Tuesday Tidbits

As many of you know, my parents are living with us right now. Their house sold on January 16, 2015 and they are staying with us until they find their new house. It may be existing, it may be one they will build, still waiting for the final answer on that one. They are leaning towards building which means in all likelihood, they will be here for awhile. Now I understand that there are some out there that would go crazy living with their parents, but not me. I'm having the time of my life. :)

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Jason and I have booked a vacation to Florida. We leave in 26 days...well, I mean...um...well ...who's really counting anyways? Ok, so yes I will admit it, I have an app for my vacation countdown. We are going to Orlando for a long weekend and are going without the kids. I can hardly believe it as I type it. Jason and I haven't been on a vacation just the two of us for 8 years...and that was for a 4 day trip to Boston to celebrate our 5 year wedding anniversary. Wow...back then it was just Ben and Ella. How our family has grown. I'll admit that I'm a bit torn. Super excited to get to spend some time with just Jason, but I know that I will miss the kids a ton. But what will I like most of all? The warm weather. And palm trees.

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Rosie, our doggie, hates the crate. She turns into a freakish mess when we need to leave somewhere and she has to go into it. We always reward her with doggie treats for going into it and praise her when we get home for doing a good job. But nothing changes her opinion of the thing. She shakes something terrible...Ella has coined it "vibrating" because she shakes so bad. Which of course makes all of us feel terribly guilty and cruel. So today, we decided to let her try just hanging around the house while we were gone. We weren't too sure what kind of shape our house would be when we came home, but much to our surprise she didn't chew a thing, scratch any woodwork, pee on any carpet, or generally tear our house apart. Thank goodness...cause I can't handle those pathetic puppy-dog eyes she gives me when I put my shoes on.

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I'm trying contacts out this week. Well, to be fair, I also tried some out last week. Multi-focal lenses...can't say I'm a fan. Everything was blurry and I would have to take the things out just to see something. I scraped those and am now trying monovision. One contact corrects the farsighted and one contact corrects the nearsighted. Now just to get my brain to figure out when it needs to use which eye. I'm so hoping that this works, because I am not ready for bifocal glasses. I just can not bring myself to wear those things.

Tuesday Tidbits

 

 

I overheard Lily and Hattie playing together yesterday. As a side note, these two play super-duper well together. Lily has such an interest in Hattie and that little girl will follow her big sister just about anywhere. Anyway, back to the thought at hand...I overheard them playing together...

 

Lily: Hattie, come on! Let's go play Baby Factory!!

 

 

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We are getting ready to leave for Thanksgiving up at Grammie and Papa's house. I can't wait to go and spend some much needed quite time up there. With the impending move coming soon, there's not much time left to enjoy the house and the all memories it holds. Seems I'm not the only one as the kids are feeling some of the same things.

 

 

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Grammie came to visit this past week and Ben asked what time she was going to be here. I answered and asked him why? He answered I haven't seen her in so long, I can hardly remember what she looks like. Aaahhh, I'm thinking the boy misses his Grammie. And now I'm fairly certain she won't go so long without a visit again. ;)

 

 

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Hattie has started talking up a storm! She has so many words in her vocabulary now. The other day I heard her say "mon, Daddy" (translation: c'mon daddy).

 

 

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This dog may be the death of me. On yesterday's chew list: Hattie's pink blanket, Lily's headband, 2 socks, and a domino. Before you judge, Yes...I had the kids exercise her outside, yes...she had a doggie bone to chew on, and yes...she had had plenty of play time. If dogs could talk, my first question would be "why don't you choose the bone when it's right next to you?!?"

 

 

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Off to enjoy some homemade m&m cookies. A rarity in this house so I'm gonna savor every bite. Not to mention that I am soon to be on a real health kick. Will tell why in another post.



Tuesday Tidbits

 

I'm completely missing being on vacation. It's back to the grindstone...back to normal life. We returned from vacation on Saturday and I was awoken at 3:45am Sunday morning by a feverish baby. We have spent the past 48 hours with a very owly Hattie. After two nights of incredibly restless sleep, I'm happy to report the fever seems to have broken.

 

 

If this blog post seems a bit "off"...chalk it up to sleep deprivation. This mama is tired.

 

 

I'm still working my way through vacation laundry. It's amazing how much needs to be washed when it's been accumulating for a week. I've only got 2 loads left to wash...but..*ahem*...about 5 to fold. Laundry has got to be my least favorite household chore.

 

 

Today's high is 67 degrees for July 1st. I am loving it! It has been hot and humid and this cooler weather is a wonderful break. Did I mention it's also supposed to be cloudy all day? My favorite weather is overcast and breezy. I don't worry about the kids (or me) getting sunburned, I don't get a headache from the sunshine, and the breeze feels like silk on your face. I may just spend most of my day outdoors. :)

 

 

We missed doggie obedience class last night because Jason missed the train. I'm feeling quite certain we are not going to graduate next week. Have I mentioned that dogs are a lot of work? Wish my parents would have told me that before I went out and got one of my own! Oh, wait...what's that you say? They did tell me? Over and over? What! Was I listening?!?

 

 

I made eggbake yesterday and saved half for today's breakfast and I made double lasagna casserole last night for supper...which means I don't have to cook a meal until supper tonight. Yipee! I love it when good plan comes together like that!

 

 

And the most noteworthy tidbit. And I'm gonna say this quiet so as not to jinx myself. I think the fleas are gone. We haven't had a bite in 2 weeks now. Keeping my fingers crossed those critters are gone.

 



Tuesday Tidbits

 

 

We had a busy weekend. Most of my family came to visit for the weekend. Zyra and Aaliyah came on Thursday evening, Mom and Dad arrived Friday afternoon, Jamie came Friday night, and Jill and Joren showed up on Saturday morning. To say sleeping space was at a premium is an understatement.

 

 

Since my niece, Aaliyah, is on spring break, she is spending the week with Grammie and Papa. And since we haven't taken a spring break yet, what better week than this one? So guess who also make the trip up north? I am sans two children this week. Ben and Ella were super excited to be able to go. It's amazing how having two less mouths to feed makes for such a quick meal and clean-up. It also makes for a lot less mess in the house. Hmmm...come to think of it, it also makes a lot less noise. ;)

 

 

It's tax day, and in true Hubler fashion, we Jason finished them up last night. Oh, the difference between a type A, planner personality and a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants type personality. This time of year always gives me heart palpatations. In Jason's defense, we've never filed late.

 

 

Remember how excited I was to see the return of spring? Well, as irony would have it, it's a whopping 21 degrees outside today. Brrr. Seriously so tired of being trapped indoors.

 

 

Lily is loving the Fancy Nancy book we got from the library this week. I'm pretty sure she wants to  be fancy just like her.

 

 

The Frozen song "Let It Go" is still as popular as ever in our house. How many weeks can this go on?!? Cora asks to watch the Youtube video every. single. day. However, it has taken a new twist. We found this version. It's by Hyolyn and she is korean. Cora cannot get enough of it. There are times that she is singing the song to herself and I can't understand a word of it...I wonder if she is trying to sing it in korean. You can tell there is something comforting to her when she is listening to it.

 

 

We had a little bday party for Hattie with my family this weekend. Pics will be coming soon. Suffice it to say, she liked, adored, all-out loved her chocolate cupcake.

 

 

On tap for today...a day full of reading books to the girls, sipping hot tea, researching some one year old birthday shoot ideas, and just enjoying the day...it's my spring break too, afterall. 

Tuesday Tidbits

 

Yesterday was awesome! The weather was amazing. 50 degrees can feel so incredibly warm when you are used to below zero temps. The kids all put on their coats and played on the back porch for quite a while. I was hoping the fresh air would wear them out, but instead Cora woke up at 6:35 this morning. Apparently she didn't get the memo to sleep in...or at the very least sleep until regular time. *sigh*

 

 

We made the most incredible creamy chocolate avocado smoothie to go with our lunch today. I added some frozen strawberries in as well and it was a huge hit. The lunch table was so quiet. You know it's a good meal when the chitter-chatter is kept to a mimimum. I would almost venture to say that lunch left me feeling a little relaxed. Almost.

 

 

We lost our cat 13 days ago, amazing how it feels like so much longer than that. I just had a friend tell me that they have to put their dog of 14 years down tomorrow and she asked for prayers. I let Ella know since she is good friend's with her oldest daughter and that she could pray for her friend broken heart. Ella's eyes welled up with tears and she quietly said "That's really hard stuff." Her tender heart was breaking for what she knew her friend is going to have to go through tomorrow. A pet can teach you so many things...including compassion and empathy.

 

 

Hattie took a record 9 minute nap yesterday. Yes, nine minutes. No, that's not a typo. That's not even enough time to check on the other kids, go use the bathroom, and start to look for a snack. Seriously, why doesn't this child like sleep? If anyone would like to have a sit-down with her and explain to her the beauty of naps, just let me know.

 

 

I'm going to log it in today's blog that I want need to do a blog post or two about Hattie's birth. It was such an amazing experience and I don't want to forget even the tiniest of details. So by putting it down here, I'm comitting to working on it in the next week ahead. There's so much to document that it will take me a bit, but so important to be able to look back on. So hold me to this, okay?!

 

 

Jason came home yesterday from work and said "Wanna hear something crazy?" Hmmmm...that usually means I'm not going to be excited about what comes next. Anywho, he got invited to a Wild hockey game this Thursday by a client who just so happens to have a suite there, complete with a personal chef making the food. When asked if I got an invite too, he sheepishly said no. So I guess by "crazy" he meant "I get to have a night out without children, have somebody else cook for me, and watch a hockey game...while you are being asked to log in some overtime." ;) Good thing my job comes with perks of it's own...like smiles, hugs, and phrases like "I love you, Mommy."

 

And some pics of some kiddos enjoying that smoothie. Ben had sucked his down so fast, he had left the table before I even had a chance to get my camera out. But seriously, you should go make one for yourself. Now.

 

 



Tuesday Tidbits

 

 

Hattie is on the go these days. Her crawling is getting faster and faster. She now pulls herself up to standing on almost anything. I caught her hunched over her carseat yesterday. It was on the floor and she had crawled over to it and pulled herself up to standing. Only problem was it was a little short and she was sort of hunched over and couldn't figure out how to get herself back down. :)

 

 

Speaking of Hattie changing, she's getting heavier and heavier. It must be from all the cream cheese and avocodos she consumes. Add in rice and you have her three favorite foods in all the land. Actually, you have about the only 3 foods she will even consume. The Trifecta. It makes me want to pull my hair out every meal time as I offer her lots of healthy and nutricious options, but in the end she will scream until she gets her favorites. Such an opinion these days. But I digress...she's getting heavier which is pushing me to change out her baby carseat for a big-girl one. My back can't take carrying her around anymore in the infant one...but my heart doesn't want to admit that she is not that wee little baby anymore.

 

 

Although the Sochi Olympics are over, the race for gold on HublerPlanet is still alive and well. I'm not sure how much more ice dancing I can take. It is Cora's absolute favorite pasttime these days and once she starts, all her siblings jump on the bandwagon. I find myself having to be the commentator for multiple routines. "Wow, folks, an amazing routine by this young skating duo...here come the twizzles. They landed them perfectly. And now a triple sowcow. Oh...they have really put the work in and they are just so fluid looking... and on...and on...and on...and on...." You get the idea, I won't bore you to tears any further. I can only imagine what it will be like when the summer olympics arrive.

 

 

I spent a good portion of Saturday cleaning up the basement. Doodle had taken up residence on the down comforter on the couch down there in his last months. I think it offered him much needed peace and quiet. No children poking at him or waking him up. Needless to say, it was pretty hard to pack things up, do the cat chore one last time, and get his food dishes put away. Tomorrow will mark one week and I'm not looking forward to it one bit.

 

 

I picked up the permits from the city yesterday...so this weekend begins the Family Room Project. Here's hoping we won't lose too much steam and will get this thing done within the allotted year. It would be so nice to have the extra space downstairs all finished. I'm finding that 5 kids can

a) make a lot of noise

b) make a lot of mess and

c) make a lot of noise and mess.

 Looking for an area to be able to send them when they need to be a little more wild.

 

 

I currently have about 8-10 quarts of bone broth slowly simmering on the stove. It smells divine in my house right now.

 

Our furnace is moaning and groaning today...with an occasional whining session. I'm not sure what's going on, but praying that it's a simple fix. And that it doesn't die on us....um...cause that would be bad. I changed the filter, which was needed...but it is still rather noisy. I am so thankful for heat when the thought of going without surfaces. Hoping that's not in the plans for this week.