookies. It was pretty fun decorating the cookies, and I even got involved. At noon, her lesson was over, and after Campbell decorated a few more cookies, Nonna made us lunch.
From there, we ran one errand, and then headed home. Meanwhile, back at home the kids had done just a bit of school work along with a few chores. Robby picked up Whitman, and they were still cleaning up from lunch when we made it home.
I unloaded our stuff as everyone ooohed and aaahed over Campbell's cookies that she made. I checked everyone's homework and straightened a bit, and then it was finally time. For weeks, Whitman has been not so patiently waiting for the day that Campbell was going to teach him how to decorate cookies.
Everyone didn't start off listening too well to Campbell, and even though she tried, she soon became pretty upset. Once I had calmed everyone down, things went a better. She let everyone help make the cookies. Then they picked out their cookie cutters before making and coloring their icing.
Campbell remembered so much from this morning, and she did great at telling everyone what all she had learned. The kitchen had been pretty noisy while we were making the cookies and icing, but when it came time to decorate the cookies, the kitchen was eerily silent. Everyone was working so hard.
Everyone was able to make 5 or more cookies, and everyone did so well at decorating. This took all afternoon, but it was so worth it because I think that everyone had lots of fun. Whitman was finished first with his cookies, but he did attend to it for quite a long time. Graham and Anderson were the next two finished. Graham did a more simple approach and didn't add a lot of designs to his. Anderson had more details to his and even made an American flag. Keaton and Campbell did great. Reagan had the most intricate cookies and took the longest in her decorating.
It was 5 when we finished and well after that when the kitchen was semi back to normal. The kids then headed outside to play with the neighbors. I was home for a bit longer and then I headed out as well-not outside but towards a restaurant to meet the other homeschool mommas for a night out.
Everyone at home had their showers and then made their own nachos for supper. Of course afterwards, everyone had a few of their cookies as their night time snack. I think everyone had a wonderful day here.

January 24, 2018

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My girls are the last ones to wake up during the week each day, except for on Wednesdays. They were all up and moving before I had even stumbled out of bed. I am glad that they love Bible study. The boys, of course, were up but they needed a bit more prodding to put on their clothes and get themselves ready.
By the time that my bagel was toasted (though since it was frozen, I heated it too long in the microwave and it was a bit chewy after toasting it), it was time to leave. The kids were already outside playing basketball. The new thing lately is for the Anderson and Graham to play basketball with Keaton and Campbell. The boys have both said that both girls are excellent at guarding so I think that their games have been pretty intense.
Bible study was good today, and afterwards all of our buddies went to the park to play. I thought it was a bit chilly, but the kids were all sweaty when they climbed back in the car after playing. We stayed a bit longer than usual so everyone was tired when we made it home.
The kids did their chores, Whitman did his reading book and we were productive for a bit before I sat down and went sound to sleep. I only woke up in time to eat supper that Robby had made.
We had a bit of manicotti shells leftover in the pantry. Robby had found them today and made a pan full of manicotti. Robby scooped everyone a plateful and then had to run back to his computer to send an email. I was passing out seconds to the kids when Reagan asked if Dad had a plate already. I told her that he did since I thought that he made his before he made mine and even thought that I had seen him with it. But when Robby walked back in, he looked at the empty dish and realized that he missed supper. Urgh, I felt horrible about passing out his supper.
We soon had to leave for a stop at the library and then on to church. I hope that Robby found himself something to eat here for supper. Everyone had fun at church tonight-especially Keaton and Whitman because it was pajama night at church with lots of fun games.
When we made it home after church, Robby had cookies made for everyone. They gobbled them up and then we had showers before bedtime. It was a pretty long, but great day.

January 23, 2018

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When Whitman was walking out of the house this morning, he grabbed his snack thinking that he was supposed to take it this morning. I have had it sitting on the bench by the door for days now, and he still has to wait until Thursday to take that snack.
He was still excited to go, but was not happy about having to eat his breakfast in the car. He adamantly insisted that he was not going to eat his breakfast in the car. I told him to just sit it in his lap in case he changed his mind. He was sure that he was not going to change his mind, but he did. Robby said that Whitman was chugging his milk before they had even backed out of the garage.
The rest of us had eggs, yogurt and cereal for breakfast. Well, I guess that I was the only one who had yogurt for breakfast even though I offered it to everyone. After we ate, we started on school. Today was quite a bit noisier than yesterday. I do believe that everyone saved their normal Monday behavior for today since they knew that Robby was not home today.
We still survived! Around 12:30, we had our lunch, and I was able to catch up on some of our reading during lunch. Afterwards, we did our chores, and then the kids had plenty of downtime.
I did a few things around the house, and eventually ended up on the treadmill for a good bit. Most everyone went outside to play basketball for a good bit in hopes that the neighbors would come out. It didn't work, but the kids were out long enough for me to read a chapter of my book.
Robby and Whitman rolled in around 6-Robby from Conway and Whitman from Grannymom's house. They both had good days and were ready to make pizza for supper. I opened 4 bags of pizza dough and some of the kids helped me stir it. I could tell that two looked different but I attributed that to the two different packages that I had.
We all made our pizzas after the dough had risen. Anderson made BB8, Keaton made a heart, Reagan did a bit of an experiment and made a calzone type thing, Whitman tried to make a Mickey shape but had a meltdown when Robby put cheese on it, and Campbell and Graham just made pizzas.
After the cooked, we soon realized that the dough that made Robby and I my pizza and the dough that made Reagan's pizza was different from the rest. It wasn't as good, actually, it wasn't good at all. We were a bit disappointed so I dug through the trash to check the packages. It just took one glance at the date of two of the packages to realize why some weren't as tasty as others.
Thankfully, the dough that I had made our cinnamon strudel pizza with was the good dough, and it was delicious, which made up for the other catastrophe. We watched the Hogs play as we finished eating, then we cleaned the kitchen during the first overtime and by the second overtime, we were all gathered around the tv in the living room.
Afterwards, everyone had their showers and we watched a bit of tv before bedtime. Tomorrow is back to our Bible study routine-it will only be the second time we have been this year since we were out for frozen pipes and then for the snow day.

January 22, 2018

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Robby and I were both awake this morning when my alarm went off, but I quickly calculated the minutes that we had left until the very last moment that we could wake up and still accomplish what needed to be done. That is exactly what we did, and even though it made for a hectic Monday morning, I enjoyed the extra few minutes of snoozing.
We sent Whitman off to school, and the rest of us started on our breakfasts. Today's breakfast was just cereal, so Keaton protested and did not anything. I do think she made up for breakfast with a bag of starburst later in the morning.
Then it was school time for us. I realized that we are about 1/3 finished with our history book, possibly it is just 1/4th. I am not sure what I am going to do because I sure don't want to be doing history on the boat to Alaska, but it looks like we might be doing just that.
The school day went well and most everyone was finished before lunch. Anderson worked well past lunch, which thankfully doesn't bother him at all, but he did complete all his work with excellence.
At lunch, I read as everyone ate-well, Reagan was on a hunger strike for this meal. She was busy freezing her lemonade to make a popsicle and never made anything for her to eat for lunch. Afterwards, we worked on chores and I made a dessert for my Bible study potluck tonight.
The kids played some, and I even walked on the treadmill a bit. Nonna and Pops brought Whitman home. He had a great day at school and lots of fun at their house. He was in a good mood this afternoon and worked hard with me on his school work.
Around 5, I left a bit early to run to the store before my get together. I bought a buggy full of stuff for 17 bucks-whoop! That made me happy, happy. Afterwards, I went to my thing, while the kids showered, cleaned out the leftovers in the fridge for supper (I do believe that everyone did eat supper), watched a few tv shows and then went to bed.

January 21, 2018

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I was put frustrated with Keaton last night when it was bedtime because she was sobbing as we tucked her in. She was planning on wearing her new shirt to church which would be a great idea...except she was also planning on also wearing only her pantyhose. I tried to explain that pantyhose needed a skirt or a dress not just a shirt. She went to bed with no intentions of wearing anything but a shirt and pantyhose to church. I know that church is pretty casual these days, but I think pantyhose only is a bit too casual.
It was only a few hours later, when I heard someone moving fast upstairs above me. I woke up enough to listen to see if someone was sick upstairs. Seconds later, Campbell was in our room telling me that Keaton was sick upstairs. I hurried up the steps and Keaton was still standing right at the edge of the bathroom with her mess right in front of her. Bless!
I moved her further into the bathroom and then planned my attack. She said she was fine but I encouraged her to sit on the potty for a bit while I cleaned up. I ran down to get my supplies and hurried back up. I started off my Sunday morning being very thankful that Keaton was at least in the bathroom so my clean up was a bit easier than it could have been.
I brought her down to our room and made her a pallet. By the time I could finish cleaning up and get myself settled back in bed, she was almost back asleep. She slept fine for the rest of the night and was ready to go this morning.
We loaded up and headed to church after making sandwiches for our lunch. We did big church, and Whitman started off doing really well sitting between his brothers. Robby and I even wondered if we found our magic seating arrangements for church. It didn't last very long and soon Whitman was sitting by me or Robby.
Then it was on to Sunday school for everyone. Afterwards, we ate our sandwiches in the car, picked up cookies for a snack from McDonald's, picked up Grannymom and then followed the church buses downtown to the capitol for the March for Life. There were lots of church folks there and my girls even walked a different way than us and stayed with their buddies until well after the march when I went to find them.
Now, Whitman had decided early yesterday that he wasn't going to "walk" at a "March," he was going to "March." So when we started walking, he started marching and singing the "shoot the artillery" song. This was all well and good until somehow all of this became mixed up in his head. He then started asking me, "why is the artillery killing babies?" His Bible stories often get mixed up so I began with Pharaoh and Moses which was not it. Then I tried Herod when Jesus was born which was still not it. Finally, I asked if he was talking about our laws that say it is okay for mommas to kill the babies in their tummies. That was it-we've never had anyone that listens as well as he does.
Not only does he listen but he asks me so many questions. Actually, everyone has asked me lots of questions today and tonight. Campbell and Keaton are currently inches around me asking how to spell things to add to their lists planning their birthday parties in September and December! You better believe that I am going tor relieve a bit of stress in a few minutes with a bit bowl of ice cream!
Back to after the walk, we ran to pick up some pizza for an early supper. We ate at Grannymom's house, and she had the best brownies ever for dessert. I think they were just regular brownies, but they were warm which must have made them extra yummy. Once we made it home, everyone helped clean and unload the car. Then, we all moved inside to put away all of the things from the day and fold laundry. We had two loads ready and waiting to be folded so that didn't take too long.
Everyone put on their pajamas and we all vegged out in front of the tv after our busy day. We watched some football, watched an Ellen game show and then watched some more football before it was finally time for bed.

January 20, 2018

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Today was the last day of basketball here, and my basketball players were excited (Campbell and Anderson) and nervous (Graham). Reagan doesn't bawk too much about going to the games because she does enjoy watching the boys play and has even now started to enjoy watching the Hogs play basketball. On the other hand, we have Whitman who was very upset that we were leaving the house at all today. He was in his pajamas all day long yesterday, and I guess that sounded like a good idea to him again today-sounded like a good idea to me too.
Before we made it to Campbell's game, we did stop by Kroger to pick up a few of the Saturday sales. I ran in and so did Robby. We were quick, quick, since we didn't have a whole lot of time before Campbell's game started.
We made it in plenty of time. Keaton, Jason and all of the grands were already there. Campbell did great today and scored most of her team's points. Her team still got stomped and lost by such a great deal that we were glad that her age group doesn't keep score.
After the games, Anderson and Graham went to watch Cash play his basketball game. He was the only winner today of our crew. Robby and Whitman ran back by the grocery store before heading home.
The girls and I ran to Kohls to spend a gift card, then to Target to buy a birthday present and finally to Hobby Lobby to buy a few other things. Then everyone met back up at Dairy Queen since all of their menu items were half off today. It wasn't as busy today as we thought it would be. The blizzards were good and my BBQ sandwich was delicious. It was actually huge and when I received it, I thought that I wouldn't eat it all, but it was so good, I did eat it all.
From there, it was back to Immanuel for the boys' basketball game. One part of the game, Anderson and Graham were on the court together, and they were playing great together. They both scored, and the Dennie boy scored around half of their teams score today. Unfortunately, their team lost by 1 point, but that sorrow was eased with the trophies they were presented after the game.
Keaton left before the boys' game for Lily's birthday party, and Noah came home with us. There wasn't too much time at home but Reagan did have time to make a big art project. Then we loaded up and headed to pick up Keaton before heading to the Pennington's house for supper.
April had a delicious supper for everyone. The adults had plenty of time to talk, and the kids enjoyed being together. We had such a good time that it was a bit late when we made it home. Everyone still had showers to today before bedtime. We ran everyone though the showers and by 10:30, everyone was in bed.

January 19,2018

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Not many folks were stirring this morning, and it was especially quiet in the house. Graham was up, and he found me when I was emptying the dishwasher. He asked me about a zillion questions about the day and about life. I was still so tired that I was barely able to mutter an answer, but we talked for a good long time.
I had to wake up all of the girls. I often wonder how long they could sleep if we just left them alone. Everyone came downstairs, and we feasted on my leftover coffee cake from yesterday. My 3 littles wouldn't even try it because it had the word "coffee" in it. I tried my hardest to make them understand that there was no coffee in the cake.
We started on school, and my Graham provided me with the best part of the day. He is working on fractions. When he saw the fraction 1/2, he thought it was pronounced "one/toots." Bahaha! I laughed, Anderson, who was in the room with us, laughed, Graham laughed, we all laughed. I will never see 1/2 again without laughing.
Around 11, Robby asked Keaton if she was going to pack for Grannymom's house. Keaton hadn't realized that she was spending the night at Grannymom's, and she was so excited. Quickly, she packed her bags and was waiting on Grannymom and Grandpa.
We were running a bit behind this morning and still finishing up around noon. It was after 1:30 when we all finished up enough to start on our lunch. Everyone just made their lunches and ate where ever.
I spent some time pulling out school for next week, which always takes me a bit of time. I pull out school weekly for Reagan, Anderson, and Graham, but for Keaton and Campbell I gather school monthly, which takes even longer. I am always glad to have that accomplished for the week.
This afternoon was spent pretty lazily-Campbell made slime, I read Whitman quite a few books, Anderson built a few Lego creations, and everyone else relaxed. It was 7ish when we finally decided to make supper.
Robby taught Reagan how to make spaghetti in the instant pot. It was our first time to make that recipe and it turned out pretty well. Now, I just need to have Reagan make it once a week for us.
After we ate, we vegged out and watched an Ellen's game show. It has been a wonderfully lazy day around here.

January 18, 2018

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Ooops, sorry, it looks like we didn't get any pictures today, and since it is now 11:30, I probably shouldn't go up to take any either. We will do better tomorrow though, promise.
Whitman crawled into our bed around 5ish this morning. He wanted to get in the middle, and for some reason, I didn't let him. I am not sure why because they left me trying to make sure he didn't fall off of the bed for the rest of the night long. He couldn't tell me why he did come downstairs. He slept great in my bed, but when it was time to wake he was wide awake.
After Whitman headed to school, the rest of us started on breakfast. As we were in the middle of it, Robby called saying that he had forgotten to take out the trash. We had 3 big bags in the kitchen still and there was a possibility of the garbage man coming today. I was glad that I had strong boys standing nearby. I did feel bad since it was like 12 degrees so I did take one bag of trash out with them, but goodness it was cold.
Back inside, we made our breakfasts and started our school day. Things went even smoother today than yesterday even though I was scrambling at noon trying to grade the last bit of work and hop in the shower.
I had a dentist appointment so I ran there while the kids had lunch and worked on their chores. I was able to pick up Whitman from school after my appointment so Robby didn't have to get out. Last week, I had a doctor's appointment and planned to pick up Whitman but didn't finish in time. This week, I had plenty of time.
Afterwards, we went to the library, and Whitman found about a zillion books to check out. I sure don't care so we walked out with 40 plus books, which included me carrying a basket full of books, carrying an arm full of books and Whitman had to carry a load of books as well.
Back at home, some of the chores were done but Robby and I got to work on straightening the house. It didn't take too much-I did find Robby outside at one point washing windows. I reminded him that it was just the Bunko girls, but it was definitely a chore that needed to be done.
From about 4 on, I am not sure what the kids did but I was busing working in the kitchen for the Bunko supper. We had baked potato soup which was pretty good and cowboy beans which were delicious. I also made cornbread along with coffee cake and apple crisp. There were only 6 girls there tonight so I will have plenty of leftovers if anyone wants to stop by.
The kids did help us straighten up a bit at the last minute, and then they left with Robby. They ate their supper at ChickFilA. Reagan had mentioned Tropical Smoothie, and they were headed there when they decided that maybe ice cream from Kroger would be more fun.
They picked up some ice cream, and then headed to Grannymom's house to eat it. Everyone had a good time staying over there for a bit. When Whitman did come home, he told me that he did not have a good time because he did not get a Skittle. I asked why he didn't get a Skittle, and he did not know. His daddy, however, did know. Since Whitman demanded a Skittle, he daddy denied him a Skittle. Ha! That little stinker.
When the kids came home, they trickled in and Campbell, Keaton and Whitman did come in to give me a hug. The kids went on to bed, and hopefully they were able to sleep with my Bunko girls downstairs having a good time. It was a good evening, and tomorrow will be a pretty busy day.

January 17, 2018

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I forgot to set my alarm last night, not like it would have mattered any anyway since I can hit snooze for at least an house, but it did cause me to start my day just a bit frazzled. Anderson was the only one who was awake this morning, and it was tough going upstairs to wake the others up for school with the snow shining through the windows.
Today was too cold to play in the snow though so I didn't feel too bad. Our mud room this morning with the two huge windows was ice cold this morning. I did wake everyone up and we started working on breakfasts. I let them pick what they wanted so that did help improve their sluggish moods.
After we ate, we did our work together in my room. Whitman was with us today so he was a bit of a distraction to Keaton, and probably everyone else. He does however listen and will occasionally ask me questions about what I just read.
Soon we did start on our real school and while I worked with everyone, my main goal was our super large pile of laundry. One play in the snow day leaves us with two tons of laundry. My pile slowly became smaller as I did spelling and everything else with the kids. Whitman did sit beside me doing his school work, and he does really enjoy his reading book. There are lots of new words that he can read (am, Sam, eat, seed, sat, ram, rat).
It was nearly 1 when we finally finished enough to school to start on lunch. Reagan and Anderson still had a bit of school after lunch to work on, but our first priorities were our chores. We were able to straighten the house some and then start on other priorities like Graham making an airplane launcher, Anderson working on a huge lego scene, Campbell making bucket fulls of slime, Graham, Keaton and Campbell playing Ticket to Ride and Reagan painting the girls' fingernails. It was a busy afternoon with the potential to trash the house but thankfully, we kept it under control!
It was late when I walked on the treadmill and when I got off, I worked on supper for a bit. Robby was out late so we just had leftovers for supper. I did have quite a few-strawberries, biscuit, pasta and sauce, meatballs, chicken nuggets, fries, chili, enchiladas, chips and salsa and possibly a few other things that I can't even remember. Tomorrow is bunko here so I am sure that the fridge will fill back up with leftovers.
After we ate supper, I made some cookies which we ate while watching the end of the Hogs game. Then we watched an Ellen game show before everyone headed upstairs to bed. I know that Whitman was pretty tired this evening so I think that it will be a pretty quiet night.

January 16, 2018

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I just love a Snow Day. When we went to bed last night, it was snowing tiny little flakes but a lot of them. We had already found out that Whitman's school was cancelled but when Robby stirred around 1, he pulled out his phone to check the weather and check other school closings. I think he secretly loves Snow Days as much as I do but he just can't admit it to himself.
Whitman's school was going to be cancelled if Bryant schools were out and our Wednesday Bible study would be cancelled if Little Rock was cancelled on Tuesday. I had explained all of that to the kids last night and had to explain it a few more times this morning. Basically it all boiled down to since we wouldn't have Bible study on Wednesday, then today was a Snow Day and Wednesday would be our make up school day. Everyone took that news really well this morning, but the same people weren't too thrilled about it tonight when they realized that tomorrow would be a school day.
I had also very clearly explained that no one would be going outside for any reason until 10 this morning. Thankfully, everyone did understand that and we were able to sleep in until 7:07. Ha! That is when Whitman joined us because I am sure that his brothers woke him up with their excitement about the snow.
Soon Campbell and then Keaton came into our room. At some point before we left the bed, Anderson and Graham joined us. Reagan is the only one who didn't come in our bed this morning, and that was because she was busy sleeping. She even missed our muffins that we baked for breakfast.
I think that I was the first one completely ready at 10. Well, not completely ready because I sure didn't have on my coat since I still had to make sure everyone else had gloves, jackets zipped and hats on their heads. Whitman was so excited about the Snow Day, but he could not understand why I was putting 2 pairs of pants on him and 2 pairs of socks. This just confused the mess out him.
The neighbors were coming out just as we did. It was cold out there but no one really seemed to care. Last year Keaton did play out in the snow but the year before she was just plain miserable. She had already convinced herself that she wasn't going to stay out too long, but did stay out as long as the others.
Robby and I were out for about an hour with our kids and the neighbors. We all walked to the "big hill." The kids were able to sled down it-not as well as last year but everyone still had lots of fun. Robby and I convinced Whitman to come in with us and by the time we walked home, Whitman was more than ready to come in.
He made some "cracker Mickey cookies" while I made some icing and crackers for the kids playing outside. From then until about 5 all of the kids bounced from our house to the neighbors house. I made hot chocolate and lemonade at one point and I know that they also had hot chocolate and kool aid down the road. Around 3, everyone walked through and had a sandwich-glad we bought that bread yesterday.
The kids came in and started on showers and chores. Graham helped Robby make chili for supper. It was the perfect fit for this cold winter day. We ended up driving down to the Wilson's house for a game of Ticket to Ride (actually 2 games since there were so many of us) and some blueberry cobbler and apple crisp. The apple crisp was my favorite but Robby liked the blueberry cobbler the best.
We stayed out until 10 and then headed home. There is a short patch of ice on our street and a pretty good stretch of Lawson that must be in the shade because it was solid ice. We took Robby's car since it has 4 wheel drive even though that meant that Reagan and Keaton had to double buckle. I also made sure that everyone had good shoes and coats...just in case. But we made it there and home safely.
Once home, it was bedtime but first we had a long reminder that tomorrow was a school day, and not just a school day but a school day with an excellent attitude.

January 15, 2018

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Since the boys had spent the night at Dana's house and since Lilly was spending the night here and since Whitman didn't have school at church, we sure were not going to try to do school here today. This led to lots of sleeping in around here. Whitman was the first to wake up and that was after 8, and we never heard from the girls until well after 9.
I eventually climbed out of bed to start on our chores. I did realize that you can accomplish a lot of things when no one else is awake (except for Whitman who was happily watching a movie) and when you aren't trying to do school.
Around 11, we loaded up to meet Dana to drop off Lilly and to pick up the boys. The boys were so excited that they talked the entire way home telling us all about Third Realm. Once we did make it home, I told the kids all about what was next at home-chores!
The kids did work hard on their chores for a bit. Robby cut Anderson and Graham's hair, and then I helped Anderson pick up the Lego nook. Then we finally had lunch. Lunch is almost silly right now because everyone makes their own sandwiches in the toaster oven plus some make halves after they have finished their first sandwich so the kitchen is crazy at all times with people making sandwiches and using the oven.
After lunch, we did a bit more housework, and the kids vegged out in their rooms while I was on the treadmill. Then we loaded up for Dairy Queen to get our weekly Blizzards. Afterwards, we went to the grocery store with everyone else in town. Anderson and I jumped out while everyone else stayed in the car. Surprisingly, they did have bread (we actually needed some) but thankfully, we didn't need any milk so we didn't have to venture down that aisle.
Our plan was to go on home and cook chili for supper, but Robby decided that we might be couped up for a few days, so he oped to eat out at American Pie.
Once at home, the girls took showers while Anderson went with Robby to get some gas for the generator. He had a bit of difficulty starting the generator but did get it started. Unfortunately, I am afraid that him buying gas might have been enough to jinx us out of getting a decent amount of snow.
We watched a movie while constantly checking the windows while hoping that the snowflakes increase rapidly in size. Everyone did have a snack tonight-Whitman made ice pops just like the boy in his movie and was so happy to share them with everyone before bedtime.

January 14, 2018

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For a minute, let's discuss how much easier it is to get everyone ready for church when there are only 2 boys in the house compared to 6 kids and three of them being girls. We were on time to church, dare I even say early. I had a peaceful shower without anyone standing around asking for me to do their hair.
Robby did pick up Whitman this morning and brought him home from his night out at Grannymom's house. He had already eaten some breakfast at Grannymom's house but came right in and found himself some more. He got it himself and sat down at the bar to eat.
Whitman was a bit rowdy during big church today. He really wants to sit by Anderson, which is fine because Whitman loves Anderson and would try to imitate his perfect church behavior. But when he is sitting by me, he is just a turkey wanted me to hold him all of the time.
After church, we went to Nonna and Pops' house for lunch. They had pizza but also had some of the leftover corn dip that I love. The boys enjoyed their time there without the girls, but they were anxious to head to Dana's house to begin their Christmas gift.
Soon we did pick up the girls. They weren't ready to come home but since Lilly did come home with us that helped some. Their adventure included eating at Chickfila, watching Paddington 2 and shopping at Target. Reagan bought a shirt and a bag or two of candy, Keaton bought a candle, a shirt, a scarf, and a little dog, Campbell bought a doll, a back scratcher and some candy. They had a blast!
Now the boys could not wait because they were heading to Third Realm to play. I know that they had a great time there, and I am sure that they will want to go back very soon. After picking up their girls, we drove around looking for a new cinnamon roll place. We found it but were pretty bummed because it is closed on Sundays and Mondays.
I guess we were so bummed that we ended up taking a nap this afternoon. I am not sure if it was because Lilly was here or if it was because everyone was upstairs and Whitman was the only one downstairs, but our little nap was absolutely perfect.
When we woke up, Robby and I went to work on supper-lasagna in the instant pot. It was very, very good and definitely a keeper recipe. The Wilson's stopped by and ate with us. We looked at some picture albums as Tony tried to play their trip while the kids played a few games.
After they left, we picked up and the girls watched a Shark Tank while Robby steam cleaned the floor. We had already folded two loads of laundry this afternoon but another is in the wash, one load of dishes is running and another is waiting in the sink. It is shaping up to be a busy Monday, but since there is no Dennie school, I think we can accomplish it all!

January 13, 2018

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The first thing we did this morning was feel Campbell's forehead. It was just a minute after 7 and her and Keaton were in our bed giggling and whispering. She didn't feel warm and didn't act sick. So Operation Get Ready for Basketball commenced.
Soon we were at Campbell's game, and that girl was on fire. Not only is does she really have the guarding her opponent down but she scored at least 10-12 points. This morning she had said that her ear did hurt a tiny bit so we had already brought 2 cars for me to just run her by the doctor.
This is just an aside, but if I am giving advice, I would tell people that if they are going to have 6 kids then they need to marry or be a physician. We walked right in to the doctor's office which was nice. They took Campbell's fever first, and she did have 102, and soon we found out that one ear was very infected. My girl is pretty fierce to dominate on the basketball court and feel so bad.
We picked up her medicine, and then met Robby to give him some passes that were in my car. Robby and everyone else had picked up doughnuts and then ran home for a minute. We had forgotten that today was Star Wars day at the Museum of Discovery, or we would have planned better.
Robby grabbed the boys jerseys, and they headed that way. It was very crowded there, but they had a good time. Anderson knew who every Star Wars character was and was happy to take a picture with each of them.
The girls and I hung out at home. We played a game. We had lunch. We did pretty much nothing. I did make a grocery list and clean the potties, but other than that we didn't do much at all. The afternoon went by quickly, and soon we were headed back to Immanuel.
The boys played at 2. I think there team wasn't really "on" today. Anderson scored once but that was all for the Dennie boys. Their game ended in a tie which Graham said was worse than a loss. I personally think it was better than a loss so afterwards, the boy celebrated with a trip to the grocery store with Robby.
While he headed there, I took Whitman to Grannymom's house to spend the night. He could not wait to go over there and wanted to leave during the ballgame. Then I dropped the girls off at Dana's house. An ear infection wasn't going to stop Campbell at all from this Christmas present. Dana had given the girls a Target gift card for a shopping trip, along with a movie tonight and supper. My people have been looking forward to this since Christmas, and I think that they will agree that it was the favorite present.
I met Robby and the boys at the gas station, and then we all headed home. We unloaded a few groceries, and then they turned on football and I covered up for a nap. Football then turned into basketball, and Robby eventually headed to pick up supper.
Robby came back, and we devoured his supper while watching the Hogs finish up their game. Then we headed over to the Wilsons for a bit. It was just the big boys over there tonight so things were really calm. We talked about their upcoming road trip which kind of made Robby panicky when we came home thinking of planning our own.
Once we did come home, the boys had to shower before bed and we might have let them stay up a bit longer since there were just two of them! Tomorrow will be a big day for them so I guess that they do need their rest!

January 12, 2018

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Since Whitman didn't have to wake up and go to school this morning, there was little motivation for me to climb out of bed. I did though, just a bit later than usual and started the morning. Keaton and Reagan were the only ones awake, but I did stir them when I put toothpaste on the toothbrushes.
I decided that we would make muffins this morning and Whitman, Campbell and Keaton helped with that. It was just packages so it didn't take too long. While the muffins were cooking, we read our science and history. Then we ate while I read some of our other morning reads. We made two types of muffins-chocolate from a bag and blueberry from a box. The blueberry should have been better but the kids were quick to turn their nose up at them. When one person says something negative about the food, it quickly spreads to everyone else. Needless to say, I was not too happy about my people deciding they didn't like half of their breakfasts.
We did our school work while Whitman sat right beside me for most of the morning. He worked on his school work most of the time. Through this homeschool journey, I have definitely learned that I am a visual learner. I can't even answer their math questions unless I see them. I have also learned that I need just a bit of quiet to think clearly (probably why I don't think that I have thought clearly in about 12 years). So for me to help someone during school, they have to be close enough to me for me to see what they are talking about-this is the reason why I often have 3 or more people sitting nearby. But that doesn't usually lead to quiet so everything is just usually crazy. Crazy or not, we do get it done though.
Sandwiches were what was for lunch. Anderson finished with his work around 11:30, and when he looked at the clock, he said, "well, this must be a record for me." Ha! It probably was a record but he something else on his mind-finishing his Star Wars Millennium Falcon Lego set that came yesterday.
Campbell was his buddy today, and she helped him find pieces most of the day. He would probably still be working on it, if it wasn't for her. This afternoon was busy with lots of projects, there was the Legos, Campbell cleaned her desk really well, Reagan added flowers to her new water bottle and Graham made an angel food cake. We just a crafty bunch! I actually wish that we could be crafty like that more often but all of that craftiness wore me and Campbell out.
She was sound asleep in my bedroom when I snuck in there to take a rest too. I didn't want her to nap alone. The kids had popcorn and were fairly sedate late this afternoon. Right before we left for Nonna's house, the boys did go out to play basketball. At least, I think they were playing basketball. They had been outside for over 30 minutes when they came in sweaty and red cheeked saying that the score was 9-9. That doesn't really sound too much like a basketball score after 30 minutes though so I am not too sure.
I guess it was my last 40th birthday celebration tonight at Nonna's house. That kind of bums me out. I guess I do still have a trip to Memphis to claim as one of my presents but we don't even have an idea of when that will happen. Nonna had chicken enchiladas and all of the fixings along with two beautiful chocolate pies. I cut one of them and butchered it to pieces getting it out of the pan but they did start off pretty. Graham happily served his angel food cake and strawberries up and we finished his cake completely. I opened a coupon for a shopping trip with Nonna along with a Kirklands gift card. I guess I need to go and spend my gift cards this next week-that would make my birthday last a bit longer!
Once at home, some kids showered, some kids had some medicine, and some played on their ipads and watched a bit of Shark Tank. We weren't home very long before it was time for bed. They all need their rest though the boys were looking out the window I think in hopes that it will snow tonight.

January 11, 2018

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Whitman was sound asleep this morning when I woke him up. When I mentioned that it was Ms. Stacy day, and he had to take a soup label, and he would stay for LunchBox kids, and he was bringing a Sock with Six Snakes and Spiders inside (S day), he was quick to wake up and put on his clothes.
Once Whitman left, we heated up some waffles and pancakes for our breakfast, and I read while the kids ate. Then it was time for our work together work. I have changed around our work together stuff so we are doing a bit less each day in hopes that I give some of my slower folks some more time to finish their work.
I did tell Robby today that Thursdays might be my favorite school day. Mondays are crazy with everyone getting back into the routine, Tuesdays are still crazy with lots to do and Fridays are bit crazier with Whitman there. Things did go well today except my little Keaton is getting herself a feisty attitude!
Robby made spaghetti in the instant pot for lunch. It was very good-or maybe it was just hot, and we were hungry. I later used it again to make some eggs-almost blew the place up. Not really, but I was confused about which setting for something. We figured it out, and the eggs were great. I boiled a dozen but with my kids eating some and the neighbors eating some, I only ended up with 5!
The neighbors were outside at one point today so my kids ran out. They all played in the warm sunshine and the next thing I knew, it was pouring and I was left hoping that the kids were inside of somebody's house. They were all at the neighbor's house so they were fairly dry when I drove to pick them up for Refresh.
Everyone had a good time at church tonight. Afterwards, we headed home stopping to play the trivia game. Robby was gone when we arrived home since he was at the movies. Anderson received his new Lego set in the mail, and that is all that he could think about. He did have a few minutes to work while waiting on his shower, but he was totally bummed that I wouldn't let him stay up later to work.
I didn't let him to stay up and work though because it was bedtime! The possibility of a tiny bit of wintry mix tonight made the kids ecstatic even though it will probably come to nothing. Robby was home by the time I had finished tucking everyone into bed and then it was dessert time for us...I hope at least!

January 10, 2018

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Robby had to wake all of the kiddos up this morning-my people are just plain tired. We need to stick to bedtime for a few nights-maybe even move that bedtime up a little bit. Wouldn't that be a wonderful idea?
It didn't take everyone long to get moving because Wednesday's are their favorite day of the week. Whitman just needed to clarify if it was going to be a big church day or not. I did check my phone occasionally to make sure that there were no pipes burst this morning.
Everyone was glad to be back in their classes and just a few minutes before our lecture was over, I quietly stepped out. I snatched up the kids and met Robby at At Home. Their Christmas merchandise was moved to 75% off, and I wanted a Christmas tree,
Since my tree is 21 years old, I think I deserve a new tree. Not only did we leave with a new tree but we also left with new trees for the kids rooms. They also were in need of new trees. I also bought wrapping paper and a pitcher. Robby bought a light thing and some packing bags. The kids bought 2 nutcrackers, 2 stars for the top of their trees, an orange Christmas tree and an elf parking sign. The kids were having just as much fun as Robby and I were shopping.
After loading up the back of the car, we ran over to Rock Creek to meet our buddies. They were already playing there and it didn't take too long for my crew to catch up. Everyone had lots of fun playing there today.
When we did finally leave, after staying longer than usual, we ran to Dairy Queen for our weekly Blizzards. And these were the worst ones ever. I could have poured everyone out and the lady didn't even try to flip them. Urgh. They are free and all, but it was just ridiculous.
Once we made it home, we emptied the car and the kids had some downtime. I did send Campbell to rest since she is still not up to par. Everyone else was fairly quiet this afternoon except for Whitman. He spent his time bouncing on a ball and making magnet creations that he would distribute to everyone.
I did join Campbell in her nap for a tiny bit, but then I jumped up to make supper for the crew. By the time that supper was ready, we didn't have too much time to eat. On the way to church, I ran into the library while the kids finished a book on tape. Then we rushed on to church for the evening.
Everyone had lots of fun, and when we did make it home Robby had cookies ready for everyone. The kids changed clothes and then had a few minutes to watch the Hogs before we sent them to bed at halftime.

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