Tuesday

Breakfast: blueberry pancakes, banana, milk
Lunch: spagettios (Landon and Tristan ate pb and marsh), cheese slices, apples and apple sauce, milk.

All ate very well today, in fact Tristan and Bryce wanted a "whole" apple for lunch. So after lunch was over I went to clean up plates and noticed Bryce of course left the core of the apple. No core on Tristan's plate. I asked, "tristan, where is your apple" his reply.... "in my belly (looking at me like.... duh!!!!" haha he ate the entire apple, seeds, core, stem and all!!! I guess he's the next Johny Appleseed!

Jocelyn nibbled on her lunch but then at 12:30 when all the kiddos went down for naps (Bryce included) she decided to eat more. She was not liking the crust on her sandwich (what is it with that??? Bryce just started the whole boycotting crust too!)

Great morning, but wow did we have some tired = sensitive children today!! (including myself :-) Basically the Rankin boys woke up way too early and were just a handful (hence why Bryce is napping!) Lilly was also so sleepy and fussy on and off this morning, everyone else was chipper and happy. We went outside from about 8:30-9:30 (before the heat kicked in) They ran around and played so well (I was sad we had to come in but they were all sweating!) The kids played in the bounce house for quite a while (I put old socks on Tristan to run around with since I didn't know if you let him go barefoot outside with his foot condition.)

Lilly and Paige swung on the swings for a bit too!

Then we came inside and did the weather/sang song/ danced.

We learned about Johny Appleseed today (hence why we had apples for lunch) We made a Johny Appleseed puppet too.

The kids were very into puzzles today! We put lots together (I even remembered the Disney princess puzzle for Jocelyn to do! she loved it!)

Lilly keeps saying "neehow" you know the Chinese word for "hello" but not spelled like that! :-) Are you saying that to her or is she saying something else??? She also keeps saying "help" for when she needs help to finish eating.

Tristan is obsessed with baseball today (no surprise) he's been playing both inside and out!

Paige is snuggling her babies all day long.

Hayden says he's excited for school tomorrow (let me know how they make out!) I'm getting all their things together for you today. I hope they love it there! I'm sure they'll love being with their Grammy come April! We will have to make sure to get the kiddos together at least once each week to play and hang out!!!

Monday

Breakfast: lucky charms (Landon had a waffle), milk

Lunch: grilled cheese, yogurt, pineapple/grapes, milk, smores fishies

All ate very well for both meals today!

Fun morning! The kiddos played, played, played! We tried to go outside for a bit but it was too hot for me (this is going to be a hot week!) I told the kiddos we would get out the pool tomorrow!

We then came inside and our buddy Ian came over to play for a bit! I can't wait to watch the little bug next week! He did great and the kids loved him!

We did our weather time, sang and danced to our songs, we did our ABC flash cards (Paige is starting to get some right!!!) We made a fishy craft today too.

The Rankin boys played upstairs after lunch, the Carver kiddos played downstairs (but Hayden was getting frustrated that sissy wouldn't "play" with him.

Friday

Breakfast: Tristan had a pancake (fiber 1) and banana, The other kiddos had lucky charms with milk and Lilly also had a banana. The cereal was a hit but Landon only ate the marshmallows!!
Snack at 9:30: Fruit and water (Jocelyn had her strawberries (about half) and Tristan and Bryce woofed down 2 apples each! Lilly and Landon weren't into the apples.
Lunch: Tristan, Bryce, and Lilly had spagetties, cheese slices, wheat bread, milk, Lilly also had applesauce since she didn't eat any fruit at snack. Jocelyn had a little turkey, some fishies, and a little cheese and her yogurt. (she didn't eat much today) All the kiddos then had yummy cupcakes (thanks to Jocelyn!) They were a hit of course (lilly had a half of one)

The kids played very well today (very creative play with little fighting) We read books this morning then went outside for well over an hour (it was so nice) The girls swung a bunch while Tristan hit his t-ball and Bryce and landon played in the clubhouse.

Then we painted our home grown gords (haha) We thought they were going to be pumpkins but nope! The kids had a blast painting!!! Jocelyn and Bryce painted for what seemed like forever!!!

Then we came inside and I was going to do school-time but they were playing so well we kind of skipped it. We did do the weather and lots of dancing with our music.

I told Jocelyn she looks like her daddy, she said, "yes and I act like him to, we both burp!" haha
Tristan was still in love with Jocelyn today but not so obsessed!
Landon is being a snuggle bug today and Bryce is being well-behaved (well for Bryce)

Lilly is a pooping machine today (I think I've changed her diaper like at least 5 times. She is happy but very sleepy today. She is saying my name a lot (love it!)

Wed

Breakfast: fiber 1 poptarts, milk, Jocelyn ate about 3 bites of beagle (let's just say she was hungry at 10 for lunch and ate a good lunch!)

Lunch: Hayden had pb and marsh, Paige, Landon, Bryce had turkey and cheese grilled, and Jocelyn had a pb and J (she changed her mind) The kiddos also had cheese slices, grapes/applesauce, pb crackers, and milk. Jocelyn had her craisens, yogurt and I added some grapes and cheese slices (They all ate well except Paige she just played with her food heehee!) Landon ate nothing at all!!!

It was a great morning!!! Jocelyn got over her "not sharing attitude about half hour after she arrived, I think she's scared the little ones are going to hurt them like put them in their mouths"

We were coloring machines again today! TV was off by 8:30 and the coloring began (led by Miss Jocelyn!) We colored and then read some books (my favorite, "what makes a rainbow book" so of course we reviewed our colors.

Then we went downstairs and read some more books and did puzzles. Bryce wanted to play memory. Jocelyn wanted to watch while the little ones "pretended to play" Then we did our alphabet flashcards (new ones the Eric Carl ones) Jocelyn must have liked these better because she joined right in. It was cute how Paige just called off any random letter and I think that made Jocelyn feel more at ease. They did well (you were right though on the letters she mixes up, and it was cute how she said one for I)

Then we played outside for about an hour. We got out the big kid swing so the older kiddos didn't look funny in the baby swing (they loved it!) We also practiced our soccer skills (heehee Kyle!) Basically I kicked the balls up hill and they ran after them. They also were playing with grass today (hence why there is grass in their hair!)

We then came inside and had "school time" We did a worksheet that focused on the letter U and number 5. The did well tracing lines and coloring. I gave them stars each time the completed a step (they liked that)

Lunch time was at 11 and that's when I put the tube back on. I think we'll watch one of Jocelyn's movies after lunch time.
It hit me today after the Carver's left that Hayden and Paige will soon not be here every day :-( Makes me sad since I've had them since they were babies! I told them that they better visit me at least once a week and have me come over to play. Hayden said he'll sleep over once he's 4!! haha!! I have a feeling we'll be pestering you more soon :-) Oh and Paige told me she wants a sissy :-)

Tuesday

Breakfast: waffles, milk
Lunch: mac n cheese, apples with pb, yogurt, milk, and brownie

All ate very well (Paige had 2 whole waffles!!) She must be having a growth spurt, she's been drinking a ton of milk yesterday and today too!

It was a lazy day (and boy am I pooped, I think yesterday is catching up with me!) We tried to go outside 2 times and both times it started to rain that and the kids complained they were cold (what the heck!! I've been waiting for cooler weather!)

We took a quick trip to the medicine shop today (I needed my meds for my shots that start this week) It was easier than expected since it had a drive through, but all the kiddos got a lolly pop from the nice lady who helped me!)
We came home and played a bit then went downstairs and listened to some music, we did the weather, shape flash cards (Bryce thinks anything that has more than 4 sides is an octagon! haha) Then we talked about grass, how it feels what color it is and what grows in it. We made a picture of grass with flowers growing.

Sissy acted a bit sleepy today (although I can't blame her this weather makes me want to hibernate!)

All are down for naps (except Bryce who's doing quiet time) Oh and Landon in wearing underwear over his diaper (haha he insisted! when he saw me bring over all of Bryce's too-small undies he wanted lightning mcqueen on asap!)

Carvers: Do I have your kiddos next week? Also do you want to pay me for the 3 days I watched you kids the week before the beach (remember I didn't have them that monday because they were sick) this week or with next pay?? I want to keep track so we don't get confused.

Monday

Breakfast: blueberry pancakes, bananas, milk (Jocelyn ate about half of her strawberry pancake)

Everyone ate well except Tristan: He was mesmerized by Jocelyn for the first 2 hours this morning and just stared at her and followed her around (very cute!)

Lunch: pb and marsh sandwiches, cheese slices, applesauce/grapes, milk ( everyone ate very well!!! Lots of seconds, and Tristan made up for his skipped meal. Jocelyn at half her turkey, all her strawberries, yogurt drink, a quarter of a pb and marsh sandwich, and a cheese slice)

It was a wonderful morning in spite of the fact there was 7 kiddos running around. Since there was so many of them we had to stay on a pretty strict schedule so I could keep tabs on everyone. I could tell Jocelyn had a rough time with this (which I totally expected since she's used to being able to run around a house freely :-) I tried to explain to her that it's only like this on days where I have more than 4 kiddos (which soon shouldn't happen too often). So I hope she didn't have a bad day and will want to come back (she was upset when I put baby gates closed (and actually learned to jump over them quickly (haha) I told her it's not because I think she's a baby but because Lilly and Paige will hurt themselves if they are climbing on stairs.

Now that lunch time is over and it's close to nap time, the older kids are playing upstairs.

This was our morning:

8:00-8:30: Finished up breakfast/clean up/ free play downstairs
8:30-9:00: Coloring, flashcards, guessing game time in the basement (haha Nicole, your daughter was a coloring machine today!!!) She sat for like 20 minutes both times and colored!). We played a guessing game about animals (I used adjectives and described them and they guessed) They got every one!. Then we did alphabet flash cards (Tristan, Bryce, and Hayden loved this one, Jocelyn was a bit shy and just wanted to watch (but she was the leader with the guessing game)
9-10:00: Outside play!!! it was beautiful outside (not too hot/cold and no humidity!!!) We ran around, and swang (the big kids pushed the little ones)
10-10:30: Craft time/and learning about flowers and how they grow. The kids learned a new rhyme about planting seeds. We talked about how seeds grow. Then they colored a picture and made sunflowers. They loved this (Jocelyn and Bryce got really into it!)
10:30-11: Music time/free play (while I tried to get lunch ready for everyone!!! haha) Jocelyn told me the music made her sleepy so she sat up with me while I made lunch, everyone else sang and danced and played.
11: Lunch time (everyone prayed (Nicole is this ok?? I forgot to ask you???? If no we won't do it again, we just say the God is great prayer before lunch time (Jocelyn said she liked it!) Everyone ate and watched about a half hour of tv.

We'll see how nap time goes. I was planning on having Bryce and Jocelyn just have quiet time (but then Jocelyn said she's tired but wants to nap in her bed, I think she thinks she can just go down to her house because she's told me that we should go down there a few times today (I tried to explain that's not a simple task with this many little ones and the doors are locked :-)

So great morning!! We were busy and it went fast!

Hayden was a bit shy this morning getting used to all the kiddos (he warmed right up in about a half hour and had a good day! Lilly is a jabbering away she keep copying what the big kids say, she calls me Ashy because that's what she hears Hayden say!!

Lilly didn't drink much today I'll try after nap (1 poop),