Piggin' Out!

We went to my cousin's daughter's graduation party today. Kids had a GREAT time! I don't know how many glasses of punch Lexi said she had, but it was a LOT! And they pigged out too....here's Zander chowing down some chips!

 

Karaoke

Phil, Nick, & Lexi doing some Karaoke at Amanda's graduation party.

 

Zachary Swingin'!

 

Lexi on the Tire Swing!

 

Could it Be?!

Could this be one of our sextuplets?! The other day the neighbor caught this baby bunny & brought it over for the kids to see. He said they had a nest in their backyard. I told him about our nest & babies & how this could be one of ours! The kids loved holding the bunny & the little neighbor girl did NOT want to let him go!! Zachary did good holding him too!

 

Lexi & the Bunny!

 

There's Our Bike RIDER!

 

Daddy Watch!

Look at Him Go!

The Zan Man......

How RUDE...

I'm a bit upset at those Septuplets. Last night before I left for the gym I told them good night & I'd see them in the morning. I planned on video taping them this morning figuring they'd soon leave me.......well....

watch & see.

Lawnmower Boy

Zander got a football helmet out of the MLC dumpsters & now wears it when he's mowing the lawn!!

 

Septuplets!

We have Seps!!!

 

Our Babies....

 

Mama Bunny

Phil took this the other night...MAMA came to feed her babies. I now have counted SEVEN in the nest. The kids know about (except I don't think Nick does) them now. Zachary just goes by the tree & stands & watches them.

 

Zander

Zander on this last night of Gymnastics!

 

Gymnastics!

Zachary at the last night of Gymnastics.

 

Hmmmm

That MP3 player I found in the garbage!?!? Nick took it over to Ashley's last night & her cord fit it so we were able to charge it up. Nick was excited! He started listening to it right away when we got home last night. So today I'm looking at it & see that my cord for my player fits it as well....so we can charge it up & add new songs to it!!

FREE MP3 player for Nick! He will be thrilled when he gets home from school!

Oh, he was listening to it last night & came in & said "it has some pretty good songs on it"

I'm listening to it now & I'll have to agree!

So my afternoon has been filled with trying to figure out how to work this thing! I'm now looking online for a user's guide. I can't figure out how to get the songs deleted & new ones added. GRRRR But I did find a link to what it looks like. It's actually a SPORT MP3 player but I doubt if those functions will get used!

It's the SILVER one.

Ok, so in my research I found that you need a specific SONY program to add/delete songs. I tried downloading it but it didn't work. So I guess we are out of luck. He is stuck with the songs that are on it! So we got all excited for nothing. Oh well.

Unbelievable WASTE........

Wow. Unbelievable.

I think a mandatory course in college should be less WASTE and saving the environment. Or wait, there seems to be so much hype all the time on the environment & what we can do to make it better, but does ANYONE do it? Or is it an in one ear out the other type of thing?! I'm beginning to wonder.

Yesterday was graduation day at MLC (college in New Ulm). I realize this happens all across the country, but I really got my first look at it locally last night.

Phil, Nick & Zander went up there in the afternoon after they were done fishing at the river. I guess it's just a normal, end of the school year thing to do. Time to pack up & head home & what doesn't fit in your vehicle....well, it goes in any of the half dozen HUGE dumpsters they have by all of the dorms.

So they found a few things. Phil found a nice CD/radio boombox & set it to the side while looking for other things. But then they left...and he FORGOT the boombox!

So I headed to town last night with Nick & we were going to go to Walmart but he wanted to check the dumpsters again. So we did. We spent nearly an HOUR there. OH MY GOODNESS. I just can't BELIEVE the things people throw away. Such WASTEFUL & SINFUL in my opinion. Yes I know some of them have no choice because they can't fit it in their car or whatever but........there are soooo many options. I think all colleges should look into what these kids do. Why not set something up for anyone to come get the stuff for free instead of just THROWING it (and some were items that are NOT to be thrown away...computers, monitors, microwaves, etc....). Why not DONATE it to the local thrift stores. All the profits could be given back to the colleges!

I could go on & on.........so what did I end up taking home???
Well I think the best thing was the PIZZAA pizza oven! We already have one so this one will go to Ashley. We tried it this noon & it works just fine. There was one little crack in it which I'm assuming happened when it got tossed into the dumpster.

Rubbermaid totes. You name the size, I found it. I had Phil's little car so I was very limited on what I could take! Another guy was there & laughing as I'm trying to cram everything into the car. I said, well you have a big truck, fill it up...and he said he did, he's already taken THREE truckloads full home!!!

Xmas lights, a couple were brand new in the box yet.

Crystal picture frame, in the box never used.

Kleenex, brand new boxes.

College textbooks, which I was gonna throw but Phil said to check it out cause some books you can return for money (they were in the rubbermaids & I didn't go through everything until I got home)

Purse/coinpurse (for Lexi)

Pencil cases, nice one for Nick.

Notebooks/binders. The notebooks...about the first 2-10 pages were used & that was it. I won't have to buy ANY of those for school next year.

Filler paper. Lots of it.

Angel Xmas Tree topper (donating it)

Twin size mattress pad, looks new, (donating it)

Stapler/staples

Mesh hanging thing (Lexi put up in her room & filled w/ her stuffed animals)

There was a really nice like new footstool but I had NO room in the car for that!

The really nice plastic hangers. TON of them. And those other kind of hangers that you can put 4/5 pairs of pants on.

Envelopes/stationery/paper clips...office supply stuff

Furniture....like you wouldn't believe. Some of it was broken/icky so fine toss it. But their were plenty of dorm type chairs that were just fine & sitting in the trash.

Lamps

And lots of other things. I plan on taking some stuff to the thrift store, hey I'll take the tax write off for it!!! Why not??!??!?!

But the most idiotic thing we found. CHECK BLANKS. Phil came home with one set (I think Nick grabbed it) & he thinks it was from the frat house. It was a few years old but the check blanks were still there. And when I was looking around I saw 2 or 3 different sets. Why on EARTH would you just toss it & not shred it at least?! I realize the accounts are more than likely closed, but still. And I know that most businesses require an ID when writing out a check...but this is a small town & there are some that don't ask for ID. Just stupid. Really makes me wonder what DO these kids learn in college?? Apparently identity theft isn't one of them!

Maybe since I didn't get a free ride from my folks through college that the unbelieveable wastefullness really bothered me. That was what I told the other guy that was there...."I feel bad for the parents that paid for all this stuff & their kids just throw it away....and we have a country wondering why everyone is in Debt." HELLO, wake up People.

Ok, my rant is over!! Don't worry I won't be looking in your garbage the next I'm there!!!

Oh...one of the kids said he found an IPOD. And then he went home to try it & it WORKED. A WORKING IPOD. I'm wondering if that was thrown away by accident????

Oh & another thing I found was a cool ROLLING STONES alarm clock. Sticker on the back said $24.95

BUNNIES!!!

It looks like it's been a week since I updated.

First...I have to correct a statement from below...it's been NINE AND 1/2 YEARS we've had diapers in this house! Zachary has done awesome the past week. He had one accident....and it was last night at our final night of gymnastics. The last night is PARENTS night & we get to play games & do activities with the kids. Well Phil was working so Nick went with Lexi & Zach & I went with Zander. At one point, Zander had to get a drink at the fountain & Zach saw that & had to copy him. Well I thought at first he just got wet from that but after getting closer I saw he had an accident. He started to take off his pants right there! I said, no Zach we have to go to the van & change you! I think he was just so excited cause HE got to run around & join in the fun last night that he had NO time to take a potty break!!

So if you are a reader of Phil's blog.....he mentioned how he found the remains of a baby bunny in the back yard. GAARROOOOOSSSS....sorry Jennie, NO pictures of that, way to disgusting! Anyhow, so yesterday he told me to come outside. He was moving some bricks around by one of the trees & found a nest with 4 or 5 baby bunnies! They are pretty small & he didn't want the kids to know about it yet. He thinks the mama comes back at night to feed them. I have yet to see a rabbit by the nest & I've been watching for 2 days now! So today I took the camera out there & you can't see them at all but they sure the heck scared me when they moved a little!! We are hoping they stick around for a couple of weeks & then we can show you. Remember the ones we had last summer? I've got pictures of that on the blog here somewhere in the archives!

First Outing...

Well today was our first outing (wearing UNDERWEAR....I'm talking about Zachary) and it went just fine. We had an appointment at 10:00 & then after that we stopped at Schell's Brewery. Bummed I forgot my camera. The peacock opened his feathers & was just beautiful!! The boys love seeing those peacocks. Also didn't have any crackers to feed them either, it was a spur of the moment thing so next time we'll be better prepared!

Then we stopped at Hy-Vee for a few groceries. As we are checking out, Zachary says "I have to pee momma" Hmmm....well can you please hold it for a bit. Got all checked out & took the groceries to the car & he didn't say anything again & so I headed home. Hmmmm will we make it?!!?

Got home & he went right in & headed to the bathroom!

He has been doing great this week & even stayed dry at night which amazes me. He's not like the other kids in the morning though, he heads right to the bathroom first thing!

I now feel comfortable saying that after NINE YEARS, we are DONE WITH DIAPERS!!!!

Yeah!

Day 2 was a success for Zachary! He's getting good now...as he's peeing "get m&m's momma"

Then one time we didn't get the m&m's right away & I thought he forgot about it, but then quite awhile later he reminded me!

I'm going on a field trip with Nick tomorrow for a few hours so Grandma is watching the boys. I suppose I better take a baggie full with so we keep him on track at her house!!

Let's hope for a repeat!

Well Zachary did it today.....stayed dry/clean in his underwear ALL DAY!! Don't ask how many M&M's he got!!!!

Hopefully we have a repeat of it tomorrow!

Hmmmm.....

I think the kid knows what he is doing. We are still working on the potty training thing with Zachary. Last night he had to go pee....then of course it's M&M's after he's done. Then about 15 mins later, he had to go pee again...and asked for more M&M's. Then he had to go AGAIN.....he does go everytime but I think he holds some back so he can finish later & get more M & M's!!!

A little while ago he went poop (which gets "a WHOLE BUNCH" of M&M's. Now...about 5 mins later he's back on the toilet cause he said he has more poop.....and of course said "whole bunch M&M's"

He's playing this game really well I think!

Mai Fest Kids Run 2008

New Ulm had their 1st annual MAI FEST KIDS RUN this morning. It was a BEAUTIFUL 40 degree day with a wind chill of ...I don't know, FRICKIN' COLD!

It was for kids ages 6-12. They could either run 1/2 mile or 1 mile race. Nick & Lexi both choose to do the 1/2 mile. I was thinking Nick would do the mile but I think it was wise he only did the 1/2 mile!!! There were about 60 kids doing the 1/2 mile & 20 that did the mile run. They gave out medals for 1st, 2nd, & 3rd place. See below for the results!

 

Listening ...

Lexi...listening to the last minute instructions!

 

And they're OFF!

Nick is on the way right....Lexi was on the left but I can't find her in this picture!

 

Sort of running...

Can you see Nick? (wearing black) Hard to tell if he's walking or running at this point. I'd guess this was about 1/2 way through. He was in 2nd place for the first 200 yards. (total was 800 yards). Can you see the boy in the maroon sweatshirt. That was a classmate of Nick's. He looks like he's 4 people behind Nick & is walking. I think this is when Nick walked a bit. Lexi is somewhere behind him yet.

 

Nick....Walking....

He's wearing black shorts/sweatshirt....walking .....see his friend in the maroon sweatshirt. He caught up to Nick. AND you can now see LEXI! She is in between Cubby & the girl in yellow. This is where she caught up to Nick. Nick is walking...she is running! Go Lexi!

 

Kick it!

Towards the end...Nick kicked it in gear.......I don't even see Lexi in this picture, must be way ahead of him!

 

Yeah Lexi!!

Lexi finished in 10th place........out of about 60 kids. Nick was right behind her in 11th.....YES, you read that right, LEXI BEAT NICK. LEXI BEAT NICK. Way to go Lexi Rose!! We are thinking Lexi probably would have placed 1st, 2nd, or 3rd if they would have split it up in age groups. They just let all the 6-12 yr olds go at the same time. She did AWESOME!

 

Moving Day!

Ashley & Tyler moved on Friday. Since Nick & Lexi had the day off school, I took them with & we all helped unload the moving trailer. That was the easy party...now Ashley has the fun part of putting it all away!! They moved into a 2 bedroom townhome. It's close to the mall so easier for me to stop in when I'm in Mankato! And they even have their own little park.....that would entertain the kids while I'm busy shopping!! You'll be sorry I know where you live! LOL

 

Lunch Break!

These two worked really hard yesterday helping Ashley & Tyler move into their new place. We carried the stuff in & those two would haul it up the steps to the upstairs. Nick worked up a good sweat!!