School delay...

Since I'm home this morning w/ the kiddos due to the 2-hour fog school delay, I thought I'd post...not that I have a lot to talk about but hey, I can always find something :)

Nick absolutely is not understanding the whole school delay concept - he keeps telling me we're late for school! Which is funny b/c he's the one kid who asks e-v-e-r-y morning "Do we have school?" - not because he wants to go; he'd much rather hang out at home! Or go to Abbie/Anna's - if I had a dollar for every time he has asked to go see Anna/Ab/Max/etc., I wouldn't have to work!

Hannah is grounded....AGAIN. I did a random backpack search Sunday nite & found school papers w/ bad grades stashed in a pocket. I don't mean 1 or 2 papers - try 10 of 15 papers...all w/ a grade of "C" or worse. The little stinker! We have a rule here at home that if you bring home a grade of C or worse and I know that it was something you rushed through or just didn't follow the directions, you don't get to watch any TV that night. Now, if it was something difficult/new/etc., I can understand so we go over the paper and all is well. Hannah had been stashing these papers away for a few weeks - only giving me her pretty little A's & B's...well that sure backfired on her! She's grounded from going anywhere and no phone calls to friends thru this coming Sunday. What am I going to do with her?! The worst thing is - she doesn't even really like TV much (she can't sit still) so she would have been much better off just taking the punishment each time it came around!!

Emily & Katie are maintaining the status quo...no major issues at school and minding their Ps & Qs at home too. Of course we'll always have Kate's never-ending fascination w/ TV (um, I think she would watch corn growing if it was on TV!) and Em's "big" personality (i.e. sass-talker!) but hey, that's who they are and we love 'em!

Yard Sales & Family Reunions...

Wow - what a busy weekend! Abbie & I spent a lot of quality time together this past week getting ready for our yard sale on Saturday - which was totally great b/c I don't get a lot of time w/ Ab without others around so it was good to just hang out; albeit surrounded by TONS of yard sale stuff! We had a great turnout - they started coming around 7:30am and didn't stop until after noon. And...we'll be doing it again next weekend :) We didn't realize this coming weekend (10/4) is the Annual Cumback Yard Sale which is an organized "neighborhood" yard sale so we're cleaning out closets and finding more stuff to sell! I went thru the girls' rooms/closets this afternoon so we'll have girl clothes this weekend which we didn't have the first go'round. SO - if you know anyone needing/wanting the following, send them our way (Troy Road south of the Bypass to 400S - follow the hot pink signs!): boys clothes (newborn-4T), girls clothes (4-6X), household items, toys, womens clothes (S/M), baby items, etc. etc.

Today was Shane's family reunion (his Gma Lela's side of the family) at the Conservation Club in Washington - complete w/ the required pickup softball game w/ 3 generations playing & the 4th cheering them on...love it! Though I have to say...my hubby is getting older! Shane & his cousin Jesse (who talk a lot of 'smack' to each other) both agree that the game gets harder as the years go by. Katie played too & did a great job; Hannah & Em were taking a walk w/ Mickey, Sarah & Deanna and Nick was pouting b/c he didn't want to play the field - he only wanted to bat so I told him he couldn't play...I know, I'm such a mean mommy.

Here's Shane rounding the bases:

Tonight - Shane is totally indulging me by letting me watch the brand new VH1 "Behind the Music" - NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK! Can't you just hear the girlish screams?! I'm totally cracking up that they're releasing new material but hey, props to them for giving it a go - I can still remember Abbie & our cousin Cassie Trueblood in their NKOTB t-shirts when they came to see us at cheer camp my freshman year in high school...too funny!

October is almost here...my favorite time of the year! We're heading to Mom & Scott's "country" house at the end of the month & the kids are pretty excited - they love going to the house in Bumpus Mills, TN (Kentucky Lake) b/c they get to play outside allll day long, riding the Kubota all-terrain & the 4-wheeler. Gramma Cindy always has a great craft project for them too which they totally dig. While I prefer the "city" house in Brentwood (south of Nashville) for the restaurants & shopping, I usually get out-voted by Shane & the kids on where we visit my parents...5-1 isn't great odds! Oh well, I guess I can "rough it" in the country every now & then!

Here's to another week - hope everyone has a good one!

Family weekend...

Back to real reason I started this blog...my family! We had a great weekend w/ lots of running here & there...Saturday morning was spent at the soccer field (we're 2-0!) then the rest of the afternoon was centered around getting ready for the car cruise. Shane & I "cruised" w/ Gma & Papa Beasley in Great Grandpa Beasley's '67 Ford Galaxie...only 70,000 original miles! We had such a great time - from the chili supper beforehand to all of the candy we threw. The kids were all at Gma Lela's (happy belated birthday Grandma!) for the cruise then went home w/ Gma Theresa & Papa Ed for the night. We met up with Mom (yay - my mom was home!), Peg & Sharon at the park after the cruise then ended up at Sharon & John's for her fake margarita's...who would have ever known Squirt made a good margarita?!

I picked the kids up Sunday morning then got the girls to Religion class...Nick & I picked them up after class & headed to Anna's for another famous "Beasley Birthday Lunch"...yes, there are enough of us that we have to get together every month for birthdays. Love it! Not sure what I do without my family or what kind of person I'd be...I truly believe we are a product of how we're raised so kudos to my fam that I'm fairly normal :) This month was Big Nick, Tracy, Delbert & Clay's b-days...the food was great, the weather was beautiful and the family was fabulous! Nick & Max were typical boys - filthy head to toe - and the girls ran around w/ Hannah B (cousin) being silly girls riding the golf cart.

Abbie & Mom (Cindy)

Speaking of all of my family...the kids & I had a pretty funny conversation Saturday morning. Emily asked if they were spending the night with "Grandma" that night...I asked "Which grandma?" and she got irritated w/ me for asking what she thought was a silly question. I then had to remind her that she has: Grandma Beasley, Grandma Lela, Gramma Cindy, Grandma Beth & Grandma Theresa....what lucky kids!! The even have Grandma Gloria in California (Scott's mom) that they haven't been able to meet yet. And - they have almost as many grandpas to go with them....how blessed we are!

If you have time - check out my blog list - I've added my cousin Lauren's who decided to join the crazy world of blogging. I'm sure she'll be able to entertain us w/ stories from IU...keep it clean sister - you never know who's reading your posts! I've also added "Delaney's Dream"...tragic story of a young man who passed away recently and his fiancee's struggle to cope. Patrick's aunt Patty works w/ me and I think of her family everyday...keep them in your prayers.

Emily's curious mind...

Ok, so I thought I had fielded my share of "Questions" (notice the capital Q) when my girls first asked me "Where do babies come from?" "But, how do they get in there?" "Then, how do they get out?"...well, today took those types of questions to an entirely new level. Granted, the questions weren't directed to me, but, more embarrassingly, to the kids' after-school program director, Miss Karen. Let me tell you the entire story...

I went to pick the kids up today and they were playing outside on the playground. They ran in to the school to get their backpacks & Miss Karen came over to talk to me. She said Emily came over to her and asked if she knew what "gay" meant...Miss Karen is a retired teacher so she's used to these types of questions but I was still slightly mortified by this conversation already! Miss Karen replied to Emily that yes, she knew what that was. Em then went on to ask if Miss Karen knew what "S-E-X" was...yes, she spelled it out instead of saying the word (oh...my...goodness). Miss Karen replied again in the affirmative and asked Em where she had heard that word. Em explained that her "best friend" who will remain nameless had told her that she likes to throw boys on the ground, kiss them & have S-E-X with them...at this point in the conversation, I'm wishing the earth would open up & swallow me whole. I mean - this is my baby girl!! She's not supposed to be asking this at age 8...Miss Karen apparently saw my now complete mortification and assured me, in her own words, that my kid wasn't going to turn into some sex fiend by her next birthday!!! Needless to say, Shane & I plan to talk to Em about what she's heard from the other kids, if she has any questions, etc. etc.....please be thinking of us & pray that we say the right things and don't confuse her any more than necessary! I really didn't think I would be having this conversation at this point in my children's lives but unfortunately, I feel society has made kids grow up so fast...but I'm sure parents for many generations have felt that way. Why can't they just stay innocent forever?!

Family walks & Christmas shopping...

We just got home from from a walk...I think we're quite the site walkin' down the street...Dad, Mom & 6 kids! haha - of course I'm counting our 4-legged kids Hershey & Buster. Hershey is our 9-yr old dauschaund (i.e. wiener dog) and Buster is our 18-mo old springer spaniel....just guess who is better on the leash! I told Shane tonight that if I was on a skate board walking Buster, we'd probably be going 50 mph down the sidewalk! We all enjoy our walks - at least I do when the weather is nice :)

I could feel Fall in the air today - my absolutely fave season of the year...I love jeans w/ sweatshirts, wienie roasts w/ marshmellows, football games w/ hot chocolate...I could go on & on! Pretty soon, I'll plant our mums, take pics of the kids in the leaf pile, get out the fall decorations...of course fall just leads up to my favorite "eating" holiday - Thanksgiving! YUM!

People may think I'm nuts but I've already started Christmas shopping - hey, w/ 4 kids I can't afford to wait until November to start!! I guess I should confess that my "list" is actually an Excel spreadsheet w/ separate columns for each kid and 2 separate worksheets for Shane and the rest of the family. Oh, it doesn't stop there - I have a color-coding system showing what's from us and what's from Santa, bolding & italicizing to show what's been purchased & what still needs bought....I have everything we've bought for the kids since we started shopping together (2005) - let me say, we've got some pretty spoiled kids! Kevin, the Wal-mart store manager, looks for me every year on the day after Thanksgiving just to see my list...he's in Rotary w/ me so he razzes me all year long about my infamous Christmas list! Yes, I'm anal-retentive and proud of it!

We have soccer practice the next 2 nights then the homecoming parade Friday so it may be a bit before I can post again...I'll try to have pictures next time!

I'm Baaaack!

Yes, I know....its been 2 weeks since I've posted - sorry!! I worked on a post for 20 minutes after Shane & I got back from our anniversary weekend in Indy - it had pics & all - but my computer "hiccuped" and I though I lost it all....leading to me getting fairly ticked off so I shut down the computer!! However, I just found that post in my "drafts" so I guess I shouldn't have gotten ticked huh? I'll post it separately here shortly once I get the pictures in place.

Anyway - short re-cap of our Indy/Labor Day weekend - had a great time at Oliver Winery, shopping, Indians baseball game, Howl At the Moon, 13 (yes, 13) hours at the drag races then back home to get the kids, visit the Round Barn Centennial celebration, have Ed & Theresa over for lunch on Labor Day then back to work. Woooo - busy 4 days!

This past week was pretty busy too - Soccer draft Tuesday night, Evansville for kids' dental appts Wednesday afternoon, first soccer practice (I'm coaching!) in the pouring down rain Thursday night (hey, we lasted longer than some football boys that were practicing nearby!) then a fairly low key weekend ever since.

The kids have been fairy rambunctious (sp?) lately - typical kid stuff but I do have a couple of cute stories to share. Last Monday, I took Em to Wal-mart with me b/c she had $10 burning a hole in her piggy bank from selling her Go Diego! playset to Patty for her grandson...we were at the checkout and she dug her wallet out of her purse & handed over her hard-earned cash. As the checkout lady was finalizing the transaction, Em turned to me and whispered, "How much do I tip her Mom?" - cracked me up! I whispered back that we don't have to tip the Walmart lady & she very seriously said "Ok, I just wanted to make sure."!! Ah the innocence of kids!!

Cute kid story #2 - I was in our bathroom putting on makeup this morning and the window was open which faces our driveway. All 4 kids were outside when our neighbor Avery and her two cousins came over, one of which was a first grade boy. I listened intently as my two 3rd grade daughters proceeded to flirt with him (yes, its started already) then he had to leave. I started teasing them thru the window by saying I couldn't believe they were flirting w/ a younger "man" - of course they started squealing & laughing when Nick piped up and very seriously said "What's flirting??" I couldn't help but laugh b/c I'm sure our son will figure out flirting very quickly when his 3 older sisters start bringing their friends home!

This week starts Jump Rope Club (Mondays) and Just Say No Club (Tuesdays) for the girls, soccer practice Wednesday & Thursday for the twins, Homecoming parade (Just Say No Club is marching in it) on Friday then our first soccer game Saturday morning. Never a boring moment around here!!

The lost post....

Wow - its been too long since I sat down & posted! It's been a great four day weekend....here's a rundown of what we've been up to:


On Friday, Shane & I headed to Indy for our "anniversary weekend" - we dropped the kids off at school, went to breakfast at the Steamer then headed north. Our first stop was Bloomington where we did a little shopping then stopped by Oliver Winery for tastings, shopping & a snack - yum! Here's a couple of pics...




We headed to Indy after Oliver...we were able to check into our hotel early then stopped for another "snack" (what happened to regular meals??!) before changing our clothes & heading downtown. We checked out Circle Center Mall for awhile - totally looking for a pair of cheap shoes since the impractical sandals I was wearing were causing blisters - hey, I'm a girl and sometimes, well, fashion hurts! Anyway, didn't find any I was willing to drop cash on so I suffered on...


We headed over to Victory Field - Home of the Indianapolis Indians - for a perfect night for baseball...the weather was great, the hotdogs were hot & the beer was cold....awesome! Here's a couple of pics our "section usher" took of us.






We headed over to "Howl at the Moon" after the game - Shane & I first went to one of these "dueling" piano bars in Chicago a couple of years ago and absolutely loved it! If you ever get a chance to go, do it! The musicians are very talented and put on a great show!


We were up the next morning - bright & early - to head over to O'Reilly Raceway Park for the NHRA Mac Tools US Nationals...yes, drag racing. This was my gift to Shane for our anniversary - the traditional 1st anniversary gift is paper so he got paper tickets to this event! Anyway - after stopping at Starbucks for a very necessary caffeine boost, we headed to the track and got there @ 8am. I won't go into all of the details but the day was pretty cool - Shane was a like a little kid in a candy store and I was amazed at how close we could get to the drivers/cars. We had great seats right on the starting line. Here's us in the stands:



After THIRTEEN hours and a nice sunburn...we finally left! We were so tired when we left that all we could manage to do for dinner was stop at the first Hardee's we found, got to the hotel, showered & hit the sack.


NOTE: This is where I thought I lost the post so that's all I've got!