...to put together Will's birthday present

...several days after the date

Will was so excited to receive this for his birthday....

But of course it looked like this when I opened it:

Oh dear.

I settled in with a cup of coffee and the baseball game.

The numbers on the bars were supposed to match up.

They were supposed to slip and lock-in together easily.

Of course most of the bars weren't even numbered.

And they most definitely did not slip and lock-in easily with one another.

I persevered.

For two and a half hours.

And came up with this....

I think he'll be ecstatic when he comes down in the morning.

Pretty sure he is worth it.

Every moment.

...to go to a coffee

...more often?

I had a Brigade function to attend this evening.

The little girls were taking a bath while I was getting ready.

A snippet of our conversation went something like this:

Abbey: Mommy, you are looking nice.
Audrey: Yes Mommy. I like your pink lipstick.
Abbey: Why do you look pretty?
Me: Because I have to go to a coffee tonight.
Abbey: You should try to go to coffee's all the time. You drink it all the time every day and that doesn't help.

Perhaps I look like this most of the time?

...to celebrate Will's birthday

...this is just being posted a few days late

Our little man turned eight this weekend.

And to celebrate we headed down to Virginia to visit my brother and his family.

What a special day it was!

In the morning Mark was able to watch Will open up his birthday presents on Skype:

And he got to go to Buffalo Wild Wings to watch football and eat wings with my brother:

Then later in the afternoon we were able to take everyone to the pumpkin patch:

The kids couldn't wait to run and play on the giant hay pile:

They LOVED it!

And they even enjoyed a hayride:

It was a great birthday for my sweet 8-year-old-little-man:

And it was so fun to celebrate with family:

our nephew is hiding in the stroller

The day was complete with a picnic in the living room and a birthday dessert:

Happy Birthday William!  You are our favorite son!

...to begin our drive

...to VA for the holiday weekend.

It has been wayyy to long since I have seen my niece and nephew.  I can't wait to squeeze and smoosh and smooch them.

I am really looking forward to spending the weekend with my brother and sister-in-law too, but the truth is they remember me AND they don't change.

The big sis and my lil' nephew will have grown way too much since I saw them last in April.  And probably will have no idea who I am.  I'll be the lady that comes to visit every now and then and has to send her FEMA representative in for the aftermath.

My children are ecstatic about this weekend!  They have never met their newest cousin.  (I think Audrey believes he is going to be her new playmate.) And William has big plans to go to Buffalo Wild Wings with his Uncle Kyle for his birthday to eat wings and watch football!

As for our drive, so far the drive has been uneventful.  We have stopped at a hotel for the night that seems to be super nice.  As long as I can keep it a secret the hotel has a pool we'll get out of here without incident.

Traffic is another story.  I forgot that construction in PA tends to take place at night.  We went through several, very long, back-ups.

Awesome.

Hopefully this isn't a preview of what is to come for the rest of our trip tomorrow.

No matter...it who's waiting for us at the end of the drive that makes it all worth it!

...to relax and let the crazy

...just happen.

This work day/soccer grind evening wasn't as smooth as it could have been.  Honestly it was like a train wreck.  Add some drizzle, muddy kids, unfinished homework, and warm milk left on the counters and it was all a recipe for a Momma meltdown.

I could feel it coming on.

They had their instructions to immediately begin their 'evening' routine.  You know, shower, brush teeth, etc...

But first they all pleaded their 'need' for dessert.  They must have sensed weakness.  I caved.

Our agreement was dessert then bedtime routine.

They all picked frozen cookie dough balls.  Important information for later in the story.

While they were eating I left the kitchen area to go through in a load of laundry.  With very strict instructions to commence with their bedtime routines when they were finished.

They sensed defeat was within their grasp.

(Side note:  The weather was YUCK tonight.  Drizzle.  Super wet.  Blech.  Thus the soccer clothes were disgusting.  So gross I made them undress in the garage.  And thus, #1 was eating her dessert of choice in her tighty whities.)

When I returned, to check on my crew for accountability, chaos had struck.

Heathen's victory.

The ipod was blaring The Devil Came Down From Georgia. (ironic?) The frozen cookie dough balls were no longer frozen.  Abbey and Will were wrestling.  Audrey was creating a masterpiece with the fuse beads...all over my kitchen floor.  And Isabella was fine turning her Power Point skills in the office...still only in her tighty whities.

I did the only sensible thing I could think of...I put the rest of those, now un-frozen, cookie dough balls in the oven.

And then got one-child-at-a-time ready for bed.

And everything was all better.

---------------------------------------------------

And then watched a bit of baseball with Will.  AND then Miguel Cabrera won the Triple Crown!

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I made up these cookies last week.  My children think they are the BEST ever.  Amy (and Mark would side with her) still prefers my Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip cookies.

But in case you'd like to try the-cookies-that-will-make-everything-all-better, here's my recipe:

1 c shortening
1 c unsalted butter
2 c brown sugar
2 c sugar
1/2 c milk
4 eggs
1 1/2 T vanilla
4 c flour
5 c ground oatmeal
6 ounces ground sweetened baking squares (a big chocolate bar would do)
1 t salt
2 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
1 1/2 bags of Ghirardelli dark chocolate chips

Bake at 375 for around 12-15 minutes (I make them slightly undercooked and only lightly browned).

And freeze half the batter into dough balls...my kids love them more than warm cookies.

...to teach my daughter to knit!

...Who knew it would all come back to me so easily?

Isabella did a great job!  She has barely set down the needles long enough to do her homework since I taught her...

Here is the proud little lady showing off her first creation!

As I was teaching her this craft, I was realizing just how therapeutic and calming knitting was.  My grandmother taught me so long ago (I was about Isabella's age) and back then I didn't need an activity that was relaxing.  

There was something about the click on the needles and the pattern of my fingers moving...so relaxing.  I barely wanted to give her the knitting needles back for her turns to work!  It's a good thing for her that her siblings were nearby yelling and screaming/pushing and shoving or else I might have made the little project myself.

I do have a one thing in particular that I would like to make (found on Pinterest):

Doesn't this look cozy for up here in the north country?

I just have to fit this project in between the others I have planned for Mark's absence....

...to enjoy my flowers

...from my sweeties

Audrey picked me these at the mines yesterday....

And Mark sent me these....

Both my favorite color...purple.

Both made my day.