Our First Field Trip!

It’s apple season!

 

It’s pumpkin season!

It’s the season for sweatshirts and coats!

We are meeting new friends in this season of life (like our preschool teacher Mrs.. Porter!)

We are enjoying the treats of the season.

Each of us in our special way.

This is a season of doing something for the first time.

 

Today was the first time for me to be the parent tagging along on a field trip. I feel old! (Don’t worry. Both grandmas came too! Not sure how I would have kept tabs on my 4 in an apple orchard by myself!)

Fall is my favorite season for so many reasons…

 

and enjoying this time of year with them is my favorite one!

It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane….

No, it’s Eli!

Amidst a crazy day with me being gone for most of it, my sweet little Eli was craving some mommy time once I got home.

After sitting up on the counter and helping me make dinner, my chubby cheeked boy wanted me take pictures of him as he dressed up in costumes. I love this boy.

I bring you…

Super Eli (really this is a $1 construction vest from Target, but Eli thinks it is a super hero cape) 

Fireman Eli

Crouching down pretending to be a shark, Eli

Pirate Eli

Growling rhinoceros Eli

Eli on safari

  

For this next one, he called himself “Mickey Mouse Boy!”

My personal favorite…Lobster Eli

After this fun display, Eli revealed his true identity when I went into his room where he had been changing costumes.

May I present…

Messy Eli!

Ha! 

Monday Already!

Monday has a way of sneaking up on you, doesn't it?

Fall is certainly in the air in Western New York. Cooler nights, changing leaves, and pumpkins all around. The Williams kids are loving it all! They enjoy having pumpkin sighting contests on the way to preschool. I have even found a route on the way home that gives both sides of the van a chance to see a pumpkin stand. Oh the things we do to keep the peace:)

Brady had a funny one-liner the other day. We were talking about fall and all the things that go along with it. Brady piped up, "Mommy, when do we get to go pickle-treating?" Of course he meant trick-or-treating, but the thought of going door to door to get pickles made me laugh.

Eli loves to tell elaborate stories, so the spooky sights of autumn have his imagination swirling. I often hear him in the other room telling stories to himself about, "black bats flying into the night sky!" or "the witch who gave the poison apple to the princess!" He loves story telling so much that he even makes up his own words. Lately instead of saying the word because, he will say "be-cept." It comes out something like this, "Mom, I want to change my socks be-cept they are wet." Silly boy.

Cara is still our head-strong girl. She is loving the songs she has learned at preschool. She spends her playtime roaming around and interacting with her toys while just singing away. There is nothing cuter than a little girl who goes along her day in a sing-song voice:)

Allie is getting ready for her big 2nd birthday in less than a month (if you can believe that). For the longest time I have said that she is 1 1/2. Wait a minute! Not any more! She chats up a storm and has started to really test the waters with defiance. I wish someone could stop time and make her my baby forever. I already have 3 preschoolers...I'm not ready for another one:)

I don't have any new pictures to share today. My camera card is on loan right now, but I will have new pictures up very soon! I did want to share the picture of Matt and I with Selah. This was so exciting for me!!!

Have a blessed week!

What's New With Brady?

Remember the days when each and every update was about Brady? Thank God that isn't the case anymore. However, I thought it might be time to give you an update on our little hero.

Brady's 6 month scan appointment is two weeks from tomorrow. He will once again go under general anesthesia and have basically from his shoulders down to his middle back scanned. This is done to check for signs of new tumor growth and to assess that tiny spot in his spine that is still there. (oooo, how that spot is teaching me to be patient and faithful!) Brady will also have his urine samples to check for levels of HVA and VMA which are markers for Neuroblastoma. They will also draw his blood while he is alseep and check his blood counts.

Yesterday Brady had his pre-scan physical at the pediatrician. His weight is up three pounds since April and he is in the 48th percentile. His height is up 1 inch and is in the 36th percentile. The doctor is very pleased with his growth and development and we have been blessed that his treatment never really impacted him in area. After that appointment we went to physical therapy. Brady is showing a lot of improvement with jumping--I think he gets plenty of practice just being a crazy boy! We need to continue to work on areas like standing and jumping on one foot and climbing stairs while alternating feet.

Last week when I went to pick Brady up from preschool I got to peek in on his class as they finished up their morning with a song. The kids were acting out the song "No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed." Of course this was a big hit with the three year old crowd, and each of them were jumping up and down like crazy. The other parents and I got such a kick out of watching the kids bouncing up and down and having a great time.

I bet I was the only mom in the group who was thanking God as I watched.
He was jumping. Just like the other kids.
He was jumping. Maybe not as high as everyone else, but no one else noticed that.
He was jumping. And so was my heart.

What Normal Moms Do

I did something I have never done today.
I did something that normal moms do all the time.
Can you guess what I did?

I took three of my children grocery shopping with me.

gasp!


My name is Megan. And I admit that I almost always run errands alone. I kind of fell into this routine early in motherhood when it just seemed ridiculous to bundle up three infants in three infant car seats and go to the grocery store only to realize that I would need two carts to fit them in. So I never did.

As the kids grew older, and I realized that taking care of them day in and day out was mentally and physically exhausting, grocery shopping and running errands became sacred. Almost as sacred as church on Sundays...no not really.

My routine has always been to run errands on Friday afternoons. Matt is home early on Fridays, so when I would see his face at the door, I would run as quickly as I could for my mini van and head to Target and the other stores that I don't like as much as Target. I would spend my three hours, hot beverage in hand, meandering stores for what we needed and sometimes what we didn't. I loved shopping alone.

But now things are different. I now have these few hours when the kids are at preschool and I realize that it may be a tad unpractical to spend these hours getting weekly pedicures or taking naps in the parking lot. So I have adjusted my routine and am running errands while the kids are at school. It is working well and I actually like being home on Friday afternoons when my husband gets home. Perhaps we can plan a weekly conversation on Friday now:)

Today, however, I had to be somewhere during preschool, so I couldn't do the grocery shopping. I instead came up with a crazy idea to pick the kids up and have them come with me. And honestly, I was really excited about it! My kids can be challenging, demanding, and sometimes even unbearable...but the truth is, they are SO much fun too!

I met them at preschool and told them that I had a surprise. When they got to the van I opened the door and showed them that I had gone to Wendy's and bought us lunch. We were going to have a picnic in the van and then go grocery shopping. Picnic in the van can be translated as I bought lunch ahead of time so that I didn't have to take you out of the van, into a restaurant, into the bathrooms, eat, clean up, and back into the van. One of our 2nd row seats is removed from our van, so the 4 of us had just enough room to sit in a circle and enjoy our lunch. How fun!

Afterward we headed to the grocery store in search of one of those carts with the red cars attached. By the grace of God one was right in the cart corral next to where I parked. Eli and Cara jumped in the car, while Brady chose to ride in the cart right in front of his momma:)

20 aisles and 1 bathroom break later, the shopping was done! The kids were awesome, they made me laugh, and I really enjoyed myself. The highlight for everyone was passing by the 5 foot tall animated Witch on display for Halloween. They wanted to see her over and over again, but really they were scared. Cara even asked a woman who was standing next to us, "Hey lady, did you see that witch down there?"

I think I have decided to take the kids grocery shopping with me two times a month. That is a nice balance. My husband will be glad to know that shopping with the children is good for our budget. Those carts with the cars attached have much smaller spaces for food and I can't by too much because as it was today the grocery bags left only a small space for the kids to squeeze through to get to their seats!

Two Tuesdays of the month I will take them with me, and two Tuesdays I will shop alone. Being normal wasn't so bad after all.

ps. Isn't the new blog banner awesome! I think the new picture really brightens it up and also is destined to be a family classic!

My Gang

We have made it through all of our new activities and transitions…well at least for one week! The bad news is all of the backpacks, papers, and “stuff” that goes along with these activities are driving me crazy! The great news is the kids are loving all of their new adventures and have adjusted really well!

I suddenly find myself having to check my calendar for what the kids have coming up! It’s so strange! Balancing their busy schedule with my own is a new challenge for me. I’m remembering to thank God for the opportunity to be home with them as I can’t imagine trying to do all of this and working outside the home full time.

Here is my gang before we left for preschool Thursday. Notice the littlest preschool wannabe, complete with backpack! Brady was having a moment here, thus the frown.

And here they are this morning about to go to Sunday school for the first time.

Eeek! I can hardly stand it when I look at this picture. Seeing them all together in a picture like this can really just blow my mind sometimes. Did I really have 4 kids in 18 1/2 months? Yep, sure did!

This week’s agenda brings dance class, preschool, MOPS meeting, Brady’s PT appointment, Brady’s pre-scan physical (yes, scans are coming up again), more preschool, and two Tastefully Simple parties.

PS…isn’t this fall weather just awesome! Love it!

I Bring You Out of the Mouth of Cara, Part II

While strolling around the house this morning dressed in her Cinderella costume, Cara abruptly stops, reaches up under her big dress somewhere and proclaims to her brothers, "Hold on guys, THIS princess has an itch!"

Ha!

The end of a busy week is upon me. I had my first Tastefully Simple party of the
Fall season last night and tonight am hosting an Open House here tonight for anyone to come and taste test the new products.

But on the agenda this morning, spending some time with my favorite princesses and pirates.