Happy Anniversary to Will and I!! Saturday was our Anniversary and we spent a nice night away from home. It was a very relaxing and well needed vacation away from home and children! Thank you Mom, Jen and Joel for watching all the boys!

Saturday Will and I went to Farmer's Market for the last time this year. We didn't really need much. We mostly just like going down there to see what is offered.

That afternoon we had a small birthday celebration for Brodie with my Dads side of the family and Will's family. As usual we had a great time and stayed up way past everyones bedtime playing cards. I love doing that though. We have the best time. I posted a picture of the cake I made for Brodie. He is really into Toy Story and wanted a "Buzz Lightmere" cake.

Today Will spent the afternoon with my step brother watching football and while the little boys took a nap Jake and I spent time doing a leaf project for his Science class. He has to make a scrapbook of 25 different leaves. He has to collect, identify, mount, and label each leaf front and back. It has taken some time but we are heading in the right direction and starting to get things done. We are only missing 1 tree and that is a Box elder. So, if anyone knows where to find one, please let us know!

Tonight we celebrated my brother, sister-in-law and Brodie's birthdays at my mothers. The weather was nice so the kids could all play outside. That makes a huge difference when there is 10 cousins all trying to play at once.

Tomorrow starts another busy week. Hope you all enjoy the last few days of September.

Last night was our family night and it was my turn to pick. We spent the evening at Center Grove Apple Orchard. The kids had an awesome time! It was perfect because the weather was great, we were the only ones there, I paid for only 2 admissions even though there was 6 of us, and we got free Carmel apples! Only one other family was there and they left shortly after we arrived. Here is the website for anyone who cares to go. http://www.centergroveorchards.com/ The pumpkins were not ready but they should be ready October 1st.








The picture of Drew eating the apples is pretty funny. I am sure most parents would think we were crazy for allowing him to do this but oh well! There was 2 buckets of apples sitting next to the area where the animals were. The other boys were feeding them to the goats while Drew filled his hands and just ate them himself. At one time he had 4 apples going at once. Once he was done testing them he would then give them to the goats!


The older boys favorite part was defiantly the corn pool. Brodie was crazy about the goats and chickens and Drew was just happy to be there! It was a nice way to spend the evening together and we stayed till they closed. We then had to swing through McDonald's for out $1 cones and shakes!

Just when I thought Drew got over climbing out of his crib...this is what he did all afternoon. Every time I put him to bed he would climb out, open the door and just stand right inside his room holding all his favorite processions. His 2 blankies, his baby, and his sippy cup. He is so darn cute, you just can't get angry. He was in no way interested in taking a nap today.

I guess I forgot to update everyone on Drew's ENT apt on Friday. It was pointless. The doctor has no idea what could be wrong. He of course couldn't find anything and told me to just wait it out. Needless to say I was not extremely thrilled with his advise. Part of me understands, but part of me is still very frustrated.

Jake had his first football game this afternoon. It wasn't good. They got beat 62-0. I think that was the score. I stopped watching after awhile. Jake of course didn't play. So that made it even harder to watch.

The kids and I had lunch with Will today. It was really nice out and we went to Grays lake, ate and went for a walk. I was happy to find a leaf of a Ginkgo tree I have been looking for to complete Jakes leaf project for school.

Things are busy. Getting ready to have Brodies birthday this weekend. He is wanting a Buzz Lightyear cake or Buzz Lightmear according to him. I have been thinking alot about that, wondering if it is out of my league...

Happy First Day of Fall!

Busy Weekend

Wow, we had a pretty crazy weekend. I can't believe tomorrow is Monday already and everyone has to go back to work and school.

Friday of course I spent the morning going to garage sales. I have no idea what I will do when the weather gets too chilly for sales! Friday night we spent the evening with our friends Jason and Stefany. We ate dinner and had a nice visit with them.

Saturday morning we all loaded up and went to some more garage sales and then hit the Ankeny Farmer's Market. Next weekend is the last weekend for the year. That afternoon was lazy and we all ended up taking naps, except for Jake and Tony of course. Then that evening Jen watched the boys and Will and I went to Newton to watch the races. It was alot of fun. Will's friend from work scored some free tickets and invited Will and I to go. This was our first time ever seeing anything like this and Will and I both agreed we would go back again...if it was free. I don't really care to watch racing on TV but there is some thrill to watching it live.

Sunday we got together with family for Joels Birthday. We grilled out at Jester Park and let the kids play on the playground. It was a great day to be outside and everyone I think had a good time. We ended back at our house for some cards and cake. By 8:30pm all children were in bed and the house is quiet. Life is good...

Brodie has been sick most of the week. I wasn't sure if it was allergies or a cold. He did run a small fever for about 24 hours earlier in the week. He seems to be much better now. Is it because I closed the windows or because he just got better on his own? Who knows. Whatever the cause he seems to be doing better now.

Jake had his apt. yesterday for his shoulder. It is slightly better but not much. The doctor gave him another 2-3 weeks of heal time. Pretty much saying that this season of football has come to an end for him. He may get in the last week or 2 but we aren't sure. We are looking into starting some physical therapy for him. He thought it would be better to miss this year of ball and get healed then to ruin it and not ever play football. Jake was pretty bummed but still wants to attend every practice and at least do the exercise part of it. He just really wants to be part of the team. I am glad he is sticking with it. I feel really bad cause he was pretty hyped about playing this year and started off in practice being really good. He is already thinking of some conditioning things he can do to get him ready for next year.

Tony is doing pretty good. I have talked with his teacher who says he is doing really well in class. He does rush through his work pretty quickly but so far his grades have been pretty good. The poor kid has been sleeping really terrible lately and is almost impossible to wake in the morning. So far though, he seem to be liking school for the most part.

Today is Drew's ENT apt. His complaints seem to be less frequent but still there. I am hoping this doctor will shine some light on the cause of all this. It is really frustrating not knowing what is going on with him. He is been extremely busy this week. Paying Brodie back for all the times he has picked on him. I guess that is a good sign that he is feeling better.

Well here is the scoop. Drew's MRI was normal. Thank goodness. I spoke with my Pediatrician who is not sure what is going on. He is referring us back to see out ENT doctor who put in Drew's ear tubes in the Spring. He said sometimes you can get "tympanic fluttering" and it feels like crawlers in there but there is usually no pain. Soooo...we will have to wait and see what that Dr. says. We have an apt. on Friday afternoon. Thanks for thinking of us.

Drew didn't sleep at all Sunday night. He has been sick and running a fever since Friday. He did have his MRI yesterday thankfully even though he had a fever of 100 when we got to the hospital. That was just 3 hours after Tylenol. It went as well as could be expected. Extremely stressfull watching him cry because there is 6 people there trying to "entertain" him while they are trying to shove a needle in his arm. They did get his IV started quickly and sent him off to sleepy land while we were in the room with him. We didn't go with him to the MRI. Thankfully it only took about 25 minutes and he was back. He slept for about 2 hours afterwards. Total exhastion.

We spent the rest of the day quietly. Will had to work till about 7:30 last night so he got home just as I was putting the boys to bed. It was a long day. I am hoping to get some preliminary results today. I will keep everyone informed.

Wah Waah Waaaaaaah. The Clones had a crappy game yesterday. I had a pretty good day other than listening to Iowa State lose. My sister and I had a canning party and we canned over 50 jars of peaches and a few pears. I am pretty sure I am set for Winter! We will probably all be boycoting peaches by the time we eat them all.

Today was a good day too. Nice and quiet. I didn't sleep well, so I was up before everyone else this morning. I got some chores done and enjoyed a cup of coffee before the boys woke up. My floor was needing scrubbed in a bad way after yesterdays canning event so I got that done. Other than that I got some odds and ends done and watched some football with Will.

Jake made it home tonight. I am very glad to have him home safely. It sounds like everything went well and he had a really good time.

Tomorrow is Drew's MRI. We have to be at the hospital at 10am. I am a little nervous since they have to put him under for the test. I am going to be glad to have it over with. From there we will probably be visiting ENT again. He is still complaining of "bugs" but not as frequent now. I will let everyone know how it turns out. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers tomorrow.

Today is the big Iowa VS Iowa State football game! Won't be able to see it but I will be listening!
Go Cyclones!

I just got out of the shower and when I went to open the bathroom door I couldn't. Brodie had gotten up and made a little bed in front of the door and was lying down. Usually if he wakes he comes right in the bathroom but today he waited for me to come out. I asked him if he wanted to move to my room or the living room and he said "no, I stay right here". And he is still there. He is so funny.

Jake called me last night. He seems to be having a good time. Of course I sniffled a little after talking to him. He wants to be so grown up. He had to tell me that he had just gotten out of the jacuzzi and thought he should better call me. They arrived safely and went to a mall yesterday where he bought himself a new hat. Today they were going to go Go-cart racing and go to some zoo thing. I was glad to talk to him.

The younger 3 kids and Will and I went to a parade last evening. It is our Homecoming this week so that is what it was for. Thankfully the rain held off till after the parade. It was actually pretty fun and we got alot of candy. Tony found a friend there so he hung out with him. That was good for him.

Finally, here are the pictures of the painted caterpillars Brodie did yesterday. We tried to glue some yarn legs on but it didn't work so well. I always get a kick out of him when he paints because he really doesn't like to have his hands dirty. So, he kept washing them off. Also, he kept his paints very neat and didn't mix any colors till the very end when I showed how fun it was to make different colors.

He kept telling me the whole time we were making them "they aren't centipedes their caterpillars." He says this because he is ALWAYS finding centipedes outside and playing with them and calling them caterpillars. I try and tell him they are centipedes but he always says "no mom, they aren't centipedes their caterpillars". This time he was actually right.

Random Thoughts...

Ok, so it is hot in my house and I do not like it. Where did the cool weather go? I refuse to turn the air back on. Unless my husband gets crabby about being too hot. Then it may be worth it to turn it on.

Jake got off on his trip ok. It was strange waking up this morning and not having to go down and wake him. I hope he has a good time. And I hope I made the right decision letting him go.

Wednesday morning I took Jake to the doctor because last Friday he hurt his shoulder during football. Apparently he tore the muscle that holds the shoulder blade to the chest. So...he is out 2-4 weeks. That is a huge bummer for him because that is almost his entire season. Hopefully it heals soon and he will still be able to get some playing time in. What is interesting is that he didn't even hurt it by being hit. He hurt it doing up/downs. Apparently I don't need him to get tackled to get injured. Better this way then the other.

I have an abundance of peaches. Every time the wind blows it blows them off the branches. The ground is just littered with them. My sister is coming today to swap some pears for peaches. I am hoping to start canning this weekend. My peaches are great. The word has gotten around that I have so many and I have had more visitors now then ever before! I am happy to have such a good crop and glad that I have enough for everyone else to enjoy. Now, I need to find time for myself to get something done with them before they go bad.

Brodie and I just got done painting egg carton caterpillars. He is really fascinated with caterpillars right now. I will have to post pictures of the final project later. They turned out pretty cute.

I posted a picture of my mini pumpkin patch. I am pretty proud of them! I will be planting them again next year for sure.

Yes, the blog has a new look. I wanted something different to look at for awhile, not sure if this is the look I want or not. Maybe I should post a poll!

There seems to be alot going on. Jake is leaving tomorrow after school for his first ever trip away from home without a family member. He is going with a buddy and his family to Branson. They will be home Sunday night. He is pretty excited. They will be staying in a cabin and taking in some shows. I am nervous and excited of him. He is becoming quite the young man.

My garden is dying off. I pulled all the cantalope vines out today. The pumpkin vine is dying but I still have 7 pumpkins out there. I am excited to carve our own homegrown pumpkins this year! I still have peppers, tomatoes and eggplant. I took out the crop count because it was just so ridiculous to try and count anymore. I can't believe the amount of fruits and veggies we got this year. It was truly amazing.

My peaches are doing great. Both trees are hanging to the ground with fruit. I am hoping to get some canning done this weekend. That will be a nice treat for Winter! I am getting to be quite the canning expert. It's a good thing I just bought another shelf for the basement to store more jars!

I had a highly productive weekend. I accomplished almost everything on my list. I didn't get my ads up on Craigslist but I did take pictures! I even got my basement semi-organized. To look at it you wouldn't think so but at least I know where things are now! I spent the majority of my day working down there.

Friday we had our friends Jason and Stefany over with their 2 week old baby. He is just adorable. I can't believe all my kids were that small once. Saturday was extremely productive for both Will and I. We hit Farmers Market, garage sales and did a little grocery and house repair shopping all before noon. Will replaced the garbage disposal, made pesto and made me a spreadsheet on the computer. He watched the boys so I could get the yard mowed, do some gardening, got my checkbook in order, cleaned out the freezers and got some cleaning done. That evening Jake had a friend over. Tony, Brodie, Will and I had a fire in the fire pit and roasted marshmallows. That was good times. I just love camp fires.

Today we had my neices 2 year birthday party. And like I said I spent most of the day in the basement organzing. I feel pretty good tonight. I love when we get things accomplished.

Medical Status...

I had my apt. with the doctor yesterday to discuss my migraines. They have increased alot in the past few months. It's terrible. They make me completely miserable and not fuctional. I am not sure who hates them more. Will or me, because when I have them I have to sleep for about 24 hours to get rid of it and it leaves Will to do everything on his own. So, my doctor gave me a new medicine to try and if that doesn't work, some samples of another. I am keeping my fingers crossed.

Drew is still complaining of head pain off and on. The new symptom? He complains of bugs in his ears. Very strange. He will dig his fingers in his ears and say that it hurts and that there is bugs in there. We took him back in on Monday and our Pediatrician has ordered an MRI of his brain scheduled for the 15th of Septmeber. This has been going on for about 1 month now. There is no physical eveidence of anything wrong and his labs were normal. So, we are not sure what is going on. Our Doc spoke to Drew's ENT Doc who did his tubes and he thought an MRI would be the right thing to do too. If it is all normal, we will then go see the ENT Doc to see if there is anything wrong with his ears causeing the "bug" feeling or what we think is probably ringing. I will keep everyone updated.

5 Things I want to accomplish this weekend...

1. Mow the yard.
2. Work in the garden.
3. Clean out and organize my freezers.
4. Put some ads on Craigslist.
5. Do something fun with my husband and kids.

5 things I am thankful for this morning...

1. The weather is cool enough to not run the air conditioner.
2. The little boys are still sleeping at 6:30am.
3. Drew slept through the night.
4. I have a Dr. apt today to talk about my migraines.
5. Jake is responsible enough to get ready for school without my assistance.

I felt much better today. Yesterday I was sick with a migraine so that pretty much made me worthless. I made up for it today. We were nonstop busy. After getting Jake and Tony off to school this morning the little boys and I started on some puzzles. That didn't seem like very much fun to them so we decided to go for a hike in the woods at the park next door. That was alot of fun but surprising chilly. We had a good time exploring and they had fun picking up sticks and walnuts! We had our snack and played on the playground a little and then headed home.

We made some cookie dough because tonight was family night and Tony thought that frosting cookies sounded fun. Who can argue with that? Brodie did most of the work while Drew just got into drawers. Imagine that. After putting the dough together I decided to be brave and take them both to the grocery store. I remember why I usually don't do that. They did ok until the very end which was a little crazy. I could feel people stare. That is never a good feeling!

Tonight we headed to the library, decorated cookies and then watched a not so good movie with the boys. It was a nice family night. Tomorrow is busy again with football, school open house and doctor apts.
Julia, I took this picture for you. I figured you would know what it is. I have never seen it before.

We had a nice weekend. Friday night Will and Jake went to the Saydel football game. The 3 younger kids and I headed to the park for a nice quiet evening playing on the playground and enjoying popsicles!

Sunday we took in an I-Cubs game. We went with Will's parents and sister and also some friends of the family. After the game everyone came back to our house and we grilled hamburgers and enjoyed the rest of the evening on the deck chatting.


Monday we headed up to Mom and Joel's so that Will could help cut down some trees. Thankfully Roger stayed (family friend) and between all of them the job was successful and no one got hurt! Jake was an awesome help and even learned to split logs with an axe. Brodie and Drew were in awe with the whole experience and they did really well to just sit and watch. Brodie did help with his toy chainsaw for a little bit and when he wasn't "helping" he was holding it. That was pretty funny. And Tony did well too, in helping with the cleanup and helping Jenny pick apples off the apple tree. We of course waaaaay over ate and then had to end the evening with a game of cards before heading home. All the kids were in bed early tonight and I think I will join them. Tomorrow starts another busy week for us with Jake officially starting football. I will not be able to relax now until the season is over...