Lions and Cats and Pigs...oh my!

Last night at AWANA they had a little carnival. The kids were allowed to dress up as animals or Bible characters. Since we don't go out trick or treating the boys didn't really have costumes to wear. Wesley really wanted to wear something so I went online and printed off some animal masks to color. Monday morning they colored them and then I glued the paper to cardboard for extra sturdiness. I added a rubber band to hold them on and VOILA!

I also made little paper tails to pin on their back sides. The whole way to church they were saying "Aaaah! There's a lion/pig/cat in the van!" Once at the carnival they had to go from station to station playing games and getting candy. Wesley had a blast but since the teachers were working the booths the twins kind of wandered aimlessly here and there. I had left and ran to the grocery store [which is the new routine to kill to birds with one stone]. I finished early and helped them go to a few more game stations. In the end, they were all happy with their little bags of candy prizes.

Do you know who's who?

This morning we all worked together to make dessert for dinner. We made Triple Fudge Brownies. They are super easy and really good. Perfect for beginning bakers! Even Hayden helped. Since it was his first time to help he was kind of fascinated by the whole process. He caught on real fast though and as you can see in the picture was not too happy when Eli was trying to help him stir. He could do it himself thank you very much!

Here's the recipe if you want to give them a try:

1 (3.9 oz.) pkg. instant chocolate pudding mix
1 (18 1/4 oz.) pkg. devil's food cake mix
2 c. (12 oz.) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Prepare pudding mix according to package directions (with milk). Stir in cake mix. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour into a greased 15 x 10 x 1-inch (jelly roll) baking pan. Bake at 350 F for 28-35 minutes or until the top springs back when lightly touched.
[Serve with vanilla ice cream if desired.]

Wesley loses first tooth

After working on it for a few weeks...Wesley finally lost his first tooth! The new one is already coming in. I don't know why he looks so worried in this picture...he was actually really excited.

Fall Fun

It's that time of year again. Cool crisp air and leaves, leaves, leaves! The boys love to rake. Mostly so they can make a pile and jump in it! Here are a few pictures of this year's leaf fun. Too bad after we made this pile the wind blew most of it down the street. Don't worry though, we have BIG trees and more fell so we need to rake again already.

Quick Update

Coughs are still being heard here, although not as often. Runny noses are also slowing some unless we go outside in the cool air. Hayden and JD seems to actually like their antibiotics so that is good. Hayden got so excited today when he saw his coming that Justus asked why he didn't get any!

Eli is doing so great with the potty training. He is on his third...or is it more...day with only undies in the day! He still wears a diaper at night and wakes up wet. He naps with no accidents though...well, when he naps. Unfortunately, Justus is still not showing any interest. I thought when I got out the Cars underwear he'd really want to give it a try, but no.

Speaking of Justus, he and I raked the front yard this afternoon. He really did help too. I paid him 10 cents. What a deal! I have actually started this little chore chart for Wesley, Eli, and Justus. I'll have to post about that another time. Wesley is really getting into it though and already earned enough to buy a pack of cotton candy bubble gum from Mom's Store.

Jer, Roz, and Wesley headed to watch the Redbird football team play in their first playoff game this afternoon. Wesley said he was bored but he did enjoy the popcorn his dad bought for him and he was enjoying his Propel drink...until it rolled down off the bleachers (they were sitting in the top row per Wesley's request) and hit some kids below...oops! The game was close so Jerry had a good time and our team won which made everyone happy! Go Redbirds!!

Roz in Concert and Super Names

Here is a short video clip from the choir concert last night. The song is a portion of Lord, Listen to Your Children arranged by Jack Schrader. Roz is above and to the left of the teacher's shoulder, behind and to the right of the young man with very long hair and a mustache(!). I took Wesley along and Jerry kept the rest of the gang home. Roz and company did very well. Wesley was good too. He sat fairly still and clapped appropriately after each song. He did have one problem while at the concert though....he didn't weigh enough to keep the auditorium seat down! So the poor kid had to sit in a funny position for pretty much the whole concert. Can't say I've ever had that problem! Must be nice.





Last week Jerry was playing with the boys and decided to give them all Super Names. (On the new PBS show Super Why the main character is Wyatt but when he goes out to "save the day" he becomes Super Why.) So here are the names they came up with:
Wesley = Cat's Pajamas
Eli = Mr. Pickles (although he is considering a change to Chocolate Moose)
Justus = Nacho Cheese
Hayden = The Hammer

Don't even ask! I have no idea why those name's were chosen. Well, except for Hayden...supposedly when they were picking out names he happened to hit one of the twins on the head with his fist. They didn't come up with a name for JD which is unfortunate since he could use a Super Name. He has been feeling a little under the weather lately with congestion and a cough. I brought him into the doctor this morning and he has an ear infection in his left ear. He set a Shown Family record for earliest ear infection, poor baby. So he is on amoxicillin twice a day for the next ten days. I took Hayden back in the afternoon and he too has an ear infection. His isn't as bad, in fact, the doctor said it was just starting. The rest of the gang isn't feeling too hot either. I'm up to my elbows in snotty tissues and Jer has taken to calling the living room the "cough-a-torium". No AWANA tonight for the twins but I think we'll still let Wesley go.

On a happy note, Eli wore underwear all day with NO accidents! It seems he's really had a break through on the potty training once he figured out the number two business! I think tomorrow I'll let him wear the coveted Cars underwear he was been waiting for. One down, one to go...okay, well make that three. Ugh! That doesn't sound as good! Yeah, Eli!

Peace, Love, and...spaghetti?

Tonight at church the youth group had a 70's fundraiser dinner. The kids dressed in 70's style clothes and decorated the church with PEACE signs and lava lamps. They served spaghetti as the meal. Don't ask me why...I'm sure spaghetti was around in the 70's! I made Roz stop for a picture real quick as she headed out the door. (She didn't wear the red shirt underneath for the dinner, she just slipped her 70's shirt on over it for the photo.) We didn't go since all the boys have a bad cold. I wish we could have gone. I love it when I don't have to cook. Also Roz said the turnout was poor and if we would have gone...well, our family alone is half the church! Just kidding! Peace!

Carter's Card

I seem to have a habit of not posting pictures until they are a little overdue...I don't know what my problem is...it's not like I'm busy or anything! Here is a picture of my nephew Carter at his 10th birthday party (last weekend) with the card I made for him. He really liked it! If you remember I made one for Roz for her birthday. For Carter's I changed it a bit to make it more little kid friendly. He wouldn't have gotten some of the references in the other one to 5th Avenue, Symphony, Skor, etc. (There sure are a lot of strange candy names!) If you click on the photo to enlarge it you should be able to read it.

I also sewed him some Arizona Cardinal curtains, a pillowcase and pillow for his room. He is a big Cardinals fan and has his room all decorated with Cardinal stuff. The curtains look very nice hanging in his room. I didn't think to take my camera along when I went to see how they looked. Special thanks to Grandma Molly for getting the fabric for me way back in July! What a steal! Right, G'ma Molly? :)

As long as I had the sewing machine out I wanted to make a burp cloth. I had seen some at Target that were terry cloth on one side and flannel on the other with some decorative edging. They were so cute! I thought I'd give it a try. I figured if they didn't turn out the way I wanted I could still use them. Well, they turned out so nice I decided to package them up for a little gift. One of Jerry's co-workers is due any day so he brought it in to work for her. I'll have to make more for future gifts. There are so many adorable baby flannels at the fabric store I might have to make LOTS! I should send G'ma Molly to get the fabric for me! (Sorry, GGS...couldn't resist!)

Terry cloth side

Flannel side

Packaged up with a pair of socks in a little gift bucket

Worms and Football

These pictures are a little older. I've been meaning to post them but just didn't get around to it. Here is a picture of Eli with his new friend that he found behind the garage. Not sure if his "friend" survived the encounter. My boys aren't too fond of bugs in general, but Eli isn't as scared as he used to be. He's the only one who has ever picked up a worm (so far anyway). The others won't touch a bug...eeeeewwww! Poor worm! I hope he's hiding somewhere DEEP underground.


At the high school there is an annual tradition to have a "powder puff" football game where the junior girls play the seniors girls and the money raised goes to charity. Each team has shirts made and everything. Roz, of course, played with the juniors. It is also a tradition that the seniors win...no matter the score. Guess they don't want them to graduate and go out into the world sad because they lost a football game their senior year.
Real score: Juniors 63 Seniors 49
Final score: Juniors 63 Seniors 94

NEW!

Here are a few pictures of JD in a cute little shirt he got from the Scharpf family. I think he really looks like Wesley when he was a baby in the second one!

JD's Second Smile

Here is a short video of JD's second smile. I missed the first one but grabbed the camera for the second. This is from Monday (the 8th)...


Here is a still shot for Grandma Linda since she can't see the videos:

3 of 64

The following pictures, let's call them self portraits, were taken by one Elihu W. Shown when he was supposed to be taking a nap. He has been napping in our room. I am using the term nap loosely as he rarely sleeps. He has been causing trouble in our room between the hours of 1pm and 3pm when he is SUPPOSED to be napping. He has set the alarm clocks for us. My alarm went of at 2am two nights ago, well actually it was 1am our time, since he has also set if for Eastern time. I was so confused...I didn't know what the heck was going on! He has also erased my address book off the Mac, rearranged the books on Jerry's book shelf, removed items from the shelf on the wall, shut and /or opened the windows, tried on various shoes he finds, played with the flashlight that is under the bed, smeared chapstick on the dresser mirror, and who knows what else that I don't know about. I swear to you I check on him every 5-10 minutes. He must hear me coming and jump back on the bed to look innocent.

I got after him the other day when I checked on him and found him messing with the camera. I didn't even think to check to see if he had taken any pictures. So today when I went to put the photos from my camera onto iPhoto I was surprised to find not one or two but SIXTY FOUR photos that Eli had taken. It appears he didn't move the camera off the desk. He just left it sitting there and hit the button repeatedly. Most were of the back of the computer and his face or arms. Here they are for your viewing pleasure in no particular order:




Prints of these modern style self portrait photographs are available by direct order from the artist himself. Perhaps if you bribe him with candy he will even sign your print for you! Get them now while supplies last!

Justus' Favorite Theme Song

PBS has some new shows on this season. Justus, and all the boys really, have been enjoying this new show called SUPER WHY. The show is on here at 7am, so every morning at about 7:25am I hear this song and run to watch Justus do the little dance. I tried to get it on video but he stops when he sees the camera. Now he knows I'm watching and if he sees me looking he won't do it. It cracks me up everytime. Anyway, here is the little song he loves to dance to...

New Bridge Dedication

Up on the new bridge
(Roz with friends Ryan and Allison, Jer and the boys)

Today was the dedication of the new bridge. We walked down there around 11am to watch the DP and West DP marching bands meet in the middle. It was HOT!! We were one degree away from a record today and will break a record for sure tomorrow. Miserable weather if you ask me...one shouldn't have to run the AC in October! At least it wasn't raining. We got several freebies (the boys were fighting over our MAC Dental fly swatter) and some cotton candy which Wesley really enjoyed!. We ate a quick lunch from the various restaurants selling food. Eli chowed down and ate a whole hamburger all by himself. Jer and I had gyros that were really delicious. The rest of the gang just ate the little snacks I packed because there were no hot dogs available. Justus was pretty ticked about that.

Wesley says cotton candy is YUMMY!

Why does everyone stare at us? Just kidding, I know why. We had all five boys in matching shirts and got a ton of stares and several comments ranging from "Oh my! There's another one in the stroller!" to "God bless you! God bless you!" We saw relatives, friends, neighbors, a couple of Jerry's co-workers. Jerry almost ran over our senator Steve Kagen with the wagon. (Sorry Dad, he tried!) They released 74 doves to honor each year of service the old bridge gave us. We would have liked to have walked all the way across the new bridge and back on the old one but the speeches went on a little too long and we all needed some shade.

The boys checking out the new bridge

Since it is so dark early the fireworks were at 8pm. Which worked out great for us! We let the boys stay up and all went down and sat by the river. Wesley reminded Jerry of the new tradition of popcorn and lemonade so we brought that for snacks. It was a little cooler without the sun beating on us. We could have been sitting there in winter coats but there we were in shorts and still hot! It ended up we had great seats. The boats lighting off the fireworks were right in front of us. Ashes were falling all over the place so of course Jerry had to throw out the old Shown family joke "There's an ash in my eye!" At the first BOOM the twins covered their ears (but they didn't cry). Hayden did start to cry but I held him on my lap and covered his ears for him. He didn't cry again but he did shake the whole time. When the finale was over he jumped right in his stroller to go. JD slept through it all! We were home by 8:30! Can't beat that! I think we should have fireworks in October more often!

How do you roll?

As if the day wasn't busy enough... Roz had a dance tonight. It was "Masquerade" so we had to come up with a costume. Somewhere along the way Roz's idea to get 51 other people together to be a deck of cards fell by the wayside. I was kind of disappointed about that...it would have been pretty cool. So one night at dinner last week we all sat and came up with suggestions of what she could be. We got a few ideas from a catalog we thought could work but finally chose this one. Roz went and bought the fabric and I sewed it for her. This is how she looked:
I think it turned out pretty good! I love the internet, well Google really, when I needed to know what font to make the letters it took me two seconds to find out. (It's Cooper Black font for those of you who care.) I hope she has fun and her friends give their stamp of approval. I also hope she doesn't pass out from heat exhaustion. It is always so hot at those dances and with the warm weather and wearing a felt costume....she'll be mighty toasty! Hopefully she won't melt! Ha! At least she wasn't a Hershey bar! Oh, I am so funny! Really though...isn't she sweet??? Sorry...couldn't resist one last pun!

BIG Boy!

Little JD had his two month well check today. He weighs a whopping 10 pounds 10 ounces! He is in the 19th percentile for weight which is much higher than the other preemie boys were at this age.

I was telling the boys earlier today that Roz was going to babysit while I took JD to the doctor. When I mentioned that he would be getting some shots Eli said, "Don't take him, Mom, if he has to get shots. He will cry." It was so sweet how concerned he was. Then I told him in a month or so we ALL have to go back to get our flu shots he became more concerned about his own pain. Last year I brought them all at once and we just went down the line. If I remember right Hayden was the only one who cried so it really wasn't that bad. They love getting bandaids and stickers so that eases their pain real fast. Here are a few pictures of our litte BIG boy!! That first one is almost a smile. In the second one you can really see his chubby cheeks!

Challenge

In a few weeks Wesley will have to memorize the New Testament books of the Bible. Which means Shelly has to learn the same. Any one else up to the challenge? I want someone else to do it with me. I am terrible at memorizing. Wesley has me beat EVERY time with the verses he has been learning. On this one, I think I'll do well until Corinthians and then I'll be in trouble. I know where they are in general when I'm reading and studying but I don't think I could just rattle them off. Email if you are going to try and learn them with us and I'll test you the next time I see you! I'm even giving us grown ups a head start since Wesley won't be starting this for another couple weeks. Yes, they have to be in order! Here they are:

Books of New Testament
Matthew
Mark
Luke
John
Acts
Romans
1 Corinthians
2 Corinthians
Galatians
Ephesians
Philippians
Colossians
1 Thessalonians
2 Thessalonians
1 Timothy
2 Timothy
Titus
Philemon
Hebrews
James
1 Peter
2 Peter
1 John
2 John
3 John
Jude
Revelation

5,824 Socks a Year!!!

If I did the math right...that is 112 socks a week! [Eight of us times 2 socks per day!] That is a lot of socks! Thanks to Hanes they are easier for me to sort. They make these socks that have the color coded size sewn right into the bottom of the sock. We had a Kohl's gift card so I went and bought the boys all new socks and I'm purging all non-Hanes white socks. They even make them in toddler sizes. I haven't gotten Hayden any yet but I am going to as soon as I can find them. This will save me so much time! When you have so many socks so close in size it is a real pain to sort and match them. Often we'd go to put socks on Hayden that were too big and Wesley would find socks that were too "tight" in his drawer. No more! Thank you Hanes!

While I was crunching numbers I figured out the cooler of breastmilk I sent to the milk bank last week was worth about $960!! [80 bottles 4 ounces each will sell for about $3 an ounce at the non-profit bank.] There are some websites that say it is worth anywhere from $39 per ounce to $184.83 per ounce once it is processed at a for profit bank. Using those numbers that box was worth ...$12,480 to $59,145.60!! Too bad it's not money in my pocket...that would be some down payment for a new house! Plus I've got more to send!

This concludes the first episode of MATH with SHELLY... join us next time when we figure out how many diapers are changed per month when you have FOUR in diapers and the cost of water/electricty/soap to do 10 loads of laundry per week. Just kidding....well, maybe!

Shown Publishing Inc.

Wesley is really coming along with his reading. In an effort to get him reading words with the sounds we are currently working on. I thought we could make a little book. I wrote the words and he took the pictures then we printed it out, cut, and glued it into a little book. Well, if I would have known how much ALL the kids were going to like it I would have made one sooner!

The story is about Mom. [Mom has a hat. Mom has a mat. Mom will put the hat on the mat. Mom sat on the mat and the hat. Oh no! The hat is flat! Mom is sad. Mom will put on the hat. The hat is not flat. Mom is not sad.] Wesley read it to me. When the twins got up he read it to them. They loved it, especially the picture where Mom is sad (see below). When we showed Roz the book at dinner she laughed for a solid 2 minutes at the "Mom is sad" picture. I don't know if it caught her off guard or what but it was hilarious. I was laughing at her reaction!


Later that night Hayden picked up the book and "read" it to himself over and over. For each page of the seven pages he said, "Mom hat, Mom hat" with an occasional "oh, no" and "Mom sad". Guess I will have to laminate it or something so it will last a little longer.

We already have Dad and his Snack in production. Dad will have a snack and spill his milk! And to please everyone there will be a page where Dad is sad! Any suggestions for further books using only the short vowel sounds??

BIG Changes...in the menu!!

Today we are mixing things up a bit! After well, I don't remember how long...we are going to go to a two week rotation for the breakfast and lunch menu. I'm hoping I don't have a revolt on my hands! These guys are getting a little too set in their ways and really need to branch out. It is easier for me to shop and make things though if I know ahead of time what we are going to have. We'll see how it goes...if it doesn't work out we can always change it!

The old BREAKFAST menu (now Week 1):
Monday: cereal
Tuesday: toast
Wednesday: cereal *new* will now be cinnamon rolls
Thursday: bagel with cream cheese
Friday: mini pancakes *new* now with hot chocolate
~All breakfasts are served with fresh fruit and juice.

The old LUNCH menu (now Week 1):
Monday: macaroni and cheese
Tuesday: peanut butter and jelly sandwich
Wednesday: corndog
Thursday: cheese crisp (aka quesadilla)
Friday: pizza and mandarin oranges
~All lunches are served with fresh fruit, milk, and some side dish (crackers, pretzels, yogurt, etc.)

The new BREAKFAST menu (Week 2):
Monday: english muffins
Tuesday: oatmeal
Wednesday: scrambled eggs
Thursday: muffins (blueberry, choc. chip, lemon poppy, banana nut, etc.)
Friday: french toast with hot chocolate
~All breakfasts are served with fresh fruit and juice.

The new LUNCH menu (Week 2):
Monday: homemade lunchable (cheese, lunch meat, crackers) & apples with peanut butter dip
Tuesday: dino chicken nuggets
Wednesday: ramen noodles or soup
Thursday: nachos
Friday: little hamburgers
~All lunches are served with a fresh fruit, milk, and a side dish now including veggies

I'm still collecting clipart for the actual menu pages I will hang in the kitchen for the boys to look at but when I am done I will post pictures here. I'm not sure he is aware but Pa Denny gets credit for me starting this menu way back when. I remember one day he came in and saw a small, toddler sized Wesley eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. He said, "Is that all you give that kid? Every time I see him eating that is what he has!"

While that wasn't true I thought a little more variety wouldn't hurt. I picked out his favorites and sat down to put them on a little menu thinking that would also help him learn the days of the week. Oh, it did alright, but the days became known for their lunch food not the actual day of the week. "On corn dog day Grandma is coming for a visit"..."on pizza day we are going to the park"...except for Mondays which, of course, everyone knows is Macaroni Monday around here! It has worked so well that I have shared the idea with many people. So if you walk into the kitchen at lunch and stand there wondering what you're going to make this is for you! And if you have end up having macaroni on Mondays...think of us!!!