7 QT on the Last Friday in February! (We made it!)

Joining Kelly because she's the bomb.

1)

My oldest baby turned TWELVE this week!

His brothers teased him - "Oh, you're three years old?"

John-Paul got a stylus for his Kindle Fire...

A locker organizer for school...

I promise, he asked for these gifts!

A chess set and book from Nana & Gramps...

And finally, a nongeeky present for our favorite little geek...

An Airsoft gun and target!  

He was so thrilled, and his brothers are so jealous because *new rule alert* you have to be 12 to use one in this house.

2)

Since J-P and I share a birthday, we are supposed to decide together what we want the birthday meal to be.  But of course, I let him choose it.  And in turn, he picks my favorite meal.  Birthday buddies are the best!  So Phil made us an easier weeknight version of chicken cordon bleu with rice and broccoli...

3)

Phil ordered us this big cookie cake for dessert, bought some ice cream, and made homemade hot fudge and whipped cream...

We celebrate birthdays even in Lent...in case you were scandalized.  Sorry not sorry, you can't choose your birthday!

4)

Alexander made me this rainbow card, and I was so proud of his little 3 year old handwriting!  He writes his name as Alex, because it's what the teachers call him in school.  Plus, 4 letters for the win!  He thought the day of our birthday meant a no-school day, so he was disappointed when we loaded in the car to go to school, but the birthday donuts on the way lifted his spirit!

Such a little stinker :)

5)

Daffodils on the table.  That means Spring is near!!!!  Although we literally have 4 feet piles of snow, so I'm not sure how long it will take us to see the grass.

My favorite flowers.

New dress and first time I've ever worn a belt, 36 will be a year of trying new things, I hope...

6)

Last night we all went to the boys basketball game (they have 4 this week!) and one of my friend's commented that Declan didn't even seem bothered by the loud buzzer and noisy crowd.  I told her it's not much different than home.  #sixthbabyproblemz

What?  I couldn't hear you over all the noise!

He's developing quite a funny personality...

Can't believe he'll be 11 months old in a few days!

7)

Groupon has a good deal right now on one of the inns we like to stay in when we go to North Conway, NH.  So I snatched it up for an end-of-the-school-year-but-before-Phil-starts-summer-camp vacation.  I can not wait for warm weather and some fun OUTDOOR family time!  North Conway is my happy place, but after two nights in a loft with 6 kids, I'll probably be like:

BONUS:

What color(s) is this dress?

I can't believe all the media coverage this is getting, but my husband and I see completely different colors!  So weird!

Now go have a lovely last weekend in February, and quit yer whining!

:)

Merino Kids Sleep Sack, A Review

Declan was asked to review the Merino Kids sleep sack, and since he doesn't have too many obligations at the moments, he happily agreed.  We chose the sleep sack in the Banbury design, and it fit like a charm:

I agreed to what?

What's that, Declan?  You have a question?

But what's it made of?

Glad you asked!  The Merino Kids Sleep Sack is made from soft, superfine Merino Wool covered by organic cotton.

Raise the roof for luxurious comfort!!

I know, I couldn't believe how soft and comfy it felt either!  

But what happens when you want to transport me straight to the carseat from the crib?

Another good question from my genious 10 month old.  On those busy mornings when we're running out the door into the freezing cold winter, we can just leave you in it and the sack is specially designed that we can buckle you up without removing it.

Soft AND safe?  These people thought of everything!

 I know, right?!?  And they come in lots of colors and sizes, see for yourself on their website.  (Side note, if we ever have another baby, their swaddle that can go from carseat to crib looks amazing!)

And the best part of the deal?  He fell right asleep!!

Merino Kids Sleep Sack for the win!

What I Did Over February Vacation, A Week in Review

Wanna hear a lemons-to-lemonade story?  

Every year, we get a week off from school (which means work for us too) in the middle of February.  I think maybe this is a New England thing, but I'm  not sure.  Anyway, we had planned on taking the kids to Hilton Head, South Carolina for the week because my parents were renting a place there.  But the closer it got to the break, the more huge snow storms we had, the more illnesses we kept catching, we decided not to go.  A 20 hour drive each way wouldn't be worth it if someone was sick, or if the weather was bad.  As luck would have it, we did get another big snow storm the day we were supposed to leave, and Declan and I had nasty colds.  

To make up for the disappointment of no vacation, we told the kids we would do something fun everyday.  So here's what we did...

Saturday

Valentine's Day breakfast out at one of our favorite local restaurants, and then I took the kids to see the Sponge Bob movie.  I can't stand cartoons, except Peg + Cat, but the kids seemed to think it was funny.   

Sunday

We woke up to more snow!  Since we were home bound, Sunday's fun activity was a camp out sleepover in the family room.

Monday

Phil took the kids to Chuck E. Cheese because he is a glutton for punishment.  :)

That night, we went to a local restaurant and played trivia with some coworkers and won!  Phil named our team "50 Grades of A" because it was a group of teachers.  So punny, that man o' mine.

Tuesday

JP got his bottom braces (oh the pain!) , and we went to Coldstone Creamery for Fat Tuesday.  Yum!

Wednesday

I had to work and Phil had a camp meeting with the administrators at the kids' school, so all of their respective kids got to play together.  15 kids in all!  Then they came home and went sledding.  Declan worked on his Couch to Walking program :)

Thursday

Two of the kid's friends came over, and they went out for frozen yogurt (we do a lot of eating when we plan fun things!)

Friday

Family bowling with a groupon!  And cousins!

I lost the first round, but something happened in the second round, and my inner bowler came out.  I got a turkey (I'm "C" in the photo below)! Phil would like me to clarify that I got those strikes with bumpers in the gutters.  I would like to clarify that some people are sore losers ;)

Saturday

This was the biggest day of fun for the big boys in the family.  One of our friends won tickets to the Monster Truck Jam, which included seats in the judges' booth and VIP passes to meet the drivers.  She couldn't use them, and graciously offered them to us, so Phil took J-P, Andrew and Eamon to celebrate J-P's 12th birthday in Monster Truck Style.  Phil even got to be one of the six judges, which he said was pretty intense!

While they were doing guy stuff, I took Magie, Xander, and Declan to a Children's Museum on Cape Cod, because playas gotta play, and making a mess of an indoor children's museum sounded a lot more appealing then letting them destroy my house.  We went with a friend and her three kids too, and the kids had lots of fun and all fell asleep on the way home.  Winning!

Today we have a basketball game for J-P and Andrew, and lots of eating sweets and junk food to do, I think that counts as fun on this Lenten Sunday.  And that's another February vacation for the (digital scrap) books.