Need I say more?

Elizabeth Moon, we love you!

She did an amazing job and I am so excited to put them all over my house!

There's a new bossy pants in town.

There's a new safety patrol in town.  I'm sure the kids on the bus were thrilled to see another Scharman, large and in charge.  Luckily for them they only have to put up with one at a time since Haley decided that she didn't want the extra responsibility this year.  She came to the realization that being "the authority" wasn't all it was cracked up to be and she wanted a break to live carefree during her last year in elementary school.  Except that one has come back to bite her just a little when we had the talk about "respecting her little sister as the patrol on the bus."  As a 6th grader, you just can't win.
Actually Abby tried to apply for a "non-bus" position.  She wants to help the little kindergarteners find their way so she too, can live a care free bus ride.

I was sitting here lamenting the fact that it's been too long between posts, and that I had nothing especially significant to report, except the ebb and flow of adjusting to life with so many adorable, stinkin' kids (sometimes that's adorable and stinkin' and sometimes it's stinkin' adorable, depending on the day.)  And then I remembered through my tired, foggy mind that we actually have quite a bit of fun on occasion.  For instance, last Friday we took the girls out of school early and headed down for our once-a-year-free-day at Busch Gardens.  If you'll remember, that plan got rained on a couple of weeks ago.  Last Friday was perfectly beautiful, even a little warm.  I think the temp reached almost 80 degrees but cooled down in the late afternoon and evening.
The biggest surprise of the day was little Miss Mia who jumped on every roller coaster she could without a moment of hesitation.  She was fearless, as was Haley.

 Abby, on the other hand, was scared out of her skin.  We somehow convinced her to try this one out - the line was non existent, which means she didn't have time to psyche herself out before getting strapped down.  It just so happens that she made it onto one of the scariest in the park.  Loops, twists and 3 minutes of pure crazy.  She was a little shell shocked afterwards but proud that she made on at least one.

 Jonah was happy as a clam all day long.  This is a game we like to call, "baby fishing".  You hook 'em every time.

Clark and I played the 'ole switcharoo for a couple of rides but I was more than happy to oblige him riding most of them.  I can only take so many coasters before I start baby barfing.  It's not pretty.

I am not joking when I say that riding the swings was the most terrified I felt all day.  Swings are NOT fun as an adult. (Maybe it's the trauma I still feel from losing my jelly on the swings at Six Flags when I was 7.)

And don't think for one second, that I am not going to take a good paragraph to talk about my baby, because I'm gonna.
Let's just take a look, shall we?  I know it's overly cliche to say, but I cannot believe how time flies.  Have you ever heard the saying, "the days are long but the weeks/months/years are short?"  So true.  In some ways it feels like I was pregnant forever ago, and yet I cannot believe that he is already 4 months old and not the tiny little baby anymore.  It also leaves me wondering, is this the last one?  Should I be storing these memories even tighter in my mind?  I just can't imagine a day when there won't be a little Scharman baby on the horizon, no more pregnant bellies or baby kicks and no more snuggling in the middle of the night and rubbing my cheek on their soft baby heads.

We are in the grabbing stage now.  It's fun because he is so engaged.  It may mean lots of detangling baby fingers from sister hair but it also means little fists hugging both sides of my face and nuzzling baby faces in my shoulder.  Could it be that I love having a baby even more now than I did 11 years ago?  It makes the fact that he is NOT sleeping well at night more tolerable.
My sweet little boy.

Stay tuned...I might even get around to a second post in the same week.  I had the kids' pictures done this week and they are fabulous and wonderful and I want them plastered around my house.

La dee da.

Ah, fall.  I welcome you with your insane schizophrenic weather, soup and anything pumpkin flavored.  And leaves, my gosh, the leaves.  One of my favorite things is walking to the bus stop and being caught in a shower of leaves.  I love the crisp air and the smell of people starting up their wood burning stoves for the season.  I may just commit to saying that Fall is my favorite season of all.
It also means it's time to go apple picking!
I love Columbus Day because it's one of those holidays that only a handful of people get off of work.  (I also love the Facebook post that said something to effect of "I am going to celebrate Columbus Day by visiting another country, calling it my own and making everyone else leave.") The girls were out of school that day, and since our plans of doing Busch Gardens was dashed by rain and cold weather, we went apple picking instead.  Did I mention it was cold and rainy?  Yeah, apple picking wasn't so awesome either.  But we can also appreciate being cold and wet on an outting if it means a few memories.

We went with some fun friends of ours that were willing to overlook the nasty conditions.

Oh look, I was there too!  Jonah was kept snug and warm...he liked the warm part, but not "snug" so much.

I appreciate having a strong man to facilitate retrieval of those "hard to reach" apples up top.  It's a tradition that the girls love...and Clark will probably appreciate less and less as they grow bigger.  As it is, putting the 5 foot tall, 11 year old on his shoulders is not as easy as it once was.

The apple of my eye.  Sorry, couldn't resist...now if only I had an arrow.

We also took the opportunity to pick us a few pumpkins.  The girls found lots of tiny ones that never had a chance.

We have now commenced eating apples in excess.  Applesauce, Apple Crisp, apples and peanut butter, apples and Nutella, apples, apples, apples.  We have a lot of apples.

Then on Saturday morning we bonded over homemade donut holes and a riveting game of "Down by the Bay"- despite what it looks like, we were not having a seance.
PS Clark and I kind of rock at that game - the girls can't appreciate that.
PSS Poor Jonah gets stuck in the mush pot, every time.

And now I would like to document, for my own sake and memory of what life was like at this stage, a sad story.  This is a sad story about two sisters who somehow convinced their Mother to consider letting them throw a party.  You see, we don't really do parties.  It's not that I don't like parties, it's just that I recognized years ago that once you start you kind of can't stop.  And with lots of kids, I just wasn't keen on that kind of commitment because I also happen to be the kind of person that couldn't throw just a simple little party.  It would have to be super cute.  Like, pinterest cute.  And I just can't bring myself to do it.  But they had me jazzed at the prospect of their little Halloween party.  And it was going to be a joint sister effort, which made me happy.  They made a power point presentation that they worked on for days, with detailed plans for decorations, games and food.
All they had to do was show us that they deserved it - be nice, be obedient, be helpful...enough that I noticed they were even trying or making an effort.
They talked about it for weeks.  They told friends about it.
But because Clark and I are good parents ('cough') we followed through.
They didn't earn it.
We have good kids.  They are sweet and amazing but they struggle with a few things that Clark and I really want them to improve on.  I hate that they didn't earn it.  I hate that they have to go back to school and tell their friends not to expect an invitation in the mail.  It breaks my heart, it truly does.
Maybe a Christmas party.  Wish them luck.
Wasn't that a good story?

Why my Mondays are worse than your Mondays...

My Mondays stink for one reason and one reason only...half school day.  I get it, I get the need for the teacher work day yada yada yada - but don't we all agree that Friday or heck, even Wednesday would be better suited for that?  Don't give me the weekend, and then jump right back into the week with a half day.  It is absolutely impossible for me to get back up to speed in a just a couple of hours.  Therefore, my house does not get put back together until Tuesday, unless of course you are talking about this week where Tuesday was so busy the house stayed in the gutter.  Hm, it's 9:30 am Wednesday and I am still on the computer...this day is not looking promising for the house either.  I swear, I'll get to it (just like I got to "working out" last night....working out with Clark [and Tony] actually turned into 2 episodes of Heroes in our work out clothes.  Sylar and I can be very persuasive.)
So, if you are as able as I am to temporarily forget all the many things that need to be accomplished to not live in filth, you will enjoy this little break long enough for me to show you how irresistibly cute my little baby is, and how much fun we have had this week.

See? I told you he was cute.  He sometimes wears blue jeans and tennis shoes and I have to stop myself from devouring him whole.
I love him.

Clark and I went to an 80's themed party.  You see, I grew up in the 80's.  I have a true appreciation for it.  But being born in '78 I only got to experience it as a young child.  I never got to be a teenager and really maximize my love and adoration for the fashion of it...unless you count my stirrup pants.  I didn't get to do the big hair, the make up, the shoulder pads.  So I gotta be honest, when I walked into the house full of people dress to the hilt in 80's fare, my heart lept for joy just a tad and I felt true and utter happiness.
And as impressed as I was with Clark's ensemble, I was scared too; very, very scared.  I reminded him that yes, indeed his costume was awesome but please keep in mind that we are going to have to sit and stare at each other while talking at the party.  How was I supposed to listen to what anyone was saying if I was so distracted by how much I loved their getup?

 Our bedroom smelled like a small Aqua Net bomb had gone off.

The party was awesome, down the littlest detail.  Remember just a second ago when I said how dangerously distracting costumes can be?  Here is a prime example.  I cannot tell you how often since 1983, I have thought about these plastic charm necklaces.  No one seems to know what I am talking about and my friend Mer showed up wearing one.  Not just any one, the ORIGINAL one from her childhood.  It was like elementary school all over again.  I wanted it.  I wanted to steal it right off her neck.
Can we please bring these back?  I love them. She also has her garbage pail kid cards...I might have to break into her house.

And since baseball season it near its end, we thought it was time we made it to a game.  It's been way too long.  Clark and I LOVE baseball games but we haven't gone much since we discovered several years ago that Abby suffered from vertigo.  And since our family can only usually afford the cheap seats way up top, the games weren't very fun with a nauseous Abby.  Clark somehow scored us some great tickets though so off we went this week.
It was the most fun family outing we have had in an while.  I loved every minute (even the panic attack I have while watching my kids touch everything on the metro....well, maybe not that part, so much.)

 The girls were adorable and had a blast as well.

 We will definitely be going more next year.

 This picture is for you, cousin Mike.  Why didn't you tell me you played professional ball?

We left after singing "Take me out to the ballgame" in the 7th inning stretch.  We figured on a school night and with 5 kids, it was better to leave while we were ahead (aka no meltdowns)...and by ahead I mean us and the kids, not the Nats who honestly speaking, were not that impressive.  Sorry Sadie, Bryce Harper just couldn't get it done.

The mascots are huge headed presidents of the US.  Between the 4th and 5th innings, the big headed presidents have a race around the outfield.  They fall down a lot.  It is really funny.

His first, of hopefully many games.

Clark helped Abby catch a ball during batting practice before the game started.  The girls were quite excited about that...even though it was hit by a Phillie and not a Nat player.

And now, the dishes, kitchen, laundry, beds...