First Fall Game...

Yes, I know it's football season. But Dani is playing fall ball this season - softball, that is. And this past Thursday was their first game. They are the Red Team - the girls got to choose their team name - the Tamales! Cute, huh?

Fall ball is a bit unlike the spring season - in that the focus is more on teaching them the fundamentals and less on the competition of it all...not that they want to lose, mind you :O)

Dani is having a blast. She really loves softball and has been practicing so much. She's been practicing extra hard on pitching too.

So the whole Party of Nine went including Grandma and Grandpa.

These were taken before the game:

Remember Petey from Little Rascals? The first 10 minutes we were there Joseph got filthy!

I don't know why she likes to cross her eyes or is it eye?

There's our #3! She was a bit bummed. She's got a thing for the #9. So I told her it's a three for the Blessed Trinity. I think she kind of liked that :O)

See! She's in the circle. Pitching her very first game! Very exciting! She did very well.

So they did end up losing, but they really are a young team and it's their first game. They'll work out all the kinks and learn to work together as a team. Go Tamales!!!

After Ballet Class...

...and here's the rest of our Wednesday.

Here, Therese had made a castle out of our new blocks:Dani had softball practice. Getting warmed up for their first game tomorrow:

I just sat back with the 3 kids I had brought in tow - Therese, Sophia and Charlie - and snapped some shots:

Our Ballerinas

One of the homeschool moms from our group set-up a homeschool ballet class at a dance studio right down the street from us. Therese has been dying to take ballet - so this seemed the perfect opportunity. We signed up Sophia and Therese and they're in the same class too - which is nice. They've had 3 classes so far and are doing some really neat ballet-y things. Too cool.

Well, here they are. Our pretty ballerinas:

At any rate, they are having so much fun. I can't wait for their recital in the spring!

For All the Mommies Out There...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=W95Y8hNQiH8

This one's for YOU!!
Get your tissues out...but, not for crying.

John Paul Cutie Pie ~

A couple days ago the kids were on the swing set. Dani told me the following exchange when they came inside. John Paul was swinging on the knotted rope when Sophia approached him saying:

S: John Paul can I show you something on that real quick?

JP: No. I'm oozing [using] it right now.

S: John Paul....I'll give it right back.

JP: Well, alright. But make it snappy.
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It's funny what I don't know that my kids know! I have no idea where he gets that word from. Because I don't use it. But I might start to. The girls seem to know where he gets it from though.
Here's another little funny.

John Paul is our first son - and he and Sophia are 1.5yrs apart. When John Paul was a crawling baby - we all just started calling him Boy! "Hi Boy!" But what was even funnier was that Sophia always called him that. And when he got into what she was playing with, you could hear her [annoyed - as 2yos get]: Boy! Oh, no, Boy!

That's much cuter than how she reacts to him nowadays! ::sigh::

Look Out "Bases Loaded"!

Sophia: I wish we lived in an apartment.

Me: Well, it would be really small. It wouldn't be fun.

Sophia: Well, I think it would be fun.

Me: Well, when you move out and leave home you can live in an apartment.

Sophia: Yeah, with James...

Let's just say your crew had better beware!! I think there are a few spoken for :O)

Comic Relief for La Petit Clan...

I could go on and on [laughing that is], but remember this:

Did you grow up near a power plant or somethin'?

Don't be a Square!

Rubic Cube Generator

Of course, I have to once again mention A Catholic Mom in Hawaii here. Thank you :O) Pretty cool stuff, huh?

That's my niece Ceci and our dd Danielle. You can see -- quite evidently -- how beauty runs in the family!

Fall has Arrived!

Therese, Sophia, and John Paul cut out all these leaves for our strung leaf garland. We got the craft idea and leaf template here. When I carried Charlie into the schoolroom after we had hung the garland, he just followed it with his eyes. It's so cool that he immediately noticed the autumn decor. As I mentioned before, fall is my favorite time of the year. I welcome the cool crisp air after the summer's heat. Especially after this summer's heat - triple digits...I can do without!It's a bit warmer today than I'd like, but that's what we get in Atlanta. I'll count my blessings and call it a day!

Happy B-Day Therese!

B does not stand for birthday here, rather Baptism. Her spiritual birthday. And it's one I always remember since she shares this day with St. Pio - or Padre Pio as he is better known by the faithful.

Attention Cat Lovers...or Haters!

For a little comic relief you'll have to watch this. Oh, and Karen, this one's for you! Remember what we were talking about tonight about when something makes you laugh when you're by yourself? A big Thank You goes out to Ester in Hawaii for sharing this! Mahalo!

http://cdn.chillibean.net/perl/reels-10.0.pl?xhtml=G418NUFJ&%3bT=WL

Night Time Creations ~

Here are the farm family and animals that the girls made during their campout last night. Here's the whole gang:

The Family

My personal favorite:

The chickens and ducks

The Horses

The Doggies

I would never have heard the end of it if I did not include this character.

A Two Year Old's Bragging Rights!

One of the milestones in a toddlers life is opening doors. As parents [I think I can speak for all parents here] we hate this feat. Yes, hate is a strong word...and I mean it!

The other not-looking-forward-to milestone is when they finally realize they can turn on the lights! This is where Joseph is at.

For the past couple months he'd go around with some long object - always his sword - and use that to flip the switch on the lights. Within the last couple days though, he's found out that he doesn't need anything except his tippy toes to reach the switches. Hence another of my nightly chores is to shut off all the lights he's decided to turn on! In a few more months he'll be able to shut them off too.

So hooray for Joseph! You're getting to be such a big boy! :O)

Pasta Baby and Tumbleweeds ~

Spaghetti is definitely a thumbs up for this babe:He had it for dinner Friday and lunch & dinner today! Every so often I'd have to mound it all up again so he'd see that he still had some. Of course, Hannah the dog got most of it :O)

And Charlie is all over the place now. Including the dreaded stairs :O0 We have to get a gate or some blockade device. We have a wide staircase so the 'piece of wood' that Paul got for this reason is too short. And yes...he does own a tape measure. Quite a few of them actually. Apparently he needs to go to one of those How to classes at Home Depot to learn how to use it! [Just kiddin' Honey! - they've all seen the Pottery Barn knock-off...] ;O)

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And while Joseph - the 2yo - and Charlie were *playing* together [well, okay they were playing near each other in the same room. And Joseph probably wasn't really playing either. He was probably touching something that he shouldn't have been. ie - the camera, the phone]. *Anyway* - so Joseph was so sweet as he walked over to me saying, "Here, Mommy, here," handing me a clump of fur! He just knew that Charlie could potentially stick that in his mouth. Such a thoughful little fella. The thing with our hardwood floors - which I really do like - is that the dog's fur collects and travels around the floor like mini tumbleweeds! Didn't I just say a few posts ago that we needed to call the groomer?

Whoops!

So a couple days ago I got the 3 girls [dd #2, 3 & 4] - the ones who share a room - matching jammies. Sophia tried the bottoms to her jammies on and came out in frustration to show me how they didn't fit...they were just a bit too long. I told her that it wasn't that big of a deal...I'd simply hem them for her. "Just go put them on my bed, and I'll fix them for you." "Okay." And she did.

Well today I took the jammie pants and grabbed my needle and thread and proceded to hem the pant leg. After I was done with the first one I called Sophia into my room so I could see if the length was sufficient. As I turned the pants right side out I saw the "M" on the tag. That could only mean one thing. She had originally tried on Therese's bottoms! That's why they were so long! Sophia and I just laughed when I showed her the tag and what she had done.

I am anything but a sewer. I can do a few things. I guess hemming is one of them. I was kind of feelin' proud of myself. Not bad...

It was, however, rather difficult to take out the hem! Humility :O)

Oh, and yes, I still have to hem her size "S"!

Wonders of Sisterhood ~ Through a Mother's Eyes

The 3 girls - who share a room - got to camp out tonight. Well, it's not camping out in the traditional sense. Camping out for them consisted of sleeping bags, pillows, stuffed animals, a CD player, playing cards and Legos. But on the floor of their large room. They popped popcorn and took it upstairs to their room along with their water bottles. Dani read them a story and they played cards. As I got done putting Charlie to bed, I ever so gently opened their door a crack to spy. It was at this point that I overheard Dani say that they'd play with Legos for a bit after they were done with their card game [which Dani was setting up, ever so carefully, as I peered in] Yes, I was eavesdropping and it tickled my heart beyond belief! They were so adorable. So very sweet. It made me beam with such joy at their simple contentment and love for each other.

Those are the moments. The moments that God gives you to show you that you're doing a fine job in raising your precious children - children that are SO much more precious to Him. Whom He loves more than we will ever be able to. Hard to imagine. Those moments also teach us how God feels when He looks at us. Our Father.

Blopping with Square Watermelons

Okay, so when dh is oot and the kids are in bed and I don't really want to watch the junk on t.v. and I don't want to do laundry which really is out of control right now - I like to blop, besides post run-on sentences. But I like to blop - and usually blop on the Catholic Mothers blogroll which takes me to other blogs and so on and so on...hence the name "blopping" or Blog Hopping. Never heard this used before. I kinda made it up. Well, my husband thinks that's cool.

Anyway, look what I found at Aussie Coffee Shop. I mean, look[!], just look at what craziness they can come up with and actually do! Makes some of my ideas look sane - right, Honey? :O)

Ancient Egypt -

Dani is studying the Old World in history this year. First up...ancient Egypt. She is really enjoying her history so far this year. We're trying to make it more interesting and hands on. I have her watch videos on the United Streaming website - an excellent tool for homeschoolers - we're doing lapbooks for the first time this year too. Be on the lookout for future posts/pictures on those. So, here is her pyramid made out of Play-Doh:

At least she nose she's a nut! Therese had fun taking a couple shots of Dani goofing off.

Mama's Helper

See Sophia wash.
See Sophia wash her mat.
See Sophia wash her mat and her molding tools.
See Sophia soak the wood floor.

See Sophia wipe up the floor.

See Sophia smile.

"I think washing dishes would be fun."

I Told You!

Smiles galore:

Okay, so they're not really smiling in the picture. You'll have to take my word for it! They were so excited! It was great to see such pure joy.

Let's Hear it for the Boys!

Little 80's flashback? Yeah, me too. Sorry if it gets stuck in your head...

But that's not what this post is about. It actually is about my boys...and how I'll get smiles from them in the morning and a huge smile from Daddy when he reads this post.

An 8pm run to the grocery [no milk - ahhh...now you see!] turned into new make-up items for me, some boy toys, and a container for the boys' school blocks. That's right, they're only to be played with during our school time [I know, I know...]. So want to see what I got? Oh, I just knew you would!

Like I said in a recent post, our first 4 are girls. Lots of Barbies, babies, dress-up clothes and kitchen dishes and such. Now, we have the run-of-the-mill trucks, blocks, swords and dinosaurs - but *nothing* like this pair pictured above. Well, that's not exactly true. John Paul has a Spiderman [whom he loves!] that rides on a 3-wheeler. But the boys have nothing this big and braun!

These are the foam building blocks I got from Hobby Lobby this past Tuna Day. Within the first hour of them being played with, I found countless teeth marks in most of them! What's with you kids!

And here I got these cutting mats 4/$2.99 - I got 2 packages. I'm going to use them as craft mats for the kids. Play-Doh [or clay-doh as the littles call it], painting, etc. Modeling clay, unlike Play-Doh, is pretty tacky and will smear and stick on surfaces such as granite, hands, faces, upholstery. At least the Crayola clay I got does. Hopefully these will save on some wear and tear and nerves.

And I'll save you from my make-up purchases. I get kind of excited to try a new lipstick...it takes a good 10-15mins for me to decide which color will be the perfect one. When I got home and put my paraphernalia away, I opened my lipstick and applied it. It wasn't the perfect one. Well, it's not awful - it just doesn't have that BAM that I was hoping for. Don't you just hate that!? [I don't want comments from any men on that! - especially from a certain man along with the word Smolder]

So my MNO grocery run was not only some post-day relief, it was also very satisfying to bee-bop the make-up aisle and to find additional schoolhouse items. The *tops* was the Super Hero duo and the *bottoms* was Ginger Rose. **sigh**

At least tomorrow morning they can have milk in their cereal...