New Civil War Clothes

Emeline Harty - age 5

Joseph Harty - age 3

Sorry about the funny Joe Joe face. I told him to leave his cereal on the porch. He decided to stuff it all in his mouth and come anyway. This is his attempt at smiling with a mouthful of food. A for effort!

Thomas Harty - age 7

Bike Ride/Walk on Friday Evening

OK, I think I got a pic of everyone!

Brent

Joseph (and Eme in the back)

Bethany

Jacob and Tom

Jimmy

Spring is Here!!!!

I'm so glad that I (we) planted these last fall! Aren't they pretty!

Pinewood Derby 2007

Wednesday, March 25th 2007 was our Pinewood Derby! We got there early to help set up the track, and get all ready. We had a great turn out. Us, the O'Briens, the Mendozes, the Roberts, and Enriques family.

Here are my men!

Jacob Harty - Webelos - First Place - The Tank

Thomas Harty - Tiger Cub - 2nd Place - The Swamp Ranger

Additional views of Toms Car - Isn't it cool!

More pics of Toms car

And yet more pics

Brent Harty - The Missouri Mini Ball

Bethany Harty - Flower Power

Emeline Harty - My Little Pony

Joseph Harty - John Deere

Pancake Breakfast

So, after the "photo shoot", we got to eat breakfast! They had pancakes (diet and regular syrup and butter), sausages, scrambled eggs, milk (chocolate and white), and juice (apple and orange). The kids really liked it!

Here's Jimmy playing with Toms ear! Isn't Jimmy getting big!

I was really glad that Brent came. He was going to stay at home and do some "work", but decided at the last minute to come! I really was pleased to have him there!

Princess Emeline Melissa. Doesn't she look happy!

Joe was happy 1/2 a second before this picture was taken. I almost caught it!

Jacob said I would look better without the glasses. I agree Jacob!

I was going for a smile, but a tongue is ok too!

Here's Margie! She's about 20 or 21. She's the Simco's youngest daughter. Maureen, the oldest daughter, is about 25, and lives in Arizona.

Here's Joy and Jim! I'm so glad that she likes us!

Here's Andrew and Margie! They're staking out our seats while we go and get food!

Easter Bunny!

Joy and Andrew Simco (the kids' adopted grandparents in Illinois), invited us to meet the Easter Bunny today. Joy works at the Hospital, and they set up a pancake breakfast and photo shoot with the Easter Bunny for the families of the Hospital employees. She invitied us! We were so excited to come!

Here's a group shot of the children. Joe, Jacob, Eme, Jim and Tom

Here's Jimmy. He wasn't scared at all. I was actually suprised. When we first put him on EB's lap, the gave him a big hug. It was very cute!

And Joe Joe. He is such a sweetie!

Eme is such a princess. She was excited to see the Easter Bunny! It's her age kids that have the most fun at holidays!

Tom was probably 2nd most excited to see the Easter Bunny. He wanted to dress up fancy. He's so stylish!


And Jacob! What a good sport he was. He didn't even complain about having to sit on EB's lap. He liked the chocolate bunny he got though!

It Pays to Ask!

Check out all this free mulch that Brent scored for us! He saw a tree truck in the neighborhood, and ran out to ask what they were going to do with the mulch. They said that they just dump it. He asked if we could have it, and they said sure. They dumped it up our driveway. There probably 10 yards of mulch here! Sure, it's a little rough, but it's free. And it will look better than what we have out front and back now. We put carpet remnants on the areas that we wanted to mulch, to keep the grass off. The mulch will go on that, and look very nice, I think. Good job and quick thinking Brent!

Grocery Shopping Part II

So my last post had me arriving home from the store, and the big kids helping carry in the groceries. Then I bagged out all the snacks, and was done. Well, I just thought that I was done! I went upstairs to check my mail and blog and such, and when I was finished, Jimmy came upstairs. He was pretty snotty. There was snot all over him. And he was poopy. Nice. So I stripped him down, and took him downstairs.

On the way downstairs, I noticed this yellow stuff on each stair. At first, I thought that as he slid down the stairs, he got poop on them. I smelled it. Nope, not poop. Didn't know what it was. Now my curiosity was peeked. Jim and I went into the living room. I noticed the paper bag that I had carefully packed the 4 dozen eggs in, sitting by the front door. The boys had failed to put it in the kitchen, so I had failed to put it away. They just brought it from the car, and left it by the couch so they could go back to watching TV.

I was almost afraid to approach. As I got closer, I could see that one of the dozen eggs was on the floor, empty. Jimmy had taken out each egg, cracked it, dumped it, and mushed it around. It was a nasty mess. There was egg nasties all over the living room. Most was centered on the wood entry way, but some was drug through the carpet. It was not good.

The boys cleaned up the big chunks, and I got the egg slimies from the wood. Then, we moved everything out of the living room, vacuumed real good, and cleaned the carpet with the carpet cleaner. That was a fun afternoon.

I very wisely decided that I wouldn't blog this until after I had put the kids to bed. I didn't want a Grocery Shopping Part III.

Grocery Shopping

So today was grocery shopping day. For those of you with few to no children, this does not mean the same thing to you as it does to me. Shopping for 7 people for one week is quite a big project. Thats 49 breakfasts, 49 lunches, 49 dinners, and 98 snacks. 6 dozen eggs, 4 gallons milk, 2 bricks cheese, 3 bags bananas, 1 box each graham crackers, saltines, ritz, and the list just goes on and on.

Anyway, shopping day was supposed to be Monday, but it kept getting pushed back. So here it was Friday, and I was ready to go. I had my menu. I had my list. I knew which store, and which order. I had left the morning snack, and lunch, and directions on the kitchen counter for Brent for the kids. I had my snack and lunch packed, as well as Jimmy's. We were ready.

Brent was working from home for the day, so I left the 4 big kids with him, and took Jim with me. First, we went to Aldi's. We got about 80% of our food there. Then on to Wal-mart for a few thing. Then to Ultra Foods for a few more. Then home.

When I walked in the house, it smelled like burnt something. I asked Brent if he was cooking. He said that Joe tried to burn down the house. Nice. Apparently, he'd gone in the kitchen, and eaten all the bananas left out for lunch. Then, he was still hungry, and decided to make toast. No matter than the BILL PILE was sitting on the toaster. So that caught on fire. Luckily someone caught it in time. A few of the bills are charred around the edges. Which reminds me, Grandma Lyn, the check you sent got burnt. Can you send a different one?

But by the time that I got home, the only thing left of the mess was the smell. The floor was cleaned, the dishes done, the table cleared and wiped. It looked lovely. The big kids helped bring in the groceries, and helped me bag out the food. (I individually bag all the snacks)

So that was my fun shopping day. What an exciting life I lead!

Cub Scout Pack 140 Pinewood Derby

Spring Break Crafts at the Library

This was taken on the first day of Spring Break, on Monday. It was quite a busy day. First, we cleaned the house and did your chores. Then, we headed out to do our errands. At about 10:30. First, we went to the bank. Then, to Hobby Lobby (the craft store). We were looking for Boning for my dress, and for stickers for the pinewood derby cars and trophies. Also, we were looking for wood pieces for the trophies. We spent way too long in that store! When we left, it was noon.

We headed for Burger King for lunch. Thanks Grandma Lyn! Lunch was good, and the kids were very well behaved. After lunch, we went to the Unique Thrift store for 1/2 price day. We found lots of treasures. Toys, wooden puzzles, muslin sheets for civil war clothes, sandals, stuffed animals, and lots more. It really has a good selection.

Then, we were off to Wal-mart. We got eggs, and water, and a few other essentials. Then, it was time for Craft Time at the Library. We took the big double stroller. Jimmy had fallen asleep, so it was easiest for him to continue napping. Jacob checked out books for this "Wax Museum" project. He's doing Robert E. Lee. We got to ride the elevator to the upstairs. The kids liked that.

Then, it was home for dinner. Can't remember what we had. We were off the menu :)

Brent, who was sick, headed out the door for the doctor. That was about 6:00. Then, Jimmy and his siblings were playing outside, and he fell and cut his head. So I rounded up all the kids and headed out to the Emergency Room. 5 hours and medical glue later, I was back home. Brent had picked up the other kids at 9pm. All in all, it was a long and eventful day. But most of it was fun! But I hope that the rest of spring break is a little less eventful!

A Royal Family

Here's Tom. Everyone got $2. He chose a Wopper Jr. and a milkshake (strawberry).

And Eme. She also chose a Wopper Jr. and a milkshake (strawberry).

Joe Joe is so cute. He chose fries and a milkshake (chocolate).

Here's Jacob. He chose a Wopper Jr. and a shake (strawberry).

And here Jimmy. He won't eat fast food. So I got him cheese sticks, thinking he would like that. He does like cheese, after all. But alas, no, he doesn't like cheese sticks. But he did like his shake (vanilla).

And here I am. I must say, you would all be jealous of my lunch. Slim-fast bar and squished pear. Nice. That was fun. :)