Fun times at the Beach with the kids!

Last Monday, the kids and I went to the beach with my Grandma, Aunt, and cousins. My cousin's daughter was here visiting from Washington, so they invited us to join them for a picnic and a day of sun in the sand! Tallyn is the same age as Jacob and Alyssa so they had a blast together; flying the kites, finding shells with Grandma, and trying to build a sand castle...minus the little boys' help!





By the time early afternoon rolled around, everyone was striping off their sweatshirts and it was off to the water. Mason, Brandon and Cohen weren't sure they liked the waves and seaweed all over them, but they quickly got used to it.



We stayed on the beach for about 3 hours and then decided to head back to the park and have some watermelon, Grandma's homemade sugar cookies, and soda. The little boys were getting crabby, so off we left...of course stopping at the outlet mall on the way by.



I was glad to be able to spend time with my family. I don't get to see them very often; it was nice to catch up!

Update on life book!

About three weeks ago I took in a 4 1/2 month old baby girl that was just the cutest thing you ever saw- until you put her down.

The first couple of days I had her, she was only here for about 4 or 5 hours at a time and I though the crying might be because she didn't know me and she had never been away from her Mom- WRONG!

Last week, I started having her 9 1/2 hours a day when Mom went back to work. The mornings started out good, and it just progressively got worse. She is a breast fed baby and had never taken a bottle before, so needless to say, the first day when she ate 2 1/2 oz. in a 9.5 hour day, I was pretty excited. I was happy to get something in her!

Jacob and Mason were excited to have a cute little baby here to play with; well Jacob anyway, but that quickly changed as well. By Wednesday, everyone was on edge and really not liking the cute little bundle of screaming flesh. One of my other childcare kids called the baby a robot. When ever you put her down she would scream until she would not make sound. As soon as you picked her up, she would instantly stop-she was like a robot with an on and off switch.

On Wednesday, I told her Mom that I didn't think it was going to work out and that I would let her know on Friday if I would be able to watch her anymore. I told her it just wasn't fair to her daughter or the other four children I care for. The little boys walked around with their fingers in their ears, and the two bigs wouldn't come down from upstairs-not even to eat! Her Mom was upset, but I had to think of the other children, as well as my sanity.

Last Friday was the babies last day, and I am sad to say that I was happy to see her go. I don't like to admit defeat, but I just couldn't take it anymore. I quit my job so that I could say at home and play with my kids, not to sit and hold a stranger's child all day!

*Now I am going to get on my soap box a minute!

1. If you are going back to work after your child is born, DO NOT sit and hold your baby all day long! You can spoil them, and it won't continue at daycare!
2. If you breast fed you baby, try to introduce the bottle early in their life, and don't force your childcare provider to be the one to break them!
3. BE HONEST! If your child is difficult, say that up front!

Day at the Park!

Today, Ryan and I decide to pack a picnic lunch and take the kids to the Discovery Park in McMinnville. We collected some sand toys, bubbles and of course, swim clothes. Before we left, we sat the kids down, went over the rules and consequences, and off we went.

When we got there we sat down for some peanut butter sandwiches, string cheese, apples, grapes and water, then in the sand they went. The little boys had a hard time keeping up the big ones and quickly got discouraged. There were a lot of people there, so the big kids went to the play structure and the little ones went to the little one. After about 10 minutes, they all decided to head to the fountains.

At first the little boys were not so sure if they liked the idea of running through, but after a little help from Jacob and Alyssa, off they went. They were having so much fun. Brandon was putting his face over the holes waiting for the water to come up and Mason was running like a wild man. They were so cute.

When Ryan and I got too hot, after about 2 hours, it was time to have some snack and head for home. Before we left the parking lot Brandon was asleep and Mason was not far behind.

On the way home, we stopped at Farmer John's for some milk shakes, juice and strawberries. We were successful with the shakes and juice, but no berries, maybe next time!