Did we do all that????

We have had a great week this week. I think I may post that every week, though!! Ha! It is great to be able to look back on my week and see what we have done and accomplished. I have been trying to do better taking pictures so hopefully more pictures and less blah blah!

 I will just jump right in with Monday morning!! We  went up to see Dagmar Gretchen Clover Pat-Pat Lucy Sara Spotsy Boo Dogwood Jones. I hope I didn't forget any names. This is Dagmar, Dorothy and Oz's new miniature dachschund. A friend of mine breeds them and this is one of the puppies from their litter. She is the most spoiled and loved dog in the world. The blanket she is laying on was made by our Maddie. It is her favorite blanket, too!! Dorothy and Oz call the puppy Dagmar. The kids just loved her and she had a ball playing with them.

 In the midst of playing with Dagmar, we noticed a turtle crawling across Dorothy and Oz's lawn. Needless to say, Robert HAD to get it. And here he is holding it. Being the laid back mom that I am, ahem, I immediately rushed him inside to wash his hands with soap and water thanks to Maddie reminding me about salmonella in turtles! Thanks, Maddie!! :)

 And here is cute little Dagmar sleeping. Beatrice covered her with the tiny napkin and gave her a friend.

 I saw this pattern online and immediately knew I had to make it for one of my dear friends. She is the best cook that I know and she always brings something in a casserole dish to church. I picked the fabric not becuase I bought new but because it seemed to suit her so well. It is also the same fabric I used for a skirt so I match her casserole carrier.

 Here it is closed up. Yup, some friends will be getting this for Christmas this year!! I may have my brother embroider it with something.

 Robert is obsessed with this sign. His uncle, Mr. Handsome's husband, went to school at University of North Carolina in Wilmington. This is a new sign and I guess it officially makes us a college town.

 Nothing terribly exciting happened on Tuesday. Robert was supposed to golf with Oz but it rained. On Wednesday we went to the nursing home and had a great time. Everyone behaved themselves, thank the Lord!! I think the residents were mildly disappointed there was no excitement. After nursing home, we decided to treat Dorothy to lunch. She always takes us out so we took her to Hibachi Grille SUPREME Buffet. I am not a buffet person. I don't enjoy watching people "belly up" as Mr. Handsome says, to the buffet table and load down their plates so what is on them is unrecognizable and piled together. But this buffet was par excellence!! The food was hot, fresh, and a HUGE variety. None of it was overcooked either. Not sure how they managed that. If you live in Wilmington, you should go. It's in between SAM's and Lowes Hardware on College. If you've been here a long time, it's where Hamrick's used to be. And the prices are great, too. I don't know how much dinner is but lunch for an adult was 5.80 or something like that. And the children were half price and 30% off depending on the age.

 Thursday was spent trying to get the air working. It stopped working so Heating and Air Guy came to fix it. It took him two days but he did fix it. There is some sort of wiring problem going on. God decided to make it blistering hot for those two days, too. I really was grateful for our air after that experience. Mr. Handsome felt sorry for us so he sent us to Mayfaire to eat lunch - and we got to use the credit card!! I was living high on the hog Thursday!! Mayfaire is an outdoor type mall. It's lots of fun to walk around and look in some of the shops. We ate at Happy Days Diner and had a grand time watching I Love Lucy. Then we walked over to Barnes and Noble. After Barnes and Noble we headed over to my personal favorite, Michael's craft store. As I am wont to name and number certain events in my life, I will call this one, Blood curdling experience no. 1 having never been through this in public before. We quietly walked in Michael's and I was busy reading a sign (I was pondering whether I could bring Maddie to a cake decorating class), I heard and watched our now three year old, Beaker open her mouth and let out a scream that curdled my blood. Yes, yes, it did. I was in shock and felt like I was in slow motion. I watched her mouth open up and let out a yell and then her whole demeanor changed and her eyes squinched up and her mouth opened so wide I could probably fit a basketball in it and she let out a scream like I have never heard out of any of our children. God has blessed us with the best children on the planet and while they have their moments of temper tantrums, meltdowns, and stubbornness, they know that they know that they know, public places are unacceptable places to do this. After the initial shock, I scooped her up and as quickly as I could, skittered out the door, packed everyone in the van, and drove home. It was actually a rather sad event because I had just told the children they could pick something out of the $1.00 bins they have. But the older children understood that this behavior would not be tolerated and quickly got over their disappointment. Screamer Girl, on the other hand, did not. We dealt with the problem at hand when we got home and she was put down for a nap, with me to ponder how one of my dear ones were even capable of such a scenario. It was humbling because it reminded me in a clear and present manner that none of us are perfect parents and that children make their choices apart from all that we try to instill in them. And for them, they learn that when they do make their choices with no regard for what we are teaching them, there are serious consequences. I hope Beaker remembers this because she has been careful not to scream again.

Upon arriving home, we were jubilant when we went inside!! Our air was on and working!! Yay!! :) Maddie had made some gingerbread dough earlier in the week and was going to make gingerbread cookies with the girls. So that evening they made them.

 Here is Lindsay working hard on her cookies. They forgot that it was not playdoh and I did have to remind them that it would soften too much to work with.

 Beaker loved the sprinkles.

 Beatrice is our "poser" - she loves getting her photo taken - well, most of the time!

Chef Maddie and the Cordon Maddie school of fine cooking.

Here is Robert helping out before he and Mr. Handsome head off to Scouts.

 After the cookie making and clean up, the little girls and Lindsay played wii fit. They made a wii character using all three of them on the board. It's too funny!! They named her Emily. So they play games with all of them on the board.

Friday, we had co-op, went to the park, came home, and did school. Robert and Mr. Handsome were going camping at scout camp Friday night so the girls and I were home by ourselves. We didn't do anything exciting, just hung around and watched TV.

Saturday was the BIG birthday party for John and Beaker. John is our nephew. He turned four and Beaker turned three. Their birthdays are 11 days apart so we celebrate them together, which they seem to really love. So it was a princess and Spiderman party!

Rachel and Beatrice hanging together. 

 Here's Little Spiderman!! AKA John!

 Princess Rachel being helped by Beatrice.

 Beaker with wings and skirts!

One of their friends. She had a great time!!

 Decorating cookies.

 Cousin Aiden decorating his cookies. He is Chris' grandson.

 Beaker doing what Beaker does best!! Eating junk food!! :) See why we don't have any processed food? We don't need any!! Ha ha - they get it everywhere they go!! :)

Beatrice showing off her decorating skills.

 This photo is not cooperating - two of John and Beakers' friends.

 Another friend..

 Cupcake time!! Beaker was a bit nervous about the fire but John had no problem blowing his candle out. it's a good thing Aiden was around. He was glad to help Beaker blow her candle out.

Thanks, Aiden!!

And here is Beaker with the whole armor of God!! Too cute, eh?? We got home in the late afternoon, cleaned up, rested a little, and then I put all the girls to bed. The fellas arrived home around 10:00 and had a gret time - very stinky and dirty but had a great time!! Sunday was a great day as usual. I went to the nursing home to play the piano today. It was a lot of fun. I don't go to the assisted living place to play, I play at the nursing home facility the third Sunday. Mr. Jerry and Preacher go and we have a fun time. It is one hour a month that I can sit an not have someone hanging on me! LOL -

Looking forward to a fun week. Mr. Handsome is taking off the end of the week and we are taking some field trips. yay!! I have two skirts to make for a friend so hopefully she will be happy with them.

I did forget that this is a big week for Maddie and maybe Robert!! They are going to sign up for basketball on Saturday. I need to start getting myself back in shape so I can help them.