All the Other Fun

All these fun things didn't fit with any other post, so here they are together.

We were invited to eat popcorn and hot chocolate, while we watched a movie outdoors.  It was very fun, if a little cold.

Gracea and Juliet dressing to match Blaire and Molly while the nightgowns still fit. = )

Alice found all sorts of decorations over the summer and wanted to do some decorating this fall.    It was fun to find some seasonal surprises everywhere. = )

Sometimes I eat all the food groups for lunch, not super often, but it sure is pretty!

Kennedy got to come over on a short Wednesday one time, and the girls loved having her!

Not long after that, we got to hang out with Zoey at Pizza Hut.

I was watching a show, in Spanish, that is called High Seas in English, and this image was too perfect.  I had to pause it and take a very skewed picture of it, so that I could remember it forever.

Grace and Juliet were working on their face painting skills, on one another.

I added this to the "reasons we can't have a pet" folder in my mind.  I would be so tempted to spend soooooo much money on adorable, unnecessary things.

I scored almost 10lbs of sirloin ground beef for really cheap, since it was marked for clearance.  I came home and cooked up most of it for future meals, but made a meat loaf and meat pie that day.

The meat pie came out so pretty!  Sadly, I didn't even eat any fresh, but did eat plenty as leftovers. = )

My mom treated the kids to Arby's snack shakes.  $1 a piece, which might crack up all you distant future readers of 2122! ; )

Grace picked out a clearance chocolate 'haunted' house kit.  Think gingerbread kit, but Halloween themed.  It refused to stand out, so she used yellow ribbon to declare it a disaster.

Starbucks and Biggby both did away with their Eggnog lattes for the season (and they are my favorite!!)  So, when I spied the lineup of Eggnog that Kroger has, I was excited.  I've been spoiled all season now. = )

It was 75F, in November, in Michigan.  When the kids wanted to do a water balloon fight, I told them to go for it.  I wasn't personally going anywhere near it, but they seemed to have fun.

Despite having a Panera near two areas that I frequent, neither of them are convenient.  So, when I get a craving for their sausage, kale, and bean soup, I make my own.

It tastes so, so good, but makes a ton, so I share with my mom and then freeze it in small portions so that I can have it for lunches. = )

Grace drew a family of penguins. 

The twins dressed up a balloon, for some reason. 

A happy milk lid was occasion for a picture, apparently.

A new Christmas started advertising months ago and finally was available to watch!

Right before Thanksgiving break, the big girls had a snow day, Grace had been sent home school on Thursday, ill, and then threw up at home, Juliet lasted less than an hour into Friday before her teacher called me to come grab her.  So, on the Friday before Thanksgiving break, I pulled a perfectly healthy William and we started our weekend early.  The big girls still had school Monday and Tuesday, so it wasn't quite break for them yet, but we spent the day relaxing at home.

One Sunday, Emily agreed to play my Sherlock game with me.  She didn't finish the round, but it was nice to play with her for a bit.  Luckily, I can play it as a single player game too. = )

For years and years, Grace and Juliet have wanted a play kitchen (we had one when they were very small, but got rid of it to make room for all the double baby things we needed.)  I am so excited to present a folding kitchen to them this Christmas!!

Grace loves seeing her friend Zoey and made a countdown chain until she saw her!  Sadly, this event had to be cancelled, because she and Juliet were slow to recover.

Emily also felt poorly at some point, though not during the Thanksgiving break, at least as far as I can remember.

My mom had me put together some hanging towels for my Grandma, when I was taking a picture of them, I had a cute little photo bomber.

Blaire and Llama each got a stocking this year, to match Molly's.

Speaking of llama, his leg broke this year.  He still sings and tries to dance, but the best we could do for him was to give him a cast. = (

I bought some corn flakes to make cookies one night, and on the box was a chicken tenders recipe.  I also saw a cute little picture of banana and strawberry skewers cross my newsfeed, so that made for a very lazy, easy, well-received dinner. 

While we were at the mall with Juliet, I came across a stash of Pusheen goodies.  Alice wanted a "Pusheen Box" as her big gift this year.  So, now when I see it I stop and look.  They had an adorable container of mini marshmallows called "meowshmallows," but it was $5!!  I asked my mom to keep any of her spice containers that might empty in the near future, but when I stumbled upon this tupperware container at the thrift store for 75 cents, I thought, that would be perfect to make one for Alice!  I actually like it better than the instore version.

Emily has been a bit harder this year than usual, so for her I'm customizing a hat that I bought online with her team and a sewn in pocket.  I've got the pocket made, but I'm still feeling a bit apprehensive about cutting into the hat to install it, especially since I've already finished the embroidery.

For our MOPS meeting next time, we are doing a gift exchange.  They asked us to bring 3 (of the same item) that we consider a favorite thing, that costs under $5.  I immediately thought of my cord wraps.  I seriously use them for everything!  As I pulled the materials out of their storage places, I had a wave of self-doubt, do I really love these or am I just being cheap?  As I began to cut the pieces out, I thought to myself: I love this fabric (it was from the stash that Christin sent me from Germany many years ago) I think I'll make one for myself too. lol.  Well, I no longer feel guilty or cheap. I may still include some candy or treat to make it look a little more appealing.  They came out so cute though!

 later days

February 14th

Today was cold.  I don't know what we actually got up to, but the highest I saw in my car was 11F.  I snapped this after I got home from drop off. brrrr.

My little ones woke up to a simple gift on the table, chocolates and roblox from us, Rose pens from Aunt Rocky.

I had two stay home today, William who didn't act sick at all but was sent home on Thursday with a fever, and Emily who retched 3 times before we even left for school.  Guess who was super upset to miss their party. = (  Thankfully Avia came over so that I didn't have to load my very ill Emily up to take the others to school.  I delivered party supplies we had promised and dropped of cards to be passed out. Then I stopped by the store to get Emily a personal ice cream, since she really wanted her sundae.

My big project was to transform the remaining corn tortillas (from Alice's cookie math day) into baked tortilla chips.

I put some salt on my very ripe avocado and enjoyed some chips and guacamole.  Emily had the other half of the avocado. She was a fan of my homemade chips. = )

At the end of the day, Alice went back in, twice, to get Emily and William's cards so that they could at least feel loved from afar.  = )

Billy made a special trip for my valentine Pizza.  William saw the advertisement and Billy delivered. He also brought home a beautiful rose bouquet. And he saved me from cooking dinner by picking up pizza at our local place for everyone else. = )

I picked out a variety of hot sauces for Billy as his Valentine.  = )

I love all 6 of my Valentines!

later days

Feburary 13th

Today the high might have been 28F.  That was the highest I saw in my car, and it only got colder from there.  I had to shovel the drive twice, because it snowed all.day.long.

The twins were matchy-matchy in their new shirts today.

In moms we made cupcakes, they were really cute. Alice and Juliet ate the ones I made, so I can't speak to their taste.

Emily stayed home sick today, so Avia came over for the morning and hung out with her.  She had moments when she felt better, so she finished her homework and valentine gifts.  But she is not going in tomorrow. = (

I got a call late in the day that William had a fever, so when I went to pick him up, I grabbed everyone else too.  Alice came home and sprayed everything, since tomorrow is not only her party, but also pajama day and bring your tech to school day!

I don't blame her, that's how I feel two.  With a minimum of two home in the morning, tomorrow promises to be a sad, sick day for us all.

For dinner we had chicken teriyaki and rice.

later days

January 23rd

Today was cold, but we made it above freezing.  The expected high was 37F, but my car was reading a balmy 38F. lol.  And then, it snowed for about an hour, in the 38 degree weather!  It was not enough to stick or even make the roads slick thankfully.

Grace woke up complaining of illness, but watching her move around and after taking her temperature (as well as William and Juliet's) I dropped her off at school with her siblings.

I headed straight for Horrocks to buy some specialty items for our upcoming Chinese new year celebration this weekend.  Despite going quite far out of the way, I was only about 10 minutes late for my MOPS meeting.  It was so good!

But, part of the way through it I got a call that Grace was still not feeling up to snuff, so I left early to go retrieve her.  She seemed in good spirits when we left the school. I had promised a meal to one of my MOPS ladies this afternoon, so we drove back to Holt to pick up some lunch for her and us. Grace was very chatty and lively.  She had managed to fool both me and the school secretary!

After dropping off the meal, we went by the thrift shop to donate a box of goods, then met up with Billy so he could have the other half of my Gyro. = )  While Billy and I were chatting, Grace did fall asleep in the car.  She slept all the way home, then roused herself to come inside and eat some more French fries, but is now sleeping again. = (  I guess she really doesn't feel so hot.

Avia came by with all sorts of goodies from her travels and stayed with Grace while I reclaimed my other little ones. = )

Billy had a dental cleaning today, so he got home a little earlier than normal.

For dinner we had hamburger helper.

It was a nice evening, hopefully everyone is well in the morning.

later days

January 22nd

Today flirted with temperatures above freezing, the expected high was 33F.  Juliet and I spent the day cuddling inside, so I'm not sure if it got there or not.  The heater kicked on several times.

Right before I went to sleep, Juliet had another episode of throwing up, so she stayed home with me.  her energy level was normal, but I'm glad she had the day to recover.

For lunch I headed up some leftover pizza.

She seemed very happy to go pick up her siblings and Willow.

For dinner we had a chicken spaghetti casserole that I prepped yesterday.  It was an early release day, so the kids had enough snacks that I don't think they were very hungry for dinner.  Billy liked it though. = )

I have double errands to run tomorrow, since Juliet and I didn't go get anything done today, but it was a nice, true, break.

later days

January 21st

Today we did not get above freezing, the expected high was 29F.  The main roads were good, but any roads that were not plowed in a timely manner are now just ice sheets with ruts on them. Ew.

This is the grand river as it cuts through the west side of Lansing.

After dropping my children at school, I came home to wait for our cleaning lady and the orkin guy.  I was working on the main body of Billy's cape when Sarah called.

She needed a ride from the airport where she was dropping off my mom's car.   From there we went to the thrift store for leather straps, and I found books for our Scooby Doo & Fairy collections.

I also bought a book that has been quite enjoyable to read so far.  When I got up from reading, this is how I found William watching his tablet (his legs were up on the side of the couch as I was pulling out my camera.

For dinner we had BBQ sandwiches.  They were a hit.  In fact, William scarfed down 2.5 of them!

After all the kids, Alice as the exception, were in bed, I was calling for Alice when poor Juliet started retching. = (  We set her up on the sick bed, and she fell back to sleep.  Here's hoping for a smooth night.

later days