Weekend with an only child

     This past weekend it was a rare and very quiet weekend for the Apedaile6. John was working out of town, Lindsay and Courtney were at a student event for the church all weekend. So that meant it was just JT and I. I can't recall the last time I've had Mommy duty for just one child besides when it was just Sarah way back when. JT and I managed to have a fun weekend despite not having half of our family home.

JT and I heading out to a friend's birthday party.

One of JT's favorite activities at the party. 

Going fishing!

JT's big catch!

There was a cookie decorating station at the party. JT piled on the chocolate frosting and sprinkles.

Eating a birthday cookie pop- yum!

There was also a photo booth to take silly photos. JT had fun goofing off with what he called the Magician's Hat.

Peek -A-Boo!

"Hey Mommy, where did I go?" He did this over and over for several minutes. It cracked himself up.

Most of the children at the party. The birthday girl, Ella, is in the black and white outfit. 

JT picked out a few things for me to use as props and we got a photo together.

Later that evening, we ventured out for some shopping. JT LOVES shopping! A boy after his Mom's heart, clearly. We ended our shopping with some fine dining at Sam's club. JT devoured this large piece of pizza.

Before getting Lindsay and Courtney from their fun weekend, JT and I went to church Sunday morning. We sent this photo to John who was working hard in Pennsylvania to send our love to him. Though JT and I had a wonderful time spending time together and playing, it was nice to get his sisters back Sunday and then John back mid week. It's back to business as usual at the Apedaile6 house.

All numbed up

     The girls had a 4 day weekend thanks to Presidents Day and a teacher in-service training day. How do I have fun with my girls? I schedule a dentist appointment for Courtney to have 2 fillings done! I'm the best Mom, aren't I?  It had been a very long time since Courtney had a filling, in fact this was her first one on her adult teeth. Happy for that last part and hopefully this will be her last fillings for some time. I decided to have a bit of fun with her after her appt.

Waiting with butterflies in her tummy. Nervous for the unknown since she didn't really have any memories of what to expect.

Courtney decided to play with my camera while I checked her in. I figured  I'd share my goofy girl. Good reference for how her face looked prior.

Chubby baby cheeks are back again! Courtney had 2 filling on her upper teeth (both sides). The Novocaine made for some rounded cheeks.

Trying to puff up her cheeks. She couldn't make correct lips to hold in the air.

Trying to whistle. No such luck.

All of this made us both laugh and even that made us laugh even more!

Courtney's self portrait. No she's not in pain, she was smiling. The Novocaine wore off in a few hours and Courtney's normal, beautiful expressions are back just the way we remembered.

Prom Fashion Show

     Recently, Lindsay was able to participate in an event that seems to be a must for the Apedaile young ladies of the house- Prom Fashion Show for their high school. While for most, it's about getting to wear and show off the latest trends for the upcoming Prom season, this event is to raise money for the FCCLA club as they prepare for competition events.

Lindsay looked beautiful in a full length purple strapless gown.

 Lindsay was front and center in the presentation of the girls.

 Strutting her stuff for the audience.

 Unexpected cutout back.

 Conga line with all of the students.

 Lindsay and her friend, Alyssa, were simply beautiful .

Won't be long until this girl is getting ready for her first Prom.

Introducing Wallace

     We have a new family member in the Apedaile6 house- Wallace the hedgehog! Lindsay got him a few weeks ago from her friend, Annie. Annie's family had Wallace for several months, but due to various circumstances, they couldn't give him the attention they knew he needed. Annie's family knew what a big hedgehog lover Lindsay was and offered him to her

Lindsay on the night she brought Wallace home.

Wallace is an African hedgehog, a common breed for pets according to Lindsay. He is 7 months old.

He gets an oatmeal bath about every week in our sink. He's not a big fan of them yet, but he lets Lindsay scrub his quills with his bathing toothbrush.

He is a cute little guy and perfect for our house as hedgehogs are hypoallergenic. JT's doctors had told us a long time ago to not have any cats or dogs with the issues he had with his ears, nose, and upper respiratory systems early in his life. We are looking forward to having fun with Wallace.

Hearts Big & Small

     With the other heart art project being somewhat of a bust shape wise, I thought we would give it another try. Foolproof way to make sure the hearts look like hearts-cookie cutters!

 Lots of fun possibilities with these various hearts along with some red and pink paint.

 Ella and Mason took right off with stamping their hearts.

 Mason liked to stamp one heart several times in one area.

 Ella really loved using the small heart.

 After a bit, they switched colors.

 Time for the big boys to stamp!

 The ultimate tongue sticking out with a twist! What a talented boy!

What I loved hearing both JT and Finn say while they were using different size hearts was how they noted size and placement of the hearts on the page. "I'm putting the small heart inside the big one." and "I'm stamping the large heart on the edge." They are both growing up and it's a joy to see their understanding expand on a daily basis.

 This one picture describes how this art project went- messy! Not sure why, as we do several things with paint, but all 4 kids decided today was the perfect day to use their shirts as napkins. Their shirts were covered in red and pink paint. Painting smocks are on my short list to make out of old T-Shirts to prevent that from happening again.

 Ella's hearts

 Finn's hearts

Mason's hearts

JT's hearts

Paper roll hearts

     Love is in the air at the Apedaile6 house as we prepare for Valentine's Day. Last week, I found a new and fun art project to do with the kids. Just take an empty toilet paper roll and pinch it in the center.The result is a heart like shaped tube.  I personally thought after they made their artwork, the hearts also resembled a boomerang a bit. Perfect for little hands to stamp to their hearts delight!

 Ella had a great time dipping and placing her red and pink hearts all over the page.

 JT and Finn started off with one color. After they thought they were ready for the other color, the boys would declare, "Switch!" This went back and forth several times.

 No art post would be complete until JT sticks his tongue out while working.

 Finn had a great time stamping his heart out.

 Ella's hearts

 Finn's hearts

JT's hearts