Spring Break 2011

I have enjoyed my spring break immensely. I LOVE having all my kiddos at home. So, what did we do this week?

Monday,we pulled out the couch bed and watched a movie.  Then we went to visit my mom.  We had lunch at a strange chinese restaurant where the tea pitcher served me some tea-grown mold, which the manager insisted was an onion.  We might have believed him if he had said "mushroom."

My 11 month old eating cheerios

Watching a movie and eating popcorn on the foldout bed.

Dancing on the back porch

Princess and Speed Racer stayed the night with my mom.  She did not have a place for both of them to sleep, so Speed Racer slept on the floor.  I couldn't wait to pick them back up on Tuesday, and we went exploring, and then came back home.  They found sleeping on the floor to be a novelty and decided to sleep on the floor the rest of the week.

Princess on the floor - looks cozy.

Speed Racer on the floor

Doodlebug safe and sound in her crib with her favorite blankie

Wednesday we had some sweet church friends come over.  Six kids and two moms are just about more than we could handle.  But Doodlebug napped a lot of the time.  The big kids played, and we tried to entertain the almost two year old to the best of our abilities.  He is very active.  Everybody went outside for a while, and then everybody was hungry at once and we quickly worked to get the food ready for 6 hungry little mouths.  After lunch, Princess led her friends into folly by drawing all over their faces and bodies, and then our friends had to go home.  :(

That evening was a very stressful evening for me.  I guess all good mommies lose their sanity sometimes, and I am trying to wean my sweet DoodleBug.  I know everyone has an opinion about nursing and I'm not here to judge or give mine - only to say that nursing has been very sweet for me with all my babies and I am less ready to give it up this time than in previous times.

Thursday we went to visit my grandparents.  That was a great trip as we got to have great conversation with my grandmother and got to see my aunt as well.  We had grandmother's home cooking and biscuits - a real treat.  And of course, she had ice cream for the kids.  When we left, DoodleBug was super tired and even Speed Racer fell asleep in the car which is very rare.  We came home and rested.  Daniel was supposed to be out late last night, so we rented a movie and stayed up a little later than usual.

Today, Friday, Daniel took off of work and we went on an outing to Oak Mountain State Park.  We had a blast.  We went on the Treetop Nature Trail and saw several birds - something we like to do every time we go to the state park.  Then we found our favorite spot for a picnic and ate our picnic lunch.  The kids could barely sit still for admiring the water right next to us.  Then we walked over to the beach area.  I had anticipated letting the kids get their feet wet, but I did not throw towels or swimsuits in the car.  Daniel was Mr. Mom this morning and he didn't think of it either.  They managed to get wet from toe to chest and it resulted in an interesting car ride home.

Tonight we had steak, potatoes, and asparagus for dinner.  We decided to give DoodleBug a chunk of the steak.  She loved it, but could not really eat it seeing as she only has 2 tiny teeth.  Surprisingly, she did manage to take several bites off of it, but we didn't let her swallow them.  They were still too big!

First taste of steak

sucking on the juice

DoodleBug has been saying words lately.  She says:  mama, dada, book, up, uh-oh, and "mo" for more.  She signs "more," "all finished," and "eat."  She has started cruising around the furniture and is pretty good at communicating her wants and needs.  She even dances to the music.  She is a very good imitator and pretty much does whatever she sees us doing, which means if one of us is dancing so is she.  She is generally very happy and laid back.

I am one blessed mama.