It's been so cold outside this week but the sun is shining I love wintry days that way!!! I'm forever grateful for our attached garage because that really helps from staying out of the wind and cold when leaving the house. It's so nice to be able to strap Austin in his car seat each morning before taking the kids to school. It's so nice to unload all my groceries out of the bitter cold!!! I'm spoiled. And grateful!!!
I had a week of mostly at home but it was not boring! On Tuesday, Hunter, Adrian and Felicia all came for the day! Yep, the saying is still true. It seems that when one person asks me to babysit, I'll get a call from someone else too. I don't know why? I just know it happens. The kids played great and Austin had his best play dates here all day!!! But before they all arrived, I knew that I had to work fast in the kitchen because Sue Esh was stopping in for my annual filo cups filled with fruit dip and fruit for the Christmas party she hosts at Hershey Medical each year. I filled each some filo cup with dip and then topped them with fruit. They always turn out so cute! I knew that if I didn't have these all completed by 7 AM, it was gonna be a rough start to my day! And you know what? I did it!!! By 7 AM, I was ready to wake up the school kids and get their lunches packed and serve them breakfast before heading out the door by 8!!! I took the kids to school and then came right back home to be here when the other children arrived. And then it seemed to all happen at once. Sue stopped in for the filos. Linda dropped off Felicia as I was escorting Sue out the door. Then, in pulls Lena and she brings her boys inside while I say goodbye to Linda. :))) If this sounds at all complicated, it wasn't. It worked out perfectly!!! And Austin now had friends to play with and they played well all day long!
The kids all sat around the island and ate lunch. Then the three youngest all took naps while Hunter listened to Bible Stories. I had an itch to bake some molasses cookies and after the dough was chilled, I got them rolled and in the oven! I also sat down in between all the mothering duties to write out our Christmas family letter. It was a day of activity in our living room with toys all over the place but I wasn't complaining because everyone was deep into toy land and having fun!
Before the little ones napped, they helped pick up some toys. After they were sleeping, I got the rest cleaned up. Soon Ashlyn came home and Hunter was finally having a playmate! :) These kids love to hang out and be together! Ashlyn made the comment yesterday, "Mom, I could stay at Hunters house for 15 days." My eyes got big and I replied, "Oh, but you would miss me!!!" She shook her head no and off she went again. It really is a fun place for them to go to, so thanks Lena for taking your fair share with my kids too.
Then we were off to watch Matthew's first basketball game!!! He played great and so did the other boys!!! We are super excited to have the first game of the season be a win!!! Way to go boys!!!
Yesterday was another day mostly at home. Ashlyn had went to bed the night before complaining of a bellyache and so when she woke up the next morning saying the same thing, I decided to keep her at home for the day. She didn't have any other signs of bellyache like throwing up or diarrhea but she just didn't feel that great. By the forenoon, she was feeling much better and had me wondering if she wouldn't have been just fine at school. Oh, well. Her and Austin got to spend the day together and in between laundry loads, I looked on Pinterest for some crafts that the two of them could do together. They had a real blast!!!
At 3:30, we got a call from school saying that bus 6 is down and the children are still waiting at school for it to get fixed and head home. I decided to just go get Matthew! The kids jumped into the Yukon and we picked him up at school. Ashlyn helped me cook dinner and was so proud to say that she made the rice for us and washed all the little mushrooms that I then cooked up. She thrives on simply jobs. Then after supper, Mike told the kids that he would take them out to see Hunter and Adrian for a little bit. This is like the best little outing for them!!! :) That gave Matthew and I a chance to run out to Giant to get Matthew's food pricing school homework completed. He was to compare prices of different foods. We went isle by isle picking foods to jot down. We were on our way back home when Hadassah texted and asked if I could pick her up at Jess's??? :) This is my life at times ... on the road! Well, sure. I dropped off Matthew and went for Hadassah. We spent the rest of the evening together at home.
Now, today the house got a cleaning and I'm printing out our family letter. Then I'll stuff envelopes and hopefully the Christmas cards will be sent out to family and friends soon! I have to add that also as sipping on another hot cup of peppermint hot chocolate. It is my go to afternoon drink this week and tastes so yummy!!! All I do is heat some milk, heavy cream and coco powder with a small splash of peppermint and then top it with whipped cream and crushed candy cane. It's delicious. You should try it!!!
I'm off to fold letters and stuff envelopes!!! Have a great weekend!
