Big Boy Bed!

We did it. We made the transition that I've been dreading for a long time now. We took out Joseph's [the 2yr old] crib last week and put him in the Big Boy Bed. He's sharing a room and bunk bed with John Paul, the 4yr old. And for obvious reasons Psycho Boy has the bottom bunk. It started out fine, but he's been taking more liberties over the course of the week. Which all in all is fine - it's mostly pulling clothes out of the drawers [well, okay, maybe that isn't so fine], climbing John Paul's ladder, putting every book, stuffed animal and blanket into his bed and then just playing around. It doesn't really bother me and it definitely doesn't bother his brother - who could sleep through an earthquake. What does get my head spinning is the screaming and the boredom kicks. This child is not what you would call quiet - by any stretch of the imagination. But, what's the saying?..."this too shall pass" - these are words I live by :O)
He is our sweetie pie!

Two Words: ----->

What's in a Name?

Wait! Don't go anywhere. You're still at Our Party of Nine ... I just changed the title of our blog. I am planning on explaining it - it'll just have to be tomorrow, when I'll have more time. Why is it that I always have more time tomorrow? When really - I don't! At any rate, when I launched my blog I only did it to see if it was something I'd actually keep up with. Well, here it is 6 months later and I really do love blogging. So I thought it was time to get creative and think of a good title. It's the best I've got right now. Hope you'll appreciate the significance as I do!

Genius Gobblers

We've been wondering where the turkeys have been who periodically roam about our yard and are seen in our neighborhood. They haven't been around in a long time. Well just look at what the kids saw when Paul and I were out on Saturday:
Don't try tellin' me that turkeys are dumb. This just happens to be the Saturday after Thanksgiving!

Divvying Up Creativeness -

How come when I do something like this......I feel like I've accomplished some great feat beyond normal motherhood...tapping into my creative side?

Then I see something like this and things I do don't look so amazing anymore. Where was I when God was divvyin' up the creativity ? I must've been in the food line :O)

The above is a toybox which we've had for a good 8 yrs or so - It was beyond worn. So I just grabbed some fabric at Hobby Lobby and did a quick recovery [pun intended :O) ]. It looks better than it did. Many thanks to Paul who took time away from his basement project to come to my aid - doing a little repair work and adding new hinges! And special thanks to Mom and Karen who helped in choosing fabric.

Thanksgiving Potluck ~

Our homeschool group has an annual Thanksgiving Potluck dinner. It's a great event in which entire families come together and celebrate.

The photos show what a great time everyone had:

Having been on the South Beach Diet with his parents, John Paul savors every bite of his brownie!

Is that Joseph?...with a knife?! Scary!

Gee - I wonder where my kids get their photogenic-ness from! It's pretty evident by looking at Paul and I which one of us it comes from!!!

[Am I the only "Blogger" user who thinks that it's SO not user-friendly? The formats are so very difficult and almost impossible to manipulate...

How do you post pictures to the right or left and add text without messing everything up!!?? It's pretty frustrating for me! okay... mini-vent over]

At any rate,

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you froggers out there!

Our Week [and a half] in Review!

Alright, I'm going to give the run down of the highlights starting with last Monday...

Monday, the 5th:

Need I say more?

Joseph: "I drive!"
Honestly - this Toyota Tundra is a great truck. And honestly - Joseph really does think it's his!

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Thursday -the 8th- we went to Carlton Farms with our homeschool group. Thanks to Megan - I have photos to share!

On the hayride we went out to the cows' pasture where they then came up to the trailer for a bit of breakfast! The kids [and I :O) ] had so much fun feeding the cows. That is, with the exception of 2yo Joseph. Last year when we visited - not a single cow came to us. Quite a different experience this time...thankfully. The brown cow - which is in the first 3 photos - we nicknamed Piggie!
Thursday also brought my parents home from Rome [which I did post!] and Dani's end-of-the-season softball party. The girls all signed softballs for their trophies and signed each others shirts. Now it's all about looking forward to Spring season :O)
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Sunday, the 11th: After Mass Paul had to go work for a few hours until 7pm or so [urgent situation]. In the meantime, though, my sister, mom and dad came over and we got to see their photos from Assisi/Rome. Amazing, is all I can say. And I know the pictures don't do the views -which they witnessed- justice. Man, those churches! Unbelievable!

They had a fantastic time and I'm so very glad they were able to enjoy this trip together - a piece of heaven.
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Monday, the 12th:

Happy Birthday Sophia!

I cannot believe my baby girl is now 6! She used to have this shirt when she was between 18 months and 2yo that read "Little Body, Big Attitude". And that is Sophia! She's not really little any more, just a bit petite. She sure has sprouted up this last year! She's a bit mothering, a bit bossy, a bit crabby at times - but she is such a wonderful little girl. She's smart as a whip and does her school work in a snap. She's shy in new environments yet goofy at home - where she's comfortable. She likes to feel secure and safe. And she's Oh-So-Loveable! She can't let Paul or I leave the house without giving us a kiss-n-hug. She is a SnuggleBug! "Fia Angel please come to me - with eyes so big - and cheeks so skwishy"!

She got to choose the Out to Eat of her choice and she chose Bugaboo! Of course!
When we sat down Sophia stated that she wanted the food that had the lemon. For a minute Paul and I had no idea what she was talking about, until it struck me that the Bugaboo kids' meals come with orange wedges! This is why they like them!Sophia enjoying her birthday surprise cake! Below is the Moose video:

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Wednesday, the 14th:

Today was Parent Observation Day at ballet. Paul and I got to sit in on the ballet class and see what the girls have been learning from their teacher, Miss Dana. All the girls did very well. You can tell that some of the exercises are tedious and maybe a bit confusing, but they did wonderfully! Especially for having us parents in the room with them :O) Afterwards Miss Dana came up to Paul and I to tell us how Sophia - though a bit *off* because of the observers, today - is usually one of her better students. Which is so typical of Sophia to *want* to learn and *want* to do a good job doing/learning! That was so nice to hear :O) At any rate, Therese and Sophia [and all the girls] did such a great job!

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Friday, the 16th:

Sophia's Second Birthday Party...Party at the Park! Boy, was it cold! Brrrrr...

What a goof! - such a boy shot :O)

Always ready to pose for the camera [she can feel a camera on her a mile away!]And Joseph, who usually gives a blank look to the camera...

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Saturday, the 17th:

Sophia's 3rd and final birthday party! This was reserved for godparents, Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Karen! [I'll have to post photos later...i haven't dnlded them yet!]

Yeah, I really cheaped out this year! I made her cake for her Friday Friend Party but wimped out for the Family Saturday Affair. *Plus, I threw away her candles from Friday so I couldn't use them on Saturday's cake! Solution: Get the "5" from the "birthday drawer" [yes, we happen to call this particular drawer the birthday drawer] plus one of the two candles I could find. [Stay with me] So what's 5+1....of course, 6! There you have it!Remember what I said about Sophia spotting a camera from a mile away? ......well, Aunt Karen has this same ability! I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS GUY IS GOING TO BE A YEAR OLD IN 2 WEEKS!!This is Therese's best friend, Stephanie, from our old neighborhood. They haven't hung out in over a year. Well, Therese did go to Steph's b-day party in September, but didn't have much time to "catch up", ya know? Her parents had a last minute invite to the Fox Theater and Kayla wasn't home at the time to babysit, so Paul just told them to bring their 2 daughters over. It was perfect since it was Sophia's third party and Therese got to finally be with her buddy! They had a BLAST!!

My kids are gonna be bummed when their b-days fall on a weekend!! LOL

So that's our week [and a half] in review! Stay tuned...

TGIR!

...that's "Thank God it's Raining"!!

Hey, when you haven't had a good rain in...forever. And they're really worried about our water supply - rain is precious!

So that's what I'm doing as I sit here blopping. I've got the window open, the cool breeze coming in through the back window, hearing that wonderful sound. Rain.

Thank you, Lord! - Send more; but not on Friday afternoon :O)

Not Tonight...

I know, I know! I've really got soooo much to post on this blog, but I've been trying to do school planning and some online shopping. Not to mention *all* the housework I haven't done!

Hopefully I'll be posting soon...but not tonight!

Good Night, Gorilla...

Guilty Thoughts

My thought for this evening [are you ready!] :

The Cheesecake Factory and South Beach ---------------don't mix!!

New Toy!

Paul got a new toy. He calls it necessity. I call it mine! Actually, Joseph calls it, "My new truck!".