Tis the season

We celebrated thanksgiving 3 days ago, this holiday season is moving right along! According to the Hallmark channel we only have 26 days until Christmas!! I love christmas more now than when I was a child. I love seeing the joy in my children's faces come christmas morning. It's just pure happiness!

Our thanksgiving was good! I thankfully did not have to work. I actually got off work early on Wednesday which was nice. As soon as I got home I jumped right in on cooking. Thursday morning was no different, lots of cooking. We had way too much food prepared as usual. Of course we all ate way too much too.

Harley wasn't feeling well and slept most of the time. Only to wake up as everyone was getting ready to leave. Poor guy didn't get much play time with cousins.

We were expecting 25 plus people and it ended up only being 18 of us. So there was alot of food left over and we've been working on it all weekend.

Thanksgiving night I gave in and headed to walmart. I got alot of gifts!! I took Lexi and Mikey with me. Lexi was in charge of getting Kaylee a Nintendo 3ds xl and Mikey a game he has been wanting. I picked up things for Ella and Harley. After we left we made a stop for a gift for Mike. It was really a good shopping night. As soon as we got back home I started wrapping. I am lacking a place to store gifts so I've been wrapping as I buy.

It feels good to be almost done. I have a little over 3 weeks to get the rest done and I don't think it will be a problem.

5 Weeks!

Were only 5 weeks away from Christmas! How is that possible? Hard to believe Thanksgiving is almost here too! Let me back up to Halloween! Halloween was fun. Kaylee dressed as a mermaid, Ella a flapper and Harley Iron Man. They were all so cute. We had car problems earlier in the day so it was decided that I would take the 3 youngest and Lexi. Mikey wasn't going to be trick or treating so he was okay with staying home. Lexi came along with me to help out.

 

We took them to my mom and dad's neighborhood. Our neighborhood is so diverse that maybe 1 to 2 houses per street actually celebrate and give out candy. The kids had a blast and brought home way too much candy. I was surprised that we only had one little melt down the whole evening and that was on the way back walking to my mom's house. Ella got scared. But she was fine.

 

Two weeks ago I took on the supervisor position at my job. The past 2 weeks has been a blur! Last week was a total nightmare because we were so busy everyday. I finally started catching up and coming up for air on Thursday and Friday. Yesterday I happened to speak to my boss and we are having a store visit this coming Tuesday. No stress right? Yay so I'm going to go and sacrifice 2 hours this morning getting some things in order. Blah!!!!

 

Last weekend we finally had a break in our rainy weather for us to go and take pictures for our Christmas card. I was really thinking our pictures would end up being staged indoors. But finally last sunday the clouds broke away and it was a beautiful day! I was happy to have a good hair day too!!! Our first stop was a nightmare because of Kaylee. She in no way wanted to take pictures.

 

We got a lot of pictures like this....

and this

 

 

and this...

and this...

ugh....

 

She was being such a turkey!!! She just didn't want to take pictures, she wanted to be back home playing her computer!!! So I gave up and decided nobody would be seeing Kaylee's beautiful face on our Christmas card this year.

We started home and then Mike asked if I wanted to try another spot for pictures, sure why not. We were all already dressed and out, might as well. We finally got some good pictures!!! Including Miss Kaylee's face!!

Of course this isn't all the pictures! I took so many. We had a blast. I have decided my next purchase for my camera is going to be a tripod and a remote so we can take family pictures with all of us!!!

 

I got crafty!

I decided on a whim to make the little kids shirts. I had already planned on Kaylees treat bag. I had hoped I had shirts for the little kids to wear but I didn't. So off to Michaels I went to buy them shirts. I was thinking they would have toddler sizes but they didn't. So we ended up with youth small. They are going to be really big on them but it will work out, at least they can wear them again next year and probably the next. Ellas I will more than likely tie back so it won't be so awkward. Harleys I can tuck in I suppose.

The kids are looking forward to the carnival but it looks like it's going to be a rainy day. But I believe either way it will be fun for them.

So behind

I've been so busy for the past couple of weeks, blogging has been on my mind but I can't ever seem to get on and actually blog. We've been busy at work and I have put extra hours in. We had a visit to get ready for and I am proud to say busting my butt did alot of good. We got a great score in my department. Of course I couldn't have gotten it all done without my co worker!!!

The kids are doing good in school. Right now Lexi has straight A's. Michael has had some struggles but has been going every morning to tutoring. And he says its been helping. Hoping to see his grades going up. Kaylee is doing great too. I am really proud of her, she comes home and does her homework without being asked and all on her own. A big milestone for her!

This weekend we got ready for Halloween. Decorated outside with spiderwebs and some window clings. I am going to try to take the kids to a pumpkin patch if I can get a weekend day off.

I also started Christmas shopping this weekend. I am happy to have a start. With my kids getting older it is getting harder and harder to buy for them. The three youngest are pretty easy to buy for, they want toys! We bought Lexi a laptop last year. Mikey wants a laptop this year which makes shopping for him easy. I may have to make it a mix of things for Lexi. I can't shop for clothes for her since she usually doesn't like what I buy her. I will probably get her a gift card somewhere.

.... I obviously forgot about my post since I started this on the 7th and today is the 20th.

We are ready for Halloween. Kaylee is going to be a mermaid, Ella a flapper and Harley iron man. This Saturday is the school carnival and the little kids are looking forward to it. We still don't know where we are going for trick or treating. Last year we went to the rec center for trunk or treat. We had a good time although it was alot of waiting in lines. We may just opt for going door to door.

A week on the books

School started this past Monday the 24th. It's been a crazy blur of a week. Getting our bodies adjusted to waking at 5:30am has been tough. Well I've woke at that time, I wait and wake the kids at 6. Monday went good, I dropped Kaylee off and the twins cried wanting to go to school themselves. Next we dropped off Mikey. Last we had to wait a bit to drop Lexi off. Kaylee gets to school at 7:10 and school doesn't begin until 8am. Mikey rides the bus and school begins at 8:15. Lexi has been a mix of riding the bus and being taken by me and her school begins at 8:45.

Monday was a long day. After we got all the kid's home we had dinner and talked about the first day. Then I had to make a supply list for Lexi and Mikeys supplies they needed. I already had some things at home that they needed. So we headed out for the remainder. Luckily we were able to get everything we needed at walmart except for a spiral. Since Lexi and Mikey are in Jr high and High school they don't get a list of supplies needed at registration. They are made to wait until the first day of school to get seperate lists from their teachers.

I have worked extra this week at work because of back to school. We have been super busy all week. Monday I was thankful to be off, that was our busiest day. I was also off yesterday.

Kaylee says she likes her teacher and is glad to see her friends again. Mikey is just going with the flow. He is making extra effort to stay on top of homework. Lexi says her school is different but she likes it.

I am glad they have had a good week. And we are all happy the weekend is here.

School

School is almost here! I can't believe it, summer has gone too fast. I feel like we didn't get to do everything that we wanted to. School starts back on the 24th and I have been trying to gather everything the kids need. I am done with Kaylee for school supplies. I have bought several clothing items needed. I won't have Lexi and Michaels supplies needed until they start school, that's when their teachers give them lists. This year we have one in high school, one in jr high and one in elmentary. I think each kid is excited in their own way.

Lexi is having to make schedule changes. She is dropping all of her ap classes and gt. She claims too much stress. I told her it was all up to her. On Wednesday when she registered she was able to drop all but one class. That one class left has to have a parent signature and the counselors weren't  prepared. So she is hoping to have it taken care of on the first day.

Michael was pretty upset that he has to take pe this year but he knows the choices he made in not trying his best was the result of that.

Kaylee is still asking me to home school her. Unfortunately that's just not possible.

Thursday Kaylee has meet the teacher from 5:30 to 6:30. Then right after we get to rush to the High School where Lexi will have a pep rally and get to pick up her schedule. She has told me that I don't have to go but I am going.

Today has been a lazy day although I did have to run a few errands. Lexi needed a book for school so we went to half price books and by the grocery store for a few things and to get gas in the car. After we got home I cooked hot dogs and sausage out on the grill. I finally found the dogs we had at my parents house a few weeks back. They are put out by ballpark and they are chilli flavored. They are delicious. Lunch was yummy and we had way too many leftovers.

I also took advantage of the day and repaired the Nintendo wii. Harley had put a penny in the disc slot a few months back. I had to special order a screwdriver from amazon. We finally got the screwdriver but actually sitting down to fix the wii kept being put off. I was able to take it apart and put it back together in nothing flat. And I have to admit that I did end up with 3 extra screws. Not sure how that happened but it is together and we have played on it. Of course now for the next few weeks it will be the in thing to do.

Now we are hanging out and I'm letting the twins play in their water table. It has been a good day off and I am glad to have tomorrow off as well. I guess that means I need to plan what we will be having for dinner tomorrow.

Galveston

Our trip was so much fun. I know I had a really good time and I hope everyone else feels the same. We left sunday morning around 8:30 am. We had to make a stop first to get ice for the ice chest. Then we were on the road. Galveston is approximately 5 hours away from where we live. My sister was leaving from our parents house and we just planned on meeting up in Huntsville at the Sam Houston Monument.

So we drove and Harley was being whiny, then he started throwing up. It was mainly mucus and thankfully Mikey was able to handle the situation while I drove. It wasn't much at all thankfully. Poor guy slept most of the drive. Right as we got into Huntsville I really needed to go potty, having drank a coffee, can of soda and bottle of water will do that to a person. We got back on the road and headed a few miles down to the monument. It was actually the first time I had ever been to it even though we camped across the hwy a few years ago. It was a neat little stop and a great way for us all to stretch our legs for a few minutes.

We hopped back in our cars and headed back on our way. Right before we got to Houston I really needed a bite to eat. I made a quick stop through Wendy's drivethru. It was just what we all needed. Back on the road we went and we got closer and closer to downtown Houston. I have never drove all the way to Galveston with me being the main driver. Usually I drive part and Mike drives the rest. I really had to put my big girl panties on and make it through Houston. My biggest fear was traffic and not taking the correct route. But I did it and it really wasn't that bad.

Finally got out of Houston and through the little towns until we finally made it to exit 13 where our hotel was. I thought for sure Lisa would already be there waiting for us, instead we were waiting for her. She was only minutes behind us. She went to the other hotel a few miles down the road. She made it and we decided to see if we could check in even though we were early. We did have to wait a bit but finally were told they had 2 rooms ready and we could check in. We really wanted connecting rooms but at the time none were available together. We went ahead and took what they had. I wish we had checked into one room and waited for the other to become available.

After we got settled in our rooms we drove down to the beach. We settled for the state park. My sister and I didn't wear our bathing suits, just the kids. We did go in the water but not far since we were in our clothes. We got the kids to build sandcastles and they played in the water. Kaylee spent alot of time collecting seashells. We kept having to get after the kids for going out too far but they did pretty good about minding. We stayed for 2 hours and then headed back to the hotel. But not before making a stop at walmart for some food. We got lunchmeat and bread for the next day. Each of my kids got some candy and we got more water, and hairbands for the girls since I had forgot them. I also bought a rotisserie which we devoured when we got back to the hotel.

Back at the hotel we took showers and baths after we ate. Then suprisingly everyone settled in and went to sleep. I was quite shocked they all went down so quick. I was really tired myself.

I woke bright and early at 4am. I had to tell myself it was way too early and go back to bed. I was back up at 6am for good. I waited a bit before I tried to wake anyone. I passed my sister in the hall. Her son had puked in the middle of the night and she was off to wash his blanket at the hotel laundry. I got some coffee and headed back to my room where I really had to beg the kids to get up. I didn't want to miss free breakfast and have to deal with finding breakfast for them. They finally got up and I decided to wait on dressing the 3 youngest until after breakfast. The kids had their breakfast and then we went back to our room to get dressed and a bag packed for the day. When we finally headed out it was about 10am and we headed for the bolivar ferry.  The ferry is free and provided by txdot, my kids were surprised it's an actual road. I followed my sister and told her it was her choice if she wanted to drive onto the ferry or walk on. She chose to drive on and I'm glad she did. When we got to the other side we ended up visiting Fort Travis. It was a neat piece of history to see. If it had been cooler out we would have stayed longer. We headed back for the return ferry which took forever before we boarded. I was the first car to drive on which was kind of creepy for me.

We finally made it back to the island and headed for stewarts beach. Stewart's beach is a swim beach that you pay to get in by the car. We paid and drove in, headed to the bathroom since we all needed to change into our bathing suits. The walk there and back was horrible with all the sand. We all needed to eat lunch by this time and opted to stand and eat out of our car trunks. We all ate and made sure to pack lots of water, then made our trek down to the water. This particular beach rents umbrellas and chairs. We asked the lady next to us how much and she said $35, we chose not to rent. We already had enough sunscreen slathered on and decided to deal with the sun. We had a blast in the water. The twins really loved standing in front of me and us jumping the waves. I got salt water in my eyes not once but twice and it burns. Kaylee was actually swimming in the ocean. Mikey played with his cousin Milo and Reese and Lilly kept trying to jump on my back with the waves. We had a really good time. The walk to and from our car was treacherous with the hot sand. Ella somehow decided to leave her shoes in the car and had to be carried there and back. I sure am glad we decided to skip bringing the sand castle stuff.

We made plans that when we left the beach we would head straight for the pool at the hotel and we did. The kids kind of got mad at me for making them wait to get in but I wanted them to have a snack before we got in. We finally got in and only had one scare. Harley went under, after that he wasn't so brave anymore. He only wanted momma to hold him. Ella on the other hand was being too brave. I had finally had enough trying to watch everyone and we headed back in. The kids were upset but they just didn't understand how dangerous it was getting with me being the only one watching them.

After we got back to the room I made the 3 younger kids get into the tub for a bath. That was nice getting them all bathed at the same time. I got them all dressed and layed down to relax then I got my shower. It felt good to get all that sand off. After I was dressed I decided to take care of all our swim stuff and took it to the laundry. It felt good to get a jump start on laundry.

When the laundry was finally taken care of we headed out to grab some dinner. The kids decided on whataburger. It was delicious. When we finished up eating I took the time to start packing up our stuff. Then we settled in for bed. I actually slept until 6 the second morning and was set to lay back down but Ella woke up. I made all the kids get up and we went down to breakfast. My sister and kids were still sleeping. I texted her but didnt bother knocking on their door. After we had our breakfast we went back to our room. I got everyone to brush their teeth and clean faces so I could pack everything away. I got everyone dressed and started loading the car. My sister was in the process of waking hers and getting them dressed. We had finished packing the car and went ahead and went to her room to help her pack. We got all our cars loaded and then checked out of the hotel.

I had already planned to go back to the island to visit the souvenir shop and that's what we did. First parking on Seawall was a nightmare. You now have to pay for parking when it use to be free. I had to set up an account and then pay. Good thing it's only a dollar am hour. The kids were going crazy in the souvenir shop. Wanting everything they saw of course. Harley picked a watergun, Ella never picked something so I had to pick for her a necklace. Kaylee got a bottle of shells with her name on the bottle, Mikey a set of shark teeth, necklace and sand dollar. I picked up a necklace for Lexi and a set of coasters for myself and a laser cut seashell. We finally headed back on the road to leave the island.

We made a stop in texas city to go to bucees. We had never been to one. I got gas and then we all went in. And boy that is a huge store. The bathrooms were nice and clean. We all got snacks for the road, I also picked up a shot glass for mike. When we got ready to leave it was raining and by raining I mean pouring down rain. We finally made it back to the car and everyone got buckled in and off we went. Not knowing where you are exactly makes it scary driving on the freeway. But we did it, the rain slowed and then picked back up. Water was pooling on the road and it was scary. Finally it stopped raining and we all relaxed. The closer we got to downtown Houston the crazier the road got. But we made it through downtown and then sat in traffic that seemed to last forever. There had been a wreck and the road was piled up. Finally after about an hour of traffic we made it out.

We I just cruised the road and when we came into Madisonville we stopped at that bucees. Us girls really needed to use the restroom and get more snacks. Finally everyone settled again we hit the road. We hit traffic as we came into grand prairie and as soon as we got on 360 it was smooth sailing. We finally made it back home at 6pm. With the rain and traffic it made for a long ride home and we were all glad to get out of that car.

We had an awesome time for sure. Nobody had a bad time. We had a few lil fights between kids but nothing major. Kaylee got a slight sunburn on her face and my sister where her bathing suit wiggled around, all the rest of us got tanned through our sunscreen. Now to plan our next trip. We are thinking padre island in March. But unfortunately my sister and her family won't be able to make it.