Our weekend

Pretty soon it'll be Nick holding Patience!

We've just had a very nice weekend! It started with Don and Sean going tagging (begging) for cadets Friday late afternoon. I took Dylan to his Friday night show (pit band) and then went to the border to pick up Nathan, whom Valarie had just dropped off. She was so kind as to pick him up from the bus stop in Bellingham and then drive him to the border...it's definitely not "on her way home" but we so appreciate her for doing it! Nathan and I put the girls to bed and then explored the Seattle bus system. Nathan has pretty much gotten over his anxiety about taking busses and is now ready to explore further away than walking distance.

On Saturday, Don, Sean, and Nathan headed out to tagging. Nathan got to be a "supervisor" for a cadet team, which apparently consisted of him standing about 10 feet away from the begging cadets and playing his Nintendo DS for 4 hours. He did get to see a lot of his old cadet friends so that was nice, and they were very appreciative to have his help. Dylan had the last two shows for his pit band...an afternoon matinee and then again in the evening. He stayed at the school between the two shows and enjoyed a nice dinner that some of the parents put together for the kids. Saturday afternoon I picked up Nathan and took him and the girlies to get haircuts. Nathan and I did his Canadian taxes, and then he went to hang out with his friend Peter and the rest of us had taco soup and quesadillas for dinner.

Saturday evening Don and Nathan watched the Canucks beat the Sharks 3-1.

This morning we had delicious waffles with bacon (cooked inside) and then went to church. Don took Patience, Jordyn, and Sean home from church and I took Dylan, Nick, and Nathan south of the border. We stopped at WalMart to do some shopping, had a little lunch, and then took Nathan to the bus stop for his journey back to Seattle.

I can't believe we have only 5 more sleeps until our Disneyland holiday! And it's a good thing it's soon because Nathan forgot his retainers in our car so he'll only miss sleeping with them for 5 nights...shouldn't be too bad.

I'll talk to you soon!

Grandpa's Boy

Nick wearing Grandpa Lee's hat from his babyhood

Extreme Home Makeover!

For a few weeks now I've been itching to reorganize our house to better suit our needs. I knew it was going to be a lot of work and need lots of furniture moving, so I hadn't started it. But the boys ended up not having school yesterday because Poppy was without power, so I took advantange of the situation and rallied the troops.

The major change was to redistribute the bedrooms. We had the three littles sharing one room, while each teenager had his own room despite the fact that they're both gone most of the day. So, now Dylan and Sean share a room, and Patience and Jordyn share a room beside them. That leaves little Nicholas alone in the nursery!

Can you tell which son has military training? The boys put the gate up in their door jamb to make sure they don't have little visitors when they're not home.

Patience now has a twin-size bed and Jordyn got upgraded to Patience's bed. That leaves Jordyn's old toddler bed for Nick to grow into (it's still in the nursery).

Both twin beds are now out of Nathan's room in the basement. We moved Sean's double bed in there so now we have a guest room. Also in the guest room are all the boys' instruments, so that room will double as a music studio and the boys can practice whenever they want. The basement room that used to have the girls' toys now have the boys' computers and school work area. The basement family room is now dedicated to video games, so the boys have all of their interests/activities in the basement, where the girls are no longer allowed!

The girls' toys have been moved into the room next to the laundry room, where the boys' computers used to be (are you following me?).

Last night Patience was so excited to be in her new digs that she was jammied, teeth brushed, and in bed by 7:30! When Don went in to tuck them in, she said,

"Daddy, this is just like Extreme Home Makeover!"

Chicks!

Saturday morning Don went out to see how the chicks had progressed from the "cheeping-from-inside-the-egg" stage, and this is what he saw:

The black chick had recently hatched, so he wasn't fuzzy and cute yet. In fact, when Patience saw this picture, she thought he was poop.

A yellow chick had also hatched, and since then been joined by a second yellow chick. So, we have three chicks and one egg that really, really, really needs to be gotten rid of before it breaks accidentally. The chicks are so cute, and it's amazing to see how their instincts are hardwired into their little bird brains. Mommy just sits there, providing "brooder lamp" services, and the chicks run around and explore, and then run back underneath momma when they get cold. What a fun experience/experiment this has been!

Cheep!

That's what you hear when you pick up one of the remaining 4 fertilized eggs! Don't ask about the other two...it's not a pretty story. Just suffice it to say that farm animals, especially chickens, are gross!

According to Don Sr., the chicks will hatch all at separate times and the chicks will instinctively stay under the mother hen. I'm hoping that's true, because it is winter, after all, and we are having a bit of a cold snap. I don't think it would take too long for the chicks to freeze if either them or their mother doesn't do the right thing!

Stay tuned...

Nicholas...

loves: mommy, milk, toys, daddy, siblings, baths, t.v. (blush), rolling over, being snuggled, reaching out and grabbing things!

hates: any food that comes from a spoon, vaccinations, being congested, being tired...

Weather update

I really, really think we've had enough snow for the month year decade! Thankfully the schools are open today, as today is both a preschool day and the opening night of Dylan's play (he's in the pit band), and neither would have happened if the schools were closed for snow.

Sean is home sick today, and Nick has a cough and congestion...poor baby : ( We all need to get and stay healthy for Disneyland (15 days and counting!)...

Baby bliss

<insert contented sigh here>

Foot fetish

Nick discovered his feet...and his toes in particular...in a big way! He thinks his toes are perfect for sucking on! Note to self: more freqent baths are in order for Nicholas.

"What?! Can't a baby suck in peace around here?"

Jordyn and Nick

I put Nick down in the center of his blanket; you can see how mobile he's getting!

Just hangin' out...

Patience has discovered that Cootchie can "hang on." Now we find her hanging onto the counter, the table, etc. Maybe we all have cabin fever?

The rest of the dresses

After church today I finished up the rest of the dresses for the girls. Patience was the only willing model (shocking, I know). I love the way they turned out!





In other news, I made meatballs (with honey garlic sauce) and rice for lunch today. We got hooked on Italian Meatballs from M&M Meats but I figured I could probably make something similar if I tried. Don brought home enough ground beef for me to make a meal's worth of meatballs and a meatloaf for dinner this week, all for the price of one box of meatballs from M&M meats. It was delish! And then Don made banana splits for everyone in the family who isn't weighing in in the morning for her "Biggest Loser" contest.

Sewing Saturday

Don let me sew for a few hours today and I was able to make each girl 1 1/2 dresses! I bought t-shirts at WalMart for $4, and then bought coordinating fabric for $4, so for $8 each (plus my time, which is invaluable, of course) they have matching dresses that they'll wear at Disneyland. I think they look adorable. I'm planning on finding bike shorts for them to wear underneath so they can be modest when they twirl...

The hazards of having big sisters...

Jordyn made a tent out of Nick's blanket for him! He thinks she is hysterical and spends lots of time smiling/laughing at her. I'm sure that at some point he'll be the victim of "dress-up." Poor little boy.

Friday!

The day started early (for Don) who decided to get up with Nick at 7:00 and let me sleep in. Ahhhh.... I finally rolled out of bed at 8:30 (bliss) and feel totally reenergized and awake...for the first time in a long time.

The boys are out of school today so Don took them for much-needed haircuts. Then he came home, dropped off the boys, and took Patience to Langley to run some errands. When he gets home I'll head to Aldergrove to do some grocery shopping. Tonight pizza is on the menu so I'll get some pepperoni and other toppings.

Our trip to Merrit is postponed due to the uninvited arrival of influenza at the Murphy household! Waneta is starting to feel better, but now Don Sr. is starting to feel icky. Obviously, the last thing we want before our Disneyland trip is the flu to run through the household, so I'll go in late March or early April.

But now I have a weekend free! Not sure what to do about that...maybe tackle the furnace room (the worst clutter in my house, maybe all of Aldergrove).

In the meantime, here are some adorable photos of Mr. Nick.

I took a series of pictures of him trying to put his paci back in his mouth. He finally did get it, but the ribbon was wrapped around his hand so he pulled it out right away. It's so fun to see him developing and learning more each day.

He's loving his Jumperoo more each day, too. He can now make it bounce high and quickly, can play with all the toys, and can watch t.v. while in it. It's very handy. As you can see, he has Sharkie in there with him.

Monthly menu

I like to plan my menu for dinners. I usually do it week by week, based on what's on hand, what's on sale, etc. But today I made a menu for a 31-day month. On the first of each month, we'll always have crepes : ), on the 31st it'll always be fish & chips, etc. I didn't use 31 unique meals, because I couldn't think of that many, and there are some that I want to use on a weekly basis, such as stir-fry. It's easy, inexpensive, healthy, and great left over, so that happens each week. As does vegetable soup. I also tried to have "plan-overs," such as a big roast dinner followed by Shephard's pie, beef and bean burritos followed by taco salad, etc. This menu should work well for about 9 months out of the year (the cool or cold months). For summer, I'll substitute barbeques for roasts and salads for the soup.

Weekend photos...

What a wonderful, whirlwind weekend!

Lucille arrived Thursday evening. Dylan, Nick, and I went to the border to pick her up. From there we went to the grocery store to stock up for the weekend, as we were going to have a housefull!

On Friday morning the girls were ecstatic to find Lucille here. Jordyn climbed right up onto her lap! Lucille watched the girls for me when I went to Dylan's meeting at school. It looks like he's going to set himself up for a seriously difficult course load next year: AP English, AP Pyschology, AP Calculus (all AP courses could satisfy 1st-year university course requirements if he gets a high enough score), Math 12, Physics 12 (I'm actually trying to persuade him to not take the physics class), and, of course, Band 12. He realizes he might actually have to give up some or all of his computer gaming time to do well, but he says he's ready to make that sacrifice! I hope he's right, otherwise he might be really making a huge mistake and seriously messing up his GPA.

On Friday evening Val picked up Nathan from the bus in Bellingham and brought him to her house; Don and Jordyn went and picked him up. It was great to see him again...I haven't seen him in a month! We had a great time catching up and watching House that evening.

On Saturday Dylan had to work in the morning, but when he got home and cleaned up, Don took the three oldest kids to Vancouver for a day of touring.

On Sunday we went to church where we did, in fact, get to have part of our service in the new building! It was very exciting. I brought my camera but took no pictures. : (

Sunday after church Nathan went with some of the boys from church to "hang out." Don and Lucille took the girls to the park down the street. We got Nathan all organized with his income taxes, bus schedule, etc. He even used his brand new credit card to purchase 2 more Sharks vs. Ducks tickets for our Disneyland trip so that Lucille and someone else (Hailey, Grandpa?) can go to the game. I told him it was a very appropriate first purchase.

On Sunday evening Lucille, Nathan, Val, Dave, Don and I went to dinner for our annual Valentine's celebration. Marc and Leslie Cutler met us there so it was quite a party! It just so happens that Lindsay, Jake, and Madilyn were also there for a friend's birthday party, so at the end of our meal Val went and snagged Madilyn and we all got to visit. It was great seeing everyone. Lucille and Nathan went home with the Cutlers, who are going to take him to the bus station today so he can get back to Seattle for work on Tuesday.

And now we are all back to business as usual! And you are all caught up...

Thursday thoughts

With a title like that, you'd think I'd have something pretty profound to say. But, no. I have things to write but nothing earth-moving.

On Tuesday evening Dylan, Nick, and I attended Kwantlen University's music program information session. Dylan has decided to go to Kwantlen for 2 years and then transfer to University of Victoria instead of heading to UVic right away. This makes a lot of sense financially. I was amazed at the robustness of this program considering it's 5 miles from our home! When we first got there we took a tour of the music classrooms, studios, and the theater where their wind ensemble was rehearsing. Dylan knew a few of the kids who were also attending the session. I think he's really excited about going there. The dean of music told the students that members of the community were welcome to come out and play with the wind ensemble or sing with the choir so of course Dylan was all over that. I had to remind him that he's currently knee-deep in another music commitment right now...he's playing in the pit orchestra for a highschool play. One thing is for certain: that child needs a car a.s.a.p.

Last night Don, Nick, and I went to the new church building to help with cleaning, etc. for this Sunday's grand opening. They asked for volunteers every night this week. On Monday Dylan and Sean went out. We were only able to stay for an hour or so since we wanted to get home to put the girls to bed. But it was exciting. The building is huge.

Lucille is coming up this weekend. She has a 4-day weekend from school so her American mom is bringing her to the border, where I'll pick her up. She'll be here until Sunday night, when Don and I go have Valentine's dinner with Val and Dave; we'll take her and Nathan home on that night so we don't have to hazard the border on Monday (U.S. holiday=horrible border lineup). We're very excited to have her stay again, and it turns out to be perfect timing because I need someone to watch the girls tomorrow afternoon while I have a meeting with Dylan's counselor at school. He needs to decided on grade 12 courses and find out what he should be doing about getting financial aid for university. I'm attending because I have about a 5% confidence rate that Dylan will come home and tell me all of the important information he'll be hearing from his counselor.

Don is working in Vancouver tomorrow. Nathan is coming home tomorrow night. The plan is that Val is getting him after work and bringing him to her house; I'll pick him up there. I think Nathan and Lucille are going to see a horror show tomorrow night...something about Friday the 13th. They asked Dylan if he wanted to go but he politely declined. You tell me who's the smart one.

Well, I'm off to do some housework and laundry. I need to get Dylan's room ready for Lucille among other things.

Ciao!

Cutest baby in the world? Check!

A study of polar opposites...

Could these two sisters be any different? Patience will smile for the camera until her face cracks, whereas I have to beg, urge, and bribe Jordyn to give me the smallest of grins...

Today is Red, Pink, and White day at preschool.