Happy Birthday Matthew!

Wow! It has been a year since this bundle of joy came into our home. And life began again with an infant, crawler, walker, toddler and now a ONE year old.

 Cara and Matthew

 Olivia and Matthew

 Michael holding Matthew

Us girls. OK so I never post a picture of me that I haven't retaken 5 times and edited to the extreme, however I did just birth a baby 9 hours before so I have my excuse.

I think every baby born looks like an alien and Matthew is no exception. He weighed 9 lbs 2 oz but looks like a 20 pounder. I was in labor all day though not really knowing it was true labor. I even sat at Talley Day park with contractions and mentioned to my friend "I think I'm in labor". Around 4:00 that afternoon I knew I was. After frantic attempts to find sitters and get Zach home as soon as possible we made it to the Birth Center around 6:00 to have this baby come into the world at 8:30pm. He cried. He cried so more. Actually he cried all night.

We arrived home 1:00 in the morning, 5 hours later. These pictures were all taken when the kids got to see and hold him for the first time. They haven't put him down since. He is loved and smothered and pulled and swung and kissed and hugged. He is a spoiled little brother.

This was a fun picture to take. I'm surprised they are all smiling because Zach and I had to hear the kids argue, fight, and push each other because they didn't want to lay next to another. Their heads were too close together. Someone else was touching their leg. I wanted to run away with the baby.

Matthew is such a wonderful boy. We all have enjoyed watching him learn to roll then crawl. We all cheered when he took his first steps and when he learned to drink out of a sippy cup. He has the best laugh and is always smiling. I finally got a child with curly hair like his father. It only took 6 kids we all think its gorgeous. It makes him even cuter!

I speak for the family when I say I couldn't imagine life without Matthew. He brings us joy and is loved so much.
Happy FIRST birthday!

I lost my camera cord to transfer pictures to the computer so I got backed up on posts and pictures. After searching for weeks for the cord, Zach trying to find one at the store and eventually buying a USB memory card attachment, that didn't work, I found the cord in the same drawer that I looked 30 times. There is something fishy going on here. Is this a joke?

What's going on...
I am patiently waiting until August 27th when school starts again. I will clean my house all day on my first day of freedom then the next day I will dump toys on the floor, leave Wii remotes on the floor, and pee all over the bathroom. Oh, and spill my drinks. Just to reminisce.

I will be running my first 5K in 9 years on the 22nd of August. I am not prepared for this and have told Zach to just leave me behind. He said he won't BUT he will.

Matthew will be ONE on the 22nd of August. This is the birthday party invites that I ordered custom made from Etsy.

I am excited for his birthday and his party. I have been putting together all my ideas for decorations and types of cookies. Oh man, if I had an unlimited budget this would be so much MORE fun. I had this awesome idea to buy fortune cookies with labels that read "Happy Birthday Matthew". I know, SO COOL! They are too expensive. I want cookie jars for the table but unless I'm spending my budget on jars that too I will have to do without. I did splurge on a cookie cake mold because Matthew does need a cake to smear over his face. It's in the shape of an oreo.

I'm really excited that most everyone we invited has RSVP'd to come especially Zach's extended family who we don't see often. 

Here are some pictures I took while creek hopping at Valley Gardens.



I am 16 lbs lighter. I have been eating Paleo style for 9 weeks now. At 8 weeks I finally hit 16 lbs! I am super excited, obviously. I haven't been at this weight for over 2 years (closer to 3). Only 4 more pounds until I reward myself with a pedicure. Can one lose 4 lbs while running a 5K?

"I can build that."

We went to Tyler Arboretum this past weekend for their Festival of Trees. TA's big attraction is their 17 tree houses, most of them built in the woods. Its really amazing the creativity of some people. As we walked through, Zach and I are inspired to build mansions in our back yard. We comment how "we can build that". Pshh. As if we are actually architecturally gifted to construct such a thing that  wouldn't lean or bring down a tree. There is an enclosed butterfly house which houses Monarch butterflies. I want a butterfly house. I can build that.

There is a stage built around a tree house where the children can dress up in costume and act.

Sam found an almost dead Cicada and carried it around the entire time. You know that bug actually came back to life. He decided to bring it home and let it go at home.

 Olivia sitting in Papa Bears chair.

I WILL have a catepillar built from tree stumps in my back yard. I know I can build that!

 Zach, KING OF THE FORREST. Anything his highness wants...

 Isaac laying a egg.

the beach

I took the kids to the beach this week. We all had a great time. The weather was great until it thundered for an hour and the life guards made everyone get out of the water. An hour after getting back in the ocean the storm clouds came and the rain fell. We left the beach in the pouring rain.

Matthew loves the beach. He plays in the sand and doesn't mind getting wet. He has learned to not eat the sand. He did a few face plants when he tripped but luckily no sand got into his eyes.

Being at the beach this week made me really miss being down there more. I mentioned to Zach a few times that if I had a beach house (and I WILL have one) I would be there right now. I have it all planned out. Its my only dream really.

Before we left to go home, I took the kids to the bayside so they could hunt for sea glass. Supposedly, my mother in law is an expert in sea glass so the kids would bring their finding to her for approval. 

Oh yea, Happy Anniversary, Honey

I was so caught up in all the events of this past week that I completely forgot Zach and my Anniversary. It was August 1. It wasn't until Thursday, the day after that I remembered.

So where do I begin? Its been 14 years. In those 14 years I (not "we") had  6 children. I gained 40 lbs..lost, gained, lost, same old story, moved 5 times, bought 3 houses, bought a lot full of vehicles, we've fought, loved, forgave, laughed, cried. We were poor and not so poor. We made mistakes...a lot of them. We had good years, bad years, and years we try to never remember. I look back in the past and feel very productive. There was and still is never a dull moment. Zach keeps me on my toes. He is always concocting new ideas. He knows what he wants in life and goes straight for it and since he's never wrong ;-) his ideas usually work out and he succeeds. Except for ANYTHING that has to do with fixing, buying or reselling a vehicle. Those are all unsuccessful stories.

I have learned a lot in these married years. Being married so young doesn't give time to grow as an individual. All my growth, spiritually, mentally, and physically, have been with Zach by my side. Sometimes there are moments when we grow apart only to come back together stronger or with a different out look. Marriage is hard. Raising children is harder. We work through our differences and though at times there are many differences I know I wouldn't have it any other way because it helps us grow stronger together.

I look forward to the future. I know there are great things ahead. I'm really hoping a beach house is one of those things. No, I'm not kidding. I don't expect much..a hut on the sand works for me.
Happy Anniversary to my amazing husband who only gets more handsome, with or without hair.

our little vacation

**no pictures-they were on my phone..continue reading to find out what happened with that**

Day 1:

I don’t know if I want to categorize these next few days as a vacation. To me anywhere the kids are is not a vacation. It is only leaving my home with all its amenities to stay at another “place” with less amenities. So I actually don’t know WHY I do this.  We left in the morning with plans to arrive at the beach before check in. We arrived at Cape Henlopen, changed into our swimsuits in the van (please don’t picture me doing this..it WAS as bad as one can imagine) lathered ourselves in sunscreen ONLY to find out the beach was closed due to lightning. At this point I have given up and want to go home. We decided to wait the hour until the beach opened again. When we returned into the park the station attendant said they were closing the park due to hail. Hmm? The sun is shining. We didn’t follow his directions out of the park and went to the beach to investigate ourselves. AND just as we suspected..the beach WAS open.  I questioned how Matthew was going to be in the sand. I should of known. He gobbled a hand full of sand immediately. Then he tried to eat sea shells, rocks, shovels. All the sand caused him to throw up all over me. Did I mention I gave up? Again. Thank goodness it thundered and we left.
The camp ground seems nice. The cabins are clean. We are right smack next to the bathrooms. Good and bad, I suppose. The campground is away from the action. I was hoping to make a few trips into “town”  for the outlets, Walmart, food stores. It will take 20 minutes to get there so I'm thinking I need to condense my trips. There is a petting zoo at the camp ground but you can't pet the animals. A few peacocks that are super loud and I can hear across the park. Fortunately, the rooster didn't wake us up. In the evening we swam at the pool which was nice.

 Day 2:

Today was way better  than yesterday. The kids slept well last night. Matthew woke up at 5:30 am, his normal bottle feeding time, but decided not to go back to bed. Zach took him to the grocery store so the other kids could sleep longer. Later that morning Zach and the children went crabbing with some of the other families we were cabining with. They didn’t catch crabs but the crabs caught Sam’s shoe (only one) and his friends walky talky. Both items at the bottom of  Love Creek.  Poor Sam. I felt so sad for him. Thanks goodness Cara packed many flip flops to share. She originally packed 7, one for each meal. I allowed her 2. After crabbing and lunch we ventured back to the beach. It was much more enjoyable than the day before. Matthew loves the beach! He is my child! The other kids frolicked in the ocean for hours. This was Sam’s favorite time.

Hamburgers and hot dogs for dinner then we drove to Rehobeth to ride the rides at FunLand and walk the boardwalk. It rained. It poured. It was crowded. We left after only a couple of rides and long waiting under a canopy to stay dry. Cara bought a hermit crab and named him Herbit. She waited all Summer to get a hermit crab and even saved her money. BUT  I was irritable. I was tired. I didn’t really enjoy my evening. This is the best part though….

We were in the van driving home when I noticed my door was not closed all the way. I quickly opened and shut the door. Zach asks “where is your phone?” which I replied I did not know. It was true. I looked for it in the stroller and when I didn’t find it I figured I would look harder at the camp ground. Zach was convinced it was my phone that fell out. We turned around to search for my phone. Of course, it was MY phone that fell out and Isaac saw it on the side of the road. It got ran over. I am still confused HOW it got in the front, how it fell, and seriously HOW it still rings when someone calls. The touch screen is in a million pieces so I can’t answer it.

 DAY 3:

Smores, roasted marshmallows, donuts, Klondike Bars and pancakes for breakfast. I didn’t want to bring any junk food home. Check out was at 11:00 am. We went straight to MidWay water park (White Water Mountain). It was fabulous! There was a variety of slides, a lazy river, a kiddie fun pool. I am so glad we choose to go there. The kids loved it especially Olivia who could go down the “big” slides all by herself. She had the biggest smile and laughed all the way down. “I want to do it again!” This was by far the best day. Yes, I was caught saying I WOULD DO THIS AGAIN! The company was great. All the kids had friends around.

Home:

I was glad to be home. I love my house. My bed and my shower. Oh and Caras hermit crab died.

the kitchen sink

 We could not eat another bite.

Here we are at the Charcoal Pit eating the KITCHEN SINK. Yes, it is really called that. Its huge and ice-creamy and huge! All full of bananas and chocolate syrup and ice cream and whipped cream topped with cherries. Oh, and it says it feeds 2-4 people. Yea, right!