Free Cookie at Mrs. Fields!

On October 1st,( that’s tomorrow in case you are like me and amazed that it is October), get a Free Cookie at any Mrs. Fields participating location. Find a store near you.
Free cookies are from 11am-1pm.

Sad. We don't have one here. Tempting to drive up to Raleigh for one though! :)

made it!

caleb was a doll baby during choir! probably because our bass guitar player held him all night - and boy were the two of them cozy all night long! the altos behind me missed seeing him, but i was blessed! :) if only i didn't have to carry a screaming 2 year old to the car AND the car carrier with caleb in it it would have been a perfect night! :)

all messed up

poor caleb is all messed up today. as evidenced by the fact that i'm typing this with one hand. i'm in david's office feeding caleb while the other kids are downstairs having dinner with david. i messed up caleb's morning with the free grocery run, and then was at kohl's to get the boys some hoodies to wear in the morning. poor little guy - and its weds. so his night will be goofed up too. at least i'm not staying late tonight - so if w can just make it thru choir!!

out of control

All this "saving money" stuff is getting a little out of control over here! It's addictive! This morning was a "grand re-opening" of Food Lion stores here in our area. The first 100 customers at the store got a reusable grocery bag with groceries in it for free! So you know where we were today! After dropping Josiah off at school, David and Jacob headed to one Food Lion, and Callie, Caleb and I headed to another Food Lion. We both came home with the goody bag, and I also got donuts for free and a bouquet of fall flowers for free! I just can't pass up free stuff - I think it's an addiction! :)

(Oh, for those of you that are curious, each goody bag contained one 2-liter of soda, one box of granola bars, one box of instant oatmeal, one package of paper plates, and one bog of plastic utensils.)

i LOVE this kid!

a girl and her shoes

After being embarrassed that I was still sending my daughter to church in sundresses and sandals on Sunday (September 27!!!), I decided it was time to get the child some fall clothes!! I headed to Target this morning and got a few things to get her started. Along with some clothes, she got some new black shoes and some new brown ones. She LOVED trying shoes on - too much probably. The brown shoes that I bought are the not the ones I liked the BEST, but they are the ones SHE liked the best and would NOT take them off. I decided it wasn't worth the screaming child meltdown that would ensue if I decided to make it a battle to win and let her get the ones she had on. Then tonight, this is what David found after going in to check on her. Yep, her brand new shoes sleeping RIGHT next to her on her pillow! Unbelievable! I guess her big brothers haven't ruined her too much!

Can't keep his hands off of him...

Seriously. I think it's physically impossible for Jacob to keep his hands off of his brother. He love him SO much...and tells him all the time. (not sure why David looks so sad in this...I think they were watching a show together or something...)

dinner

since we didn't get home from church tonight until after 7:30 pm, and callie fell asleep in the car, and caleb was screaming his little head off because he SHOULD have been fed by his mother at 7 pm, i told the boys as we were pulling into the driveway to head upstairs, wash hands with soap & water, brush teeth and get jammies on. josiah said "but did we eat dinner mom?" that kid - he ALWAYS remembers meals~~~ i tried to tell him that we ate before we left for church at 4:30 pm - i gave them a big-ish snack. He didn't go for that. So i told them after they were all ready for bed they could come down and have some cereal. josiah said "MOM - that is not dinner. Dinner is chicken or noodles or something." Sigh. maybe i've set the standard too high! :) don't other people eat cereal for dinner sometimes???

Weekend Fun

It's been a fun few days. Unfortunately, I have no pictures to prove it, but you'll have to take my word for it!! Yesterday was a fun Friday day off for everyone! :) It was parent-teacher conference day at Josiah's school, so after we met with his teacher at 7:30 am, we all had the whole day off! It's sort of a bummer that Josiah is usually at school on David's day off, so we enjoyed the day at the zoo together. (And it was fun to be back at the zoo while NOT in labor this time!) :)

Last night, we invited the band and praise team from the 2nd worship service at church over for a fun evening of fellowship (and food of course!). I REALLY wish I had pictures of this! We played Pictionary (boys vs. girls) and had a RIOT!! Girls won (of COURSE), but boy was it hilarious! There were a few people that had never played Pictionary before (seriously - I know! I about fell out!!), and it's so fun with a group of people, on a white board, etc. Hilariously entertaining.

Today, we enjoyed the Smithsonian Museum day and went to the SC State Museum for FREE and had a ball. We didn't know what would be there or if there would be anything entertaining for the kids, but we had a great time! Lots of hands on stuff that they loved, and some optical illusion stuff upstairs that Josiah TOTALLY got into. A fun free day - love that!

So now everyone's in bed, still have a few quiet hours with my husband to get ready for tomorrow. Good stuff.

Free Ice Cream...times TWO!

Tomorrow you have two options for FREE Ice Cream. After that find a free park and go for a walk…

Get a Oreo Lil’ Rounder at Carvels between 3-7pm. Go here for more information. Find a store near you.

Get a Free (after any donation) 3oz cup of “Jack’s Creation” at Cold Stone Creamery from 3-7 in their 8th annual World’s Largest Ice Cream Social to benefit Make a Wish Foundation. Jack’s Creation is: Sweet Cream Ice Cream mixed with brownies and sprinkles and topped with caramel. For more information go here.

SO proud of him.

Indulge me for a minute. And forgive me if it sounds too prideful. But I am SO proud of David. These last 6 months haven't been easy for him. Actually, the last year hasn't been easy. Losing a job, looking for a job, pregnant wife, 3 (now 4) kids constantly vying for his attention, selling a house, buying a house, starting a new job, having another baby, getting to know a new staff, working with a new choir and praise team and band, setting up all new relationships here, etc, etc. But boy has he excelled. He is truly doing what he loves. What he is gifted at (SO gifted at). And what he is passionate about. And so it is evident. To everyone. But I have seen him SO flourish and grow over these last 6 months. It is amazing. One of the other pastors told him yesterday "I knew you were an amazing musician when we hired you. I knew you'd do great with the praise team and the choir. But I had no idea what a wonderful pastor you'd be. You really are a minister first and a musician second - something not often found in music pastors." What a compliment! And SO true - I love you David and am SO proud of all that God is doing through you and with you!!

How did you...

....celebrate the first day of fall today? We went to our pool!! I LOVE living in the south! :) (Saturday is the last day before they close it for the season...but at least it will open back up in April! Yippee!)

School

We were talking about school yesterday afternoon while the kids were having a snack. Josiah was asking about the progression of grades, and he asked about where 9th and 10th grade will be. I said that 9th and 10th grade were in the high school, to which Jacob replied "Yeah, but Josiah's at the LOW school now, right mom?" :)

back on track!

I had my 6 week checkup yesterday and got the all clear, so this morning I headed out for my first run back! Since I stopped running around 26 weeks, it's been 4 months since my last run!! It felt REALLY good to be out there again. I missed that time of worship - just me, God, outside, listening to my praise music - I love it! It was a hard run, but not as bad as I had worried it would be. I set out to do 2 miles, and ended up doing 3 - and was able to run the whole thing. My speed is definitely slower, but that's okay - we'll get there!! Oh, and these hills in SC are a bummer! I end the run coming UP a hill to our court - UGH!!! I think David and I are both going to do a half in Myrtle Beach in February, so our training will officially be beginning next month I think! Yippee! Here's to getting BACK in those clothes again!

I THOUGHT I had it together...

caution: rambling ahead

So last night we had a late night at church. We not only had choir/AWANA, but I'm singing with the band next week (for the first time post-baby), so we (the kids and I) had to stay late for band practice. We got home around 10 pm, fed the baby and put everyone in bed. This morning was a full one. It was David's first morning of men's prayer breakfast/biblestudy, so he left the house at 6 am. This meant that I would be taking Josiah to school today, along with the other 3 kids! (David and I usually alternate taking Josiah to school, but usually the other kids stay home with the other parent). But things went rather smoothly. Caleb woke up at 6:30 to eat (yes, he did 8 hours last night again!), I got everyone else (myself included) dressed and ready, Josiah ate his breakfast, packed his lunch, and out we went for school at 7:15 am. I thought to myself (as i'm buckling callie in) - "wow, I've got it pretty together today. Kids had happy hearts, everything got done, we're right on time. it's amazing what a full night of sleep does for you"! So then i get in the car and look in the rear view mirror to back out of the driveway and i notice that I don't have any make up on, and my hair isn't done!!! Hilarious. After I dried my hair this morning, Caleb woke up, and so I never came back to finish my morning "routine" of getting ready. Whoops! I guess I need more than one good night sleep! :)

THIS is how he responds...

....to his younger brother learning how to ride his bike first...

Notice the red face...partially from being hot, but mostly from the tears of frustration. He had a harder time with the stopping part...he'd start to panic and just take his feet off the pedals. So lots of "that's okay, hop back on and let's try again" from me. I'm VERY proud of him. It's hard to push through that fear - I KNOW!! Wait until Daddy hears!!!

Caleb.

And not only is he so darn cute, but he slept 9 hours last night! Isn't he the best? I love him!

Two wheelin'

"Mom, did you get it?"

Yep, Jacob took off today - like he's been doing it all his life. Round and round our court. We'll see how his older, MUCH more cautious, still holding on to those training wheels yet very competitive brother feels about this...

Gamers

Yep, definitely raising a generation of gamers over here!

bigger

One way I can tell Caleb is getting bigger (by the minute) it seems is that he's not just a little BALL all the time! You know how when they are first born, they can curl up into that little ball when they sleep? Well, he's starting to take up more room these days!

Another Reason I LOVE the south...

...two whole ROWS of bookshelves dedicated to Christian fiction! They their own section! Not even just lumped in with the regular ficton! (And Sandi, you'll be happy to know that Karen Kingsbury had about 4 shelves all for her own books...I even got Book 1 in her newest series!!)

Guess what KRISTEN did this weekend?

She got ENGAGED!!!!! So exciting!! We knew it was coming - their one year anniversary was on Friday, and Chris had "the talk" with Mom while we were on vacation last week. I assumed it would be Saturday night - they were going out to Melting Pot for dinner to celebrate their anniversary. But Chris surprised Kristen by calling that morning and asking if she wanted to have a picnic. They went to the intercoastal and where they had their first kiss, and Chris had written in the water with marble rocks "will you marry me". Isn't that awesome? We are SO excited for them - they are planning for a March wedding, so it's going to be a very exciting next few months! :) Congratulations Chris & Kristen!

Happy Monday

Happy Monday everyone! We had a good weekend around here - enjoyed a few days of not a whole lot on Friday and Saturday which felt SO good! Sunday is always a busy day, but was a great day of worship. The boys got to go to their first night of Music & Missions at church last night. I left David at home with Callie and Caleb (and a bottle), and I took the boys. I decided to stay with them because they were feeling a little overwhelmed at the prospect of ANOTHER new thing. Poor little guys - this has been a lot for them, but they've handled it so well!

So the first hour was children's choir which I think they'll really enjoy (especially Josiah). He has been declaring his LOVE of singing since VBS. And Jacob will probably be the kid on stage at the Chrismas program that is completely hamming it up. Anyways, then they have a snack and head to their missions class, which I love. Josiah is in the 1st/2nd grade boys class, and it's RAs for those of you familiar with the RA/GA program. Good, solid stuff. He loved it. I'm thankful. He still is sort of on his own a lot of times in these settings, but he is learning more names and is getting more comfortable. He has Awana on Wednesday nights (first night was last week), and I picked him up in TEARS because I was the last parent to pick him up (hello, 3 other kids that I was picking up first from all over the church). Poor guy. So we're working on it, but they are doing so well. I just keep praying for them, and for their hearts. That they would be confident in who they are and know that they are never alone...that Jesus is always with them...even if they are a bit nervous.

And I'm taking a stab at this whole couponing madness that has swept the blogging world! I went to a seminar at church on Thursday and cut a ridiculous amount of coupons out this weekend from 3 papers. Hoping to get my binder organized during naptime today. I made my first grocery trip today, knowing I wasn't completely set up and ready, but needing to take a stab at it anyways. I spent $88 and saved $116 - pretty good, huh? As my kids get bigger and bigger (and are eating more and more...these boys!), savings on groceries are becoming more and more important! :) I'll keep you posted!

Riding in the Bag

Kelli sent me this diaper bag to use for Caleb - isn't it the CUTEST ever? I totally love it! When I opened it (in the parking lot at the post office), I showed Jacob and Callie. Jacob said "Is that for him to ride in?" I thought it was a hilarious thing to say, and then had to get home and take a picture of Caleb "riding" in his bag! :) Thanks Kelli - i LOVE it!

Flippin' over...and flippin' out!

On Tuesday night when we got home from the beach, Caleb had a hard time getting to sleep. It had been a long day that ended with a trip in the car. After I laid him down for the night, he fussed for a while and then finally settled down. David went in to check on him, and discovered him laying on his back! He had gotten mad enough that he was able to flip himself over from his tummy to his back. I chalked it up to a fluke.

Wednesday morning, after his first nap, he was crying for a few minutes when we woke up a bit early. I let him fuss for a couple of minutes since it wasn't quite time to feed him. When I went in to get him 5 minutes later, this is what I found!

My little boy had turned himself over AGAIN! What in the world!! Someone tell him that he's 1 month old!!!! i guess he wanted to see something! :)

What the kids were doing while David packed the car and I cleaned up the beach house...

(and you'll notice that Callie had taken her shirt off to match her brothers...)

Pictures at the Beach

The Roads Family

Kelli, Joseph, Scott
Chris and Kristen

my kids were distracted while we were trying to take pictures and found some puddles...

The Maxfield Girls...minus Kimberly :(

Kelli, Mom, Katy, Kristen

The Schrodt Family

David, Katy, Josiah, Jacob, Callie, and Caleb

What? Am I a little soaking wet?

If I turn and run the other way, maybe you won't notice...

The Schrodt feet - all 6 of us! :)

More Vacation Pictures

Callie finally got her hands on Baby Joe...
...and couldn't wait to kiss him!

Caleb loves Aunt Kristen too!

We are a game-playing family!

Caleb and Tutu

Mom and Caleb really bonded on Monday night. He just was totally locked into her face and wouldn't divert his eyes for a second!!! And so then she got the first REAL smile! He kept smiling and smiling at her - he loves his Tutu! :)

There it is! First real smile captured on camera - at 5 weeks old!!

A Whole New Perspective

Kelli brought along Joseph's bumbo seat on the trip and let Caleb try it out - he LOVED it! He liked seeing the world from a different vantage point I think! It made him look so big though :(. I have one in the closet at home for him I'm going to have to pull out I suppose!

Cousins? or Twins?

There are a few outfits that both Kelli and I had for our boys. So we brought them along for the trip and had a little photo shoot. It is SO fun having our boys so close in age! Jacob got a kick out of this part - remember how he and Josiah LOVE to match? So fun!

We had to SQUEEZE both boys into this outfit - Kelli called it the "Elvis jumpsuit" look - a bit tight! :)

I love these two little boys! :)