Nelson had too much fun...

Nelson played non-stop all day. By the time we sat down to eat dinner, he got so tired he couldn't even wait for the pizza. He ate 2 breadsticks and fell asleep sitting up.

He's getting older, I'm not!

Travis and I packed up the 3 boys and headed to Greenville on Saturday for Travis's 10 yr college reunion. It was amazing to walk around campus. Some many things had changed, yet so many things were still the same!!! The soccer field was still the coldest place on campus. The boys had a great time playing with Madison, their new, pretty, friend. Maddox had fun watching Travis play and trying to escape his stroller. After the game, Travis went to Joy Hall to relive his early, young days. I took the older two boys to Ladue to drop them off. It was great! They got Happy Meals and Travis and I got a lunch with just one child to entertain instead of the normal 3. Maddox was way more interested in checking out the restaurant and all the new people than eating. After lunch, we went back to the soccer fields to play in all the fun bounce houses. Thankfully, Maddox finally stopped fighting sleep and napped while the boys and I played. (Travis was nice enough to sit in the van with Maddox) When Maddox woke up we went to the playground to play and kill some time before dinner at Mario's Pizza. Ah,
Mario's one of our favorite places from when we were both students.
We got to Mario's and found out that the pizza would take more than an hour to make. Thankfully we got salads and cheesey breadsticks to hold the boys over until the pizza came. All 3 boys fell asleep in the car on the way home. By 7:30PM all of us were in bed for the night. I guess Travis and I aren't as young as we would like to think we are.
Without further ado... The pictures I did think to take while we were there...

Travis training up the next great Greenville College soccer star.

Cooper and Nelson enjoying the playground epquipment at First Christain Church. This cool stuff wasn't there 10 yrs ago.

In light of #5 below...

Nelson brought me one of his smaller blankets. It has always been used as a traveling changer. He asked if I would please put it in Maddox's shirt so he could be Baby Superman. Now, I have Nelson in his "Batman Animal Blanket Cape" and Maddox in his "Blue Baby Superman Blanket Cape". I swear, I only give birth to superheroes... Now if only they can aquire some super powers! (Maddox can find the superpower of sleeping thru the night!)

Randomness from my head

1. How can I sleep 10+ hours and still wake up exhausted?
2. How can I have 5 boys in the house and fell lonely?
3. How can I do 4 loads of laundry and still have a mound that resembles a small mountain?
4. How can I have an almost 13 month old who can wear a pair of 3-6 month blue jeans?
5. How can I have a 4 year old that is still obsessed with superheroes? (seriously, he has to find something new soon, right?!?1?!)

Toby and Tallie cuteness...

Toby enjoys the boys' toys as much as they do. He's lying on top of their Rescue Hero boat/command center to get optimal sunlight.

Ferris boy cuteness.

Swing fun

This swing is a Ferris staple. Someone gave it to us when Cooper was a baby. Every one of our boys has enjoyed hours of entertainment swinging in our front yard. This might be the last child to enjoy it. We are talking about taking the tree down in the spring... We are sick of deep roots that interfere with our sewer pipes.

St. Louis has crazy weather!!!! These pictures were taken 2 days apart. Sunday, sunny and 85, Tuesday, breezy and barely 60.

What a week...

I've been helping a neighbor out. His 5yr old twins come every morning, play with my 3 boys, eat lunch with us, and then get on the bus right after Cooper. This is all fine and good until I absolutely have to leave the house.... Then I look like a crazy woman. Five boys, the oldest being 5.5 yrs old is not a pretty sight!!! I never knew my van could hold 5 boys (all but one in a carseat). I also never knew that 5 boys in a van could produce so much noise in such a short period of time. I wasn't to the end of the block and I was praying for the rapture to come at that very moment. Thankfully, we only had to venture out one time ,to bring Nelson to school.

Maddox has been crankier than usual, I found out Tuesday he has his first ear infection, I suppose I should be thankful that it's taken this long for him to get one. I'm not so thankful, I'm sick and tired of the whining, screaming, clinging, and all around unhappy child that has taken over Maddox's body.

Travis is on call this week, I usually love the extra time alone, this week, it's been aweful! He doesn't get home from work before 6:30PM, if I hold dinner for him, we eat, barely have time to bathe the boys and they have to go to bed. I'm thinking tonight, I may order pizza, eat it out of the box (less dishes that way), bathe the boys myself and have them in their jammies when Travis gets home. He can put them to bed and I can try to escape this zoo that once looked like my house.

A recent development (As in the last 2 minutes) I can no longer blog when Cooper is around. He's pointing to words and parts of words on the the screen and reading them to me. I will have to remind him that since I'm typing I know what all the letters and words say. (He knows the words "my", "me", "I", "a", "the", and "we". Those letters and words show up quite often in this post)

Fall Fun

It's sad when the 1yr can look at the camera and look normal, but the schoolagers can't seem to get it together.

Daddy proud of the little man picking out the perfect pumpkin.

Games, games, and more games. This patch was the best! It was full of tons of activities for all the boys and it had wagons to pull pumpkins or little boys in.

Cooper's Fall party.

We are struggling to get the boys to look at the camera and look normal... Hopefully I'll have the kinks worked out by the time we take our Christmas picture.

The pizza shaped like a Jack-O-Lantern. One of the families in Cooper's class owns a local pizza place, this pizza was made especially for the class party.

Yummy Mashed Potatoes

Travis and I weren't keeping Maddox's plate full enough last night. He took matters into his own hands and climbed out of his chair (that he was buckled into) and on to the table to get more potatoes.

Cazy Monday...

You all know how I feel about Mondays. Today was especially a doozy. Travis's car is over heating on a regular basis, that's not a good thing. We decided to drop it off this morning and have me bring him into work. That's all fine and good. I bring him in, get the boys home, fed, dressed, and Nelson to school. I then realize the throat thing that I've been fighting since Saturday is not getting better, and possibly worse. I know yelling at the TV last night and screaming is sweet victory with the Bears when they clobbered the Packers didn't help either. I went into the doctor, got diagnosed with an ear infection and a virus, was handed two Rx and sent on my merry way. Since Maddox fell asleep on the way home, I decided naps were more imprtant than runs thru the drive-thru pharmacy. Maddox woke up and in an attempt to save a few dollars on the Rx I decided to bring them to Walmart. They didn't have the right information on file, I didn't have the right card in my wallet, so all that for nothing! I did find some great DVDs for Travis and some juice bottles for the older 2 boys, so don't worry, the trip wasn't a complete bust. Travis finally called to tell me where to meet him and his gracious friend who agreed to bring him partially home so I didn't have to drive all the way to his office to get him. As I was hanging up with him, he asked what we were having for dinner. DINNER!!! I forgot to even think about that. I had just over an hour to pick him up, make and eat dinner, and get myself and the boys to Bible Study. That was not enough time to accomplish all that had to still be done. I decided to do something I've never done in the history of being a stay at home mom (over 5 yrs wih no end in sight) I drove thru a drive-thru because I forgot to think about dinner. Don't worry, I made it well worth our forgetfulness. We dined on KFC!!! One of my favorite things in the entire world. I got the taigaters feast (perhaps I was still on a high from last night's game). I then decided to "splurge" and get two orders of apple turnovers for dessert. We get home, eat dinner, and decide to enjoy yummy apple turnovers before we have to jet out to Bible Study. THEY WEREN'T THERE!!!!!! I called and asked them to credit my card the amount of the turnovers, they couldn’t. So, after Bible Study Cooper and I drove to get my prescriptions and to KFC to get the missing turnovers. (Nelson fell asleep eating his chicken leg at dinner so he skipped Bible Study tonight) Not only did I get the turnovers, they gave me a chocolate cake too because I had to drive there. I came home, and decided I had to have my turnover, it was hot, smelled good, and was screaming my name! I went to get it and discovered they had given me extras!!!! Now I have some for breakfast tomorrow too! For being a crazy Monday, it sure ended great!!!!!

You would think...

You would think the more kids you have, the more times you go every month to get pictures taken that first year you would learn... Nope, we never learn. I purposely scheduled Maddox's one yr picture of after dinner on a Friday night. In my brain, it seemed like the perfect way to start a weekend. Dinner as a family, jet off to get the picture, come home, put monkeys in bed, clean out the toy boxes and go to bed.
NONE of it went that way.
1. No dinner at home. We packed the boys up and decided to eat at the food court (yeah, nothing but the best for our boys!)
2. We got to the picture place and they were running behind and short staffed. What should have been quick and easy was long and not so fun!! Maddox did not cooperate at all.
3. We did make it home in one piece, and managed to get the boys to bed *almost* on time.
4. The toys are not that inviting tonight. I am sure they will still be piled, spilled, and all over the place tomorrow after my coffee date. Besides, I wouldn't want to get too ambitioius and have nothing to look forward to tomorrow morning when Maddox wakes me up before the sun rises.
5. Bed,ahhh, what a great idea!

Mid-week entertainment

What is his name? Travis Michael Ferris
How long have you been together? We started dating in August of 1996 and got married in August of 1999
How old is he? 32
Who eats more? He does
Who said I love you first? He did
Who is taller? Travis, barely
Who sings better? It's a toss up
Who is smarter? Depends on the subject matter.
Whose temper is worse? We tend to both be rather hot headed!
Who does the laundry? I do, but he does all the ironing.
Who does the dishes? Our dishwasher, but Travis loads it most nights.
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Travis does, it's closer to the alarm clock.
Who pays the bills? I do.
Who mows the lawn? Travis does, I have never pushed a laun mower and don't plan on starting to.
Who cooks dinner? Me
Who drives when you are together? Him
Who is more stubborn? We are equally stubborn.
Who is the first to admit when they're wrong? Me, I hate fighting.
Whose parents do you see the most? Mine
Who kissed who first? He initiated the first kiss, but we kissed at the same time.
Who asked who out? He asked me first.
Who proposed? Travis
Who is more sensitive? ME!!! I'm a ball of hormones.
Who has more friends? I think him, but just because he interacts with more people during the day.
Who has more siblings? Him
Who wears the pants in the family? Depends on the issue at hand.
Oh, and if you read this, I'm officially tagging you!!!!