Compliments

Sometimes you get the sweetest compliments from your kids and sometimes you get sweet and funny.

Calvin to Chris: Daddy, your the best toy buyer in the world:)

It's Super, Super Spooky!

Halloween is fun! I think it's fun to decorate, fun to dress up, and trick or treating with my kids is the best. 

Brownie Taste Test

Chris had waited long enough. He had to know, just had to know which is the best, store bought, boxed brownie mix. 

So today, he came with all of these:

That's right, 7 boxes of brownies!

And he started baking them right away! 

Our neighbors heard about the test and thought it sounded fun so we shared. 

The winner in our house is Betty Crocker Fudge Brownies.

Their house was divided between BC and DH. It was a texture thing:)

Now that it's settled, I can get back to eating healthy.

1st Grader and Kindergartener

Typically, I find the first time I do something to be the hardest. However, I did not find sending my kiddos to school this second time around any easier. I didn't bawl like last year, I kept my cool. But those familiar feelings were just below the surface. It's a mixture of emotions for me. Nervousness, excitement, and I really just miss them. However, they are always excited to go and that makes me feel better. Calvin is bummed he only gets to go for a half day. He really wants to eat lunch at school for some reason. It's gets better when we get in a routine. I'm positive they will learn and grow, and make friends. Here's to making this school year great.

When we came home from dropping Lila and Calvin off, Graham threw on his 'pack pack' and said 'I'm goin' to school, mom'

Whoa, Baby...#5!!!

It always starts in the middle of the night for me. Early, like 3am early, I started having contractions. Which is an awkward time because then I have to wake someone up to come watch my kids. Fortunately Chris' parents said we could call them anytime. So we did and they came. Chris and I went to the hospital and of course the contractions slowed down. It was a familiar situation. So, after being lectured by a jerk, I mean the nurse, for not being registered with a doctor even though we had just moved to town 2 weeks ago, we left. All day, contractions would come and go. Nothing regular but definitely painful. My mind plays tricks on me because I think I know what to expect but what if this time is different? Anyways, Chris and I were able to spend the day together since the kids were with Chris' parents. We were able to relax, do a little shopping and that night we had plans to go to dinner and a movie. Well, after dinner I had enough and we headed back to the hospital. This time a much nicer nurse was there:) I hadn't changed much but they let me stay anyway. We had enough time to get settled and to choose a name. Chris and I can't seem to agree in advance about names. Anyhow, labor progressed quickly. I did get an epidural which offered a brief moment of relief. Then all of a sudden it didn't. The rest of delivery was PAINFUL but quick, relatively. 

Ross Aaron Johnson was born at 11:30pm on March 26th, 2016.

 I'm so grateful for a healthy pregnancy, labor and delivery. It's amazing how much pain I have had to go through to bring my children into this world. Pain like no other! Five different times! That is how much I want them and love them. 

I don't know exactly how life with five kiddos is gonna be but I know I love them all and am so lucky to have them. I'm also blessed to have such an amazing husband and father to my kids. I can't imagine doing all this without Chris by my side. 

We were all so excited to meet Ross and he's just so cute and cuddly. I feel overjoyed but look exhausted in this picture. I'm sure that's how it will be for awhile.

Love you Ross, and I'm so glad you're here!

Trick or Treat Scooby Doo!

 My kids are big fans of Scooby Doo, so that's who we were for Halloween. I like opportunities to improve my sewing so I altered a shirt to make Daphne's, I mean Lila's costume. I am pretty impressed with myself and it was fun to see the kids get excited for their costumes. Chris is always a good sport and he even decided to paint his hair. The color is barely noticeable but the effort was much appreciated:)

Happy Halloween from Fred, Velma, Daphne, Shaggy, Scooby Doo, and Scrappy!!

Moving is a lot of Work

I don't know if we will ever stay in one place for very long. At least that's what it feels like some times. We had to say goodbye to South Carolina because Chris' office was shut down. Fortunately, he was offered a job by a co-worker who left D3 and is now the hiring manager at a company in Indiana. That's right, Indiana. Never did I ever think I would be moving to Indiana. 

I remember when we first moved to SC and people would ask us if we were here to stay, we kind of hesitated saying yes. Mainly because it was our 3rd move in 2 years. Even though there wasn't anything in the foreseeable future that would make us move, I never felt we would stay in SC for very long. It took moving away to completely realize how great Simpsonville/Greenville, SC really was. Downtown was charming. It wasn't a huge city and therefore lacked the horrific traffic. Plenty to do and not far from major cities that offered bigger venues for sports, concerts, and such. Absolutely beautiful! Chris would disagree because he was allergic to SC, but I think it had the perfect weather. I'm used to the humidity, so while it was cumbersome at times, not a huge negative for me. Fall colors were amazing to witness each year. Snow was possible but not expected, at least more than one snowfall a year and it was there and gone before it became annoying. The city shut down completely at the idea of snow, ice, or really cold temperatures. Which is funny but also refreshing. Loved it!! 

I miss it. I miss the friends we made while living there. I miss our house. I miss our gym. But I know we will be settled again some day. Here's to another adventure in the books!