Summertime Sibling Slumber Party

The kids are so sad to see the summer go for so many reasons. But one reason I never would have expected in a million years is because the summertime slumber party had to come to an end.

It all started when school let out and the girls wanted to sleep in the same room together. What we thought would be for the weekend turned into Monday as well, then another day, and another. Well then Sevea wanted to sleep with Cohen. But Brynna is the one kid who actually really hates sleeping alone. So she agreed to sleep on a pillow bed on the floor with the two of them in the bed. Well another night comes and they want to do it again. But Brynna doesn’t want to sleep on the floor by herself again. So a switch is made. The next night it ends up being all three kids in the bed together. That worked for a little while until they spent the 4th of July vacation all on pillow beds at the cabin. So for the rest of the summer except for maybe a night where we forced them to sleep apart, they had been sleeping on the floor on pillow beds next to each other. It was a really hard thing to end when school started because they generally did so well. Of course they talked a little longer than we would have liked but the chances of them wanting to do this for years to come are slim. So I totally just tried to soak it in and let them want to be within arms reach of each other. That arms reach only resulted in a hand to the face twice the whole summer. I guess that means it was a successful summertime sibling slumber party.

Ear Tubes Round 2

Cohen’s first set of ear tubes did the trick and he was great for 3.5 years. We noticed he was saying “What?” to us a lot. It got so frustrating that we figured we needed to check out his ears. He passed the hearing test at his annual check up in August. No issue with the hearing screening at school. And his teacher said she didn’t notice anything and he was doing amazing in school. Going into the appointment we kept second guessing ourselves but it had been several months that we just dealt with it and if we got so frustrated with hearing the “What?” from him we figured we needed to just go and see. Sure enough he had the same problem as before. Mild hearing loss due to fluid build up. So it was back to the hospital on December 13th for a second set of ear tubes as well as removal of the adenoids to help prevent needing any further sets of tubes. This time was so different from the first. He wasn’t struggling to learn. He was actually thriving. So the only real hope we had from the surgery was to hear “What?” less frequent. He handled everything like a champ. He played on his tablet and played with his new special figurines before being wheeled away. But before he went he gave me a loopy thumbs up :) Upon his return he was happy yet tired. He tried a popsicle but didn’t care to open his mouth that much just yet. Within the next hour he was acting like normal. He got a special ride out and we were home by lunchtime. He didn’t even have a problem eating lunch although his throat was expected to be a little sore. The end result of the surgery, I no longer cringe when I hear “What?”

Thanksgiving 2017

We’ve been celebrating Thanksgiving at the Witzel house for a few years. It has easily become one of my favorite holidays. #1 reason is we make Bloody Mary’s. Only slightly kidding about that being the #1 reason. I just really love how relaxing the day is. The kids have a great time, we eat good food, and just enjoy each other’s company. Somehow each year we get better at the planning. Which allowed time to sit and watch some of a Lifetime movie. I don’t think I’ve watched a Lifetime movie since I was on “bed rest” with Sevea.

The Lifetime movie only held our interest for so long. So it wasn’t a bad thing when the kids wanted our attention. Cohen absolutely loves games. Board games, video games, physical games, you name it he likes it. So he was very happy to play a game with Keeley and Sevea. That game wasn’t enough so the daycare lady in me pulled out my Thanksgiving game, Don’t Eat Pete. This time all the kids joined for the game. Let me tell you about the game and you’ll quickly realize why they all wanted to play and requested that we play it every year. Every person has a game card with different looking turkey’s. All of the players besides the person who’s turn it is, pick which Turkey is Pete. Place CANDIES on all the turkey’s and you eat the candy and hope you aren’t eating Pete. They got excited to find Pete but it was great because no one really lost. They all got to eat candy. Best game to keep fighting to a minimum and get everyone involved. Up next we played Thanksgiving BINGO. This was also a hit since they got to eat the candy at the end of the game (since we can’t eat our playing pieces during the game). They also learned a few new things about the holiday since some of the game spots brought up questions. #daycareladywin

Eventually it was time for the Thanksgiving feast. The day ended with full bellies and thankful hearts. We are so thankful to have such good framily to spend the holiday with.

The kids would say they were thankful for “swimming” outside in November.

Sevea’s Sleepover Birthday Bash

I love having a September birthday and when we planned to try for our first kid I was very excited that they could also be born in September. That excitement is really diminished when you have to plan a birthday party for an early September birthday. Sevea starts school and literally days later it’s her birthday. What if she makes new friends? Knowing addresses for old friends or ways to invite them is a struggle. And handing out an invitation at the start of school means pushing the birthday party into later September or October. Or in this year’s case…NOVEMBER! But little secret between me and you, it was so late due to me and my lack of just planning it. #momfail

My laziness or forgetfulness or whatever ‘ness’ I can blame it on turned out to be great thing. Sevea decided she wanted a sleepover costume party. Remember we learned November is after October in school so guess what? All the kids had Halloween costumes and were so excited to put on a fashion show for us.

Brynna, Grace, Sevea, Addie, Cohen, Breanna, Eloise, Kalli, and even Troy really rocked their look. Next up things took a silly turn.

You could really tell they loved the catwalk and working their poses and making the camera work. Cohen just might be growing up in a boy minority home :)

Presents were opened. A pillow fight ensued. Pillow sack races were ran. An ice cream sundae extravaganza was held. A movie was watched. A giggly group of girls stayed up late talking and just being girls.

But the night did end and the girls of course woke up way earlier than their bodies or brains would have preferred…or at least mine was telling me it was too early. They ate some breakfast and before we knew it the sleepover had come to an end and all the girls had returned home. It was a huge success and Sevea felt very special. Mission accomplished even if it happened 2 months after she actually turned 9.