01 02 03 The Dayton Houghs: July 2008 04 05 15 16 19 20 21 24 21 24 21 24 21 24 21 24 25 26 27 28 29

The Dayton Houghs

30 31 32 36 32 36 32 36 32 36 32 36 37 38 The Dayton Houghs: July 2008

Thursday, July 24, 2008

No need to call the police!





It all started out as a typical evening. We had finished up dinner and Noah and Isaac headed to the bathroom for a bath. They were saucy from pizza and stripped naked standing in the tub and...(insert sigh here) NO WATER! Not a good thing! Brian ran around checking this and that and concluded that it was beyond our limited plumbing experience and we needed to call in a professional. Thankfully our very capable, very honest and very friendly plumber was able to come first thing in the morning. That was great, but we still had saucy, messy kids. Bring on the babywipes!
Ok...problem number one solved. Plumber's coming first thing tomorrow and kids are clean...well mostly clean anyways! The little girls were thrilled to not have to take a bath and threw their dressup clothes back on and headed back to their room for a tea party...or so we thought! After a period of prolonged silence broken up only by stifled giggles, I knew what I had to do. I sent Coley back to check on them. She let out a shriek that sent chills down my back. For the second time tonight all that I can think is...Not a good thing! Coley comes running into the living room and says those words that no mother ever wants to hear, "Mom, you really need to see this!" "ooooooh!" I groan as I reluctantly head back the hall way when I start to smell something. My heart sinks as I quickly recognize the smell ! (Insert exasperated sigh here!) I am afraid to look into their room, but I know that I must face the music. This is what I saw: (Brace yourselves. Some of these pictures appear to be graphic in nature.)


No it is NOT a crime scene...although it could have been after I saw what the girls had done!No...it is not blood. (Although that would have probably been easier to clean up!) It is Candi Apple Red #709 nail polish! There was nail polish on the carpet, on their dresser, (which they also managed to knock the door off of the hinges again!) on their clothes and on their bodies! There was nail polish everywhere! I am shocked because I keep the nail polish in a case in my closet to prevent just such things from happening. Unfortunately my mature, normally responsible oldest daughter, had a lapse in judgement and left it sitting out. This is a lesson that she won't forget anytime soon! I was fuming because we can't clean any of it up because...WE HAVE NO WATER!!!!!!!!!!!!! For the third time in about 10 minutes, I am thinking ,"Not a good thing!" Basically the two little girls were sent straight to bed, still in dress up clothes and covered with polish. It was for their safety as well as my own well being. They must have realized how much trouble they were in because for the first time in forever they went straight to sleep without uttering so much as a word to each other. After I had calmed down and could kind of see some humor in the situation...ok I'm still not there, but I'm trying!...I went into their room where they were sound asleep. I did what every good mom would do, I snapped a couple of pictures!

Then I just stood there and looked at them. No matter how bad they have been or how mad I get at them, there is nothing as angelic as a sleeping child. Gianna was still in her sparkly dress up leotard, sucking her thumb and hanging on to Lamby. (Note the nail polish all over the palm of her hand.) Instead of wanting to strangle her I was overwhelmed by the urge to pick her up and hug her in all of her cuteness. Instead I just tucked her blanket around her and turned to the mastermind, Hannah.

Hannah had a rough day to begin with. There were some issues with her making and umaking her bed all day long. She had been sent to her room to put her pillows back on her bed and instead stripped all of the covers and sheets off and turned her mattress into a slide! That's why she is laying on her mattress without any sheets. She is decked out in the dress that I wore as a flower girl in my Aunt Joni's wedding years and years ago. It's one of her favorites, despite the tons of fancy princess dresses she has to dress up in. She always goes back to this one. Not a baby anymore, Hannah has become quite the little lady. I am amazed at how big she is getting. She is as smart as a whip and growing into such a pretty little girl. Even though I have a heck of a mess to clean up, I wouldn't change anything for the world. Because I know that I am truly blessed. (Insert contented sigh here)

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Fun in the Sun!

The forecast was calling for 90 degree weather, tons of sun, and a need to go swimming! I sent an e-mail to my FiF's (aka Friends in Faith...aka my good friends from church) suggesting a day at Crooked Creek. Crooked Creek is a state park with a little beach area and a place for swimming. I figured that the kids would have fun and I need some grownup time with the girls! Another bonus is that it is one of the few places that I can take all 7 of my kids for almost nothing. The other thing is that with kids having an age span of 18 months to 12 1/2 years old, it's hard to find something that everyone will enjoy. Swimming is definitely at the top of the list!






My FiF's were in too! We decided to meet at 11:30. We took a picnic lunch, buckets and shovels, and tons of sunscreen! We even had a cabana for shade thanks to Lisa. As usual we were running about 10 minutes behind so we arrived at the beach at about 11:40. When we got there I discovered a wonderful surprise. I pulled up to the little pay thingy where you fill out an envelope and put your money in. I was under the impression that it was $1 per person up to $4 a car. But when I read the sign it was actually $1 person and up to $4 per car BUT children 12 and under are free! Woohoo! A day at the beach for a mere dollar! There are not many things that I can take all 7 of the kiddos to for $1 actually, that might be it! Becky and her three boys, Adam, Kyle and Jarret, were already there, but she had to take her dog home or risk being kicked out of the park. Minor misunderstanding....so as she took Autumn home, I manned the troops and construction of "The Trench" was under way.




The Trench is underway!

The next to arrive was Amy with her three, Lizzy, Hannah and Sam. Hannah and Sam jumped right in on the trench action while the more mature Miss Lizzy hung with Amy and I.





Gia and Lizzy looking very glam!
Lisa arrived shortly there after with Dyllan, Emily and baby James. Lisa does the beach with style. She brought this cool pop up cabana thingy to provide some shade for the baby, but it was huge and we all migrated towards it after a few hours of baking in the sun.






Lisa, Lori and Amy enjoying the shade of the cabana.
Becky came back, dogless. Eventually Lori and her crew, Aislinn, Dom, Maddy, Gracie and Ellie, arrived. They were running a little bit late, but it was probably a good thing for Lori. It was very hot and humid and she is incredibly pregnant and miserable! She was swelling by the minute! Poor thing. She kept apologizing for being crabby, but HELLLOOOO! You're like 20 months prego! We know how you feel!



Kids, kids everywhere!

The kids eventually wandered over to grab a bite to eat or a drink. Sunscreen was applied and reapplied several times, but we still ended up a little toasty at the end of the day. But suncrisped or not, we had a blast. The kids stayed in the water most of the time. Becky actually commented that all that she had seen of Hannah was her head and her arms as she floated around on her fun-noodle.








Hannah and Gracie were just hanging out in the water

There were also a few unexpected visitors...a flock of geese came meandering down the beach! The kids flipped out. They were either terrified or chasing them. poor geese...they never stood a chance!

You can see the kids chasing the poor geese.



There was also some unexpected entertainment. We had a little radio and Noah started dancing to the music and eventually worked his way over to a pole on the cabana....My son the pole dancer. His father and I are so proud! Ha Ha!


We ended up staying until about 4:20. I decided that was too late to try and cook dinner, so it was pizza! We ordered our pizza and then we all got slushies to drink. It was such a fun day! We were all totally exhausted by the end of the day, but it was worth it! Check out some more pictures of our day on my facebook page!















Thursday, July 10, 2008

This is Noah running back and forth between his highchair and the wall. We weren't exactly sure what he was doing, but it was highly entertaining! He did this for about 10 minutes, without stopping...I'm not kidding! He did come over to me a few times, so that I could kiss his hand. He had a little boo-boo that needed some of Mommy's magical healing kisses!

Here is the link to the video. I couldn't get it to upload straight to my page. Enjoy!

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=24940618905

Our crazy summer so far!

The summer has been flying by at warp speed! I can't believe that we are already well into July! The three older kids went on their annual visit to Grand Rapids to stay with their grandparents. They were only gone for a week, but it felt like an eternity! Not only did we miss them terribly, just because they are their own wonderful selves, but it is really hard to get anything done without some distraction for the 4 little ones! Nana and Grampa Rose brought them home on June 29th. Joan was having a big cookout to celebrate a visit from her twin sister and her family from Georgia and Arizona, so the Roses just brought the kids there to celebrate with us.





The Monday that followed the cookout was the day that Joan and Aunt June and Amy threw a baby shower for Brian's cousin Lindy who was visiting us from Georgia. Lindy is pregnant with her first baby. It was fun to be able to celebrate that with her! Her is a picture of the diaper cake that Denee and I gave her. My friend Shana made it for us. It was so cute!


The Wednesday of that week we headed to Idlewild Park for a day of fun in the sun! We walked through Storybook Forest, rode rides, played in the Jumpin' Jungle and went to the H2O Zone to play in the water. We had so much fun! It was a crazy busy day, but we had a blast.



Here are some links to the complete albums on my facebook page. Enjoy!

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Ballerina Girl

Coley in her Ballet Costume

Coley in her jazz costume

My eldest daughter, Coley has been taking dance lessons for 4 years. For the last three years she has taken lessons at the Y in Kittanning from Miss Rita, the same dance teacher that I did 20 years ago! Her dance recital was last month and I've been a little bit slow in getting this blog out, but you know what they say... Better late than never!

Coley and Mama

My mom was the main reason that Coley was able to take dance lessons. She selflessly picked her up and took her to every lesson. Coley loved her time to have her Mama all to her self. And honestly I loved that they had this as their "thing" together. I remember when my mom took me to the same Y, with the same teacher, in the same studio. I think that it was really neat for her to be able to do the samething with my daughter. It is a unique bond that the two of them will always have.



Miss Rita, Coley's teacher
The picture above is Miss Rita, Coley's teacher. She is such a sweetie and a great teacher. But the truly amazing thing is that Miss Rita is 84 years old...or should I say years young! She is in amazing shape and can do things that I can only imagine doing! If I am in this kind of shape when I turn 35, I'll be thrilled!


Here is a link to short video of Coley's jazz dance...ENJOY!

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=24946653905