I forgot the momentous occassion that occured while we were gone--- Catherine pulled out her own tooth while we were driving, and didn't even cry! The first one ever! What a big girl.

I'd like to post pictures, but my camera ended up in my mom's purse. I'll see her by the end of the week, so I'll do it then.

A short recap, because I need to get busy getting my kids fed and in bed for tomorrow. We left last Friday and went to Minneapolis. Honestly, I don't remember what we did Saturday morning, but Saturday night was my cousin's wedding. She looked so beautiful! It was great to see cousins I haven't seen for 6 years! Samuel got to hang out with my youngest cousins, boys 1/2 my age! Sweet guys who were kind to include him in their activities. He was thrilled to show them his LEGO's. Which helped me remember what we did that morning. The Mall of America was just down the road. What was there? The Lego store (under construction, so a much smaller version) and the American Girl Store. Such heaven for children! It was Samuel's birthday, and I'd finished his sweater on the way up. He really liked it a lot! Now, it needs to be washed and blocked.
Sunday, after spending some time chatting with family, we took off for our next stop. Next door to where my dad grew up. We stayed with his oldest brother and his wife, saw a cousin, got to explore the woods and find cool things like mosses and birch bark, observe decomposition in the trees, see some deer (perhaps in their last few days of life, if my family was successful), and visit with a friend I've known since Kindergarten!
Off on Wednesday to see the house I lived in growing up. It's fun to see the changes and tell stories the kids can now identify with the actually places. We went to see more cousins by Duluth, and stayed with my mom's next youngest sister. My cousin, Lindsey, stayed over a few extra days so she could see more of us. It was really nice for my kids, getting to play with her, and making memories. Caleb would talk to Buddy and tell him he was at Lindsey's house. Catherine kept asking about Carrie, who had just gotten married. Samuel didn't really have a preferrence- they had Lego's to play with! We managed to get some school in everyday, which they tolerated nicely. Not as much as if we were home, but we gave it a good effort.
One of the nicest things about our time there was our visits with my Grandma. She's almost 83 and is having some drastic changes in her mental state. I wanted my kids see her, and have some memories together. We weren't sure how she'd be when we got there, but it was actually a very nice time. Caleb found a beach ball at the care center, and wanted to play catch with G'ma. She perked up the best she'd been during our visits, and seemed so much more of her "old" self. We helped her go to bed before we left and sang songs, at Caleb's request. It was sweet to hear him talk about Grandma V after we left and ask what she was doing.
We left from for home, via the IKEA store in Minneapolis! My first time there was a thrill! I had looked at a catalog YEARS ago and dreamed of using all their great organizational devices. It was really hard knowing I could only bring a few things home, since we were stuffed like sardines in the Suburban. It did help me get in the mood, though, and I spent part of today organizing in the boys' room/closet, and planning new things to build and do with Buddy.
Glad to be home, and looking forward to a great week. The kids did awesome, Hannah was a hit with everyone, and was her charming self. Still working on boundaries and such, but she traveled great, as did Caleb, and handled each long day and different bed like champs.
Now, if I could just find my pillow....

We're Home!

2 days of travel each way, 5 beds in 9 days, tons of fun, most everything put away within just 2.5 hours of being home, dinner made, kids in the tub, and I'm ready for bed!
Lots of fun pictures that I'll post when I'm ready.

Alice- I knit hats in the round, but I really should try sweaters that way.
Leslie- I'm sure you were awesome and all went well. Looking forward to being back. Thanks again!

4 crowns, 6 other fillings, and deep sedation are the results of the Dentist visit. She did really well, thoroughly enjoying her "lellow" glasses and the chance to be the center of attention. It's pretty funny how she doesn't like other people to talk around her and makes sure they remember she's there! She's just so cute and sweet, it's easy to remember. I was a little torn while I was there- they told me they could take care of her on Monday. Great! Except we'll be in the frigid North in possible snow. Then I thought again about leaving Buddy, of missing having Samuel's birthday all together, the great speaker on Monday, etc., etc. Then I thought about not seeing family I've missed out on for years, and the opportunity to see my Grandma again. Not easy for this person who wants everyone happy and hates tough choices where someone might feel left out. So, we're going, and Hannah will see them again a month. Not bad. They said the decay was not so bad that it would cause her pain while we wait.
Now, it's time to get busy on the packing! We had a nice family dinner, complete with cup cakes that were big enough to make a meal out of. Kind of nice to have so many celebration of your day!
While I was waiting for Hannah appointment to be done, I managed to attach the hood and one arm, sew up one side seam, and get ready to close up the arm. I just may be able to finish before we leave. May being a VERY strong word.
School stuff is packed and ready, snacks are ready. Kids are packed. That just leaves me and the clean up of the aftermath of massive amounts of laundry, searching for our very warmest clothes, and trying to get 5 ready to leave for a week.
Have a great weekend!

Great news! All the parts are ready to put together on BOTH sweaters! What I'm finding is that finishing up is more challenging than all the work in between. Isn't it like that in so many areas? I'm just ready to be done and let Samuel enjoy his gift, and hope that Caleb will fit in his, since it seems a bit on the large size. Oh well, something to grow into.
We had our ST eval today. Taken a long time to get it going, but I think it was ok, allowing her to adjust and gain some more English. She drops all her end sounds and has some other issues that I'm sure they'll be able to help. So, 2 days a week we'll be seeing Ms. Alisha. Caleb sat in with us and was answering the questions before Hannah could. After a few times reminding him that Hannah needed to answer, he was quiet and played nicely with some cars. When we get home, we'll have our OT and PT evals. The goal is to coordinate our times there so we don't make a bunch of trips each week. It's only about 4 miles from our house, but interrupting school, packing everyone up, and keeping them focused on their work would be the challenging part.
I made it to the yarn store today and got help on my hold ups. (I was up until almost 1 last night working on C's because I was stuck on S's.) Got to visit with a friend while I waited for the store to open, then zipped home to take S and 2 friends for a little outing to celebrate his day. The boys were so well behaved and won some nice things from all their tickets.
Back home to pick up Catherine and off to Awana.
Still so much to do to get ready to go. Plus, we finally got into the Pediatric Dentist. I'm so interested to hea what they say and find out how they can help her. Hopefully that will help with her chewing.
Off to attach a hood and sleeves...

family pic

So, not great but at least you see us all together.

Good news! I found Caleb's sweater pieces and am ready to put it together tonight. Tomorrow, I'll go to the yarn store and get some help so I can finish Samuel's. Meanwhile, we need to finish getting ready to leave for a week, run errands, take S and some boys to play before we go. Trying to get some cookin and baking done for Buddy to have while I'm gone. Lengthen my days, Lord!

So, we needed a new dord for the laptop so I could just put my card in to download pictures, finally got it, but then Buddy went out of town for 4 days and I got busy working on Samuel's sweater, made a huge mess with the hank of yarn, which took 6 hours to unravel, only to find out I don't know how to attach the pocket! Back to the sweater I almost finished for Caleb before we left for ROG, only to discover I can't find all the pieces in my whirlwind packing! What a deal.
Great day at CC. Hannah is enjoying her class, and we're all enjoying our time with friends.
Just a few days and we're off to MN for a week, minus Buddy, plus my parents. Lots to do to get ready.
Promise to post more thoroughly later.