Breakfast in Bed Again!

So not long after Tiernan brought me the waffles in bed (I think the next day?  I can't remember, my brain has been tired lately! :), he brought me breakfast in bed again!  He came into my room and said "Mom, you look tired, could I make you French toast and bring you breakfast in bed?"  Ummm...lemme think...OF COURSE!

So off he went into the kitchen to make French toast...from scratch.  A little while later, he returned with a plate of 2 pieces with maple syrup on them!

I ate them and decided to take a shower before I came out of my room.  I was thinking I was going to go into the kitchen and find a huge disaster since the kids had been up for awhile and eating breakfast without my supervision.  So I prepared myself and walked in....boy, was I SHOCKED!  The kitchen looked like this!!!

Tiernan had cleaned it from top to bottom!  Not only did he make ME breakfast, he made enough for everyone and fed all his siblings, even Jaeg!  Then he cleaned the dishes, put the griddle away, wiped off the table and counters and even pushed in the chairs at the table!  I was so surprised!  What a proud mama moment!!

Some cleaning and purging around here!  Getting rid of things is one of my most favorite things to do!  This is in the master closet. 

Before

After

Who says a single stroller can't be used as a double?

Forts, forts and more forts...I get rid of the extra blankets so they strip their beds.  grrrr....

Breakfast in Bed

Last night Nathan and I were able to go out with a couple friends, Devin & Melissa  while the rest of our 10 children played at Bounce Adventure. We just brought the babies with and boy was that nice to sit and chat for about 3 hours! Speaking of babies...Selah's 5 months now!

And before our date, my parents came over and visited for the afternoon since we haven't seen them in a month bc they were in Arkansas with my sister and family. (Nathan was home from work yesterday, which has been a common thing around here lately bc of his back). The kids were happy to see Gma and Gpa and once Jaeg got up from his nap and mom and me back home from picking up the boys from school, he bee-lined it straight for Gma! He wrapped his arms around her and wouldn't let her go! He's Gmas boy alright! 

Nathan gets up for work at 4:30am each day and I get up with him. I've been trying to *stay up once he leaves too, which is sometimes super hard to do but I have been SO thankful on the days that I do. I just LOVE that quiet time in the morning! So this morning, since it's Sat, I decided to go back to bed and wanted to "sleep in". Well, I was awake of course (just not out of bed) when I had said for everyone to just give me a little bit longer and I'll come out. I wanted to rest! And then this happened....Tiernan walked in my room with this....

And says "good morning, mom!" Oh how can I resist that?! So I was up and even though Nathan and I have changed the way we (mostly) eat, I just HAD to have Tiernans waffles and whipped cream he so lovingly prepared for me :) what a sweet boy :)

Now back to making my menu and grocery list for the week!

Tiernan took me on a date!

Yesterday afternoon was a special day.  It was the first time I was taken out by one of my sons!  Tiernan has been wanting to take me out on a date, so after I picked the boys up from school, I thought it would be a good day to go!  Nathan was home because of the rain so he could be with the other kids.

Once we decided to go, Tiernan asked what he should wear.  I told him he could wear whatever he wanted.  He asked if he could wear his red dress shirt and tie.  And then he asked if he could wear a belt :)  And then he asked what shoes he should wear.  He was really getting into this!  So then I asked him what *I should wear?  He said "a skirt...a black one".  So dressed up in his shirt and tie and me in a black skirt and shirt, we were off on our date!

He wanted to take me to Arby's :)  (Mostly bc he saw a pic of a french dip sandwich that reminded him of a sub sandwich, so he wanted to try that.)  Before we got there, Tiernan prayed for the food in the van and also thanked The Lord for this special time that he and I could spend together :) We get to Arby's, figure out if we need the coupons, and then proceed inside....he even opened the door for me.  We got inside, figured out what we were going to order, and up to the counter we went.  Tiernan started, telling the lady what he wanted and then he told her what I would have too.  The lady said "You look very nice today!" and he said "thank you" with a smile.  Then I looked at her and said "He's taking me on a date."  She smiled and told me the total.  Tiernan took out his wallet and paid for the meal.  She says "You are even paying?! Wow! Where does such a little boy get money?  Do you do chores?"  "No" he says (which is incorrect but he was thinking of the money that he had in his wallet, it wasn't from chores...) "It's my birthday money.  My birthday was on Feb 23."  "Oh!  Well, I don't know too many young boys that would use their birthday money to take their mom out for dinner.  I think that deserves a shake.  Would you like chocolate, vanilla or strawberry?"  "Chocolate!"  "Now you have dessert, too!"

Wow!  The lady was so impressed with Tiernan's decision, that she gave him a free shake!

We ate our meal, just us two, talking about life.

He was excited to leave so he could ring the Arby's bell. :) ....he even remembered to open the door for me again.  I was liking getting "spoiled" by my boy!

Our next stop was Culvers to get a concrete mixer.  We had a buy one get one coupon that he used so he thought that was pretty cool. :)

Same thing there....we went up to the counter, he decided what he wanted and I told him what I wanted.  He told the lady "I'll have a mixer with sprinkles and snickers (yes, I let him splurge a little :) and she'll get the butterfinger."  She told *me the total.  *He pulled out his money, she smiled so I said "He's taking me on a date", and then we stood back a little waiting for our ice cream.

While we were waiting, a lady came up to us, who must have heard what happened at the counter, and she said to me "He will remember this for the rest of his life."

I sure hope so.  We want to make special memories with each of our kids.

He thanked me about 10 times in the 5 min drive home. "Thanks for letting me go on a date with you.....Thanks for going with me, mom".....

And I think he is starting to realize how much money going out to eat costs since he was a little taken back that he only had $3 left :)  I asked "Was it worth it though?"

And the answer was a big "yes" :)

Week of sickness

This week has been one of those weeks that you dread as a parent...one in which sickness runs rampant thru your house and seemingly cycles it's way thru everyone's body.

Sunday night Brayan comes up to our room "I just threw up". Oh *please tells that it was in the toilet??? "On the floor by my bed." Great! (One time, the first time, Tiernan ever got sick with the stomach flu when he was about 3 was THE only time EVER that my kids didn't make it to the toilet or the bucket. We made it a point from early on to teach them that! Apparently Brayan was too much into his sleep where he didn't wake up in time. So downstairs we went (& thankfully Nathan had taken mon & tues off bc he worked storm all wknd, otherwise I woulda been doing it by myself!)

So that was Sunday night and Monday he stayed home from school just more mellow than normal. Tues night, Ariellas turn. Except, unlike Brayan, she was sick all.night.long. She's been slowly improving but is still laying around a lot, not quite back to herself (it's sat). Then Wednesday Nathan wakes up sick. His class was rescheduled so it was either to work (at his new location in the cities since his job in Sioux Falls is over, yay!) or stay home and I was an obvious stay home! So him and Ariella layed in bed all day. 

Meanwhile this whole week Jaeger has had a horrible cold with a runny nose and nasty cough. And Selah has had a low grade fever for a few days and is also congested with a runny nose. Thankfully her fever is gone today but she's still snotty and not quite herself. 

Then today, I woke up with an upset stomach and just not feeling well. I had an errand to do in the morning (dropping stuff off at BA and post office, altho I missed the post office by 10 mins!) and once I got back from that, I've basically been in bed all day. 

I tried to rest and did actually sneak in a nap, altho it's super hard to rest, much less sleep, since I have a mostly crabby, but also very demanding -wanting to nurse etc, baby right next to me. And for awhile, the rest of the gang was quiet downstairs watching a movie. Then wen the movie was over, it was goodbye quiet! A very rowdy and noisy version of hide n seek was being played right below us. Sigh.

So now I'm in bed watching an episode of the little couple on netflix while Nathan puts the littles to bed. 

Tiernan just comes in here, climbs up on the bed and says "I'm going to pray for you"...and he continues to put his hand on my arm, closes his eyes and prays silently. Melts my heart. Underneath all the mischief, he has a super soft heart! 

Now I'm hoping for a good night sleep! 

Happy Monday!

 

Need I say more?? :)

Like Father, Like Son

I think I'm teaching them well :). (It's more like Nathan's just that good to me & Tiernan wanted to stay up later :)

Back to work

It's so hard to try to remember to post each night! So here's what's up...

Nathan is finally goin back to work since being home a week and 2 days. His back went out last wknd and he couldn't work last week. He re-injured it on Friday, "rescuing" Jaeg from a boucer at Bounce Adventure, even tho he was totally fine and not even crying. And then he picked Jaeg up later that day and by the mid afternoon, he couldn't even get outta bed, We had company stop by (Ana and Caleb) but he couldn't even get up to see them. Thankfully by Saturday it was feeling better and after relaxing today, he's ready to go back to work tomorrow. 

I made up my first batch of cotton candy ready to be brought to BA! By the time I was done, my hair, shirt, & eye lashes were covered in cotton candy. The house was very hazy too, and not really sure why! Lol! Tasted super yummy tho!

Selah and Lauren chillin at church

I've been listing a million things on eBay, making a few bucks to store away for a rainy day :) ...or for when my husband doesn't work for weeks on end, lol!

She likes her finger!

Tiernan is getting excited for his bday party. We are letting him invite a few friends from school. Ana is once again making a cake for him. This will be the 4th year in a row she's done it!! First year, a baseball, then football, then a crocodile and this year...???? Maybe you'll hafta wait and see :) I'll give ya a hint, it's his favorite food to eat when we go out and it represents where he wants to work when he grows up! :)

Melissa's kids were over yesterday bc she had to work all day. When I already have 6 here, an extra 5 is really no big deal (except the mess they make is a *tad bigger :)  and when we eat, we do it assembly line style with me making them all up first!  We had "peppy pizza pasta" and broccoli with homemade butterscotch pudding for dessert (thanks to Nathan). My kids ate all their food and were on their pudding and Melissa's kids were still sitting in front of their full plates! Lol! Lilly was the only one who goggled it up fairly fast. Our kids are complete opposite when it comes to eating and I'm not sure which once is worse....having kids who hardly eat, or having kids who eat all the time!! :). The big meanie that I am made them all eat at least some before moving on to their pudding :)