Update on the Bunch

Ack, it's been a while.  I know.  It's not for lack of having things to update the blog about.  Nor is it lack of times that I've tried to update.  The main issue at the moment is that I have apparently reached my capacity to upload photos for free to my blog.  Apparently Blogger, which is owned by Google, has oh so kindly saved all my photos in a Picasa album for me.  I've now reached my free storage capabilities so they want me to buy an expanded storage plan.  I have spent more time than I like trying to figure out how to clear out this album and such to no avail.  So at this point, I'm trying to decide if I want to pay to have my blog each month (ugh) or start another new one for free.  I'll keep you updated on the final outcome once I make a decision.

So what is new with the Wendorffs?  All sorts of things have been happening, things I've had several blog posts about. 
*We celebrated Papa's birthday.  I have the funniest photo of Hannah and Isabella on Papa's lap looking like they are being tortured that I hope to share soon.

*Ellie had her fourth grade concert.  This year included the introduction of the recorder to the grade.  I also had the privilege of learning the recorder in the 4th grade, from my Papa who was our elementary music teacher.  I remember my mother mentioning in high school how different the band concerts were from the ones I had in middle school.  I now know what she meant!  While the recorder isn't by any means a pleasing instrument to listen to in the first place, hearing the 98 4th grade students at Christina Huddleston attempt to play 6 songs on them was ear piercing!  The whole concert attending experience is torture-esque to Jake so I'm not sure he paid much attention but I can tell you that to the musically trained ear, I was in fact able to detect different pitches in the recorders and heard many noises that shouldn't come from any type of musical instrument.  It will be interesting once Ellie starts band and we get the privilege of more concerts as the musicians learn the instruments!  She's currently thinking she would like to play the flute (gag!).  5th grade band was cut a few years ago during a massive budget reduction so I've got some time to convince her the saxophone is the way to go! 

*We had a quiet Thanksgiving with Jake's parents.  Just us and them.  Rich and I whipped up the meal and it was terrific (minus the gravy.  Still working on perfecting my gravy techniques).  I passed on the Thanksgiving shopping deals but did make a run to JoAnn's on Friday with their 25% off everything coupon.  I now have several projects in the works that include a Christmas present for each kid (monogrammed library bags -shh, don't tell!), a crochet blanket for the baby (about a 1/3 done already), and a sewing machine tote for myself which was a steal on sale and with my coupon.  So I mostly shopped for myself but that's ok, right?!

Otherwise there's not much to report on around here.  #5 will be 34 weeks on 11/28.  We are as ready as we are going to be for him/her.  The only thing #5 does not have much of is clothing.  However, this is intentional as I don't want gobs of yellow clothing.  I have saved a few of the gift cards from #5's shower so once we know a gender, we can buy the babe some appropriate clothing.  Otherwise, the cradle is in place, the closet is loaded with a car seat and bouncer, and we have a bag full of diapers, bottles, lotions, and other necessities.  All we need is #5.  We have more or less settled on a girl name and each have a boy name we like.  I'm just glad we have a girl name agreed on.  I have a suspicion that when the parents do not know the gender, the baby can change at will.  I think this was the case with Hannah.  She decided to be a girl because we didn't have a girl name.  So hopefully we can trick this baby into being a boy by not having an agreed upon boy name!  Although in the long run, gender is not important to us.  We just want a healthy, happy baby.

We've also started decorating for Christmas.  The tree is up and tomorrow we'll dig out the box of other decorations.  We have to keep it pretty simple this year as we have an un-decorator in the house.  I already busted the toddler menace removing ornaments from the tree not once today, but twice.  So not much more will be going up this year!

That's pretty much it around here!  My beloved camera started acting goofy last week and had focusing issues when trying to zoom in.  After discussing the issue with Canon tech support, it was decided to send her in for examination.  She's still covered under warranty so hopefully the issue is something they will fix for free.  If it's not, they will give me a quote and I can decide how to proceed.  We mailed her off to the repair center today.  I'm hoping to have her back by Christmas but definitely need her back in 5-6 weeks!  I feel as though I've lost a limb by sending her away.  Of course, she wasn't doing me any good not working right so it is a necessary separation.  They just better get my camera back to me before #5 comes!  Good thing I can't upload pictures at the moment any way!

Hope everyone is having a blessed and wonderful holiday season.  I'll update soon regarding what I decide with the blog.  I'm feeling cheap, so it will likely be the start of another blog.  Toodles!

Just Another Day

One day last week, Hannah decided to boycott her nap.  This made for a very long afternoon but after an early dinner and bath, she conked out for the night nestled next to me on the couch at 6:45 pm.  Not quite time to give up the napping little one!

I made this delicious dish on Monday this week and decided it must be shared with all.  It's sweet and sour chicken and I found the recipe through Pinterest.  You can find it here.  It's a labor intensive prep but the end result it so delicious, it's worth it!  We've had it a few times now and the entire family loves it.  This was the first time I made the fried rice to go with it.  Wonderful as well!  A new family staple!

( PS- yes, my dishes look like crap.  Reason #461 of why I can't stand our cheapy dishwasher and why I also need new dishes (see the chip for proof!). )

 

Hannah loves to cuddle with anyone willing.  She and Ellie snuggled up one morning before Ellie headed off to school.

 

Sister Sandwich!

Carter has a very active imagination.  On Tuesday, we played Secret Spies and Detective.  He was a secret spy keeping Ava's special cookie recipe safe from thieves.  He wore his special pumpkin mask (one of Grammy's Halloween treats) so no one would see his face!

Ava also wore her secret spy mask (from Grammy & Grampy as well).  Ava had a challenging role in this game as she had to double as both the chef whose recipe is in jeopardy and a secret spy who has to keep the recipe safe.  She performed admirably.

I was handed the role of detective.  I served very little purpose to the game as I was busy prepping lunch but every now and then, the secret spies would run up to tell me about the bad guy trying to take the recipe and I would take notes to help solve the case.

Rather than join in and play with the rest of us, Hannah continued her quest to fall from the pantry shelves while sneaking food.  She has yet to fall but as she continues to climb the shelves multiple times every day and likes to climb all the way to the top if no food on lower shelves catches her attention first, it is an inevitable ending in the near future.  Unfortunately, closing the pantry door is not a solution as it is a bi-fold door and the little menace knows how to open it.  I have a few ideas of how to keep it closed from her but have yet to get to the store to get the required objects so we continue our game of Hannah scaling the shelves and me lifting her down 5+ times a day!

Preschool Puppy Parade

Last Monday, the twinks had their Halloween party and parade at preschool.  Instead of having each child dress up in their costume from home, each class made costumes for the kids to wear for the parade.  This idea works double duty in giving the kids their art project for the week before and preventing anyone from not having a costume or not having one as nice as the next kid.  Genius idea!

Ava and Carter's classroom made puppy costumes.  They were so cute!

Preschool is a fun experience for these two.  They love going each week.  We talk about preschool all the time and when it is their day to go and when the 3 year old classes attend.  I love the structure and learning that is happening when they are there and they are loving it too!  Makes me even more excited for Kindergarten next year!

Parties, Parties, Parties

 Grammy and Grampy came back to MN for a visit last weekend, which resulted in a bunch of parties for various occasions.

 

Party #1 was the triple birthday party for Jake, Ava, and Carter on Thursday night.

Sadly, not many of my party pictures turned out.  The lighting was a bit off in some since I was playing with my settings.  The kids were also blurry in a few from their constant movement.  There is also a curious imposter in many of the photos who blocked my shots.  Hannah was really excited by all the goodies!

 

Saturday, we kicked started our day of 3 stops with a baby shower for #5.  My awesome extended family on my mom's side decided that all babies should be celebrated, especially when there are no hand-me-downs or things for the baby since #5 was a surprise and the mama had gotten rid of everything already.  I've picked up most of the equipment we need at my MVMOM sale and other garage sales, but we still needed bottles, diapers, onesies (I have a thing about buying those used.  It's like buying used underwear- you just don't do it!), burp cloths, and bath supplies.  My family delivered!  What we didn't receive in actual items, I got lots of Target gift cards and money to stock up.  In fact, with the gift cards burning a hole in my pocket, I already went to Target and stocked up on bottles and onesies.  I'm waiting on the diapers since we do still have 9.5 weeks to go and I don't feel like storing several packages for 2 months.  I also used some of the money for a cradle I found on Craigslist.  It's exactly what I wanted to #5 to sleep in since it's bigger than a bassinet so we can get a good 5 months out of it!  I finally feel prepared for the little one!

 

The next stop on our day of parties was to my other grandparents' house to see my extended family there.  My cousin who is living with my grandparents had his confirmation that weekend and nearly all the family came home.  Here's all the grandkids and the four great-grandkids, minus Alex and my cousin Megan.  I have one uncle who contributed 9 to this bunch! (We are underachievers in the Ramaker family with a measly 5.  My other uncle settled at a paltry 3 children and my parents bring up the rear with a disappointing count of only 2 kids!)

The Wendorff segment with T-Ray and his amazing wife

 

Our third stop of the day was for Isabella's 1st birthday party.  I unfortunately didn't get my camera out for that segment of our day.  The kids had a blast dancing up a storm in the basement with Thomas and one of Tony's other brothers Adam.  I felt that I needed to pay Adam and his girlfriend Katelynn at the end of the night since they did such an awesome job keeping my older 3 entertained.  Now that Isabella is 1, she and Hannah had a good time playing together.  Hannah will crawl with Isabella and they laugh at each other.  Amanda and I have concluded that they will be real trouble in a few more months!

 

Grammy and Grampy had to leave Monday afternoon.  We enjoyed having them with us and can't wait to see them again in January!  They both got their project lists completed so I will have to start thinking about what I need their help with the next time they come back!  Although helping me maintain order in the aftermath of #5's arrival is the biggest task for January!