The boys were playing and I hear Gavin yell:

“Help me!  Help Me!  Ayudame.”

(Ayudame is “Help Me! in spanish.)

L:  We need a Cornacopia.

K:  What’s a cornacopia.

L:  It’s made out of corn and copia.  Only I don’t know what copia is.

K:  Did you just slap yourself in the face?

G:  Yeah, cause I was staring at you.

Vaughn:  Go for a walk.

Grace:  Go to the park.

Gavin:  Play Bendaroos.

Lincoln:  Go bowling.

Grace started running a pretty good temp yesterday – around 103.  This morning she is milking it quite a bit:

“Lucy, can you bring me some goldfish crackers.  My legs are already asleep.”

“Mommy, can you make me pancakes with chocolate bars and waffles with chocolate and bacon.  I want something healthy.”

“Daddy, can you throw this away for me?  I can’t walk.”

Friday Jamie took Gavin to the ER.  Had to have a bead removed from his nose.

Gavin fell asleep as soon as Jamie got him to the ER.  He only woke up at the point where they were extracting the bead.

Meanwhile…all his brothers and sisters were at home crying because they wanted their brother.

Tonight we took 7 kids to the 3-D movie “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs”.  It was super cute.  Ate supper at Hawkeye Pizza - which we really like.  (Not as much as Napoli’s or Sorrento’s or Mazzio’s or Guido’s – but one of the best within 30 miles.) 

I told Lucy she could invite a friend.  She chose Isabel, Chloe, and Ceci.  Couldn’t get ahold of Chloe. 

I told Grace she could invite a friend.  She said, “Can I bring a boy friend.  I mean a friend who is a boy.  Not boyfriend.”  I asked who.  ”That boy from school.  You know…you saw him there.”  I did see a boy hug her before he got on the bus last week.  I think that’s the one.  But I said, “Grace, I need to know his name if you want me to call him.”  “Ok, then how about John.”  “How about a girl.”  She ended up bringing no one.  But she likes Isabel and Ceci so that was ok.  Only she sat about 5 seats away from the rest of us.  Sooooo Grace.

Right now Lucy Isabel and Grace are asleep in the family room floor.

Sunday I’ll be running a 5k in the QC Marathon for the Erika Kate Foundation.  My sister will be running the half marathon.  Go Susan!  In all there will be over 80 folks running for EKF.  This is a great foundation started by two AMAZING people.  You should check out their website:

www.erikakate.org

Chore chart and Daddy Dollars have been working well.  Last week we weren’t very consistant with it.  But this week has gone well.  Grace (my extremely lazy child who cries the whole time when I tell her to pick up ten things in her room – and it takes her about 20 minutes) has come home every day and emptied and reloaded the diswasher.  Lucy has been a scrubbing fool in the bathroom.  And for bonus dollars she’s been doing extra chores like laundry.  She actually started a load today and didn’t tell me until it was already going.  Gavin has vacuumed every day.  Lincoln asks to help cook.  And Vaughn has been setting the table.  The great thing is that, first of all, they have been “destroying” less because they are busy cleaning. and secondly, they don’t fight over things like who gets to vacuum or help cook.  They just each know whose turn it is.  So they get their daddy dollars for getting ready in the morning and for doing their chores.  We give extra dollars for whatever we want them to do…for example…they get one dollar for every spider they kill.    seriously.  Below is the chore chart I made.  Got the idea from girl scouts.  I let the girls pick what they want to do and then assign the boys to what I think they can, or will do.  Vacuuming is the top chore that the boys like.  I’m surprised that Lucy has not picked cooking yet. 

When the girls went camping last weekend, Jamie stayed home with the boys and they watched a real kid movie:  The Last Samarai.  After a very intense fighting scene, Jamie was a little worried the boys would be scared.  Instead, Vaughn punched his fist in the air and shouted “THAT WAS AWESOME!”