Family Pics

It's been awhile since I've typed anything due to normal pregnancy exhaustion. Above is the picture of us at The Spaghetti Factory last weekend with my grandma, aunts, uncle, and two of my nine cousins. We had so much fun! It was my kids' first time in a real restaurant (McD's does not count) and they behaved so nicely. I think Child #4 spent more time coloring his place mat than eating.
Here they are all dressed up and ready for church! Really, we don't normally dress like this, even for church. I was having a laundry crisis that I still haven't recovered from and had to pull these crisp white button-up shirts out of the closet with the tags still attached. They are no longer as white as they were and I'm not planning on ironing them, so I guess we will never wear them again!

I took the three little ones to visit my midwife today. We were all excited to hear the heartbeat. Child #4 kept asking if he could hear it again! One month until we get our ultrasound. Any guesses on gender? DH thinks we are having a girl, I think we are having a boy!

Belt Ceremony

Today was the much-anticipated belt ceremony for the boys. Now, little kids make mistakes. Lots of them. But usually it is someone else' kid and its cute! But when it is your own child (or children) making all the mistakes... well, that can be very trying, especially for their dad who is a judge. Here is a list of my favorite bloopers for the day....

1. Child #4 answers "Yes, sir!" to every name that is called for the first three names
2. Child #3 runs to the front of the room when another child of the same name is called and stands there confused until five or six people tell him to sit back down.
3. When belts are handed out to my children, they dash back to their places instead of waiting with the rest of the kids and have to be called back to bow.
4. When the kids turn and bow, Child #4 keeps his back to the class because he is lost in his own mind and has to be physically turned around by one of the teachers.
5. When trophies are handed out (remember how Child #4 felt about his trophy?), the children are told to face their parents and bow. This confuses my children, because their father is the one handing them their trophies from behind the table and they can't see me, so they just kind of do what their class is doing.
6. Child #4 is heading back to his spot with his trophy. He finally spots me, stops in his tracks and says, "Hi Mom! Look, its my trophy! See?" and then he just stands there while everyone snickers at him (because he is cute, not stupid. Remember, he isn't their child). He inches slowly to his spot, as if sleep walking, because the trophy is holding his attention...
7. Both of my children have been sitting for a long time and starting wiggling. Child #4 is sitting sideways. Child #3 starts wrapping his new belt around his trophy. Then he unwraps it. Then he swings his belt around his head like a lasso, hitting the kid sitting behind him. He looks at me, sees the look of death, and freezes from my icy stare.
8. After the ceremony, Child #4 pokes himself in the eye with his trophy. And cries. And here are the pictures...

Here are the boys with their two favorite teachers...

Terrible Two's

Child #5 has been in her terrible two's for quite awhile. This is one of her favorite naughty activites. She does this when she wants to cause trouble because she knows that I will holler at her to pick up the dog food (and make her do it) until she is crying.

My Pathetic Doberman

What a Pathetic Doberman... My very nice neighbors are building a tree house in their yard, very close to the fence line. This dog just can't keep from viciously barking at them any time she goes out. I've had to lock her on the porch when the kids are playing outside. And I never know when she needs to go out for potty purposes or if she just wants to bark! It's making me crazy! I had to go outside barefoot in the rain to haul this monster back in this morning! Grrrr.....

We keep her around for those rare times when homeless people walk by our house with shopping carts or when they are wrapped in blankets screaming at passing cars (that happened the other night-I had to call the cops). Then she is allowed to bark to her heart's content. I just wish she could tell the good guys from the bad guys.

Another Test Complete

The boys had a Taekwondo promotion this afternoon. They passed with flying colors, of course. This was Child #4's first promotion. He has been so excited about earning his five stripes and bringing home a trophy like his older brother's. For those of you who aren't familiar with the five stripe program, over eight weeks the kids have to work to earn five colored stripes on their belts. Red is for coloring a Taekwondo coloring book, blue is for reading five books, black is for doing eight chores per day for 30 days, green is for knowing their techniques, and yellow is for showing good behavior at home. We have had our stripes for about three weeks now, and Child #4 has such a hard time understanding that he has to wait until the promotion ceremony next week to get his trophy. After the test was over today, he started heading into the Master's office where there are several large trophies on display. Trophies for winning sparring tournaments and higher black belts. Trophies taller than a four year old. I asked him where he was going. He looked at me and said, "I'm goin' to get my trophy!"

We celebrated our 100 pounds of apples with learning about Johnny Appleseed, making apple butter, and making "mush pot" hats out of aluminum foil and tag board... I even made a hat for myself! Homeschooling is so fun!

Apple Dumpling and other news...

We picked our 100 pounds of apples yesterday at my favorite u-pick apple orchard yesterday. At only $.30 per pound, 100 pounds is pretty cheap! I'm busy making applesauce and apple butter out of the apples my little helper dumped on the ground while trying to move the wheelbarrow...And in other news.... Child #2 and her boyfriend were nominated for Homecoming Royalty for the junior class! If they win, and they might since the whole football team nominated them, my little lady (who was a grubby tomboy just a few years ago) will have to walk in front of the entire school in a formal dress and heels and hopefully not trip at the homecoming assembly. Remember her? Here she is (safely pictured with Child #1 and #3 a long time ago)...

You can't argue with a wise 4yo

I'm struggling to get Child #4 dressed for a playtime session in one hour. He keeps asking me to button his pants for him, but I won't because he isn't wearing underpants! I insist that he go upstairs and put his underpants on. He replies, "But no one can see under this!" as he pats his pants. Okay, so no one will be able to see that he isn't wearing underpants, but I know and that is enough! I actually won this argument... it is a sign that I will have a good day!

Houston, we have a Heartbeat!

Today I heard one of the sweetest sounds a mother can hear... the heartbeat of the growing child inside her. Yep, I'm pregnant! Child #6 will be arriving in late April. Child #3 (as usual) has had nothing but sweet things to say. Two hundred and ten days is too long to wait for him. He is hugging my tummy, talking to the baby, promising to take care of him or her, and asking for more because he "just loves babies!" He would be happy with ten or a zillion more babies in the house. I wouldn't. Child #4 looked a little confused, asked where his sister was (she was napping), and then asked what the baby's name was. He decided it should be called "Apayo." Does that mean something in a different language?