A Haircut, a Birthday, and a Party

Whew!  The past few days have flown by in a whirlwind.  It's funny...I have so many fabulous ideas of what I'm going to accomplish when I wake up in the morning and then the reality of having a house full of children sets in!  Take today for example.  We were going to have a full day of school and check off all the boxes on my "to-do" list.  However, Haley woke up with a barking cough and sore throat that she's been battling for a few days.  So, after quick getting our math done, it was off to the doctor.  She needed an antibiotic, so we headed to Target.  Then it was lunch time and we ate at the kids' favorite Pizza Hut. On the way home, I was thinking about how beautiful the weather was and asked the children if they'd like to stop and play at a park. They all screamed, "YES!" and we stopped to play and enjoy the gorgeous fall day.  We got home, I put the baby down for her nap and then put away our Target supplies.  Now, it is 2:00 and here I am.  So much for my plan, huh?  I'm proud of myself for living in the moment instead of stressing about getting my check list all checked off.  I've come a long way these past few years!

Last week, our Lillian asked to get her hair cut.  She has the most beautiful, fine hair.  The problem with it, is that it snarls and she detests having it brushed .  It was a guaranteed battle each and every morning to get her snarls brushed out which is not the ideal way to begin each day, so I agreed to have her hair cut.  In the past, I've always cut her hair.  This time, we went to the salon (aka Great Clips) and she thought it was great.  She talked the lady's ear off and had a blast.  I do have to say, that our mornings get off to a much better start without the battle of the hair brush!

Lillian with her long, snarl-prone hair.

There's no going back now - the ponytail has been cut off!

The new and improved (attitude!) Lillian with her super cute hair-do!

Baby Esther turned one on Sunday.  She has 4 teeth and is getting into everything just as any self-respecting one year old would do!  She is absolutely adored by all her siblings and we feel so blessed to have her in our family.

Esther wasn't a big fan of the birthday cupcakes, but manged to get orange frosting everywhere!

Esther Therese is one year old!

Also on Sunday, we had a costume party for some of our home schooling friends.  I don't worry about my kids and their "socializing", but I do want them to have opportunities to attend parties.  School parties are some of my fondest childhood memories.  We had about 40 people here and had a great time.  There were sack races, three legged races, balloon stomp, donut eating contest and just time to run around and be kids.  Then we ate (potluck) and had time to chat.  Very simple, but immensely entertaining.

Balloon stomp chaos!

Donut eating contest - no hands!

And while I was going through pictures, I found this one of me reading stories to Eleanor and Lillian before bed.  You know the drill, "Just one more story, pppplllleeeassseee!" :-)

One of my favorite mom duties!

That's the past few days.  Tomorrow is Joseph's 7th birthday.  He's so excited he literally can't stand still!  That boy eats, sleeps and dreams LEGOs....he can hardly wait to see if he's getting any for his birthday. 

God Bless!

Heather :-)