Pictures and Dumb Blond Moment

Hannah as the catcher

Hannah at bat

Hannah's uniform shirt (the rest of her uniform hasn't come in yet). It was cool during her first game so the team wore long sleeve t-shirts under their shirts.

Will, Andrew and Hannah eating hot dogs for breakfast. The table they are sitting at was mine and my sister's while we were growing up.

Mike and I had such a good laugh over this we just had to share it. As most of you know (if you've known me for a while), I have quite a few dumb blond moments. My family often checks the roots of my hair to see if my blond roots are showing. Well, I had another moment last night and have to tell on myself. After the kids went to bed, I was unloading the swim bags. As I was hanging the suits and towels up, I noticed one suit was missing. I asked Mike where Andrew's swimsuit was. He gave me the strangest look and busted out laughing. Not understanding, I asked him again. He laughed even harder. Now I am getting really confused as to why he is in hysterics over a missing swimsuit. He reminded me that Andrew didn't swim because he was asleep in the van WITH ME!!! We both laughed hard. Pure genius must be the reason I have these. At least, it is the only explanation I am going to accept.

Update on Cooking Beans

I found the secret (or maybe y'all already knew this) to cooking dried beans in the crockpot: cook them on high. After we tried eating them Friday night, I put them back in the crockpot for a few more hours on low. They were still hard when I turned them off. The next morning, I put them back in the crockpot on high and cooked them until dinner. Boy, where they good!! That did the trick. You would think that they would have been all mushy after cooking all day Friday and all day Saturday but they weren't. I made a note on my recipe to follow the directions and cook them on high, even if they cook all day. Silly me!!

I have some pictures I took of the kids this weekend. After I get them downloaded from my camera, I will post them here on the blog. Make sure you check back later today to see them. The kids are cute, if I say so myself.

Long Day

We have had a really long day. Last night, Hannah went to a sleepover birthday party. I picked her up this morning around 9:15-9:30. She seemed upset and I asked her why. She was the first to leave and she didn't want to go. She was having a great time. After getting her, we went back to the house to get the boys and headed to church. Service was great!! For lunch, we went to my favorite restaurant, Carrabba's. Of course, we had the zucchini. The kids did really good but started acting out a little before we left. I could tell they were getting bored (plus Hannah and Andrew were tired). We then went to the YMCA to swim. Andrew had fallen asleep in the van so I stayed with him while Mike took the other two in. They said they had a ball. Of course, they're my water babies. Andrew woke up while we were on our way back to church.

Mike and I attended a Godly Parenting conference and the kids went childcare. The kids had pizza for dinner, played games and colored. The conference was great. If you get the chance to hear Art Murphy (or read his books), I would highly recommend it. Andrew fell asleep on the way home but was up and ready to go once it was time for bed. I got him settled down a little then put him in his crib. He wasn't too happy at first but soon settled down. Every now and then I hear him making noises and talking. Hannah and Will went to bed without any problems tonight. I think it was because it was so late (Their normal bedtime is around 8 or 8:30 p.m. Tonight they went to bed at 9.) and because they were sooo tired. Mike and I are going to relax for a bit (and find something to eat since all we had to eat was chex mix and candy) before going to bed.

Cooking Dried Beans, Children and Sleep

Tonight I tried a new recipe using a package of dried pinto beans that have been in my cabinet for a couple of months. The one and only other time I cooked dried beans they turned out okay. This time, instead of being nice and soft, they were still hard, even after cooking in the crock pot for nine hours on low. The recipe sounded good and looked easy. Maybe I should have cooked them on high. I put them back in the crock pot on low to finish cooking. Hopefully, they will be soft before I go to bed. If not, I wonder if I should let them cook all night.

In my last post, I mentioned that my kids LOVE, absolutely LOVE water. This love of the wet stuff got them into trouble yesterday. Well, you would think that after cleaning all my lower kitchen cabinets that Will might think twice before getting the hose out again. Not a chance. He was good for a little while, playing in the backyard and painting my back door with water from the dog pool. Before long, the pull of the water hose was too much for my little man and he gave in to temptation. My lawn and patio, as well as the basketball stand, were well watered. At least this time, he wasn't drenched.

Andrew, after a hard day of play yesterday, went to sleep around 7 p.m. He woke up a couple of times when we got onto the kids and when we put them to bed. At 5 a.m. (yes, you read that right), he was wide-eyed and bushy tailed. We put off getting him up out of bed until 6 but finally had to get him out of the room before he woke up Will. Mike tried rocking him, thinking he might go back to sleep but Andrew wouldn't have any of it. He was wired for sound and going full tilt. After a little while, Mike got Andrew a small bowl of Cheerios to eat. Before Mike knew it, the Cheerios were all gone. Andrew ate every last one. Mike got him a Pop-tart too and he ate half. He did take two naps instead of his usual one. I laid him down this morning around 10:30 and he slept until 12:30. He was acting sleepy this afternoon so I laid him back down about 4:30 and woke him up for dinner at 6. Since Mike and I usually go to bed really late, like between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m., these early mornings are for the birds. Let's hope this does not become a habit.

Birthday, Water Babies and Graduation

Today is Aunt Barbara's birthday (she is Mike's aunt). Happy Birthday Barbara!!! Hope it is a good one!!! We love you!!

My children LOVE the water!!! It doesn't matter what the temperature is outside, if there is water around, my bunch will find it and play in it. This afternoon Hannah and Will went outside to play while dinner was cooking. In about 10-15 minutes, they were soaked to the bone with not a dry spot on their bodies. They had gotten the water hose out and proceeded to spray each other, the dogs, the yard, the house and the mud puddles (they were made earlier today when it rained). At one point, Will was painting the back door with an old paintbrush and water. Since they had been told on numerous occasions not to play with the hose, they got in BIG trouble. They have been grounded from the television and computer for the rest of the week. They also were given jobs to do around the house out of our "Job Jar." (The Job Jar is full of jobs that I would like to have done but don't have either the time or gumption to do them.) Hannah had to clean all the door frames in the house (there are over fourteen). Will is suppose to be wiping down the kitchen cabinets but is instead lying on the floor. He wants someone in the room with him while he cleans. The Job Jar is suppose to be a deterrent or punishment. Instead, my kids ask me if they can do a job from the Job Jar and get excited when I give them one. Only my bunch!!! The best part is the jobs I don't want to do (like cleaning out the garbage container) get taken care of and the kids love it.

On an exciting note, there are two upcoming graduations I want to mention. The first is Will's. He graduates Preschool on May 13. He will get to wear a cap and gown and get his little diploma. Since Kindergarten is part of the Elementary schools here, they don't have graduation ceremonies any more. So, this is a big deal for us and Will. The second graduation is Nicole Link's. She graduates from Christopher Newport University this May with her Bachelor's Degree in History as Magna Cum Laude. Way to go Nicole!!!! That is awesome!!! Nicole's mom, Stacy, and I have been friends for many, many years. I remember when Nicole was about three or four. Now she is all grown up. My how the time flies!!!

Rich's birthday

Happy Birthday to my brother-in-law Rich. Hope you have a good one!!

Diamond Dolls Win!

Hannah's team, the Diamond Dolls, won their first game tonight. The score was 12-0. I thought the other team had at least two runs but the scorekeeper said no. Hannah struck out her first two times at bat. The last time she got a hit and ran as far as second base. A couple of batters later, she got to run home. I missed her last chance to bat and almost missed her run home from third. Will was in the bathroom. While I was waiting, I looked up and saw Hannah on third. When I left, she was in the dugout and didn't even look ready to bat. I missed her hit and run to second and to third but I got to see the most important one. Mike had to miss this game. His softball game starts at 9:00 p.m. so he stayed at work.

Tomorrow, Hannah has a game at 6 p.m. on one field close to home while Will plays at 6:45 p.m. at a complete different set of fields. This is the last of the games this week. Next Tuesday they each play at 6 and 6:45 again.