What smells?

I love the smell of....

Fresh cut grass.  Especially when the air is a bit damp and the smell just lingers.
 

Downy Fabric Softener in Lavender.

Method hand soap Coconut Cranberry. (Its like mixing summer with Christmas!)

Baking chocolate (whether its a cake or chocolate chip cookies). But who doesn't???

Burt's Bees Baby Bee Shampoo & Wash

I know its fall when...

I know its Fall when...

Starbucks brings back the Pumpkin Spice Latte to the menu!

Myrtle Beach

Over the weekend, our family took a little vacation to Myrtle Beach. It was quite a bit colder than we were expecting so the boogie boards were left in the car but the boys were still able to find some sea shells.  

Mark's brother and his wife joined us as well.  She is my business partner for S.T. Wedding Designs and this trip was our celebration for getting through the bridal show in August.

After a very long day of outlet shopping on Saturday, we promised the boys we'd take them to mini-golf.  We found a great place at Broadway on the Beach called Dragon's Lair.  The 18 holes wound through a castle.  Austin even hit a hole-in-one!  

Last time we took the boys to Myrtle Beach, two year ago, we had them each sit on a cow.  This year it was dinosaurs.

Who could resist with such big nostrils?

Next year we plan on going in June so we can guarantee some ocean time.  The weather was beautiful for the other outdoor activities though and it was nice to get away for a couple of days.

8 babies in 8 months!

This is the craziest baby season EVER!

August-Myah

September-Allison (Allie)

October-Brayden (who was born early, Sept 14)

November-Cameron

December-Autumn

January-Chloe

February-TBA (boy)

And the newest addition to the bunch:

March-TBA (undetermined)

My hubby is so happy we "invested" in permanent birth control.  And I am happy I get to shop in the baby section for a reason again, instead of just scouting and daydreaming.  Also, that I can enjoy the babies while sleeping peacefully through the night.

Flashback with a Tune

Have you ever heard a song and had your mind flash back to a memorable place/time/people?  I have a few that do this for me.

"Always Be My Baby"-Mariah Cary
     This song always reminds me of jumping on my best friend's trampoline in the summer time.  It reminds
     me of the trees, and her dad's stained glass studio and multiple barns and the little oasis her family built in  
     the middle of Port Huron.

"Ten Rounds with Jose Cuervo"-Tracy Byrd
     Wildcat Road.  This song seemed to play all the time during my daily drive to and from Croswell.  The
     current hit by Rodney Atkins, "Take a Back Road" also reminds of this drive. I do miss the dirt roads,
     acres upon acres of fields and trees and the gas station in Jeddo.

"Arms Wide Open"-Creed
     This is Jacob's song.  Mark heard this song while I was pregnant with Jacob and it really touched him.
     Even brought him to tears because he couldn't quite express how he felt about the baby until he had a song
     to relate it to.  This song played over and over and over during the nine months I carried Jake and Mark
     even heard it on his way back to the hospital after making a run home for my bag and crossword puzzles.

There are so many more. Music is such an important expression of those things you can't quite put into your own words.  Whether it be rock or country or gospel, it ties people together.  And in my mind, memories.

Reward System

At the beginning of summer I attempted to teach the boys household AND financial responsibility by doling out daily chores with an allowance.  As is typical with my children, after the first two-three weeks, the chores did not get done without hounding them and therefore allowances were withheld for incomplete charts.

While scanning through apps on my iphone I came across a great reward system but instead of purchasing the app to keep track of rewards I bought glass jars.

I created a list for each of the boys based on their age and abilities.  There are basic items such as brushing their teeth and doing homework along with actual household chores that would help Mommy out immensely like unloading the dishwasher and putting away their own laundry.  Each task has a # of stars associated with it. The more difficult or excessive the task the more # of stars they will receive.  There is a minimum of 6 stars per day with a maximum of 16 stars.

Each boy has a jar with his name on it where he will put the stars he is awarded each day.  These stars can be redeemed upon their discretion for various rewards.  The reward list is written out and displayed by the jars and charts as motivation.  They range from a redbox movie rental for 30 stars to a bookstore purchase for 100 stars to a trip to Marbles Museum for 250 stars.

 

I believe this system will work because the boys are more in control.  If they chose not to do the tasks then it only hurts themselves.  And they control the reward as well so depending on what they really want will teach them the reality of saving or spending.  Plus this is all plastered directly outside their door so hopefully that's a reminder in itself to take care of their responsibilities!

PB Cookies

Austin started kindergarten yesterday. They have staggered entry here which means one half of the class started yesterday and the other half started today.  Today he was home with me while the other kids and parents are acquainted with the classroom.  One of Austin's favorite things to do is bake.  Since he was an infant he has spent countless hours in the kitchen with Papa Orange cooking.  Austin and my quality time often consists of baking cookies or brownies or cake or whatever we have around.

Today we made my favorite peanut butter cookies.  I love it because the recipe is so easy and quick and almost flawless!  Plus you can add a little chocolate at the end.

1. Combine one egg, one cup of creamy peanut butter and one cup of sugar in a bowl.  Use electric mixer so everything blends well.

2. Roll mix into balls and place 1" apart on cookie sheet.

3. Bake at 350 for approx 10 minutes.

4. If you'd like, push a hershey kiss in the center of each ball or flatten gently with a spoon. Remove from cookie sheet and let cool.

We didnt have any hershey kisses but I did have chocolate chips. Voila!