Otis Sidekicks

Grateful Uncle Ty will be here while we are away and helping to get the basement ready for playing again. Boys get their football pads before we take off this morning. The kids want to pack Uncle Ty instead of having him here:) The end of a chapter of the summer, here the kids are all at Urban Tennis, daily Tennis for the last 5 weeks. We missed the first week for Vacation Bible School. Otis and Corniea kids at Tennis on the last day

Well today I was all set to go run some last min errands and ....we are blocked in with TAR TRUCKS! Talk about being able to roll with it. I looked out keys in hand and Mickey looked at me and said "Might be time for a Hail Mary huh?" I couldn't help but laugh they know me well. So we are doing everything we can to get things set here and I will use Sheff's truck, he will park at the church at the end of our street, to run out for last minute things tonight. The Otis Kids in front of the trucks paving our street The kids helped make their own canvas bags for the trip. We purchased the bags for $2.50 each and then used cloth paint markets. They loved the activity and will all get a new book and some special prizes in their bag for the trip. John 9 Annie 9 Nate 7 James 11 Mickey 8 Daisy 4 Mark 5 Each child has their own travel book to fill with facts, pictures and postcards to make their forever book! Lucy eating solids, a big ne...

Our own Johnny Cash, John-Luke loves guitar and listening to Country and Gospel Music John-Luke 3 years old Christmas Daddy with John 3, Annie 3& Mickey 2 John-Luke has really come into himself in the last year. He started taking guitar lessons, has taken off in baseball and is the most polite boy you will meet. He loves greating people by name, giving hugs and being helpful. A great John story was when we were at Sears for family photos and he heard a family speaking spanish near by. He turned to them and said brightly "Buenos Dias! Como Estas?"I turned stunned and said "John when did you learn spanish?" He shrugged and said "Well we hear it all the time I have just never had a chance to use it!" He loves to ask people how they are, what their workday was like and how he can be of help. John learns to play ball 5 years old At the Children's meseum John 6 with mom John is so excited to be selected for Fall baseba...

8 of the 12 kids here got up most of the linoluem Annie & John Tom C. ,Mickey & Nate Many hands make light work! Feeling the push today to organize all the winter gear and bins that had to come up stairs with the flooding in the basement. There is a huge pile in the guest room and I can feel it sitting there calling me to get organized! After inspecting the floor I realized why Sheff thought it was funny I was happy to see under the carpet, it was not tile but linoleum:) SO on the super hot day this week when we had four playmates over I had the kids help pull up the linoleum. The water dissolved most of the glue so it pulled up easily and the kids did most of the floor.  Then Sheff bagged the tile and is sanding the floor so we can paint it. The project (along with my new laundry room) will be a work in progress but it was wonderful to have so many kids really helping!

After a fun weekend away we came home to a flooded basement, as our neighbor commented YUCK! My first response was despair, how were we going to clean this up when I needed to do laundry, get kids to Tennis the next day and battle this crazy heat? Sheff was so calm. Daisy in front of a sea of water and towels Deirdre & Sheff engaged, 11 years ago! It reminded me of when we were first engaged and had a weekend up North when my tire blew out. We were on our way back to the cities after a fun weekend of winter camping, a first for me at the time. We were in my little silver Volkswagen Bug trying to do an icy hill when I got stuck and my tire burst. Sheff was calm and got out to check what had happened. I was flibberty gibbet, worried and cold. He got a sleeping bag and wrapped me up to watch him work. He figured out a lever system from a branch and got the car jacked up somehow. Then he found the spare and changed the tire. He got a bunch of dry pine needles and made a trail u...

Annie 3 years old I decided each of the kids should have a blog page, and if we go in age order Annie is the slightly older 9 year old in our family:) When Annie came home from Russia she was a baby girl underdog. She needed open heart surgery, corrective ear surgery and had not yet walked by 14 months. Watching her grow, heal and explore the world has been a joy. In this last year Annie has really come into herself. We have a buddy system in our family, a very cool system that allows for leadership and effective time management with a big group. Annie's buddy is baby Lucy. Her devotion to her baby sister is beautiful. This also translated into spending more time with mom in the last six months, asking questions about being a parent, nursing and other choices I have made along the way. Mom, Annie 5 & baby Daisy 2m Summer  2007 For her 9th birthday Annie was able to go horseback riding for the first time and her instructor said she is truly a natural. Her Dad and I fin...

James is our "finder" he also loves finding fish:) We always seem to be loosing things, one shoe, a notebook, a beloved plastic ring, a green shoelace that brings good luck and of course Daddy's keys and phone. In our family James seems to be designated as the guy who finds everything. He must have a bit of a visual memory, maybe this goes hand in hand with an affinity towards math? He also always notices things when we are out an about, the only one to actually find money on the ground (even if it is right in front of our noses:) and notices if we drop something. This skill comes in handy in a big busy family. Yesterday we were in a frantic scramble to find one of Daisy's ballet slippers for those of you who know Daisy, you know the slipper is a wee bit bigger than a doll shoe so the mission to find it was feeling dire at 5pm when she had to be in class at 5:15. Sure enough James sized up the room and it took him 30 seconds to find it. And no...

Little Deirdre & Mother, Nor circa 1982 We went to Lake Johanna beach today and I realized how much FUN our kids are. Summer is such a sweet time because we are all together and get to share the mishaps, adventures and daily tribulations that turn into family lore. On the way walking home from our car( major construction, built in daily walks to get home) James slid on some dirt and it was like the watermelon fumble in Dirty Dancing , he was up, he was down, sideways and he saved the bag! We were all in stitches and I realized how grateful I am that our budget does not allow for a nanny. Having to work together is not always easy. This morning I got to tennis without coffee and one of the eight in tears over hidden shoes, but we recovered. They made up an elements game that someone is fire, water, earth and so on, like a combination of Avatar and rock paper scissors. They made sure to include Lucy who had mamas milk powers. Overhearing the development of the game is a piece of...

We had a wonderful weekend visiting our friends the Corniea's cabin on lake Rainy, North of Brainard MN. It was hands down the sunniest, warmest weekend in 2011. What a blast!!! The guys, Conor Corniea,  Steve & Mike,  Sheff Otis Mickey & Annie swim off the dock John 9, Mr Muscle The slack line! John's birthday gift from Grandma Boo, Daddy gives it a go over the water. '

Looking forward to Cabin time this weekend. We have had a great first 3 weeks of summer. Lucy is entertaining the gang with her rolling explorations. Rolling from one to another and laughing at their antics. Lucy Claire 4m Sheff is busy trimming trees, cutting grass and doing other outside projects. If the activity makes him sweat he usually likes it. The bigger the tree to cut for firewood, the longer the ditch to dig for the patio, the happier he is. A good workout is when he can't see from sweating. I totally get the joy, I just find I have to be more moderate throughout my day in order to meet everyone's needs. If I go for a run I am zapped and not able to do the other 10 things I have to. Sheff seems to get recharged from intense work or exercise. Its  good to know your own temperament to be healthy and balanced! Daisy helping Daddy in the yard Wishing everyone a healthy and safe 4th of July!!!