Go Cubs!

Last night the whole family went to the Cubs game!

My Uncle John is a manager at Murphy's Bleachers right next to Wrigley Field.  They have rooftop bleachers which can be rented out for games.  Each year they have a friends and family event where the friends and family of the employees get to come up and enjoy a game.  My parents are lucky enough to be invited every year.  Two years ago Andy and I also got to go.  He called on Saturday to see if we wanted to come.  Andy and I were immediately in.  Andy thought it would be fun to bring the kids (who were invited this time too), but I did not want to bring the kids.  I am a HUGE stickler for bedtime and hate having overtired kids, it just makes my days long.  All of our babysitters were either going to the game or out of town and the kids have never been to a game, so long afternoon naps were ordered and we all went.

We did not get too many photos, but here are a few.

I just love this one.

I cannot say that much of the game was watched, but we all had a great time.  I think the buffet of food was even more of an attraction to the kids than the game.  When I told the kids we would have dinner there, Lucy said she was sure it would be hot dogs since they always walk around selling them...you know she is such a stadium pro.





Caleb hung out much of the time behind the bleachers near the food and the TVs.  Lucy hung out on the bleachers with her aunts most of the time.  Toby was all over the place.  Even the bartender loved him.  He had gotten a bottle of water just after we had arrived. When I asked for a sip, he told me, "Just go over there and ask that man, he will give you one."  He thought it was the coolest thing.   Nellie had gotten up from her nap around 230.  I was hoping she would nap on the ride down, but because of traffic the car did not lull her to sleep.  She stayed awake the whole time happy as a clam, crying only once when her Godmother tried to hold her again near the end of the evening. She was, however, asleep within minutes of our departure.








We headed out during the 7th inning when the Cubs were down 2-1, but they made a comeback in the 9th to win 3-2.

Thank you John and Bridgid Long for a great time!

Sleeping Masks

Last year for my birthday my sister, Jaime, got me a sleeping mask.  I have always wanted one because my eyes very sensitive to light, even when they are closed. The fact that I thought it would be uncomfortable is what kept me from purchasing one. It is AWESOME.  Especially for napping.  As soon as I opened it, the kids were fighting over it and I told them I would make them one.  It took me a few months to get around to because I needed to buy elastic, but hey I had a newborn.  I used fabric scraps I had around the house including blackout fabric from my roman shades.  They are not half as nice as mine, but they do the trick for the kids and I made them in less than 20 minutes total!

Aug 2011

They all keep their mask in or next to their beds.  For a while they were just an accessory and not really used...at least not for sleep.  Lucy had thought it was fun to pretend she was blind, but after running into several things and getting hurt, the mask has remained on her night stand.  Toby would not wear it while sleeping, but would bring it with him if he came into our bed in the middle of the night.  They have been in use recently for when my typical non-nappers nap.  It is just too cute. 

April 2012

April 2012

Birthday Card Revealed

Today I finally got to see the birthday card, or rather the gift,the kids made me last month.  

Caleb and Toby were up first.  They bounded into my bed this morning wishing me a happy birthday.  I left for one second to use the bathroom and came back to Lucy there too and a present.  

wrapped in kleenex and the goodie bag from the party

Caleb's Card

The PRESENT made with the party stickers.  Lucy then taped it to my door. 

Lucy's 1st card

Lucy's 2nd card

They were so excited and just kept saying that it was so cool they didn't even have to say "Happy Birthday".

Uncomfortable

These are some of the positions formed when a sitting baby falls asleep.

$100

Every year for Christmas, the kids each get a $100 bill from their Grandpa.  We take it and put in in their bank accounts for safe keeping.  Sometimes this generous gift can be lost on the little ones, but as they grow so does their interest in money and therefore this gift.  This was the first year I think that Caleb really got it and how awesome it was to have a $100 bill.  He knows he has this money tucked away and often dreams up how he wants to spend it.

The four of them also got  new piggy banks for Christmas.  They all have been excited to put every last coin and bill they find in there.  Lucy even found a $1 bill in the front yard and was ecstatic!  They misplaced out Wii remotes and we could not find them for over a week.  They had lost interest in finding them so I set a reward.  I offered $1 for each remote they found. A frantic search began, and Dad, who was home, found them in less than 5 minutes.

Today he wanted to play with his toy airplane that he could not find.  He offered a reward of $100 for whomever found it.  Then he told me that I probably wanted to be the one to find it because $100 was a lot.  I happened to know exactly where the said airplane was and told him.  When I asked for the money, he changed the reward to a quarter.  He went into his bank and got me the quarter.

I guess I need to teach him about how bait and switch is not one of the best practices.

Tape

The kids are always taking my tape.  On more than one occasion I went to wrap a present and we had no tape anywhere in the house.  When the kids keep taking my stuff it means they need something similar to fill their need before they will stop.   

We ran out of tape just before Christmas so Santa got practical.  In their stocking, each kid got a roll of green painters tape, the cheap stuff that comes right off of everything.  A friend made fun of me for this idea, but I stuck by how awesome the idea was.  She wanted an update on Christmas morning. She did receive a text that morning that Lucy opened up the roll of tape to start taping things before she even started playing with her huge Barbie house.  Weeks later, Caleb just randomly said, "Mom, I can't believe that Santa brought us tape." Needless to say, it was a hit.

Though the tape is not played with on a daily basis, I would say it is brought out at least once a week.  A few weeks ago, it was the toy of the week.  Every day there were new creations and a lot of casts.  

It is much easier to pick up than stickers because they usually use HUGE pieces and a lot more fun. I think Santa might need to bring some more this Christmas.

Happy Easter (a little late)

We had a wonderful Easter.  We have hosted Easter brunch at our house the last few years and have really enjoyed it.  It is the one holiday where we don't have to drive anywhere.  The extra cleaning and prep far outweighs traveling in my mind.  Both sides of our family are invited to come so we get to see everyone who is in town at one spot.

Finding cottontail and Easter Eggs

 A Kid picture.

 Lucy wore the dress that Therese wore in our Wedding.  

 Getting ready for the Easter Egg Hunt

Grampe had a following...literally.

 A little first Easter photo shoot.  She had just woken up didn't like sitting in the grass so we could have done better but there are a few good ones.

  We hope everyone had as much fun as we did!