Abby Update

Wow! These last 5 months have really flown by..I don't know if it's because I know that she is my last, or because life is so busy in general, but it seems like she is growing so much faster than any of the other kids did. She's already rolling onto her belly and trying to sit up when propped on pillows..of course, her balance still isn't great and she usually ends up falling to the side. She has her Daddy's blue eyes, but looks more like her Mommy. Still not sure what her hair is going to do - somedays it looks like it's getting lighter, other days - totally brown. I think she's going to end up with light brown like Emma, but who knows. I'm really hoping she keeps Fred's blue eyes. All of the others changed to hazel or shades of brown, and he REALLY wants her to have blue..it would suck if he left and they were blue and they changed while he was gone! She likes oatmeal, but has a little trouble keeping it in her mouth. She LOVES to talk - usually telling one of her brothers or sisters what she thinks of them! :) She loves her block with beads on it - even though she ends up smacking herself in the face with it more times than I can count. She is a truely good baby - smiling and laughing, putting up with all of us making stupid faces at her, and all the times we leave her sitting on the dining room table while we put the other kids to bed. We love you, Abby!

Love

Mommy and Daddy

Our newest family member - Fishstick anyone?

Some of you known that Fred got me a puppy for our anniversary. Since he is deploying and our other two big dogs are outside dogs, I really wanted one that would keep me company inside and feeling a little safer. Pepper was a great puppy...however, she has proven to be a bit more to handle than I am comfortable with around the kids. She is a lab so her energy level matches theirs..and her's doesn't ever turn off either. So we are searching for a new home for her..anyone interested? ;-) So, we've been searching the area shelters for a new inside dog. Something not too big, not too small, not too jumpy, likes to lay around, but not too lazy, not too fuzzy, not too short a coat, not a pit bull (nothing against the breed AT ALL but around here you have no way of knowing their upbringing and they are more likely than some other breeds to have been trained to be aggressive), not a poodle (Fred's particular dislike). We met with all different types of dogs. I've been scouring craigslist and petfinder.com. On Saturday I found a dog in Robeson county that looked interesting and emailed regarding her. She was scheduled to be put down Monday morning at 8, so they agreed to hold her one more day so we could meet her. I drove out there (about 1 1/2 hours from our house)to meet her and she was so scared that I couldn't adopt her. I don't think the poor baby had ever been around a human before - I would approach her and she would run to the other side of the kennel. We did this for about 20 minutes and she was getting visibly upset, so I stopped. The man that ran the shelter said she even had a hard time putting a collar on, so knowing my kids and their fondness for playing with the dog, I knew she wasn't a match. That was a hard decision, but I know she wouldn't be happy with us and I know that I wouldn't feel safe with her around the kids. I pray that she moves on to a better place where she won't have to be afraid of anything. I did, however, meet another dog..yet unnamed..that has made her way into our house! She is also very timid, however, she allows us to pet her and love on her and she wags her tail to let us know she appreciates the attention. She hasn't moved much since we got home - she's been laying in the kitchen. I'm sure eventually she'll be all over once she realizes that it's okay here. All the kids are loving her and I must admit she's got me feeling a little safer - even though I know she's still afraid of her shadow and probably wouldn't do much if someone tried to break in! I think it's just the fact that someone is here with me and the kids - I don't have the responsibility all on my own. Any suggestions on a name? Emma likes vanilla ice cream (no), fishstick (no), and moon rise(umm,no). Owen likes All Aboard (again no). Emma also suggested Lizzie, which made the possible list. Kaitlin suggested Savannah (which with it being an anniversary gift and our honeymoon being in Savannah, has a nice ring..sorry Manda!). We also have Sage and a few others on the list...we'll keep you posted, but rest assured it's most likely NOT going to be fishstick!

Katie

My latest issue...

Okay, I'm all for this green thing. I bought the reusable bags (if I can only remember to take them with me!), we have Sigg bottles for all of the kids and ourselves and glass bottles for Abby..can't say I am doing anything for landfills with all the diapers we use, but I'm trying to motivate Owen to give them up, so that has to count for something, right? (It'll count for $40 a month in my checking account at the very least!) We have a high-efficiency front loader washer and dryer that I love. I can cram a closet in there..can't guarantee it will all get clean if I do, but I can fit it all at least. The thing that I can't do? I CANNOT follow the measuring instructions on the damn HE detergent. It just doesn't seem like it's enough to clean all those clothes. I know - I've watched the commercials, I've read the blurbs in the magazines..I know you only have to use that little bit - it's 3x concentrated, blah, blah, blah...but I really wish it wasn't. I have to say that is one area I tend to use in excess.....I find myself measuring it out, looking at the pitiful amount in the soap dispenser and topping it off. I just can't control myself. Maybe there's a meeting or a 12-step program for people like me....

Yes, it's 12:37 and I'm talking about laundry soap. Fred is still out of town and the house is quiet...it's such a rare thing. No kids screaming, no feet thudding over my head in their bedrooms, no snoring from my darling husband asleep on the couch where he attempted to stay awake and watch Leno (and normally doesn't make it through whatever show is on at 10 pm)..so of course, I can't sleep. It's too quiet. I keep checking on the kids, wandering through the kitchen (where I hid the chocolate..too bad not from myself!). I folded all the laundry yesterday so I can't do that. I can't paint our bedroom this late so that has to wait for tommorrow. So I'm searching craigslist for some cool toys..I did manage to find an awesome pirate ship for the boys that I'm picking up Thursday and maybe a few other things. But now it's time to try to sleep..the little feet will be running around soon and I will regret not using my quiet time to sleep! :)

Night,
Katie

Cheerleading Competition - Take 1

Kaitlin had her first cheer competition with Premier in Raleigh on November 2nd. It was a small competition, but they did an awesome job and ALL 12 Premier teams took home the 1st place trophies in their division. What a GREAT start to the season! They have another small competition in Greensboro on November 15th, and then it's off to Tennessee for the Premier Cup on December 6th. Poor Owen has to spend his 3rd birthday surrounded by screaming girls......Hopefully we'll get to see some snow on our trip - I've already got the winter gear ready to go! :)



Great job Kaitlin and Shockers Youth Polaris!

Waiting for the other teams to finish

At the Awards Ceremony - Shocker Sweeps!

She's the base in the front with her leg behind her. She's a flyer in the first stunt of the routine - her favorite thing to do..and our least favorite!

Performing their routine

And the winner is....

Chicken Little aka Joseph Lewis :) We stopped by Zaxby's for dinner before trick or treating and the kids entered the Zaxby's costume contest. We got a call on Tuesday letting us know that everyone voted for Chicken Little (he had well over 100 votes!), except for about 10 that voted for an octopus...none other than little Abby! Woohoo! As a prize, he receives Zaxby's for a year - one kids meal a week for 12 months. We picked up our stack of 52 coupons yesterday. Even though he has no idea what he did, and he really didn't do much other than look cute and smile, I'm so proud of my chicken man!

Back in the swing of things...

Wow! It's been a long time since I posted. Life has gotten in the way of so many things lately it seems! Let's see - we've been to Florida, had an..no, two..ear infections, a bout of bronchitis, various colds, a visit from Judy and Becca, a cheer competition, and Halloween. And I just today downloaded all 400 pictures from my camera from Florida. Can't wait to post the pictures from Halloween, but I have to wait for them to arrive via Judy's camera since mine was dead as a doornail on the big day. (Hint: Joey won a contest and free Zaxby's kids' meals for a year with his costume!) Florida was a blast! Fred had to work during the day, but was usually "home" by about 4 so we got to hang out and have fun. The kids LOVED the pirate pool and the hotel was absolutely wonderful! I definitely recommend it for anyone going to Orlando. The rooms were clean, the location excellent, and it had TONS of space! Our two bedroom, two bath unit could have easily slept all of us, but our kids routinely decided to stay in the "fun" room with Judy and Alan..even though they would fall asleep 10 minutes in! :) Fine with me - I got to sleep in a just a little bit later, too! DisneyWorld was fun, but I have to say the highlight of the trip was Hollywood Studios (formerly MGM). Owen absolutely flipped when he saw his Einsteins and Lightning McQueen. We got to have a character lunch with June, Leo, Jojo, and Goliath. It was well worth the price..even though I don't think he ate one bite of food!

Fred is definitely deploying with the 30th in 2009. He's starting his training this week in Winston-Salem on Sunday, then will be home this weekend, and back to Charlotte on Monday for 3 more days. He won't actually be with the unit until January or so, but he'll travel off and on with them to get them up to speed on retention issues, etc. Things are still piling up on the to-do list, but I'm learning to let go. The house will be clean after he leaves, things will get done after he leaves, but the time with him won't be here so I'm trying to remember that...although I will say I have my moments of pouting. Who wouldn't, I guess? It sucks..he's leaving for a whole year and will miss so much of the kids. Things change so much in a year.. I guess I just worry about keeping track of it all for him so he can "see" it when he comes home. And I worry about taking care of them all by myself (even though I have a lot of support...thank goodness!)..I worry about forgetting one of them somewhere...I actually have this concern when he's here, so I'm just hoping my brain doesn't get even more scattered! :) I'm trying to come up with routines and schedules so that it will be somewhat automated when he leaves so we can ease into the change. I worry about Owen and the "scaries" in his room - I HATE scaries..Fred usually chases them away and now it's up to me. I worry about Emma..she's Daddy's girl (even though she LOVES to give him a hard time). I worry about Joey - he's talking like crazy now and really coming into his own. Will he understand what's going on? How will I explain it to him? And little Abby is getting so big, but she's still so little. She'll only be about 9 months when he leaves and 20 months when he gets back...so much changes in that timeframe. Walking, talking, eating real food..and I have to do it alone. Not to mention potty training boys..umm, hello, how the heck do you do that? Kaitlin is older, but she still has issues with trust and I worry what this will do to her..plus having to help me with the little ones. I'm hoping her cheerleading (another worry..traveling with the crazy crew to competitions by myself!) and girl scouts will keep her busy and her mind off of it all. Thank goodness for preschool and Screamin' Mimi's - I have a feeling I'll need a few breaks here and there! :) So enough depressing news! Here's some pics from Disney World and the hotel! Halloween to follow shortly!

Love

Katie

Judy, Alan and the Crew..do they know what they're in for? :)

Emma "surfing" on Uncle Alan in the pirate pool

Joey was pretty amazed by all the princesses

The Pirate Ship in the center of the hotel pool

Owen and Emma in the pool Wall - E and the Crew

It's a little hard to get a family picture with everyone..Owen was ready to go, Joey kept hitting Mickey's ear, Abby was way more interested in something off to the side, and Emma wouldn't take off her glasses...oh, well, we're all there! :)

I think Joey was a little afraid of Annie...and not sure exactly what Em is doing.

The castle at night

Cinderella was the favorite of everyone..

Joey, again in amazement, really liked her dress the best..

and Owen tried to look underneath it. The Incredibles

Emma - part of the Incredible Crew with her sunglasses

Ca-chow! Lightning McQueen..I have to admit he was pretty cool!

Owen's very concerned over Rocket's location. Leo explained that they parked him in the parking lot for the day.

June was a very gracious lunch host - the kids loved dancing with her
Mickey Mouse Ice Cream is the best!

Mater...like Tow-Mater

Kaitlin, Belle, and Emma

Soldiers in a Row

We traveled the country..all in one day!
And now it's time for bed...