Turn Off The Television

An amazing thing happens when you unplug the TV. Better yet, completely cut it off!!

Several months ago we (re)cutoff our cable.  Though it was not the first time to cut the television off, it's still hard to give something up once your used to it.  

But cool things happen when you do!!!

Your kids PLAY OUTSIDE!

And GET CREATIVE!

And PLAY TOGETHER!

Wow...what a crazy concept!

My kids have come up with the most creative games since it's not so easy to jump on the couch and push a button!

Today, they made a hotel outside by raking trails in the leaves.  Never mind that I just raked 2 big piles of leaves to bag up....but they were being creative and using their little heads!!

They made rooms for all their friends!  It was so fun listening to them  play...and get along.  Yes, there are many times my kids actually don't get along.  Shocker, huh.  ;-)

Then, they even had a sweet little moment that they let me capture on camera!!!!

They are all touching each other!!  lol  AND smiling! :-)

We have spent several hours outside the past couple of days since they've been out of school, and it's been GREAT!!!!  Though my house is suffering a bit, THE KIDS are having a blast!!!


*FYI   We do have over the air channels and netflix for rainy days.  So we're not completely cut off.  But most of the time, trying to get the antenna to lay just right is too much trouble for us, so we just skip it all together!  But I have seen a change in the kids since "unplugging" a bit.  :-)  Especially how creative they get with what they have to play with already!!!  And yes, we're blessed with a great driveway, backyard, and neighborhood that makes it easy to stay outside for long periods of time!!  And the weather hasn't been to shabby either!!!!

The Kids Just LOVED Carving Pumpkins...

The kids were so thrilled to carve pumpkins.  They all helped carry the pumpkins down by the water to get them ready to carve!

Rhodes supervised things as they all helped gather supplies. 

They watched as every saw, back and forth, of the knife went through their pumpkins!

They happily cleaned them out in order to get them ready for the faces they picked out!

Everyone was full of smiles and excitement!!

They could hardly contain themselves!!!

I was proud of MY pumpkin...aka Lillian's.

They couldn't wait for Dad to come help with the other two pumpkins!

Olivia and Landon picked out the two most intricate designs in the carving kit!  They were so eager to help and watch Dad carve away!

Meanwhile, Rhodes had a little reading time with Daddy Doc!

Robert tediously worked away as the children watched in anticipation to see what the finished product would look like!  They couldn't wait to see the final product!!!

Landon picked out a cat!?!?  Our favorite animal.  Well, it is and "evil" holiday anyways...and you know where cats come from!  ;-)

Now the part that the kids weren't interested in at ALL!  They look pretty unamused...right?!

Now back to no sarcasm....as was all the text above.
So even Robert and I did all the pumpkin activities, the kids did enjoy lighting them up!  It was just so funny to see them so uninterested in something they said they couldn't wait to do!!

They turned out GREAT!  Don't ya think???

Pure.Raw.SugarHigh

Anyone else coming down from a Sugar High today?!??!?

Thankfully, no one has thrown up...yet.

Got Our Craft On

Happy Monday!!

As y'all know, I'm not the craftiest person out there.  Yes, I sew a little but that's about it.

I do, though, have a small "craft box" tucked away in my closet for certain times like this:

Our annual PUMPKIN PAINTING!  ;-)

The kids love this so much.  And it's so easy and inexpensive! 

We hiked our dress up to not get paint on it!

Rhodes ate collected acorns for us.

Olivia painted Ole Miss on one of her pumpkins.  And it was TOTALLY her idea! :-)

Lillian's painted her a little more abstract!

Landon....going for the more literal "paint a face on the pumpkin" look. 

This guy gave me some looks that day!  Look at that belly!  It was so hot I just let him run around in his diaper and shirt!  Shoes necessary because of all the acorns!

SO serious!  She's actually quite the little artist when she wants to be!

Trouble.  With 5 teeth and 2 more about to come through! Yikes!

Going up.down.up.down. the stairs.  He's a pro now.

Rhodes did not escape without getting into a little paint....

Cleaning up!

I don't even have pictures of the final pumpkins! :-( But it was a good hour or so of fun!!!


Just wait until I show you the pumpkins we CARVED!!!! :-)

Getaway

Well hello friends! Whew...what a crazy past 6 weeks it's been. It's been 6 weeks full of adjusting and learning how to manage the new size of our family. How I meet needs of everyone has shifted and my time is 100% consumed. Yes, I actually had "down time" before Rhodes was born. But I think I'm finally figuring out how to account for 4 little bodies running around, a wonderful and helpful husband - and on top of that, decently caring for my home.

But on a high note....we are also starting to get a few smiles out of Rhodes every once in a while - though he refuses to do it for his own MOTHER!! But boy I can't wait until he does. Because for 9 months I carried this little man and now my body is working overtime to nourish him....so it sure would be nice to get some confirmation that a he's happy little fellow and loves his mommy.


He's looking at Robert in this picture! Go figure. (btw - loving the dimples he inherited from his daddy) :-)

We did finally get to sneak away from home for the weekend. We went to the lake for a couple of days and it was SO nice to get out of the house. I really needed a change of scenery. I love my house and all, but I've felt a little house ridden - even though we're on the go quite a bit.

Not to mention on this trip I was going to have 5 adults per 4 kids....which is a much better ratio than the 1:4 ratio that I have going on most days 'round here.


At the lake we enjoyed the nice FRESH air! It was cool - a nice change in my opinion. We did a lot of "Going on a Bear Hunt" walks...and playing outdoors!









Rhodes did a lot of sitting in the bouncer. But he was a trooper and did great all weekend.



Robert thinks it's so funny that he'll suck on anything - whether it's Robert's knuckles...or his nose. :-)


We carved pumpkins on Saturday!



Checking out the insides...she's not so sure about all those seeds.


Daddy with a knife...WATCH OUT!


But Landon with a knife....hide yourself and your children!




They turned out GREAT!!


The kids also caught a baby snake. And totally weren't scared of it. Anybody know what kind it is?? And no, we didn't bring it home...though they wanted to SOO badly.


We even tailgated at the Auburn game this weekend and got to visit with my brother! Nothing like hanging out at a fraternity house to make you feel old.



And there's also nothing like a drunk guy asking you if you have a dog on your chest and making a fool of himself. Seriously...does it look I have a dog on me?




Anyway, we survived our first family trip. It was fun and we didn't forget anyone or anything!! Though I think traveling will only get harder the older Rhodes gets. :-)

One more pic of that little man...I love this picture. And I love him! "Are you lookin' at me?"