A Trip to the Ma-zoo-um

Last week Julia and I took all the kids to the children's museum. Here are some pictures from our long, but enjoyable day.

The boys, upon rounding the corner and coming face to face with the dinosaur skeletons.

Digging up dinosaur fossils.

Facing one's fears (at least for mommy).

Peter loves playing at the water table.

Riding on the fire truck. The museum has the most realistic fire fighter suits!

It was especially exciting, after the real fire fighters came to our story time the week before.

Watching the balls drop,

and the eyelids.

Finally, the ride home...

Oh, and Peter says he was not taking a nap, just pretending. He is the best pretend napper I know.

Comforting Words

Mom: "Peter, I think you are going to lose your voice."

Peter: with a self conscious grin, "Why?"

Mom: "Because it is getting even more raspy today."

Isabelle: in an attempt to console, "Yeah, Peter, it is like losing your head."

Tylonal or Benadryl?

The kids have all passed around a little bug recently, thankfully the symptoms are only a fever and total exhaustion.

Daniel was especially pathetic, wanting to be held basically every moment. Finally I was forced to put him down and run around the house to get a few things done. The whole time I could hear the weepy drone of "hoooolllld" trailing behind me, in and out of rooms. But the best part was when I realized this sweet sick baby was gathering up any item remotely significant to him as we went. In this picture he has two "night-nights," his blanket, his dog and what every sick kid needs, a Sonic toy flashlight.

Finally I put him on the couch while I folded laundry, where he, with all his comfort items, fell asleep.

Peter also suffered a visit from the bug (on pumpkin carving day, which, consequently, made the day much easier). Since having been allowed excessive comforting and midnight cuddles, he is determined every ache and pain constitutes another near fatal illness. Last night he discovered a mild cough and I think, secretly, an attack of the "I don't want to sleep" bug, for which he was certain some medicine, "like maybe Tylenol or benadryl" was necessary. Feeling especially sensitive to the ailing, after our current run of disease in the house, I decided to humor him and even considered accepting his request if he could conjure up a suitable affliction. But after rejecting his suggestion to use benadryl for his aching foot, and Tylenol for his watery eyes, he was forced in desperation to declare, in a very matter of fact voice, "mommy, there is something somewhere in my body that is hurting and I need that medicine in the cabinet." With a stifled laugh, I told him that wasn't good enough, and he was left to deal with his afflictions using the tried and true home remedies of dark, quiet and intimidating parental threats.

Pumpkins

On Sunday we carved pumpkins with the kids and Aunt Mer-Mer, Mr. Ash, Aunt Ju-ju and PT. Everyone had a great time, except for the pumpkins of course.

Here is Daniel's pumpkin face.

Peter was not impressed with pumpkin guts, no matter how much his Daddy encouraged boyish fun.


Isabelle enjoyed pulling her pumpkin's lid off and on, but she too was not interested in slime and seeds.


Pretty soon the goo had caused only the strong of heart, and hand, to remain...



while the rest remained on the sidelines.


Peter was very concerned about his pumpkin being scary enough

Isabelle, popping her pumpkin's nose out

Smile Peter!

Peter also wanted a lot of teeth on his pumpkin, "like this."

Our three "carvers"

They put holes in this pumpkin?!

Ah, they're crazy!!!

GRRR, says PT to the pumpkin

Luci was unphased by the pumpkin madness

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Happy Birthday

Last night I went outside to rescue Daniel from his big brother. Apparently Daniel was "saying his YEAH too loud! And Isabelle couldn't even hear Peter talking to her." So I brought him inside to find that he was singing Happy Birthday with a leaf attached to a stick, and cheering profusely afterwards.

Please ignore the messy house (we suffered a baby doll explosion earlier), but enjoy the video.

What moms will do...

Upon waking a few weeks ago, I stood before the mirror as two children yelled from the living room, a dispute well beyond my barely risen brain's ability to decipher, and another child clung desperately to my legs wailing "milk-uh, milk-UUUHHH," only to realize the basket full of curling, teasing, taming, volumizing, straightening gadgets and goo's where useless with out more time than I could find in a week, and a world of hairstyling knowledge I could at best only hope to pay someone for. Not to mention the shower that would likely not come until that evening. Yes, I was forced to admit, "I am a pony-tail mom."

So I called my dear sister, who had come to quite a similar discovery, and in pure mommy "you did what?!" insanity, we grabbed the first set of appointments available, loaded all five kids in the van and drove off with no more concern than mothers headed to the park.



Armed with two strollers, a baby sling, a bag of grapes, a bag of cheerios, a bag of Kix, a package of gold fish and two different juice options, the children and I attacked the sidewalks of the shopping center while Julia was relieved of her fashionably flabby tail. As the last of her locks were chopped, and the cheerios had lost their charm, I was forced to raise the white flag as the ominous clouds overhead began to wield their power over the sidewalk strollers below.

But before I could lament my return to the land of rubber-banded hair, two gallant fathers raced from work to rescue us from being soggy salon invaders and I too was allowed the privilege of enjoying my curling brush again. (As well as the much needed break from the kids!)

Not the best pictures of the styles, but enough to document the lack of pony-tails!

Amarillo for the weekend

Here are a few pictures from our visit to Amarillo two weekends ago.

The kids were so excited to make me a cake on my birthday, and put all 28 candles on it. Can you tell Peter is hoovering over the cake, anxious to not miss his chance to help blow. Paul Thomas, on the other hand, was a little concerned about such carelessness with flaming cakes and young children.

Daniel, on "Gia & Pop-pop's" counter. I am not really sure why he is there...

(and it appears, neither is he)

Gammy and her girls.

Finally, Daniel snuggled into the chair with Pop-pop to enjoy a cigar and glass of wine while saying the rosary.

(yes, you should be concerned about what Luci will be allowed to do at Daniel's age)

Oh sad day...

It is a sad day in the Ellis household. Daniel realized he can open doors today. Five objects and one sister were washed in the toilet as a consequence. The sister was a willing participant. On the bright side, an unaware mother was able to sweep the entire kitchen floor without interruption during the bathroom festivities... which almost made it a good day.

The long awaited Champ-EEZ

According to Isabelle, the definition of Champ-EEZ is "they swing on trees"

Thank you to all who participated in our poll, we are glad to discover almost half of our friends and family know Izzie Rue better than her daddy, or, at least, are better guessers.

The rest of you must be due for a visit!

Good bye Old Friend

1999 Chevrolet "Roomy-Lummy" Lumina became scrap metal Saturday, October 5th, 2008

A silent vigil was held Saturday afternoon in the family's front yard with Sammy of "Sammy's Towing" presiding over the ceremony. Roomy-Lummy will be laid to rest in the junk yard of highest bidding.

Roomy-Lummy was born in 1999 but did not join the Hoelscher family until 2001. He was a good and faithful friend to Tim, carrying him where ever work required until Family Dollar no longer desired his services and he was allowed to remain with the Hoelscher family, now as a faithful escort to Kim. When she no longer required his service, Roomy-Lummy was eager to assist Julia while she was in Amarillo, and even had the privilege of joining Matthew at UD for two years. Fearing the Midwest winters, he chose to remain a Texan, and joined the Ellis family when Matthew moved to IL.

Although he suffered much as he transitioned from family member to family member, never knowing with whom he would ride from year to year, he seldomly complained except to spit water on an unwitting passengers feet with every right turn. Though he lacked the sparkle and appeal of the newer models, Roomy-Lummy was never ashamed of his balding tires, chipped paint and door dings.

Last April Roomy-Lummy narrowly survived an encounter with a tree limb, only to meet his end at the hands of a faulty water pump. The lack of water was simply more than his weathered engine could bare and the stress blew a head gasket. He was never able to recover, nor was the family's pocket book, and he was allowed to die in peace in the family's driveway.

Roomy-Lummy is survived by Honda Odyssey and Mazda 626.

In lieu of flowers, memorials can be sent to the "Preserve the remaining Ellis Vehicles" Fund in the form of checks, gas cards and oil change credits.

School Time!

Our Class room is finally in working order again (the teacher was on leave for situationally induced insanity). After the demolition crew from the summer constructed a wall, and Jeremiah painted the floor, we have a great place to work!

Here is a view of one corner of the room.


Here is the opposite corner.

Isabelle working on the cylinder work.

Peter working on the bean work, using his sense of touch to distinguish the two types of beans, with his eyes closed.


Even Luci and Daniel joined in the work.


Although he did very well on his first day in the class room, we all decided Daniel didn't need more than 15 minutes of work a day, no matter how eager he was!

Fall

Last week the Dallas area experienced its first "fall" weather, with highs reaching only into the 80's. At our house, we skipped fall and went straight into winter.

Peter informed me he would need to start sleeping with his hat and gloves now. Thankfully though, I was able to talk him out of the wool sweater.














And with the use of new accessories, Isabelle's fashion skills have found greater means of expression.

A Monk and a Baby

Recently, well around 7 weeks ago, Jenny Lynn and I took Luciana to the Cistercian Abbey here in Irving where a good friend of mine made temporary vows. Br. Anthony Bigney(formerly known as Ryan) and I have been great friends for the last few years as he taught at a local catholic school and was a great Core Member for another church my youth group did retreats and other events with. He has been in the monastery for the last year and professed his vows in August to commit to living there for another 3 years.

Lucy with Br. Anthony right after receiving his black scapular.

Immediately following the Mass he was able to take a 5 day leave away from the Monastery during which we were able to take in a Texas Ranger's game 5 rows behind homeplate.
Other than his love for the Brewers and National League Baseball, we get along great. The game was horrible and the beer was expensive, but the conversation was quite interesting, as we have chosen two very different vocations and it was great to catch up. I ask that we all continue to pray for young men that have chosen a higher calling to commit to serving His church.

You can keep up with the Monastery and Abbey here.

Hey, I think I know this Guy!

Although, I never thought I would see him on a cooking video!

Check out the Asian Burgers clip

http://gracebeforemeals.com/videos.php