Reddy Zoo

BOO!!

2009-11-04T12:01:00.000-08:00

Homeschooling + Blogging = No Blogging

2009-10-13T19:58:00.000-07:00

You may have noticed that since I started homeschooling I haven’t really been posting anything here. I guess you could say I have been busy. You could also say that I have never been busier in my entire life. Something is always happening around here, and it’s making time go by much faster than usual. Every day I seem to run out of time for all the things on my To-do List. This phenomenon has made for an incredibly long To-do List. And, yes, writing posts for this blog is definitely on it.

Since the Dinosaur Unit Study, we have spent time studying cheese, one of our favorite things here at the Reddy Zoo. Hey…if I get to create my own curriculum, it should be fun. Not to mention delicious. We learned about how cheese is made, various kinds of cheese, and some of the ways cheese is used in making other food products. We invited grandparents over for a cheese tasting and the kids were spouting off cheese facts for them at lighting speed.

They also used this occasion to show their grandparents all the work they had done so far, which had been hole-punched and put into binders. They were all so proud of their binders, and they enjoyed sharing the details of some of the more complicated things they had done. It was very good for them to have that opportunity to “show-off”, as it were.

We also spent a good deal of time studying Columbus, just in time for Columbus Day. The kids really got into this more than I expected them to. They enjoyed hearing about the long voyage across the ocean. They were surprised that people didn’t know that North and South America existed in 1492. They were even more surprised to learn that Columbus still didn’t know he had reached a completely new continent. He truly thought he had found a new route to the Indies, even after making four trips here and back before his death. We were also surprised to find that Columbus didn’t actually discover America. At least not the chunk of land known today as the United States of America. He never came this far north during his travels. But his voyage did pave the way for future explorers to venture into our hemisphere and eventually settle in this great land.

In addition to our daily lessons and our Unit Studies, we have gotten involved in a Homeschool Co-op. On Wednesday mornings we meet with other homeschooling families for Art, Music and P.E. classes. It has been great for the kids not only to be with other children, but also to have those more creative type of lessons that might get skipped at home in lieu of the 3 R’s. We have also been on multiple field trips, keeping things even more fun and interesting.

Powder Valley Nature Center

Kinder Konzert at Powell Hall

Nature Walk at St. Francois State Park

All in all, I have been very pleased with homeschooling so far. In fact, I am thrilled with how well things are going. Believe it or not, I feel less stressed out this year than I did last year when three of the kids were in school. I like that we make our own schedule, we can keep our own pace, and plan our own lessons. I also like that there are no papers to sign, backpacks to pack, or lunch money to send in. Things are going very, very well.

Dino-mania

2009-09-11T07:00:00.000-07:00

For teaching Science and Social Studies, I decided to try using Unit Studies. A Unit Study is defined as “an in-depth study of a topic (space, trees, cars, etc.) that takes into account many areas of the topic, such as geography, science, history, art, etc. It is a complete immersion into the topic so that the student will see things as a 'whole' instead of bits and pieces learned throughout their education.” We started out with a simple subject. One I knew we would all find interesting – Dinosaurs.

I found so many fun things related to dinosaurs. I gathered books, puzzles, games, DVD's and other activities. The kids and I work on Unit Studies two afternoons a week while Banana is at preschool and Mr. H takes his naps. So far it has been working very well. We just finished our three-week study of dinosaurs. We have been very busy reading, doing hands-on activities, and we even took a field trip.

I checked out no less than twenty books about dinosaurs from the library. Some were for the kids to read, some were for me to read to them.

We made a terrarium after reading Dinosaur Habitat, a book about two brothers who find themselves inside of the younger brother’s terrarium. Not only did the plants become life sized, but so did the plastic dinosaurs the boy had carefully put in there. And they were no longer plastic!

Thankfully our dinosaurs are still plastic.

I bought a Dinosaur Dig kit from an educational retailer that I thought would be fun for the kids to try. Then I found small kits at the dollar store that I picked up just in case we needed something extra to do. It turned out that those little kits offered much more fun for a dollar than I ever thought!

The kids scraped away layers of clay to reveal tiny dinosaur bones.

Then they used the bones to make their own fossils out of clay.

They took a longer time excavating the Velociraptor bones in the bigger kit.

But the bones they found actually formed two whole dinosaurs.

We were also able to visit “Sue” before she left the St. Louis Science Center.

“Sue” is the most complete set of Tyrannosaurus bones ever found.

Her skull was HUGE!

There were bones to dig up at the exhibit as well. The kids were pros by that time!

Big D enjoyed the T-Rex vision. His body looked pretty funny with a new head.

We also watched a Discovery Channel movie telling all about the types of dinosaurs that lived in America millions of years ago.

We learned a lot AND had fun doing it!!

Worth a Thousand Words (or more)

2009-09-09T09:32:00.000-07:00

Since I posted hardly anything all summer long, I went through my pictures from May through August and found quite a few worth sharing. As you can see, we had a fun summer!

Dad at an Alumni basketball game

Grandpa shoots a free throw at the Alumni basketball game

We definitely brought the most fans to the game

These two are just too cute together

Miss M's Girl Scout troop

A self-portait

Banana on a boat with a couple of her cousins

Miss M in the parish picnic parade

Big D in the parish picnic parade

C.B. in the parish picnic parade

All three kids were in the same area in the parish picnic parade group photo

Me and my kids on Mother's Day

Banana and a big ole fish in the hippo habitat at the Zoo

Banana performs in the Tiny Tot Circus

Banana becomes an elephant in the Tiny Tot Circus

Mr. H gives his baby cousin a kiss on her two-week-old head

Mr. H in a sea of bubbles after a Babaloo show

Miss M and her friends at a swim party

Mr. H and C.B. read a story on the couch together

Banana and some of her cousins at a family birthday party

Our tired niece falls asleep while playing at our house

Big D took this cool picture of his uncle from under the water on a float trip

Floating cousins

Big D entertains his baby brother in church

These two look up to no good to me

A Baby, a Birthday, and a Wedding

2009-09-04T19:56:00.000-07:00

I have a lot to catch up on. Homeschooling does not allow me as much time to blog as I had gotten used to. In case I don’t get another opportunity to blog again soon, I decided to condense several big events into one post.

First, we have a new nephew!!

This “little” fella weighed in at 9 pounds, 10 ounces! His parents and three older brothers are ecstatic about his arrival. Miss M and I got to snuggle with him for a little while this week.

Secondly, Miss M turned TWELVE last week! You may detect a hint of shock in my words here, but that’s only because there is NO WAY I am old enough to have a twelve-year-old!! But seriously, she is everything I could ever have hoped for in a tween-age daughter. She is bright, polite, responsible and super sweet. She has been helping me with the younger kids since she was four years old, and she rarely complains.

She is starting to help my sisters-in-law with their kiddos as well, which is great because she loves her little cousins.

I don’t think I would be homeschooling right now if it wasn’t for her. Not only is she an excellent student, she is a wonderful teacher’s assistant as well.

Happy Birthday, Miss M!

And last, but not least, we had a family wedding last weekend. With a family as big as my husband’s is, there have been a lot of family weddings. But it has been four years since the last one and we were ready for a PARTY!!

The bride and groom were all smiles all evening.

Everyone looked so nice in their fancy clothes.

Big D was an excellent reader

Mr. H was ready to dance,

But he didn’t last long. He and Banana cut out early.

The rest of us had a ball.

We did the Y.M.C.A.

The Sprinkler

“Shout” (a little bit softer now)

The Macarena

And I always get a special bonus at family weddings. My husband actually dances with me!!!

It was a great night. Congratulations Uncle Beaker and Aunt Mad-dog!!!

First Days

2009-08-25T11:23:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was our first day of school. Since we are homeschooling this year, things were a little different from previous first days of school. Last year the kids’ “First Day” picture looked like this.

This year it looked like this.

We still had to wake them up for school. And they still looked incredibly tired during breakfast.

Instead of desks they each have boxes for their books, notebooks, folders and pencil cases.

But they still had lots of work to do.

Things went relatively smoothly. Even the little ones kept themselves busy.

I thought it was a great first day. I am hoping for a whole year full of great days!!

And speaking of first days, Banana had her first day at a new preschool today. She will be at school two afternoons a week, when the big kids and I can work on more involved projects (and Mr. H naps.) Banana was so excited this morning and couldn’t wait until after lunch when it was finally time to go.

It may be a few weeks or more until we are actually in the swing of things, but I feel like we have had a great start!!

What A Season!!

2009-08-06T09:01:00.001-07:00

Miss M’s softball season is finally over. But the climactic ending was worth the extra length. Her team won their division and made it into the City-County playoffs. They won their first game in a close and exciting match-up. It was so much fun to watch!

The second game was also a nail-biter. And it didn’t help that the first half of it was played in the rain. Our team was down by 2 in the bottom of the seventh (the last inning), there were two outs and Miss M came up to bat. I have to admit that my heart was in the pit of my stomach. Nobody likes to make the last out of the game. Not to mention the out that would cost the team the playoffs! But she whacked a ball past third and was able to get on base just in time for the next batter to hit a home run and tie the score. Two batters later the game-winning run came in. And I thought the first game was exciting!!

The last game was not quite as exciting, but it was awesome just to be in the City-County Finals. The team was short three players, one of whom was a pitcher and a power-hitter. Miss M played first base for the duration of the game, and she did an excellent job, visibly impressing even the other team’s coaches. It was hard for the girls to get many hits off of the other team's pitcher. Even the top of the lineup was struggling. The other team was up 7-0 by the second inning. Our girls brought it up to 7-5 by the bottom of the fifth, when the other team was up to bat. They were able to pull off eight more runs, whereupon the umpires automatically called the game over because of a 10-run “Mercy” Rule. Our girls were upset by the loss, but even more upset by the fact that they weren’t given a chance to catch up. There were some tears, but at the same time there was a GIANT trophy – much bigger than you would expect the Runners-up. Each girl on the team also received a nice plaque. Coach (Dad) expressed his great pride for his team and made sure the girls knew how cool it was to be the second best team in St. Louis in their division. It really was an unbelievable experience.

I am such a proud Softball Mom/Coach’s Wife.

Weekend Pix

2009-07-27T13:51:00.000-07:00

I just had to share these cute pictures I took over the weekend.

Miss M holding her new baby cousin.

Banana deep in thought.

Mr. H lying in a field of clover.

We had a fun and busy weekend. We went bowling with a homeschoolers' group on Friday, attended an ice cream social at church on Saturday, and on Sunday Miss M's softball team won their first City-County playoff game. And what an exciting game it was!! I had so much fun watching Miss M and her coach (Dad) at the game yesterday. I cheered so loudly that I was nearly hoarse afterwards. I am so proud of both of them. And I'm looking forward to the next game tomorrow night!

Slip’n and Slid’n

2009-07-20T13:22:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we got together with the G.I.F.T. (Getting Interracial Families Together) group for an outdoor game day. We had a water balloon toss, sack races, and fun with a giant parachute.

There was also a Slip-n-Slide. It was the first time that my youngest two children had ever seen a Slip-n-Slide. I know. They’re deprived children. Ask my dad about the time he brought over a box of Twinkies. My kids had no clue what they were.

Anyway…we tried explaining the concept of running up to the edge of the slippery yellow strip and tossing yourself onto your belly for a wonderfully wet ride with an exciting splash at the end. It sounded simple enough, but for some reason the kids weren’t getting it. They were all sliding on their knees, which is a clumsier trip, and not all that likely to get you to the big splash. It wasn’t just our kids have trouble with this concept either. I heard one of the little girls say, “My mind says ‘belly’ but my body says ‘knees’”. Many of the parents were shouting out their best slip-n-sliding advice. My older boys eventually got the hang of it, but Banana was still having trouble. We finally just had to shove her all the way down.

Mr. H just crawled down it until he got to the little pool at the end.

But once he figured out how much fun it was to play on the Slip-n-Slide, it was hard to keep him off of it. I was afraid he’d get plowed over by the bigger kids.

Thankfully he became interested in the playground while the older kids finished up with a water balloon fight. It was a fun afternoon.

…Aaaand we’re back.

2009-07-13T12:19:00.000-07:00

Sorry about that, folks. We were dealing with some “technical difficulties”. There wasn’t anything wrong with my computer, but I was technically swamped with difficulties. There was end of school-year business, a major family vacation, Girl Scout camp, sports camps, and Vacation Bible School to name a few. FINALLY, July is here and the calendar looks do-able again. Baseball is over for the boys, and Miss M is close to being finished with softball. We survived!! And, despite being away from the blog for three months, I am still here.

We had a great time visiting Disney World. It was the longest trip we have made so far, and the kids were actually pretty good in the car. Once we arrived at Disney, we were off and running. We were always busy, but we were able to see and do pretty much everything we wanted to in less than a week. Mr. H and Banana stayed at home with their grandparents to take care of them. Feeling guilty about leaving them behind, I cried everyday for five days straight. Of course they were absolutely fine at home being spoiled rotten. The rest of us enjoyed Disney so much that we decided we have to go back again in another five or six years when all the kids can go with us.

As soon as we got home we had three straight weeks of activities. We had tennis camp, basketball camp, Girl Scout camp, Vacation Bible School, and theater camp. Not to mention the baseball/softball practices and games. Add to that a wedding shower for my soon-to-be-sister-in-law, a visit from my out-of-town cousin, my 14th wedding anniversary, Father’s Day, and a (paying!) gig with the band. Needless to say, I was ready for a long holiday weekend for the Fourth of July. It was nice. It was made twice as nice with the addition of a new niece. Baby Abbey was welcomed into the world with fireworks and sparklers.

Despite all that excitement, the biggest development for me was simply a letter…a letter that I had been writing in my head for months. I began researching the idea of homeschooling my three oldest children for the last part of the school year, and I was really excited about what I was learning about it. I wanted to try it, but was very concerned about making such a big change in our family. I went back and forth on an almost daily basis, and the stress of making the final decision was beginning to weigh on me. I was worried that my kids would be really upset, even angry about my decision; and that was keeping me from pulling the trigger. June 30 was the deadline – when tuition at the kids’ school was due – so it had come to a head that last week of June. I finally broke the news to Miss M, expecting drama and tears. But she was very cool about it, expressing her feelings very clearly – a mix of fear and excitement. I told her those were my feelings exactly, and we shared a hug. I wrote the letter to the kids’ school immediately. What a good way to start!!

Now…the real work begins.

Mr. H is ONE!!

2009-04-15T09:47:00.001-07:00

Even more unbelievable than C.B. turning SIX is the fact that my baby boy is one year old. I feel like we were just bringing him home from the hospital. I know every parent feels this way...why does it have to go by so fast??? To help convince me that a whole year has actually passed, I have put together a month-by-month photographic review of Mr. H's first year.

Happy Birthday, little man!

Gotta Love St. Louis Weather

2009-04-06T06:49:00.001-07:00

They say if you don’t like the weather in St. Louis, WAIT. Allow me to illustrate…

We went to the country house to play on the beach this weekend because it was sunny and seventy degrees. We made sand castles with moats, buried ourselves in sand, and just had fun being barefoot on the beach. I even had to get out the sunscreen! It was lovely. This morning when I went to put our clothes from the weekend into the washing machine, I found sand rolled up into the cuffs of my son’s jeans. I took them outside to shake off the sand and I noticed that snow was falling. Good grief!

Also, it’s opening day for the Cardinals. Should we expect a "Snow Delay"? Hmmmmm.
GO CARDS!

C.B. is SIX!!

2009-03-19T12:17:00.000-07:00

Every year on our middle kids' birthdays, we write letters to their birthmothers highlighting that child's activities and development. We also include a dozen or so pictures of the child for her to see. The adoption agency keeps these letters in a file and passes them along if the birthmother asks about them. We have letters for all three kids from each year of their lives saved for them to read someday. They are also fun for keeping family and friends up to date about how much each child has grown and what they are doing. Here is this year's letter for C.B.'s birthmother along with some of our favorite pictures.

Dear Birthmother:

It was a little like a news flash for us. “This just in… C.B. six years old…Parents in shock!!” But when the shock wore off, the celebrations began. We took him out for dinner for his birthday last week, but he still has two birthday parties left to go. He will have a party with some of his friends from school this weekend. He will also share a big party with quite a few extended family members closer to the end of the month. We have so much to celebrate with this special boy.

C.B. started Kindergarten this year. It took him a while to get used to going every day of the week, but it’s no big deal for him now. He’s pretty good about getting out of bed in the morning and getting himself ready for school. However, we usually have to remind him to tuck his shirt in before he heads out the door every morning. He has been working very hard on reading and writing. He is getting better at sounding out words and he’s taking more care when writing now. It is so cool to watch him improve as the school year continues.

C.B. weighs 35 pounds and measures 41 inches tall. He is still on the low end of the pediatric growth charts, but the Endocrinologist we had been seeing has released C.B. from his care. He told us that he expects C.B. to be a “late bloomer” and that he will probably peak at about 5’8” or 5’9”. He and his three-year-old sister are almost the same height, but that doesn’t seem to bother C.B. He knows he’s still the big brother.

And speaking of brothers, C.B. has another one. Last April we brought home a new baby boy for our family to love. Our fifth little one fits right in with the rest of the crew, and he is spoiled rotten by his big brothers and sisters. C.B. loves taking care of his baby brother. He even wants to know when the baby will be old enough to move into his room with the big boys. What a sweetie!

C.B. has signed up for another season of baseball. He won’t be on big brother’s team this year, but we hope he will enjoy playing with some of his buddies from school just as well. He will also attend basketball camp and Vacation Bible School. We also hope to sneak in a couple of camping trips this summer. We are actually taking the biggest family vacation in the history of our family. We will be visiting Mickey Mouse and the rest of the gang at their home in Disney World. We are looking forward to making some wonderful memories with the kids.

We want you to know that over the past six years our gratitude for your precious gift to us continues to grow. You should also know that we think of you and pray for you often. Know that C.B. is a happy, healthy little boy who is eager to learn and that he will always know how loved he was – from the very beginning of his life. Again, we hope that all is well with you and your family. We welcome any correspondence from you to us or to C.B. We will be sure to write you every year around his birthday and include pictures, of course. May God bless you and watch over you!

Sincerely,
C.B.’s Mom & Dad

Where does the time go?

2009-03-12T11:45:00.001-07:00

People have often asked me, “How do you find time to keep up with a blog?” Well, lately it looks like I can’t. Which is funny because I don’t feel like I have been particularly swamped these past few weeks; but I truly have not had time to sit and compose something. I really don’t have time right now. I’m just feeling guilty for not writing something about C.B’s birthday yesterday. He’s SIX already!! I will post something more detailed about that soon. I am also heading to “Mommy School” this weekend, and I will probably have more to say about that as well. Hopefully before another two weeks goes by!

Happy Birthday, Buddy!

Recognition

2009-02-24T13:13:00.001-08:00

Miss M was one of twelve students from her school honored last night for their musical interests and abilities. She and two of her cousins were chosen by their music teacher to be recognized at Powell Symphony Hall. The girls got all dressed up for an evening out, so their grandmas and I decided to take them out for a fancy dinner beforehand. I had a great time just watching them, whether they were ordering Chicken Cordon Bleu or tasting the fried spinach appetizer - and liking it. Such little ladies!! We had them pose at dinner for a pretty picture.

Powell Hall was as impressive as ever. The St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra gave a short but outstanding performance. I made sure the girls were aware that some of the members of that group were as young as twelve years old. That’s right around the corner for them (much to my dismay!) But I think they were too busy giggling at the crazy moves of the extremely animated conductor to think about that.

From where we were sitting the girls looked rather small walking across the stage to accept their awards. The certificates were very nice, and their music teacher looked with pride at her group. The grandmas and I were proud, too.

They didn’t allow pictures in the hall, so we waited until we were on our way out to make them pose yet again.

Congratulations, girls!

Picture Purge

2009-02-18T09:44:00.000-08:00

My cell phone recently flashed “Low Memory” when it tried to open a video that my nephew accidentally sent me from my sister-in-law’s phone. So I decided to go through the pictures that have been stored on it since August. There were some I had forgotten about completely. Like the ones from the Botanical Gardens…

La Cabeza from the Niki Exhibit

Inside La Cabeza

The kids had fun playing in the Children's Garden

I also found some pictures from an October trip to the Zoo.

C.B. riding on an orange poison dart frog

Miss M with her little cousin on the slide in the Children’s Zoo

I had to laugh at the picture of Big D devouring his birthday dinner – the Riblet basket from Applebees.

Then there was Miss M’s DARE graduation.

She’s sitting next to her three cousins, who are all in her class this year.

I also found one picture from Banana’s Preschool Christmas party.

This was as close as she would get to Santa.

This was fun! Thanks for taking this quick stroll down memory lane with me. Maybe we'll do it again in another six months or so.

Accolades

2009-02-09T10:43:00.000-08:00

I do not like to be the center of attention. I loathe public speaking. I’m not even comfortable receiving compliments. Which might explain why I have been putting off writing this post.

Kim from Parachuting Without A Net has bestowed upon me the Premio Dardos award. "This award acknowledges the values that every Blogger displays in their effort to transmit cultural, ethical, literary, and personal values with each message they write. Awards like this have been created with the intention of promoting community among Bloggers. It's away to show appreciation and gratitude for work that adds value to the Web."

It’s enough of a thrill to know that there are people out there who read my blog that are not related to me. To receive an award on top of that is just remarkable.

Like everything in life, there are rules. I am supposed to pass this award on to 15 other bloggers. Unfortunately I don’t even read 15 blogs. Call me selfish, but I think I’m going to keep this one all to myself. Please note that this intentional disregard for the rules in no way diminishes my appreciation for this honor. Thank you very much, Kim!

A Not-So-Extreme Kitchen Makeover

2009-02-08T08:07:00.001-08:00

Project: Counters is now complete. Despite my initial anxiety, we are very happy with the way they look. They do seem a bit fancy in our fairly simple home, but we’re getting used to them. Here are some before and after shots.

In case anyone is interested, we chose the Santa Cecelia granite.

We also got a fabulous under-mount sink and new faucet.

Oh, yes. We are fancy.

M.I.A.

2009-02-04T12:06:00.000-08:00

You’ve heard it before; but I swear it’s true. I have been busy. I'm just trying to keep up with all that's going on around here. It's a task that is getting more and more difficult to do.

This week is Project: Counters. We have decided to get our countertops replaced. We went and picked out slab of granite a couple of weeks ago. It was actually a fun date for my husband and me. I know...we don't get out much. Tomorrow that slab will be fitted on top of our cabinets for us to eat on, do homework on, and play "Go Fish" on. I can't wait to see how it will look.

Last night we had to empty all the cabinets and take out all the drawers so the old countertops could be removed. The drawers and the contents of those cabinets are currently piled into our "Thinking Room".

They came this morning and “broke” (as Banana puts it) our counters. It's hard to find a place to set anything down in our kitchen right now…

…but it’s been fun for the kids to play in.

I hope that rock looks as pretty in our kitchen as it did in the warehouse that day. My biggest fear is that it will look so good that everything else in our kitchen will look blah!

More to come as Project: Counters continues.

Look At ‘Em Grow!!

2009-01-16T14:48:00.001-08:00

I took Banana and Mr. H to the doctor this past week for their checkups. One of my favorite things about taking my kids to the doctor is finding out their weight and height. Not only is it exciting to watch them grow; to me those numbers represent progress.

I went in thinking that Mr. H was probably going to weigh too much to stay in his infant carrier. It has a 22 pound limit, and I was sure he was getting there. It turns out that he didn’t even hit the 20 pound mark. But he was close – 19 pounds, 14 ounces. This weight puts him only in the 50th percentile; surprising because we are always being told what a big boys he is. He is still the biggest baby we’ve had. None of the other kids weighed this much at one year, and he is only nine months. He measured 29 inches long, which is in the 75th percentile. I have my suspicions that he will end up being a pretty tall kid.

I was wondering about the Banana’s weight because she has been on a dinner strike for about a week now. It doesn’t seem to matter what we have for dinner, it just isn’t what she wants. She weighed in at 32 pounds, which is about the 50th percentile for her age. Her height was almost 40 inches, putting her in the 90th percentile. She is definitely going to be a tall beauty someday. She is almost the same height as her big brother C.B. Granted, he’s on the smaller side for his age. They make quite a pair, though!

It is such a rewarding experience for a mother to know that her children are healthy. For me it is reassurance that I must be doing something right!

Down in the Cabbage Patch

2009-01-09T06:34:00.000-08:00

I grew up in the 80’s. I had a typical childhood, similar to other people my age who grew up in the Midwest. In fact, those e-mails that come around saying, “You know you grew up in the 80‘s if…” are usually a pretty accurate representation of my childhood. However, I never owned a Cabbage Patch Kid. I honestly can’t remember if it was because I truly didn’t want one, or if my parents just didn’t get me one. Either way, I don’t stay awake at night feeling like something was missing in my childhood because of it.

The reason I am bringing up Cabbage Patch Kids is because I recently discovered one living in our house. He shows up mostly at mealtime, but we have caught glimpses of him at other times too. He has the same big, round eyes and sweet, puffy cheeks as the 1980’s models…

…but we think our Cabbage Patch Kid is more adorable than any of those plastic faced dollies in the store.

And this one doesn’t have some guy’s name sewn onto his butt.

A Pictorial Review

2009-01-05T05:18:00.001-08:00

In trying to write my first post since the beginning of November I decided to look through my pictures for inspiration. Although I didn’t have my camera with me for all of the events of the past two months, these are some of the highlights.

Thanksgiving was at our house again this year. We were joined by relatives from both IN-town and OUT-of-town. The dinner spread was quite impressive.

We put up our Christmas tree the week after Thanksgiving. The tree was on its thirteenth year of service to our family and we decided this was to be its last Christmas. The kids still enjoyed hanging our ever-growing collection of ornaments on its branches.

Banana was worn out after only a few ornaments.

While Mr. H played in the box that we use to store the decorations.

My grandma came from Texas for a long visit. I love that my kids are able to spend time with their great-grandmother. We had so much fun celebrating Christmas with her a little early.

We went caroling at a local nursing home with the Reddy family.

And this year there were a few special performances added to the usual lineup.

Mr. H and his baby cousin wore matching outfits to the caroling event.

The kids made a wonderful gingerbread house with their cousins.

I made chocolate covered pretzels for gifts this year.

We also made six different kinds of cookies. I wish I had gotten a picture of those. We had some especially delicious varieties this year. In fact, we gave some to our mailman who wrote us a thank you note saying they were the best cookies he’s ever eaten!

Mr. H learned to crawl about a week before Christmas. Now that he’s on the move, he really keeps us hoppin’!

Christmas Eve was spent with the whole Reddy family. Even Uncle Dan was there this year! Grandma and Grandpa made each of the grandkids a t-shirt with their number on it - in the order that they were born into the family. That’s 21 t-shirts!

Christmas morning is always an adventure here.

Mr. H was pretty sleepy and didn’t quite know what to do.

The aftermath was awesome.

We spent the rest of the day eating and playing at Gramma and Grampa’s house.

Grandma and Grandpa Reddy took the whole family to Pump It Up to play again this year. What a fabulous gift for everyone!!

We spent New Years Eve with friends. It was lots of fun. We ate too much and stayed up way past our bedtime.

Which brings us up to date. Holiday vacation is over and it’s back to reality. Resolutions are in place and my list of things I’d like to do in 2009 is growing. Thank goodness I have all year to work on it!

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T10:31:00.000-08:00

After a long and much needed blogging break, I hope to be back this new year with some regularity (whatever that means.) As for today's post, I am simply placing a video here because it is the kids' current favorite.

Best wishes to you and to your loved ones in 2009 from all of us at the Reddy Zoo.

Hair Club for Babies

2008-11-06T10:06:00.000-08:00

A mother’s confession…

“I was embarrassed by my son’s baldness. I used to work for hours arranging the few long pieces of hair he had so it would cover the rest of his head.”

Does this sound familiar? It was the story with me for several months. I have to admit that I am guilty. Yes, my own baby, Mr. H, has been the victim of the baby comb-over.

It was getting to the point where it was obvious. I could see it in the faces of other mothers. I wasn’t fooling anyone. My baby was bald…and something had to be done about it.

I made an appointment at the Hair Club for Babies. They were so sweet and understanding there. They helped us choose the right solution for our son’s embarrassing baldness issue. It was quick and relatively painless. And, thankfully, his hair plugs seem to be coming along quite nicely.

Hope you are having a good hair day!

Halloween Recap

2008-11-04T16:55:00.000-08:00

As a mother I feel obligated to post pictures of my kids in their Halloween costumes. So here goes…

There was the Incredible Hulk,

Black Spiderman,

A beautiful butterfly,

My adorable little pumpkin,

And Cleopatra, Queen of the Nile

It was a spooktacular night!!