Santa's lap

Ellie wasn't too thrilled about this but at least she didn't cry! Thea put up a good fight but lost...thankfully she shed no tears either. It was more than I hoped for! Yup, its a scanned photo so its not that clear. Next year, Santa's lap is REALLY going to be hurting from our gang! I should have advised him to retire early...

A few fall photos...overdue

Kriebel & Foster kids

Kriebel Cousins

Sue & Sue. Keep in mind, I'm 6+ months pregnant, not fat!

Halloween

Just a few photos of our trip to Atlanta to visit Dave's brother and to attend Thea's band/colorguard competetion at the Georgia Dome. Had a great visit with the Kriebel cousins---and North Penn did awesome at the competition. (11th out of 44 bands) Thea had a lot of "fun time" too...they went to Dave and Buster's, bowling and spent a day at Six Flags . I also got to visit my best friend Sue and her family who just relocated there. Included is a Halloween photo too...Dave made George's Spongebob costume, by the way. It was a HUGE hit in the school parade!

lordy lordy look who's 40

I decided to do a "non-kid" post. My sister Joan hosted a surprise 4oth birthday party for her husband Eric at a local bar. She had about 40 people. It was a lot of fun...wish I could have enjoyed the open bar more but Dave drank my share...(I 'm sure that goes without saying!) Here are some photos...its rare that my sisters and I are photographed together! You've gotta love the one with Dave and my dad and pork sandwich sauce in the corners of their mouths. They're two of a kind.

PS... Yup, my sister is pregnant too...due 5 weeks before me. Megan and her new baby brother or sister will only be 13 months apart!

update on charlie

Well, on Tuesday the pediatrician sent us to Grand View Hospital ER because Charlie's neck was still severely swollen. They did a cat scan and the CHOP pediatricians who are on staff there sent Charlie to CHOP downtown via ambulance...(just protocol but something Charlie will always remember, I'm sure!) They thought they might have to operate to drain the lymph nodes but thankfully, IV antibiotics did the trick. Turned out he had/has mono as well. He spent 2 nights at CHOP...got home Thursday afternoon. He was quite a trooper. His neck looks great now and he is very happy to be home! (And so is Dave who spent the nights with him) Another chapter closed in the Charles Kriebel medical saga...

October

Its been a while since I posted. We are sooooooooo busy with soccer, cub scouts, colorguard, back to school events, etc. Poor Thea's life is completely consumed with colorguard practices, competetions and football games. There is no WAY I would have put up with those kind of demands when I was seventeen...for that I give her a tremendous amount of credit. I know she is sick of it but she is hanging in there. This past weekend they competed (and won) at Giant's Stadium. In the next few weeks she will be in 5 competetions and traveling to Allentown, Towson, Annapolis and Atlanta! We are planning on taking the family to Atlanta for a few days to see Thea perform and to visit Dave's brother and family and my friend Sue and family. Should be an interesting car ride! Thank God for DVD players.

Last weekend Dave took the kids camping near Crystal Cave, PA. (photo above) They had been asking him to go for some time. Thankfully, he took the fishing poles but didn't have time to fish. (WHEW!) It was an accident free trip. They did a lot of "rock climbing" and hiking.

Although Charlie survived the camping trip w/0 incident, he has been a sick little guy. He is now on his third antibiotic this month. He has been on a nebulizer for severe wheezing, had an ear infection and now has a baseball size lump on the side of his neck due to swollen glands. He can't even turn his head or smile. We asked the dr. to do a blood count just to rule out leukemia...(we're paranoid, but the swollen lymph nodes are a sign) His red and white blood cells counts are fine but his differential (?) is slightly off which could indicate mono. We will find that result out tomorrow. Great! Its heartbreaking that little guy is ALWAYS going through something. UGH! He's a trooper though...he hardly complains.

I am doing well w/ this pregnancy except suddenly becoming extremely moody and way more bitchy than usual, if you can imagine that. The secret is well out now as I have completed the "walks of shame" to the bus stop, church and back to school nights. I think Dave is still in denial. Whenever I mention something about the baby, I swear he looks at me as if he is hearing about it for the very first time. Now that baby is kicking and I am starting to become more of a bitch, I think reality will soon set in.

Anyhow, Dave is having a great month. He got a well-deserved promotion at work and he is basking in the aftermath of having attended the Eagles/Cowboy game last night. "The best game ever!" I'm expecting his mood to last AT LEAST a month from the game alone.

Later!

blonde hair blue eyes

I just can't resist posting this photo of Ellie, taken by Michele (Kriebel) Conner. She is quite edible right now!

more beach photos

For some reason, I failed to post a few photos on my beach entry. I tried FIVE times. I am ready to throw this keyboard across the room. I stink at this.

summer's end

UGH...just home from a "pre-Ernesto" week at the shore. Sadly, a few weeks before the trip, I arrogantly said outloud that we have always had perfect weather at the beach during the past 8 years that we have gone. HELLO! Nothing but clouds, wind and rain. We even came home a day early. Anyhow, the kids could have cared less. They still had fun. The Conner cousins came to visit for a few days and kept them entertained. We did get to the beach a few times, enduring rough surf, high winds, clouds and cool temps. Dave took the boys out on his friend's boat for a morning, which they loved. Of course, they enjoyed the boardwalk, the playgound and riding bikes on the nice flat streets. As far as the weather, I was the biggest complainer, as I am a "sunshine girl" (HAHA!) Thankfully, we had visited the beach twice earlier in the summer during which times we enjoyed far better weather... Once to see my high school friends Stacy and Colleen, and another to spend a few days with my sister and her family. Anyway, I guess our next trip to the ocean will be next summer when we have ANOTHER CHILD! (Still hard to say/swallow) One day when we were on the beach, I was sitting (shivering) on my chair watching Dave and all of the kids dig a big hole in the sand and I just blurted out, "My God, there are a like a million of us!" Dave just shook his head. Poor guy.

School starts in a few days. I'm a little sad this year. Summer went by entirely too quickly...I'm going to miss them.

Well, there is my update. Sadly, my husband and his brother are like the only 2 people who ever read this. Dave was actually giving me sh** for not updating it. I don't know if that shows he cares or that we just don't communicate enough at home. Maybe its pathetic that he has to read my blog to stay connected. Sigh...Here you go Dave, enjoy! Oh, and hi Andy!

Oops, sorry Amy K. I know you have read a recent post too! Don't want you to feel left out

Vally Forge National Park

Took the boys to Valley Forge National Park while the girls were at camp. George had to wear his "hunting hat and belt"! (Not sure where he came up with that....he never has been and never will go hunting!) They LOVED going in the log cabins, visiting George Washington's headquarters and playing with the canons. This place is right in our backyard and its the first time we ever took the kids!

news

Well, I (we) have been keeping a very big secret for several months. Some of you may already know, but quite frankly, I have been too embarassed/shocked to tell many people. I've just been able to come to terms with it myself. I am pregnant...4 months. And yes, we had just done something which we thought was "permanant" to conclude our family but apparently this baby wanted to come anyway. We are very scared. And quite honestly it has been emotionally trying on our marriage. But I think we're finally getting to a point where we realize that once this baby comes, we'll wonder what all the anxiety was about. I know that we have enough love for one more...maybe not enough room or money...but definitely enough love.

Besides having to battle my own feelings of fear and doubt, I've found the reactions of people are even more difficult to deal with. "Are you nuts?" "Shut up!" "But I thought you.....". I can't say these comments are the least bit surprising but they really don't feel "good". I sometimes feel like a teenager who isn't supposed to be pregnant. Maybe I'm paranoid but I feel like the second I turn around someone is chuckling or whispering. I'll have to get over that, I know. Because I do know when this little Kriebel pops out all that will disappear and everyone will just accept that we have a lot of freakin' kids and heck, aren't we blessed?

Anyhow, our "Oh Crap!" baby (as Thea has called it) is coming in January. (Just like the previous 2, I might add...makes for a lot of birthday parties in one month) I have had many ultrasounds and a CVS screening (sort of like an early amnio...screens for all chromosonal abnormalities). Looks like a healthy baby...which is GREAT news! The kids are excited too...they just want to know where the baby will sleep, where he/she will sit at the dinner table, and what kind of new car will we get so we can fit all EIGHT of us. We don't have any answers to any of these questions, by the way. What do you think of this for a license plate: 8ISENUF ???

That's about it!

11.5 week ultrasound

3 days of peace, sort of

Last Wednesday thru Friday, Dave took Thea, Emma, George and Charlie on their annual camping trip...This was Charlie's first time going! Ellie and I got some quiet time, sort of. They went to Rickett's Glen State Park this year which is near Scranton. Dave read that there were a lot of waterfalls there and thought the kids would enjoy it. So when he called me on Friday afternoon he reported that they were having a great time and that there were lots of black bears around. So I'm obviously worried that some bear is going to get a hold of my little Charlie, as he is the one who usually falls victim to the accidents/misfortunes of the family. Needless to say, I was freaking out when Dave called me Friday evening about 9 and said they were at Bloomsburg Hospital ER because Charlie had a fishing hook lodged just millimeters below his eye, worm still attached. I believe my words exact words were, "Are you F+++ING kidding me?" He wasn't. So after 2 hours, Bloomsburg wouldn't touch him and sent them to yet another hospital where they had a "Children's Dept" so Dave arrived there only to wait for a opthamolic specialist to be paged in. (Yes, the worm is still dangling from my son's eye) Apparently, Chalie wasn't even crying. Thea was in the waiting room with Emma and George who were sleeping on her lap. I was at home pacing the house waiting for updates. Finally, they gave Charlie an IV and some verised (sp?) and were able to remove the hook. No stitches, thank God. It literally JUST missed his eye! He definitely has a guardian angel because in the past 6 months he nearly lost 2 fingers and one eye. All on Dave's watch...though I try not to get mad I have to admit I lost if once during this ordeal. You see, George was the one who cast the line which hooked dear Charlie, and I just calmly "asked" if Dave was watching him and if he had a safety lesson before they began fishing. Is there something wrong with that? Anyhow, Charlie brought me the hook and the dried up worm home as a sovenier. EW. He tells everyone, "I gotted a hook stuckted in my eye. I'm always getting damaged." (pause, to wipe tears)

Anyway, a few photos from the better part of their trip!

Ellie and the bucket

Just thought I'dd add some photos of Ellie that Thea took while she was entertaining herself with a bucket of water. It kept her busy for almost an hour! Of course, she was completely soaked after...She doesn't like to look at the camera much for pictures! She can't be bothered by it. She has a mind of her own, that's for sure!

first post

I've been wanting to start one of these...my sister in law who lives in Georgia has one and I love to read it. It makes me feel like I am more a part of their lives...kind of feel like a "voyeur" at times but its also a great way to stay connected. So here goes! Not sure what I'm going to write, or how often. I guess I will post as the mood strikes me. Let's start with what has been going on this week. We enjoyed a family outing to the Phillie's game last weekend (less Ellie, who stayed behind at mom-mom's) The kids got to run the bases after the game. It was VERY cute! Charlie even got a full face smooch from the Phanatic. (He didn't much like it, but I sure did)

Emma, just shy of her 9th birthday, was a non-bike rider until Dave and I endured a tough-love trip to her school parking lot and gave her no option. The heck with all the experts who say they'll do it when they're ready, blah blah. I've had enough kids to know that sometimes you've got to lay down the law, so to speak. So we spent the first 20 minutes in the 95 degree heat with a sweaty, crying child refusing to even get on her bike...I got frustrated, well, pissed, and sat in the car. Dave who is much more patient, coaxed her on the bike and got her going on the grass down a small hill. 15 minutes later she was cruising with a very big grin. Two days later she is a pro and rides at every opportunity. It was not an easy battle, she was an impossible child during the whole process. But I am truly proud of her. I love to watch her ride. Had we never forced the issue, she probably wouldn't have ever done it. So all the experts can kiss my ***!

George has been obsessed with his new SpongeBob video game that he got for his birthday. I think he dreams about it because its the first thing he talks about when he wakes up. It pains me to admit that one of the few words in Ellie's vocabulary is "BongeBob". How wrong is that? Ond day I swear she said it over 100 times! She is so cute right now, just a big soft marshmellow! She says Hi to everyone! She almost sounds like a southerner when she says it... "Hiiiiiiiiiii" (dragging the i) She really tries to talk in sentences but it just sounds like babble. She loves to dance and shakes her hiney like a pro.

Charlie is finished school and I'm afraid he is becoming quite bored with me at home. He has been quite mischievous lately. This week he flooded the kitchen counter and floor with water and dumped all of the fish food into one of the Incredibles costume gloves and then emptied that onto his bed. I have no idea why. Is this fun for a four year old? Its hard to get mad at him though...with such and innocent little face!

This coming weekend, like most others, we have 2 baseball/softball games, a cub scout event and 3 birthday parties. Our calendar is so full that some days we wonder how we are going to get everyone where they are supposed to be. Somehow it always works out. And it is definitely worth it.....