Hasta La Vista, Baby!

Today was a sad, sad day in Dave's life. His pride and joy, his 5th baby, if you will, went to a new owner today. It was actually bittersweet to see the BMW go, even though I didn't think I'd care. Dave loves cars, not just any cars, primarily BMW's. When he bought his car almost 3 years ago he looked and researched for months and held out until he found one that had everything he wanted; color, engine, transmission (is that the same thing?), style, year, etc. It was LOVE at first sight with him and when he brought it home, even I, not a car afficionado, had to agree that it was truly a gorgeous car to behold. But unfortunately, not near as practical as it was pretty to look at.

If we were empty-nesters it would be a great car to have, but the reality is we have like 14 kids and it didn't make sense to to have a full-blown sports car that fits 2 people comfortably, and looked down right silly with two car-seats in back. I will admit, it was really fun to ride in (without kids) and Dave even got the chance to race it on a track in Vegas. But, if I'm being honest, I always worried just a little bit that one day he'd get in a wreck in it because it was so fun to go fast. Ironically, I'm the one with the most speeding tickets, but I drive a bohemoth car! Okay, so it's not a bus, but it sure feels like one when I have it full of my kids and their friends! I never did learn to fully appreciate Dave's car. I can count the number on two hands (in three years) that I drove it, and every time I did he had to put it in "Old Lady" mode because I could never drive it quite right. It really was a guy car...and I always felt self-conscious because LOTS of guys would always look at it and there I was driving in old lady mode.

But still, I feel for Dave. Being the only guy in a house full of chicks he deserves to have something just for him, that is off-limits to all us girls...like the lawnmower or something. But since that probably won't be as fun as his baby was, I have no doubt that he will one day own his dream car again...and that no car seat or booster will ever grace the back seat! I am so proud of Dave anyway, for deciding to sell his mid-life crisis car that he bought 10-years premature.

So long Beemer, I won't miss the peel-out marks on my driveway, the ridiculous cost of repairs and oil changes, me worrying on snowy days, the goofy tiptronic shifting (I used to call it techtronic, which made Dave laugh), the premium gas, pricey insurance, or most of all, the payment.

Movin' on up...

Happy Graduation Nattie! Nat had her big day last Wednesday when she graduated from Pre-K at American Heritage.

Natalie's class sang the alphabet while doing the sign language actions and also the songs Days of the Week and the Months of the Year in Spanish and English. I was impressed by how well all the kids sang in Spanish and it was nice that Nat had a head start in that department. I have been bi-lingual since kindergarten (before that I didn't speak a lick of English) and even though it's annoying at times (people sometimes assume you WANT to speak spanish if you look the part) it's always helped me and I really want all my girls to speak it.

My camera was being dumb and so I missed the part where Nat shook Mr. Yorgasen's hand at graduation but I think Dave got it on video. For some reason the Director of the school, who is usually really nice, was on a role that day. She kept telling the audience to "be quiet and show respect" and at one point she said she couldn't go on with the noise level??...at an elementary school graduation that was chuck full of kids and babies in the audience. It was so condescending it was almost funny. I forgive Elsha though, usually she was great but that day she was super crabby.

Grandma Rosa came to watch Nat graduate...and of course her Daddy did too. He doesn't miss any special accomplishment or activity that they are a part of...and I'm SO glad he doesn't because most of the time he's saving seats for the "punctually impaired". I am usually sliding into my seat right before things start (which is awesome given my family history) so we are very grateful for Dave (and Ashley!) in this family.

The thing I loved most about this school was Natalie's teacher Mrs. Amanda - she was the best! Ironically, at the beginning of the year I thought she looked ornery and wasn't sure I was going to like her. Man, was I ever off the mark on that one! Amanda is genuine, sharp, nurturing, and so loving towards the kids...especially Nat who was teacher's pet all year. Amanda knows the secret of how to get through to that kid (I wish she'd teach me) and said that Nat was by far her best student and helper, and that she never once had a meltdown (I had to make sure we were talking about the same kid). We are so proud of Natalie's accomplishments all year and credit Amanda for her crazy, awesome reading skills, spelling, and overall love of school. Mrs. Amanda will be hard to forget and hard to top! Ashley also had a great experience with Mrs. Luck. She is a very intelligent teacher, albeit a little odd at times, she helped Ashley expand her horizons and look at things differently. I appreciate her dedication, and also the attention she gave Ashley...who so far appears to love and excel at every subject. Hopefully she will always have this kind of zeal toward school and life.

Cade (in the pic above) and Ashley had cute little crushes on each other this year and it was so funny to listen to her talk about it. He is so cute and mom approves but she will still get so mad at me when she sees this post...

Overall, this was a fantastic school and I love that my girls had the chance to attend, if only for 1 year. I love the friends they made, several of which we will keep in touch with. I loved the teachers, curriculum, attitude, and atmosphere. It's a shame that it's so expensive, otherwise all my girls would have eventually attended. But such is life, and since we have 4 kids and can't have 2 college grads and 2 working at 7-11...we're off to a new adventure at Early Light Academy, a new charter school that we applied at and miraculously got accepted into. I'm excited for the new opportunity and hope my girls will be just as happy there.

Good Eats!

Breakfast at Cracker Barrel is a fun family tradition for us. We'll usually go around the holidays, or whenever there's a long weekend. Dave and the girls all love the pankcakes and syrup (it comes in cute individual glass bottles) and I love to shop in the store after we eat. It's kind of a funny restaurant, but for whatever reason we love the atmosphere and it's sort of become "our" place. Here are Ashley and Nattie and I way before Emmy was even a twinkle in Dad's eye? Addie was almost done cookin' in my belly and isn't it funny the girls both sat on the same sides 3 years later in the picture above?

Ash takes a load off

Did I mention that Addison really likes the syrup at this restaurant?

She really, really, REALLY likes it! Notice the already empty bottle by her plate?..and no sign of a pancake anywhere?

I think her tongue is actually stuck in the bottle at this point.

Nowadays, in addition to polishing off her syrup (in such a lady-like fashion), she has taken a liking to the preserves and just eats it straight out of the little cup...toast is such a bother, who needs it? Emmy dined on bisquits and passed on the gravy(smart girl). You gotta love southern cookin'! Natalie, our resident shrimp eater/inhaler noticed the "fried shrimp" on the kids lunch menu last time we were there for breakfast. She asked if she could order it for breakfast (gag) and the waitress was happy to oblige. It took Nat about 5 minutes to polish off her breakfast of champions and then she asked if she could have more. What a nut.

My step-dad is a manager at Market Street and got stuck working a crappy holiday shift a couple weeks ago. He called to say I could have some free lobsters if I came in right then. It took me about 30 seconds to get in the car. I've only ever had a whole lobster like 2 other times in my life and it's always such a treat...but it's never been free! It even came with instructions on how to eat lobster which was funny - and informative actually. He also threw in shrimp, clam chowder, and the crusty bread I love. The girls were all freaked out by the lobster and it didn't help that we pretended we were going to get their fingers with the claws. They opted to eat food that didn't bite you back. We didn't care because it was more for us. We ate like kings that night and I hope my step-dad is disgruntled more often.
I don't buy sugared cereals all the time. The girls love Lucky Charms and so on occassion I will buy it if it's on sale. Dave came across the mega-size Lucky Charms at Sam's Club and you would have thought it was Christmas around here. I think the girls had LC for breakfast and snacks for like 5 days straight, then the obsession stopped just as quick. I happened to look in the box one day and there was 3/4 of a bag left...and every single charm was gone. Buttheads. That is why they don't get LC very often.
This is what I woke up to Sunday morning. In a bizarre turn of events, Ashley and Emmy slept in, and the two trouble-makers decided to have a "breakfast picnic" complete with frozen waffles and spray butter. Natalie tried to toast the waffles, but they were still semi-frozen. Addie had already sprayed hers with butter and I think they were both just going to eat them like that. Nasty...but far nastier than that is sweet little Emmy, with truly unfortunate hair in this pic, gnawing on a cube of butter I set out for the butter dish. She grabbed it and went to town. She is truly grandma's girl at heart...next thing you know she'll be asking for drizzled butter on her cheerios. :) We love you Grandma Janet!!..and the kids and Dave still prefer the way you butter toast vs. my way so there you go.

I guess that's what I get for ditching the high chair for a counter-top version. It's convenient, but Emmy has been the worst at grabbing anything she can get her grubby paws on!