Wild at Heart

Whoops!

2012-02-10T15:31:00.000-08:00

Since I'm posting about the Family Room I really can't miss the opportunity to tell you all about our sectional. This one here.

We went out shopping looking for a cabinet to house all of our DVDs and CDs. Ya know, one with a lock to keep the kids from ruining them, scratching them, spreading them all over the house and using them as Frisbees. Seriously. Anyway, as we were looking Cam calls me on my cell (the store is huge and I had lost Cam). So I answer and he starts ranting about this great sectional he found. Huh? We were there to get a cabinet.

So, I meander over the where he is to see the sectional. Cam was SO enthusiastic. He loved it! He wanted it! He told the saleslady to write it up! Huh??? Whoa!!!!! I do NOT operate under such conditions. EVER!

I took a huge deep breath and started trying to convince Mr. Impulsive to put the brakes on....to go home and think it over....to measure it out on the floor...to really make sure he wanted it. This store is a Warehouse clearance and all sales are final.

Oh, no. He wasn't going for it at all. He LOVED it. He wanted it. By now the kids were all lounging on it, jumping on it, and Cam was checking to make sure we would all fit. Okay, even I laid down on it too. We fit.

My pulse was rushing, my head was spinning. But, something strange happened. I started telling myself to chill. I told myself not to be such a control freak. I told myself that Cam has never been excited about any piece of furniture....EVER....not even a little bit. So, I told myself to let that husband of mine buy that couch.

So he did. I went to the car to calm my nerves and plot the future ways my giving in would benefit me.

Cam paid and planned to pick it up the next day. Great

Cam got a delivery truck....ie: Cam took the seats out of our minivan. It took two trips to bring the new sectional home. Cam had the neighbor guy help he and I unload it. Next we needed to bring it from the garage into the family room. No problem. We have moved lots of furniture. We've never hired movers. We are tough, strong and determined people.

Our neighbor is very mathematical and he began measuring the door, measuring the sectional, each piece of it to figure the best was to bring it in.

We started with the smaller of the two pieces. Who wouldn't? It was tight, it was tough, we turned it, we rotated it, we finally figured out that the only was to get it in was to stand it on it's end and then wedge it back side first through the door and then rotate the rest in. Sweaty and tired we finally got it in place. Now, time for piece two. Oh...it looks much bigger. Hmmmm....we measured, we calculated, we called in a second neighbor, we labored, we turned, rotated, lifted, twisted, cursed, and repeated.

After a sweaty hour of geometry gone bad we realized it was NOT going to fit through the door. And, actually there are two doors. It wouldn't fit either door. At that point I was REALLY regretting Mr. Impulsive's new non-refundable sectional. We stood looking at our new sectional that would not fit in our new house. Great! I suggested the neighbors might want to go home. I could feel a ~~divorce~~ big fight coming on.

Actually very little was said. About an hour later at dinner Cam had a brilliant idea! He had solved the problem. He said we could just take the livingroom furniture and put it in the family room and the new sectional could go in the livingroom. He was so proud of himself. Me? Not so much! I shopped for months, measured, laid out a plan, agonized over the color, shape, size and feel of the livingroom set. I would NOT be putting it downstairs. Ummmmm.....NO. Of course Cam thought this was completely unreasonable of me. Completely. NOT!

But Cam did have a genius idea. Even better than my idea of selling the sectional on Craigslist or returning to the Warehouse and crying and telling them he was facing divorce over a couch. He measured the windows in the family room. Yep. It would fit...by about an inch. The good news it that we did need new windows. The bad news. This was not a planned expense. Oh well, what in life is planned? I know, stupid saying but I had to use it to make myself feel better.

So in the end we got an awesome sectional for $700.00 AND new windows for......get ready....I'm sure you can guess.......$700.00!!!!

Family Room

2012-02-08T20:47:00.000-08:00

It's high time I post the before and after pics of our family room makeover.
When we came to tour our house I was frightened of the basement. The family room was awful! Old nasty carpet, long skinny room, old tile ceiling, weird built-in cabinets, and a BIG red wall. Icky! I couldn't imagine a warm cozy room for our family. It was a stretch. Cam had great vision. I trusted in his vision. Okay, actually I had my own ideas...which ebbed and flowed along the way. First I decided I'd never go down there. Problem solved. Fine, I do have to occasionally go down and check on the kids so it might as well be pleasing to my sight. Then I got on board and decided the room could be made over. Then I REALLY got going. I wanted one HUGE room....not the L-shaped room of Cam's vision. I was hard to budge from my vision (by budge I mean Cam just went ahead with his plan and ignored me standing in the corner with my hands on my hips). Then something magical happened. I "got" Cam's vision. Turns out he was right! The L-shaped room works really well. Plus, it leaves me a big room for sewing/crafts/laundry (I'll share that project soon).

I didn't take any photos before the demo began. Darn it! The door you can see in the wall wasn't a door. It was boarded up and behind the built in cabinets. You can see all the dismantled pieces of these. They ran the length of the wall and were where the white paint is on the red wall.

The room also had these funky interior windows. Not my favorite. Good bye.

The room does have nice big windows and a good view of the front garden.

This is the room on the other side of the red wall. The office. It had concrete floor and the same old tile ceiling.

Cam and our friend Vern took the wall down to the studs. They needed to see if we would need a support beam put in. The best news of the project was that the wall contained a big steel pole. No beam required. Savings in the ~~bank~~ form of carpet and paint!

Okay, now the after pics. The best part!

Here's the view standing in the doorway looking into the room. We took the door and door frame down and finished it. Much better. We don't need (or want) a door on our family room. 5 kids behind a closed door. NOT!

Now the view looking back at the entryway. The hutch is a very special piece of furniture. It was my mom's. I grew up with it and it reminds me of my childhood. I love it, thanks Mom!

From this pic you can see a good view of the fireplace. We are installing a new gas insert soon, ie: when we get our tax refund. :)

Here is the new office. It's a work in progress. Mostly it's unused. The computer is broken, and I haven't filed any paperwork since we moved. Yikes!

Standing in front of TV looking into office. The blue door leads to my sewing/craft/laundry area.

So what's next? Color!! I haven't decorated yet. Right now it's the Beige Palace. I'm going to add blue accents. The theme will be ocean. I'm framing a bunch of our favorite beach photos for the walls. But overall it's an amazing difference! Love our family room...which also doubles as a guest room....so come on over and spend the night! Seriously, we'd love to have you!

More Inner Child

2012-02-05T20:48:00.000-08:00

More on my Inner Child. I loved my SIL Cinn's comment. She says, I think that the caring part of you may be part of your inner child, but I also think that the part of you that revels in silliness is part of your inner child. For example, I have seen you make all kinds of funny faces and sounds while laughing with and enjoying your children. You can be very uninhibited in that way, and I think that is also part of your inner child. :). This went straight to my heart. I had to pause and let it sink in. How wonderful that she noticed this and that she told me. After thinking about it I agree with her I do make funny faces and sounds while laughing with my kids. It's hard sometimes to see these things. I think it's is so much part of me....a easy natural part of me. One that I don't worry about or wonder if I do it wrong. I don't notice it because it's just seamlessly me. Ahhhh.....the Inner Child, me.

I also had a great conversation with Cam about this topic. He reads my blog religiously but doesn't comment. So, here is what he had to say. He said the Inner Child is the sense of wonder, sense of adventure in me. Huh? I'm not adventurous I said. He turned and looked at me. Becky, you have 5 kids, you've adopted twice from around the world and you've been to Africa. Oh, okay. He's right! I am adventurous. Of course a ton of research, planning, prepping, and a whole lot of prayer help me to be adventurous. :) And...he's right about my sense of wonder. I thirst for knowledge and I wonder about people and what make them tick, and how they got to where they are, and how things work, and why things happen......and on and on and on....

The other thing Cam said is a child does not temper themselves around others. As adults we stop being carefree and start to guard against what we say and do because of what others will think. Case in point: We were out to dinner and Sis passed gas. She then loudly announced, "I farted". I was DYING! The tables all around us were laughing and Sis just carried on with her dinner. Okay, I am glad that as adults we temper farting in public and announcing it but it makes my point.

When I was a kid I loved Solid Gold the TV show and I REALLY loved the Solid Gold dancers! My sister and I along with the neighbour girl would put on our own Solid Gold dance shows in the living room. At my Dad and Stepmom's house there was a wrought iron spiral staircase. Just the perfect thing to perform as a Solid Gold dancer (if you do not know what a Solid Gold dancer is go here). We also loved to put on our Grease album and belt out all the tunes. Today I love to sing with and to my kids. I love to dance with them too. It makes me feel happy and carefree. Now, I do NOT have a good singing voice but with my kids I don't care....just like when I was a kid. My inner child loves to boogey and sing out loud....at home where I don't have to temper it for fear of other adults seeing and hearing me.

Now to my favorite comment. Anonymous left a comment saying: CAM is a hottie. Yep! Anonymous I completely agree with you!! My first thought was that Cam had posted it himself. Just the kind of thing he'd write....well, maybe he'd say...."Cam is a total stallion!". I would love to know who anonymous is...please tell me! Then my friend Gary made me crack up laughing because he added to the comments I agree with Anonymous. But Becky ain't bad either! Hilarious!! I think that's Gary's inner child having fun!

So I'll leave you with a picture of Mr. Hottie himself and my cutie pie baby George...who really is not so much a baby anymore.

Inner Child

2012-02-02T19:19:00.000-08:00

I haven't written about books for awhile. This last month my book club read The Grace to Race. The Wisdom and Inspiration of the 80 Year Old World Champion Triathlete known as the IRON NUN. Sister Madonna has competed in over 45 Ironman races plus many other triathlons and marathons. She began running and competing at the age of 48. This 80 yr old nun is an amazing athlete but also has such a wonderful outlook on life. It was a fun read!

My favorite quote from Sister Madonna is, "Don't ever grow up! Never lose sight of your inner child. It is the purest, most unadulterated authentic part of you". Love it! I read it outloud at book club. Then I wondered aloud what this part of me is. Hmmmm. I feel like even as a child I was adult like. One of my friends piped up with, "That's why you married Cam". Exactly! Cam embraces his inner child.....actually it's not really all that inner. :) But seriously Cam is silly and wild and childlike in all the fun ways.

Back to the childlike part of me. I'm serious when I say I wonder what it is. I do like to have fun and be silly and laugh. When I think of what I really enjoyed doing as a kid it was a lot of adult like play. I loved playing house and dolls and school...you know I was the teacher and the mom and the boss! I loved riding bikes and playing jump rope. I loved school (until high school) and loved spelling. I loved to cook and sew. I loved to organize and clean. I would ask my friends if I could help them clean their rooms.

So what part of those things is childlike in my life now? Did I become a mom of 5 kids with a teaching degree who loves to read, sew, clean and cook to hold onto my inner child? And...be the boss. Is that how I express my inner child? I don't know. I'm really stumped. I don't really like to play. I'll play games with the kids (not Candy Land) and read to them but really I don't like to play imaginary games. Painful. I like to work. I really do. I happen to enjoy my work which is good.

Maybe the inner child in me doesn't look like play. Maybe it's the deeply caring part of me. As I child I always felt deeply for others, for those less fortunate or mistreated. I was so distraught when I first saw starving children on TV. As an adult I still feel deeply for others. If that is part of my inner child I am happy to nurture it and not ever lose sight of that child.

So, people who know me well, those that knew me as a child. Please tell me, what does my inner child look like so that I can hold tight to it. Thank you.

Bike

2012-01-31T12:42:00.001-08:00

I bought my new bike! A Cannondale! I named my bike Mr. T....since it's because of all that gold I sold to buy it. Unless you are my age or older you certainly won't know who Mr. T is. If you don't know, you can google him. Serious bling! Although I'm not sure a guy's name is right for my beautiful bike. It even has red flowers on it. Beautiful.

It took me about 30 minutes to pick out the bike. The guy at our local bike shop was awesome. He asked me a bunch of questions and then directed me to what kind of bike I should get. Picking out the helmet took twice as long. Sheesh. All those colors and I had to try them all on and look in the mirror. It was a mess. My hair was all tangled up and I looked like I had been wrestling in a sleeping bag by the time I chose my helmet...which turns out was the second one I tried on.

When I got home Mr. P and Busy Guy were so excited to take me on a ride. I was so thrilled that I jumped on in my jeans and boots. Not the best riding gear. My boys were awesome. They showed me how to use the brakes and how to change gears. Then I raced Mr. P...and I won!! Oh Yah! I'm not the kind of mom to let her kids win...unless it's Candy Land and I just want game to end!! :)

Cam says he's a little worried that I'll like bicycling, A LOT! Ummmhmmmm. He's worried cause he knows he'll have to share all the sunny days, and extra money for bike gear. Be afraid Cam, be very afraid! I've got my eye on a jacket already!

Solid Gold

2012-01-28T11:45:00.001-08:00

Last night I went to a Gold Selling party. It's where you can bring all your old jewelry and sell it for cash. The price of gold is really high and there are constantly commercials telling how easy it is to sell your gold. I have been interested in doing it and was excited when I got an invite to a party. How fun! Drink wine, socialize and make some cash!
I began digging through my jewelry box to see what I could get rid of. I had two pair of gold earrings that I could no longer wear. One earring in each set was ruined...ie: fell off and was run over in the road. Not repairable. I had a few more pairs of earrings that I never wear. An old ring from a previous boyfriend. A few bracelets, some broken, some I never wear. A broken chain. A few medallions for necklaces that again...never wear. Cam had an old ring to contribute too. It didn't look like much in the bottom of my plastic baggy. I weighed I and it weighed 1.7 oz.
Off to the party I went with my baggy of loot. It was very fun to watch everyone's loot get tested, sorted and appraised. Turns out you can bring gold, silver, platinum. Jewelry (costume too), teeth, platters, etc. Hmmm...I think I have a few more items to offload.
The lowest payout from the party was $65.00. That gal had a couple pieces of costume jewelry and an earring she found in a second hand couch. Not bad. The highest payout was $1,600.00. I saw the woman's jewelry as she was getting it tested. It looked like The 80's Gone Bad. Whew, glad to see she would be getting cash and not ever again wearing any of that stuff!
I was able to get rid of my stuff (that I never wear) and earn $672.00. Right on!! I am so excited!! I could hardly sleep last night. I was dreaming a scheming how to spend my money. That would buy a lot of fabulous boots...and jeans....and dresses. Oh my. Or, it would buy a cozy new chair for my bedroom to snuggle in front of the fire. Ohhhh. Or, it could pay for part of the vacation we just booked. Yes! But, no. That isn't what my heart desires. I'm very excited to be spending my money on a BIKE! Yipee!!
Everyone in this family has a bike....okay, even some people have two bikes....Cam! So it's time I got a bike too. In a bit I'm off to the bike store to figure out what I want. So many choices. Then later today I'll take a ride on my new machine! Of course I'll be posting pics later. I even have a name all picked out for my bike! It's a good one....
Oh yah, and what does the pic of me and my sweet neice have to do with gold or bikes? Nothing. I just like the pic and I have a really hard time posting without a pic to go along with it. Plus, I really love babies. :)

Be the Example

2012-01-26T14:51:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking a lot about sibling love. It warms my heart when I see my children being kind to each other. It breaks my heart when I see them being mean or indifferent to their brothers or sister. I do my best to guide them and help them to understand the importance of loving each other. But, I fall short and in times when my kids are fighting I start to wonder what else I could be doing.

There are lots of things, but I've come to the conclusion that the number one thing I can do is be an example. Period. I have to be a good friend, good sister, and most of all a good spouse to Cam. My relationship with my husband is the best example for my kids. It's the one they will follow...good or bad.

A few months ago Cam and I were out for a date night. I got the chance (ie: more than 10 minutes at night while we are both tired) to talk to him in depth about his job. It was very interesting...and heart breaking. Cam is Nurse Practitioner in an ICU....an ICU in a major medical university that treats the sickest patients in 6 states. Tough job. He sees VERY sick people. He watches people suffer. He watches families of the patients grieve. Very hard job. He has watched countless people die after long drawn out illnesses. Watched small children say goodbye to their parent, watched parents weeping over their adult children. Terrible sadness. There are some success stories. But few. And when a patient does do the miraculous and survive Cam doesn't get to see the end result. After leaving ICU the patient goes to floor care and then home. It's a big hospital in a big city. Occasionally a former patient will come back to visit and thank the team of providers. I like it when that happens. Proof of the good outcomes.

The crazy thing is Cam loves his job. LOVES! He is very good at it. VERY! I constantly find notes and letters he has brought home from families of his patients. He is too humble to show them all to me. But, I see them. And I know how lucky those families and patients are to have shared their journey with Cam. Blessed. And that is exactly what the cards and letters say.

Back to being a good example...and tying these two things together. When Cam gets home I'm usually at my limit....kid limit. :) He works long days. Leaves at 6:00 a.m. and gets home around 5:30-6:30. That means a long day for this mommy too. But, when he walks in the door I think about what he has seen at work that day. The pain, the suffering, the trauma. Instead of barraging him (okay, sometimes I still do) right away with what I need, instead I think, what does he need? Now, that is exactly what I'd like my kids to do for each other. Be thinking of what the other person needs. Be a friend. I need to be a better friend to my husband because that is how I teach my kids to do the same.
I love my family and I am so thankful for them and the lessons they provide me.

Whoa Girl!

2012-01-22T20:49:00.000-08:00

Okay...first was Thanksgiving, then my birthday, then along came Christmas and New Year's and then my anniversary...and then...5 days with the kids home and SNOW. Why is snow so fattening? Well, the ~~buck~~ chicken pot-pie, mac-n-cheese, pudding, cake, cookies, cocoa and smarshmallows, grilled tuna and cheese, dove bars and a plethora of other fatty sugary foods end NOW! Tomorrow is back to the gym and back to clean eating. No white flour, no sugar. No more fat hiney! This week Baby George told me I bumped him with my FAT butt. Hmmmm....I thought about correcting him but ya know what, he called it like he saw it and he is right. This girl needs to put down the dessert, MOVE AWAY FROM THE KITCHEN BECKY!! I'll be reading that to myself this week....numerous times a day. I'd post pics but really I don't want to loose all my readers.

Snow Much Fun

2012-01-18T17:51:00.000-08:00

We are on our third day of snow, snow, snow! Snow much fun! Cam was home yesterday which was really fun. He took the boys sledding while Sis and I made Valentine Cards. We had a blast! Sis was in love with glitter (who isn't?) and was cranking out the cards. When we were done she was covered in glitter....even the bottom of her feet. No problem...I'll just clean it up with my vacuum. Ooops...I forgot the vacuum is in the shop. :0 Well, we just swept and swept...and oh, well, what can can little glitter hurt?

We decorated for Valentine's Day. My favorite holiday! Love, and candy, and sparkles, and red and pink...my favorite colors! The kids and I are writing love notes to each other. You've got mail!!

We take time to sit, drink hot drinks and enjoy the view. Oh...the view.

We get a little stir crazy....so we dance! Plus, we (okay, me) have been eating like pigs! Cookies, chicken pot pie,grilled tuna and cheese, cocoa and ssssmarshmallows, did I say cookies?

We got tattoos right after breakfast. And...yes, we wear costumes all day long.

And then....we head back outside for some more sledding and snow!

Snow Day!

2012-01-15T15:11:00.000-08:00

Snow day!! Yeah! We stayed home from church this morning. The roads were icy and we had snow! Yeah Snow!! Enough to get the sled out and play. After a pancake breakfast we quickly (HAHA) got into our snow clothes and headed outside. The good thing about getting 5 kids into warm clothes, boots, mittens, hats, scarves, etc. is that you are warm...actually sweaty hot by the time you get out into the cold air. See? Bonus to having a zillion little kids. :)

Sis was of course totally fashionable in her matching outfit. No need to look bad just cause it's cold outside. Oh, no! It was a pink and purple combo today....okay, what else is new? I got a few of the kids new snow boots this week on super clearance! We are really blessed when it comes to hand-downs. We have snow pants in every size that a friend gave us. I pulled out the bins of snow boots and bins of gloves/mittens/hats/scarves. I had to buy Sis a pair of mittens but everyone else had what they needed.

Cam is one of the BIG kids. He is the first on the sled and luckily can handle lots of weight on him.

I love to sled too! I love to hear my kids giggle as we fly down the hill. It's really good for me to get outside and breath some fresh air and have fun!

We take turns going on the sled and such there are 7 of us we made a "nobody sleds alone" rule. Then we figured out that maybe we should buy another sled. Huh???....we are smart but sometimes slow on the uptake. So, we'll be looking for another sled just like the one we have. It's awesome...and made in the USA. I'll share details later.

Sis was the only one who wouldn't sled. Hmmm....the Wild Child? She spent her time digging in the snow and throwing snow balls. She had fun! After snow play we came home and had grilled cheese and hot cocoa with ssssmarshmallows as Baby George calls them. We are hoping for MORE snow! We live in a beautiful area and are so thankful to God for the beauty around us and the amazing family we have.

2012-01-12T14:48:00.001-08:00

Poor Tuba was very sick this week. He had the barfs. Sorry if that's TMI. Poor baby threw up every hour for 9 hours. It started in the evening in the van. Yuck! That has been terrible to clean up. The van is going in for a professional detail job. He finally was able to rest at around 4:00 a.m. The next day he was just very tired and laid in bed all day.
The kids were all very concerned about him. Mr. P said the sweetest thing...."When you and dad die I'm going to have Tuba sleep in my room with me so I always know if he's sick". Precious. He has such a heart for taking care of his brother. Then this morning Tuba came into the kitchen and was pointing in his mouth. Busy Guy came in to tell me he had brushed Tuba's teeth for him. So sweet and so helpful. It makes me mommy heart so happy.

Grocery Day

2012-01-11T13:17:00.001-08:00

As I'm sure you can imagine it takes a lot of food to feed our family. I can only imagine (in fear) how much it will take in the future...ie: when we have 4 teens and an adult child at home! I used to do most of my shopping from Safeway delivery. It was a complete life saver! Seriously! A friend recommended I do it (she also has 5 kids and had "twins" through birth and adoption). Since we moved, and since the kids have grown I haven't needed to use the delivery service.
I get most of our groceries from Costco. I can go every other week and then fill-in what else we need with a few trips to the regular grocery store. Costco has a huge selection of organic. I buy organic milk, eggs, some veggies/fruit, and some meat. I can get in and out in an hour. I usually spend around $500.00. They have carts that seat two kids...super bonus. And the best part is we can get hot dogs, churros and drinks for CHEAP. No, they aren't organic...but nobody is perfect. :) Sometimes I go when the kids are all at school but it's actually not too bad anymore to take them with me. Life is changing!
The worst part of shopping day? Bringing it home and putting it away!! Horrible. This week I got to Costco at 10:00, left at 11:15, picked up kids at school at 11:30, came home and unloaded car, then gave kids a quick lunch, finished putting groceries away (breaking down the cardboard too) at 1:30! Blech! Then I looked around my kitchen and saw the breakfast dishes, the lunch dishes and the dishwasher needing to be unloaded....and the unread morning newspaper. Darn it! Hmmm...maybe I should try the delivery thing again??
I do want to share something awesome about my house. This was a major selling feature for us. The kitchen has a HUGE amount of room for food. We left our garage freezer at the rental house. We don't need it anymore! It looks like an enormous built in system but it's actually a stand alone freezer and stand alone fridge next to each other. LOVE IT!! The freezer is having a little leaking issue and that's why the bottom section is empty...except for ice build up. But, once we get it fixed it will hold even more.
Don't ya love to snoop in someone's fridge? Have at it! Ummm...yes, that is a lot of yogurt. The kids can only have one a day. I usually buy Chobani Greek yogurt but they didn't have any. Phooey. Why yes, that is a lot of apples. You know what they say about an apple a day! And this about bread. Several times as I'm checking out at Costco the checker will make a comment about how much bread I have. I told the gal last month that I have 5 kids after she remarked, "that's a lot of bread!". Then she told me I didn't have nearly enough wine in my cart! ;o Oh, and yes there is some junk food in there. Corn dogs....yep. Easy dinner for the days when I have very little time...like the day I shopped for groceries!

Birthday Girl!

2012-01-06T12:02:00.000-08:00

My sweet spunky sassy silly Sis turned 4!! She is a power house of energy. She is 40 inches tall and weighs 31 lbs. She sings at the TOP of her lungs all day long. She runs at full speed. She still needs less sleep than the rest of the kids...and less than I need her to have. ;) She is her Mama's girl though. She loves to go everywhere with me and do what I do. Sis is totally into princesses lately. At the library she wants to check out all the princess books. Then she sits and marvels at their "boutiful" dresses. She still LOVES clothes more than toys although she is playing with her dolls a lot now. Of course the influence of 4 brothers and all the boy toys has made it's mark on her. She was recently singing a made up song about Power Rangers to the tune of Away In A Manger. So funny! Sis loves her doggy. LOVES! She spends a big portion of her time talking baby talk to her....and dragging her/carrying her around.

For the birthday girl's day we went out to lunch and then went to the Children's Museum. Cam was on vacation, Yeah! After playing we came home, regrouped and headed out for dinner at Sis's choice. she chose The Ram. Yum. Good burgers and beers and root beers. Aunt Cinn, Uncle Jamie and baby joined us. Then we came home and had ice cream cake. Strawberry ice cream, chocolate ice cream with an Oreo crust. Whipped cream on top and lots of pink sprinkles. Sis picked it all out. We bought her a bike for her b-day. I'll get pics and post them later. My camera was dead when she opened her gift. The bike is of course pink with streamers and a bell. The bell...it might get "misplaced" by me....okay, I'll just wear ear plugs.

Here's a few pics of my beautiful girl. So thankful to have her as my daughter. So blessed by God to have my Ethiopian sweetie.

2012-01-05T14:54:00.001-08:00

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and a happy New Year's too!! We did!!
I've been away from my blog busy with kids and holidays and house guests. We got to host Cam's sis and BIL and baby for 10 days. So fun!! The kids miss having extra adults in the house to play with. :) I loved snuggling my sweet niece! Also, it was super fun to stay up and hang out with Cinn and Jamie. I haven't laughed to much in a very long time!! Fun!! I have more pics to post soon of our fun visit.

I used to post little lists of my favorite things. I thought I'd try doing it a bit more. It's a nice way to remind myself about all the wonderful things in my life. I also thought I'd share when I find items made in the USA. Cam and I try hard to buy items made locally or in the USA or at least in countries with a democracy and/or good human rights policies. I still need to share pics of our family room remodel too. Anything else you want to know or any ideas you have for me to blog about? Leave it in the comments.

Give

2011-12-20T20:20:00.001-08:00

Here's is my sweet funny Baby. He's modeling what all the elves are wearing this year. ;)

I have such a blessed, such a plentiful life. Cam kept asking me what I want for Christmas. I was wracking my brain. I could come up with a couple of things but nothing really stuck out at me. I realized it's because I have EVERYTHING in the world that I could need or want. I'm spoiled. I suggested to Cam that we buy a goat. Not a goat for us...although the thought of not having to mow the lawn sounds good. I suggested we buy a goat for a family in Africa.

Immediately Cam was on board. He was thrilled. I got online to World Vision and started to look at what we could get. Right away I saw a package of 5 ducks. It brought tears to my eyes. Perfect! 5 ducks from my 5 sweet babies. I started reading the list of items to Cam. I wanted to give a micro loan for a woman to start a business but Cam really wanted to buy a goat. Well, can we do both, he asked me. Yes! We can! I love this man who is so giving and loving not only to me and our children but to those in need.

In less than 5 minutes I had made the purchases. World Vision sent me beautiful cards detailing the gifts. I'm wrapping them up and putting them under the tree for our kids to see on Christmas morning. Sharing the joy of giving is the best gift.

Oh Doh!

2011-12-16T13:11:00.001-08:00

I love Christmas!! I truly do. I didn't use to....but now...I do! No anxiety, no stress. I'm cured. Today is the last day of school and now it's Christmas break! Yeah!! I'm so excited to be home with the kids. No early mornings trying to get Tuba on the bus...in the dark...while he's cranky. Whoohoo!
Not only do I love Christmas but I've noticed some other changes in myself. Previously I did not like to entertain more than about 6 people at a time. It was too stressful, too chaotic and not fun for me. But, I got a wild hair and decided to have a Christmas cocktail party this year. And...I loved it. No stress, no anxiety. Just fun!! I can't wait to do it again next year.

I'm really livin' on the edge now! You will not believe this one! I have been letting the kids play Play-Doh...A LOT! Now, my fine friend Erika would say...Are you crazy? Isn't Play-Doh just like bubbles? Well, not quite the same. Bubbles are sticky, slimy, and clear colored so you can't really see all the places they've been spilled. They cause BIG stains in the carpet, you can never get out all the suds! They feel disgusting on my hands. I HATE bubbles!! :) Now, Play-Doh is much better. I like the smell, and it's much easier to clean up. Okay, here's the truth. About 5 years ago Mr. P got Play-Doh for his birthday. Fun, right? No! I was very worried that it would never come out of the carpet. And I most certainly did NOT want the colors mixed...under any circumstances! Flash forward to today, and yesterday and a few days last week. PlayDoh mixed into a million chunks of colorful mess. Kids happily playing Play-Doh.

What is the difference? Well, here are a few theories. You leave your answer in the comments section.

A. I'm crazy
B. They kids have worn me down. I no longer have the energy to care.
C. I'm on meds.
D. All of the above

Let me tell you the real reason. My youngest three will sit and play with PlayDoh for hours, yes hours. And the best part, without me helping....AT ALL!! Glory!! Busy Guy and Baby G will be done after about an hour or so. But, Sis (my wild child) will sit at the table happily singing and making the hugest Play-Doh mess in history....for 3 hours!! 3 fabulous hours!! And my friends I tell you this Play-Doh is easy to clean up! True story. It will come out of all clothes, all carpets. I clean the tools and then use the vacuum cleaner to suck up all the little bits that Sis has tossed in a 10 ft. radius. After it's been on the floor for 3 hours it's nice and dry and comes right off the floor. Then I vacuum the table top off and wipe it with a hot rag (or leave it, put dinner on the table and then wipe just once that night). :) I strip Sis of her clothes and the job is done. 10 minutes of cleanup for hours of sanity! Genius!!

Of course I'm not totally loosey goosey! Heavens no. There are ground rules. 1. You cannot leave the table while playing Play-Doh. 2. When you are done playing you have to take off your pants and socks and give them to me for the laundry. And....3. No fighting, if you fight over a tool then you are done. :)

Dirty Hair

2011-12-14T13:22:00.000-08:00

Here's the crazy way my mind works. This morning I was thinking about how much I ~~hate~~ cannot stand dirty hair. I don't mean my own hair. I never have dirty, I mean really dirty hair....except for once...more on that later. I mean people I come across in public whose hair is so dirty I can smell it 10 feet away. Ewwwww. I don't mean homeless people. I mean people with access to showers and soap. Stinky people who must not believe in hair and or body washing on a regular basis. Back to the smell. Ugh. The foul oily dirty hair smell is the grossest. Stenchy body sweat mixed with grease. *GAG* Why do these people not wash? Why oh why.
On to the crazy thread my mind takes. Starts with washing my hair in shower, gets me thinking about dirty hair and then next thing I'm remembering how I once had VERY dirty hair.
It was long ago...maybe 2001 or so. Cam can tell you...he's good with remembering years...not so good with names. ;) I came down with viral meningitis. I was SICK! Sunday at church I started to get the most awful headache. I went home and laid down. I couldn't eat or move. I laid there all day. At bedtime Cam put Tuba to bed and then he too went to sleep.
I awoke on the couch around midnight in horrific pain. I could not turn my neck. My head was pounding so hard and then I began projectile vomiting. I woke Cam to tell him I was going to the ER. I drove (shouldn't have) myself. Luckily the hospital was about 10 blocks away on quiet neighborhood streets. At stop signs I couldn't turn my head so I just moved my eyes as far as I could to each side to check for cars. I held a big Tupperware bowl between myself and the steering wheel.
At the hospital the triage RN had me list my symptoms....headache, vomiting and stiff neck. She took one look at me, read the list and whisked me into an exam room. Wow! That's never happened before. Hmmmm....that is a worrisome sign.
In the exam room I laid down on bed in agony. I was getting delirious. The Dr. came to examine me. He informed me that he needed to do a spinal tap. A needle into your spine to draw out fluid. Okay, you know you are sick when you do not care that the Dr. is going to do this. Next the nurse put in an IV and gave me some pain meds. It stopped the vomiting and eased the headache.
The Dr. asked me a zillion questions and one of my answers caused him to jerk his head up. He asked if I was or could be pregnant. Cam and I were trying to have a second baby and it was in that unknown time of the month. I could be pregnant. That got the Dr. VERY worried. They gave me a pregnancy test and it was negative.
After the spinal tap confirmed I had meningitis the ER needed to admit me. Unfortunately I had to be transported by ambulance across town. I remember calling Cam...sort of. He freaked! The ride in the ambulance was awful and painful and nauseating.
Once at the hospital they put my on massive doses of antibiotics. They had to culture the meningitis to see if it was bacterial (very deadly) or viral (the much better kind to have). It took 5 days to culture it but in the meantime I was on antibiotics just in case.
I felt awful. Terrible. It's all a bit fuzzy from my 5 day stay. In fact I barely remember Cam being there. He of course was there all the time. Poor guy was studying for his RN licensing exam. Back on how terrible I felt. I am a clean person. I cannot go a day with a shower, I wash my face twice and day, brush my teeth twice a day, etc. This was not the case while I was sick. I was so nauseated and still throwing up every day and sweating so much that my hospital gown and sheets were always wet.
The nurse's aid came to give me sponge baths...every day. I would NOT let them. NOT EVEN ONCE. Not because I was modest or shy. I was too sick to move or have anyone touch me. The most I did in the cleanliness arena was to change my undies each day and brush my teeth maybe once a day. Cam would come up in the morning and help me. I had something called neurogenic bladder which means that the signals in my head to make myself go pee weren't working. It was horrid. I could feel my bladder was full. I would sit and sit and try to go but it wouldn't work. So frustrating. Not to mention that getting from my bed to the bathroom with an IV pole and vomiting the whole way and trying not to fall over from dizziness was enough.
I slept a lot while I was there but it was not restful or in long periods. One night I looked at the clock and it was about bedtime...8:00 pm. I went to sleep and woke up the next morning at 9:00 am. I was so glad I had slept all night. I was so glad that much time had gone by. I wanted the days to go by fast so I could get well. I turned on the TV to watch some morning shows I like. It was so weird...I couldn't find any of them on TV. It was all this strange stuff. It took me a little while to realize it was still the previous evening!! I had only slept an hour! Frightening.
My roommate was a real doozy too! She was about 100 years old. She was always fighting and yelling at the nurses. Then they'd call her son on the phone and he'd tell his mom to behave and she'd calm down...only to start over again in a couple of hours. One night I had to call the nurse to come get her. She got out of bed, pulled up her nightgown, sate down on my garbage can and peed. Yup.
After 5 days in the hospital I was released to go home. I had not had a bath or shower. I had not washed my hair. I was stinky and greasy and sickly. Cam brought me home. I came into the house and walked past my sister and Tuba on the way to the shower. My own child wouldn't come near me (I hadn't seen him the whole 5 days) and the look on my sister's face was shock and horror. She does admit I was stinky. :o
I was so glad to be home. So glad to see my sweet Tuba. He wouldn't come to me for another couple of days. Poor baby. I think he was scared of how bad I looked. I was so glad to have clean good smelling hair and body.
It took me another 2 weeks to heal and get back on my feet. After two days home I went back to the Dr. I remember crying and telling him how terrible I still felt. I thought that since they were discharging me I'd be feeling better. Not so lucky. But, slowly I did get better. Thank God!
Whew! That was a long story. In my head in the shower this morning it didn't seem so long. Funny how that works.
Well, I left you with a picture of my hair on a really good hair day. Luckily there are no pictures of my hospital stay or dirty stinky hair. :)

Birthday Weekend

2011-12-12T13:16:00.000-08:00

It was my 55th birthday yesterday. I love birthdays!!
I've decided to say I am much older than I am. Sound crazy. Here's my reasoning...If I say I'm older (55) then everyone will be in awe of how great I look! ;) If I did what most people do and fib and say I'm 25....everyone will look at me and think "Yikes, she is looking old!". So that's my reasoning.

Okay, the truth is I turned 41. I feel great...and I think I'm holding up pretty well.

Here's my awesome birthday weekend.

Saturday:
Pancakes with the family
Sewing day with my awesome friends. Seriously love my friends so much. What a treat to spend the day sewing and chatting and eating and chatting. God has blessed me with amazing women in my life.
Came home and had dinner with the kids and Cam. I had gotten dinner ready and Cam put it in the oven. Cam had the house clean, table set, kids' church clothes laid out and had bought me an ice cream too! Awesome husband. Blessed I am!! After dinner and dessert he even rubbed my back with lotion. Ohhhhhhh.

Sunday:
I got to spend time with my hubby and kids worshiping God. The best! I love to sit and snuggle my kids and stand with them together.
After church we went to Starbucks for some treats and coffee.
At home Cam built a raging fire to warm me while I read the newspaper in my pj's. Yes, I put them on as soon as we get home on Sundays.
Then off to dinner out. We all got dressed again and went to our favorite place for delicious food, drink, and of course more dessert. :)
After dinner we took a drive to look at Christmas lights. So much fun!
I have a great family and each day with them is such a treat....but the birthday treats were great!

Oh speaking of treats. My gift from Cam and the kids....a telescope to enjoy the amazing view from my bedroom...and stargazing too.

Best Friends

2011-12-09T15:09:00.001-08:00

My sweet "twins". They spend all day playing together. They go to school together too. I've been so pleased with the teacher's reports of them playing together and helping each other. They even choose each other to be the other's snack helper. :)

Of course there are plenty of fights (mostly in the car). But, they are such good friends. Last night they were having cocoa together while the big boys were gone to TKD. They were hysterically laughing and carrying on together. In typical toddler fashion they were having lots of potty talk. ie: "Hi, my name is poopy bottom hiney". I was tempted to stop them but they were laughing so hard and getting along so well. Instead I took their picture and sat back and enjoyed the giggles.

Trees

2011-12-08T14:40:00.000-08:00

It's funny when you're in a new house. Where should the tree go, how big should it be? Where should the decorations go? It's been fun to decide and then sit back and see how we like it. We get to have two trees. We put our real tree in the living room and our fake tree up in Cam and I's bedroom. It's so fun to have a tree in our room! Sitting in bed at night and enjoying the tree has been very nice. Plus the neighbors can see it in the windows.

We have been working hard at making lots of new house memories this Christmas season. I love our new house. The kids all love the new house. But, a few of us have mentioned that we do miss the old house. Sounds crazy. We don't miss the size or the location but we miss the feeling. After 8 years I had redone each and every room and it felt like home. Plus all the years of memories. Kids going from babies to toddlers and beyond. Trials and celebrations. I'm very sentimental and attached to things that bring memories. After all I am the gal who wrote this about some furniture. Busy Guy was saying how he missed the old house. I told him we just needed to get a few holidays in the new house under our belt and we would start to feel better. So, we are busy making memories. Busy making our new house our feel good place.

Trim the Tree

2011-12-01T19:32:00.001-08:00

The rest of Thanksgiving weekend we worked off our turkey by decking the halls. We have always wanted to go get our tree the day after Thanksgiving. Well, this year we did it. I'll let ya know closer to Christmas how that works out....could be kind of a dry tree. Eeeks.

We had a great time decorating our tree. I did the lights. Of course. Cam remarked that he did them one year but I didn't like them. True. But in my defense they were strung like telephone wires. :) Okay, I'm picky and it matters to me so I'm the one who puts them up. Ornaments were fast and furious! Whew. All the kids were chomping to get them on the tree. I could barely unwrap them fast enough. I did set aside my Radko glass ornaments to do myself. And...yes, I rearranged lots of the kid ornaments. Why? Do you like the look of 10 ornaments on the end of one branch? If so then do I have the team for you!

Over the rest of the weekend we ate leftovers (yum) and got the house all decked. We also took the kids for the annual Santa photo. Yeah! Decking the halls early plus getting the Santa photo done means lots of free time without the mental checklist in my head. Now it's onto shopping. We'll be doing it all online...in our pj's...while drinking wine and sitting by the fire and enjoying our tree. God bless the Internet! Missing from my fabulous weekend was shopping. you could pay me to go out on Black Friday. Blech! To those who want to stand in lines in the freezing cold for hours I say ~~to each his/her own~~ YOU ARE CRAZY!! I'll take family snuggled up by the tree with a piece of pie. Mmmmmm.

Fabulous 4

2011-11-29T15:30:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving weekend was a fabulous four day weekend for our kids and for Cam. I loved it. Thanksgiving was so fun and so nice to host it. No driving home late at night with tired kids. :) We ate and played games. We don't have TV...so sorry no football. Muwahahaha!

Cam did dishes...all the dishes. He rocked! Love that man!!

My MIL and SIL putting together the puzzle we worked on.

Sis and Baby George had a great time playing with my BIL and sitting on him. :)

My sister and niece. Precious! Of course Tuba is never far from the baby in the house.

Games and pie. Whoohoo. Cam talks all the kids into playing Risk. Blech! Of course they loved it.

Green Bean confession

2011-11-20T14:02:00.001-08:00

I have a confession to make. I've never had green bean casserole!
I just know I would NOT like it! It looks terrible. I do not like those nasty crunchy things on top and I do not like casseroles made from canned soup. Blech! You may be saying "I bet you'd like it if you tried it". Ummmm, no. I do not like it. Not in a car, or a bar, or on top of a star. I do not like it with a goat or on a moat or in a boat. Yes, I have toddlers and am forced to read too much Dr. Seuss. I don't really like Dr. Seuss either.....but that is a topic for another day.

I don't buy much packed food....processed food. I like things from scratch. It's cheaper and healthier. I make pancakes/waffles, cookies, cake, etc. from the flour and sugar and such in my cupboard...not from a package. I make casseroles and soups and sauces from scratch too. I really hate canned soup...as I said earlier. It's too salty....too nasty. Homemade soup is so easy and so good.

Confession time: I will admit to a few packaged foods I like (don't criticize). I LOVE microwave popcorn. I like the Homestyle one. It tastes just like homemade. Yum. Oh, and I do love Pepperidge Farm cookies....the ones with dark chocolate and nuts on them. Yum. I also buy Costco meatballs. I'm sure they are terrible for me. They are not organic, not locally grown and full of salty badness. But, they have gotten me through quite a few crazed days when cooking dinner just didn't seem possible. So I vote them as Yum too.

The picture is my little helpers (in their favorite outfits) unwrapping butter. Sis will take a bite out of the cube when I'm not looking. She loves butter. Mr. P had school lunch last week and told me the waffles were really good. He said there was something "like butter" on them. I told him it was margarine. Ewwww. He voted Yum for margarine.

What are your favorite things to make from scratch and what are your favorite processed foods...even if they are a secret. :)

2011-11-17T15:42:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving is coming. Yipee. I LOVE Thanksgiving. I love the fall. I love the leaves changing and the cool weather. We get to host Thanksgiving this year at our new house. Fun! We finally have the space to have more than two people over at a time.

I love Thanksgiving for the time to reflect on what I am thankful for. I have MUCH to be thankful for. I love it for the family center holiday minus gifts that Thanksgiving is. I love it.

I love Thanksgiving for the delicious food. I love to cook. I've been planning out my dinner for a good month now. I keep all my recipes in a folder and have been adding to it as I find new things I want to try. I am a traditionalist (shocking I know). I like the same things each year but I do like to try new recipes and add a couple new twists. There will never be Greek food for dinner on Thanksgiving (that's an inside joke for my hubby :) . I am going to try roasting my turkey differently. I am having the butcher cut it up and I'll roast it in pieces in a pan. I also made homemade rolls for the first time (trial run). They were delicious! They tasted just like Cam's Grandma. Well, just like her rolls. Yum.

As for traditional Thanksgiving foods. Why does anybody like green bean casserole? I don't get it. You won't find it at my house. You will however find cranberries...from a can...jelly style. Cam and I must admit we love them. My Sis is bringing the real kind too.

Here's our menu. Turkey, gravy, whole grain bread stuffing with sausage, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, rolls, steamed green beans, cranberries, raspberry jello salad...have I forgotten anything?

Oh! Dessert!! Pumpkin pie, apple pie, whip cream, and wine. Okay, wine isn't dessert but I forgot it too. Plus sparkling cider for the kids. I'm SO excited.

What is your favorite Thanksgiving dish? Do you like green bean casserole?
.

2011-11-14T15:37:00.001-08:00

I have been thinking a lot about silence and ways to silence my mind. During my last confession I spoke to my priest about trying to find ways of quieting my mind. I have a terrible time trying to be silent....and still. It is never quiet in my house, or car....ever. In the moments it is a little quieter I fill my mind with reading, talking to Cam, listening to music, or surfing my computer...and phone. Yes, I try to quiet myself when I say my prayers. But most of the time it's with 5 little wiggly bodies. It's at night and I'm tired and in a hurry. It's not very quiet. Do I really have time? Of course I do. But, I tend to busy myself right out of it. I do not feel comfortable in silence. I do not like it. At all!
My friend suggested I spend 10 minutes a day in silence praying the Jesus prayer (Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me a sinner). WHAT?? I panicked. 10 minutes is a LONG TIME! She laughed. Okay, try 5. So the next day I tried it. After what seemed like an eternity I opened my eyes and checked how long I had done it. 3 minutes! I need more practice. Way more!
There are things we have done lately that have been great for quiet time. We canceled cable. I love it. I do not miss it at all. I used to have the TV on while I read magazines in bed at night or I'd have it on while folding laundry. I don't miss it a bit....especially all the political ads.
There is more I could do. Much more. I know it would benefit me...and others. I need to carve out the time for it. Why don't I do it??
What do you do to quiet your mind? How do you spend time in silence? Tell me your secrets so I can copy you. Seriously.
PS I'm terribly addicted to multitasking...which makes sitting in silence really hard. While writing this post I changed a light bulb, got milk for Sis, went to another website and checked my texts on my phone. Help!

2011-11-09T13:51:00.001-08:00

On Monday night I had just put dinner on the table when Sis screamed and came running into the kitchen....blood running from her head down her face. Ugh! She had jumped off a chair and hit her head on the fireplace hearth. Of course Cam was at work...working late...of course. I grabbed a towel and pressed it on her head. I started to cry, started to freak out. Then I noticed Mr. P was freaking out. He asked if he should call 911. I wanted to say, "YES". I knew I had to look at her head to assess it but I did NOT want to. I'd really rather call 911 and let the pros look at it. I also thought I could run her next door and have a neighbor look at it. In the few seconds it took me to think all these things I realized I had to suck it up and look at it myself. ARGH! Sometimes being an adult and a mom is hard! I quickly pulled the towel off and looked. Ewwww. a gaping wound. I then called Cam quickly to freak out a bit and ask if he thought she needed stitches....I offered to take a photo and send it to him. He calmly told me to take her in. Ahhhh....the voice of reason.

I then called my MIL...who lives 3 blocks away. Thankfully she was home and got to my house in 2 minutes flat. The thought of taking all the kids with me to the clinic was scarier than looking at Sis's wound. Busy Guy was such a great help. He held the towel on his sister's head while I got ready to leave. I grabbed Sis and Mr. P (he wanted to come to help me) and off we went.

At the clinic it was busy. Flu season. Lord please keep us from getting the flu today was quickly added to my prayers. Sis's head had stopped bleeding and she hadn't cried since the first couple minutes it happened. She sat on my lap and from time to time would wince and say it hurt. Poor girl. She was tired and hungry and in pain. The wait time at the clinic....2 hours.

The nurse did get us into a room after about 30 minutes so they could assess her. Mr. P was very anxious and wanting to go home. At one point Sis's head started to bleed again and that caused Mr. P to have a major anxiety attack. It was terrible. Poor guy. Meanwhile Cam was on a bus trying to come home from the city.

Finally Cam arrived....after 1.5 hours at clinic. He took Mr. P home and I stayed to have Sis stitched up. She is THE bravest girl in the world!! She laid perfectly still and looked right at the Dr. for the whole procedure. Amazing! She has 5 stitches. The good thing is it's right along her hairline so I hope the scar won't show. No, I'm not a mom who thinks scars add character. :) Also, it was school picture day on Tues. Awesome! Not!

The next morning she woke up and announced, "my owie is ALL better". Then she took off at warp speed and hasn't slowed down. Ugh. I on the other hand have had a huge headache.

Doodles

2011-11-04T19:36:00.000-07:00

While cleaning up after carving pumpkins I saw this. We had the table covered in the day's newspaper. My first thought was that Busy Guy had drawn this. Nope. My next thought was that Cam had done it. Nope. I didn't believe either of them and asked them numerous times. I also asked Mr. P. Nope they didn't do it. I finally asked Sis if she did it. Yep!
I hope it's not offensive to anyone but I found this to be hysterical. I could not stop giggling. I cut it out to put in Sis's baby book. She is good with a pen!

Pumpkins

2011-11-01T21:29:00.000-07:00

I've got my posts out of order a bit. We actually did pumpkin carving the night before Halloween. Oh, well. My camera battery was dead so I took these photos with my phone. I took lots of photos but of course we were all nude...okay, in various stages of undies, pjs and...undies. :) I have to confess that I have never carved pumpkins with the kids. Cam has always done it and I've watched and taken photos. Well, this year we had lots of kids who wanted to carve so I figured I'd join in. It was SO much fun. I remember it being REALLY hard to carve a pumpkin....from way back when I was about 10 years old. But, it was actually super easy. We have these awesome carving tools (thanks Nana!). We had the kids draw the faces on the then Cam and I carved. Mr. P got to carve his own this year.

The face on Busy Guy's pumpkin! Love it!

Sis had a great time coloring all over her pumpkin. We decided her pumpkin was a girl and it needed eye lashes. I love this pic of her staring at the lit candle. Precious.

Mr. P did the whole thing himself. Awesome! He even put pj's on so I could take his pic and post it. :)

The last pic is all the pumpkins lined up and lit up. From left is Cam's, Baby George, Sis, Busy Guy and Mr. P's. Works of art!

Happy Halloween

2011-11-01T21:05:00.000-07:00

The kids had a wonderful Halloween. We had a Batman, a princess, a Transformer, a GI Joe, and a witch. The weather was great...clear and not too cold. We had our annual Halloween night at the kids' Godparent's house. Dinner was yummy and trick-or-treating was great. The kids were thrilled that the lady with the big snake was handing out candy again this year! Yep! A big boa. Blech!! Nasty. I stayed WAY far from the snake. All the kids pet it. Blech!! Other than the snake I had a great time. Now I'm feasting on all my favorite candy. Mmmm....mini candy bar heaven.

Apples

2011-10-30T20:44:00.001-07:00

On Saturday we spent the day at my Aunt and Uncle's house for their annual Apple Cider Pressing Party. It was a beautiful fall day. My Uncle got 800 lbs. of the most beautiful juicy and pristine apples. Yum! They are so good. The guys ran the press and filled everyone's jugs with fresh cider to take home.

Here's my awesome Uncle Bert next to his super cool press.

Busy Guy is a serious worker! He did every job available. He is always willing to help and loves to see how things work. He is going to make his future wife very happy!

The scenery was amazing!

Busy Guy turning the crank to press the apples.

My Uncle sent us home with two boxes of apples. Yum! I made apple crisp tonight. Fabulous.

Liam was transfixed watching a bagpiper. Yes! My Uncle's friend plays the bagpipes and walked around the property playing. It was magical.

Some kids didn't want to help at all. :) But they had fun running all over and playing soccer.

Sliced apples waiting for freezer bags.

My Aunt Thonnie or "Donnie" as Sis calls her. She was in the kitchen all day turning out apple sauce, apple cake, apple pie, and caramel apples. Mmmmmmm. Oh, and we had delicious soup and other good things for lunch.

Tuba helping Nana turn the apple peeler. He loves to help too!

2011-10-25T20:19:00.000-07:00

Sis and I got invited to a friend's birthday party. A GIRL party! Woot! Sis was so excited to go with me. We went shopping to buy the gift. Sis picked out tights for the gift. Of course! While we were picking out tights Sis spotted these "skinny jeans". She whipped them off the rack and said, "Mommy, these are just like yours! Can I have the PLEAAAAAASE?!". Sis does NOT need any more clothes but I melted. I couldn't resist her request to dress like me. You know how I love to match! So we came home and Sis got to work planning our outfits. Pretty good! She would have been happier if our shirts were exactly the same but it's close.
We had so much fun at the party. We made pizzas, played games, had cake, and played girly toys. So much fun!

Girly Room

2011-10-24T20:30:00.000-07:00

Sis's room is so beautiful! The path to get here was long and a lot of work but the end product is wonderful. The color turned out so lovely. I don't know if it shows so well in this photo but I really like it. I bought the cube storage and it is great to get her things off the floor and organized.

Sis still has a toddler bed...which fits her little self just fine. In fact two of her brothers also still have toddler beds. That is going to be an expensive day when we buy three twin beds. Yikes!

My favorite part of the new room is these curtains. Love them. They match the stencil I have too. I haven't put the stencil up yet. I'm enjoying her new fresh walls so much...maybe I won't do the stencil. Not sure yet.

Here's a side story about the painting of Sis's room. I was feeling very compelled to paint her room. It was really weighing on me. I would try to brush it off but it just kept coming back to nag at me. I'd tell myself not to be so crazy...that I didn't have to do it right away. But, the morning I decided to paint I was feeling especially anxious about getting to the painting. I decided to just do it and get it done. So, the first thing I did to start prepping the room was to take the light fixture down. Well, the second I touched it I jerked my hand back in pain. The fixture was so hot! I turned the light off and waited for the glass to cool. I then took it down...still rather warm. When I felt the fixture and the ceiling around it I was shocked to feel how hot they were. Scary. Then the very scary part. I next took down the smoke detector. I am VERY careful to have lots of detectors and always have fresh batteries in them. BUT, as I took hers down...it had a dead battery! Oh my! My stomach was sick.

At that moment I realized that the Holy Spirit was speaking to me. Paint that room wasn't about getting a job done but about safety. I always say that you should listen to your inner voice when it is nagging at you and telling you something. It is God speaking to you. In this case I wasn't listening because I thought it was just my "project obsessiveness" speaking. Nope. Turns out I should have listened sooner. Thankfully all is well. Sis (and her brothers) are all getting new light fixtures tomorrow. An electrician is coming to put them up and inspect the wires. The old ones are halogen which the electrician....and lots of others (grandparents and friends) say are not safe. So glad I finally listened to my inner voice!

What NOT to do

2011-10-19T20:14:00.000-07:00

Just in case your teenager ever wants to paint his/her room this color....say NO! We bought our house with this lovely color already on the walls...and ceiling. Yes, it was the room of a teenage boy and yes his parents let him pick this color.

I really wanted to get this room painted before we moved in but I didn't. I'm not sure what I was thinking. Packing and moving were a bit overwhelming. This is Sis's room. Her very own room. Too bad you need sunglasses to stop the glare of the fluorescent color!

Well, I have finally gotten around to painting this room. Sis and I chose pink. Really, did you expect something else? I have spent two days working on this room. It took 5 hours and two coats of primer and then 3 hours and 3 coats of paint to cover it. I'm not joking when I say that I'd let my teenage child dye his/her hair this color before I ever let them paint the walls this color. Seriously! One haircut versus hours of my own blood sweat and tears. Okay, so no blood.

Oh, and I'm not done. I finished the ceiling today and will move onto the walls tomorrow. You see I spent many hours choosing just the right pink only to put it on the wall and hate it! Yep. So I went back to the paint store and had it mixed with white. Now it 's much better, much more pale and I think I love it. We'll see. I'll post pics of it soon. After the walls are done I'll be stenciling up those cute flowers and butterflies that were on Sis's previous room. Then it's curtains, shelves and room decor. Oh the fun!

Pumpkin Farm

2011-10-17T19:15:00.000-07:00

What I didn't do this weekend:
Clean the bathrooms
Laundry
Clean the floors

What I did do this weekend:
Went out for breakfast
Went to the Pumpkin Patch
Went to The Art Walk with my MIL
Went to church
Went out for lunch
Went to a baptism
Drank wine in front of the fire with my hubby

So just in case you stop by for a visit...don't be shocked at the filth of my house. You can however marvel at the gorgeous pumpkins on my front porch. :)

Oh Bubble

2011-10-10T12:56:00.000-07:00

I've been reformed. Maybe. Probably not. But, I did let the kids do bubbles. Any of my long time readers/family members/close friends/therapist know I do NOT like bubbles. Too messy, too gooey. Blech! But, they asked and I said yes. The ground rules: Outside, in the grass, not on the deck, wear rubber boots, don't ask me for help, don't spill them in the yard. :) Don't I sound fun?! Well they did have fun. They did come up on the deck, they did spill (dump) them in the grass and they did have FUN! And aren't they cute!!

Markers

2011-10-07T12:02:00.000-07:00

Sis loves to draw, color and write her name. I have to be VERY careful not to leave out any pens or markers...or pencils or she will get them and practice her skills...EVERYWHERE...walls, counters, face/body, blankets, dolls, etc.!

I'm very proud of her drawing and writing skills. However I am not happy about her constant need to draw on any and everything. Yikes. New house with lots of Sis markings = not happy mommy. She also loves to color her finger and toe nails. Pretty. Just like mommy's. :) She also colored the doll's nails too. Pretty. Not so much. This is one of my childhood dolls. Permanent ink. Darn.

I now have a bin of Crayola washable markers for her. All other pens/markers/pencils (did you know pencil does NOT come out?) are under lock and key. :O

Replaced!

2011-10-05T11:05:00.000-07:00

While my great SIL and BIL were staying with us I might as well have left town. I was replaced. At one point I came outside to play with everyone and was told, "MOM, GO!" by my youngest child. Well! The kids eagerly awoke each morning and the first thing out of their mouths was "where is Aunt Cinn and Uncle Jamie?". Then they would perch themselves at the top of the stairs and wait for them to wake up. Uncle Jamie was a wrestling machine. The kids could not get enough. Jamie's back probably had enough the first day. :)

Cinn played with the kiddos too. Here she is making cards with Sis.

I got to have a fun time with my other SIL too. Sara and I went with baby (and her parents) to the Farmer's Market. Fun day. Here we are in the car soothing our sweet niece who had been crying.

Baby Time!

2011-10-04T17:00:00.000-07:00

We had the pleasure of having my SIL, BIL and our precious niece stay with us for 5 days! It was

so much fun. They were awesome house guests. Just imagine having live in human jungle gyms with the bonus of a sweet snuggly baby! Heavenly! I REALLY wish they lived closer. :( But, there is hope for the future with them applying for professor jobs closer to us. FYI: if you two plan on any job applications on the east coast I *might* be calling them to say how terrible you are. Kidding....not really kidding. :)

We spent the days keeping track of whose turn it was to do the holding. Sis loved her time with baby girl.

Nap Time for Uncle Jamie, baby....and Busy Guy snuck downstairs to sleep too. He curled right up. Precious.

Oh! Baby Feet. What more can I say?!

This is known as my "I've had it" hairdo. Clippy and ponytail tied up says I'm tired and ready for bed. Or in this case it's morning time and I just want to sit around in my pj's and hold this pumpkin. I had a terrible cold while they visited so I didn't get in as much holding as I wanted to. Well, to tell the truth there is no such amount that would be enough.

Mr. P's turn for some baby love.

Tuba was thrilled to have a baby in the house! Mr. Busy Guy was thrilled to be in LOTS of photos. I could publish a whole book of him from this visit. ;)

Uncle Cam had to work most of the days but he still got lots of snuggle time too.

Who is missing....hmmmm....no pics of Baby George holding his cousin. Well, I guess that just tells me he's either an alien or maybe he's just plenty happy being my baby. :)

More to come soon from the visit. Lots of good pics of The Human Jungle Gym. Sorry Jamie! Some day when you have back surgery we'll watch the baby!

Sweet Moment

2011-09-30T15:41:00.000-07:00

Some days are long. Some times it's chaotic. Some times I'm frazzled. Some times I dream of what my life will be like when my kids are older, more self sufficient.
Yesterday I had a wonderful day with my kids. We played and worked and had a great day.Last night Cam and I were tucking kids into bed. I was singing to Baby George and Cam came in and handed him a Lego guy. BG was so excited and hugged it to his chest. All of a sudden a huge wave of emotion overcame me. I suddenly thought that some day my baby would be too big to be excited about a Lego guy. As I sang "You Are My Sunshine" to BG I got all teary eyed.
I kissed him goodnight and then went off to have a good cry. I came into the kitchen to get a hug from Cam and the tears really flowed. I was all swollen eyed and blubbery. I could barely tell him why I was sobbing. He was a nice man and told me how sweet I was.
When I went into kiss and sing to Mr. P I told him I was feeling sad that my kids were growing up so fast. He told me, "Don't worry mom when I'm grown up I'll come over for some holidays". Oh great! At least he made me laugh.

9/11

2011-09-28T09:31:00.000-07:00

On 9/11 we got to see a steel beam from the World Trade Center. A local fire department had gone to NY and picked up the beam. It will be displayed in a memorial at the fire station.

We want our kids to know about 9/11. Only Tuba was part of our family 10 years ago. We spent some time showing the kids pictures of the towers and of the planes flying into them. It was somber and sobering to view those photos with our kids. Their faces reflected the sadness and horror. They asked lots of questions which we did our best to answer. Then we got to go see the beam, touch it and spend a few moments in prayer

Doggy Beauty Shop

2011-09-22T18:20:00.000-07:00

The kids LOVE our sweet dog Kali. Sometimes Sis loves her a bit TOO much. Okay, all the time. :) Kali is the best dog and I can honestly say she is too tolerant. The other day Sis and BG were dressing her up. They worked for about 15 minutes trying to get her into a pull-up and a dress. Sis was the boss calling out all the directions to her little brother. The dog just laid there on her back the whole time. No resisting. It was hilarious.

Success at last. Poor Kali.

Then the next day I guess Sis thought Kali needed some "pretty lips". She was applying pink sidewalk chalk to her mouth. Very pretty!

Back to School

2011-09-21T16:14:00.001-07:00

The kids are back in school! Yeah! I love school. My kids love school. Summer is fun but the last couple weeks were a bit rocky. :) Everyone (ME) is really ready for school to start and the routine of the year. I love my kids' schools!! And the teachers are amazing!! And everyone is doing very well. Tuba is a sophomore this year. Looking handsome! He is officially as tall as me (not hard) but weighs 105. For the record that is 25 lbs. less than me.
Busy Guy was the MOST excited about school starting. Kindergarten!! He loves it! He is in the am session and has the same teacher that Mr. P had in K. BG is rather lonely and forlorn in the afternoon when his brother and the neighbor boys are still at school. He has begged us to send him to all day K. But, it's $300 a month for all day and free for half day. :( We've been playing games in the afternoon and that is helping him feel special.
Mr. P is a big 2nd grader. He LOVES his teacher. His reading is really taking off. I constantly find him lying around with a book. Captain Underpants is his favorite right now!
The wee ones are also in school!! Woot! This is the first time in 8 years that I've had a morning free while all the kids are at school!! I have appointments for dental, mammogram and yearly check all booked....and I don't have to hire a sitter! They go two times a week for 2.5 hours. I use one of the days to do my volunteer time at the Elementary school. Love that time!
Sis was VERY excited for school. Baby brother....not so much. He got more excited after open house and seeing all the cool toys. But, the first day was rough. He clung to my shirt and we had to unwrap each of his fingers so I could go. He didn't cry but looked rather scared. I faked a big smile, waved goodbye and then ran to my van and had a good cry! Whaaaa! What is wrong with me? Wasn't I supposed to be excited. Well, I am but it was a bit sad. The second week of school was much better and they are both loving it!

One of the coolest things for me this year is that my big kids ride the bus! Yeah! No more spending HOURS a day in the van. I walk a few blocks to the bus stop in the morning, then the afternoon bus drops BG off at our door. At the end of the day Mr. P either walks up with a neighborhood mom or we walk to the stop and get him. Tuba is picked up and dropped at our house. Heavenly!! It's a short ride and it's working well for everyone. Yeah for the bus! Yeah for school! Yeah!!!

Important!

2011-09-20T22:04:00.000-07:00

Just in!! Important news!! Yes, I am still alive, and in case I have ANY readers left in the world I will be posting regularly....SOON! I have been without a computer, can't post from my iPod, and have still been unpacking, painting and enjoying the small amount of summer we had. But, the computer is back and my office is being set up...and I'm missing my blog! So a HUGE backlog of posts to come....I promise. Really!

Summer nights

2011-08-18T09:21:00.000-07:00

Another of my favorite things about our house is sitting on the front porch. We sit out in the morning and eat blueberries and get warmed by the sun. I'm sure all the neighbors love to see us in our pj's. :) At night we like to watch the boys ride bikes. I love my front porch!

*Note: check out Sis's outfit. She comes up with some colorful creations. :) She also changes her clothes so many times a day that she now has a lock on her closet. :O

Sis will be off and riding soon. Yikes! She's checking out the scooter...which is as big as she is and probably weighs more.

Hmmmm.....this looks fun!

Bikes and more

2011-08-17T10:02:00.000-07:00

One of the best things about our new neighborhood is that the kids get to ride bikes and scooters. They have been loving it! We live on a quiet street and there are lots of neighborhood kids out riding and playing all day. Busy Guy was apprehensive to try his bike. He was awesome at the scooter so he could keep up with the big kids just fine. Scooter boy!

I do have to say it is a leap of faith for me to let the kids ride without me right there. Cam has given me the "they are fine" talk a few times. It is great independence for them to ride and play without a hovering mother. :) They do have limits and can only ride on our street where I can see them if I need to. They do ride to their friends' house too with permission. The boys look out for each other too. Some great life experience and life lessons being learned this summer!

Mr. P loves to ride his bike. In fact he is eating me out of house and home because he rides all day and burns so many calories.

The kids and I take lots of walks. The little ones are anxious to ride bikes and scooters too!

We finally convinced Busy Guy to try his bike. Here's Cam getting him set up.

He literally just rode off! No push, no try! He was so proud of himself!! He is a riding machine! He has a new bike now (since I'm still so behind) and I'll post those pics soon. :) Soon is a relative word.

One More...

2011-08-08T21:33:00.000-07:00

One more birthday to complete the birthday season! Cam turned 43!! Woot! We went out for dinner to celebrate his special day. We call ourselves The Restaurant Lepers. You should see people's reaction when we come in the front door. You can see them thinking...oh please don't sit by me. We have had people say no to the hostess when they are being seated near us too. Sheesh...without even giving us a chance. We have also had many people come and tell us how great our kids were!! But, we do get nervous when we go out someplace a bit nicer than the usual. It was a special occasion so we risked it.

We went to a favorite local Italian place and sat out on the patio. It was a beautiful sunny day. We had yummy dessert (which you can see on BG's face). And then we walked along the marina and looked at the boats. The kids were very good and we all had a nice time. BG did fall and skin his knees. Poor baby. The picture cracks me up though....he's holding his shorts up so it won't touch the owie.

Happy Birthday to my amazing sweet hard working and loving husband! We love you!!

Tuba is 15

2011-08-08T14:16:00.001-07:00

Sweet Tuba is 15! He is growing so fast this summer. He is VERY close to my height now...and weighs in at about 105 lbs. He had his favorite breakfast....mmmmm.

For his birthday we got him a new firepit for the back yard. Our firebug was thrilled!! We had a bonfire and roasted smores. We had a great time. Cam told the kids some stories. Ghost stories turned.....hmmm....how do I describe them....ghost stories turned potty humor? Yes. They start out with dark woods and creaking noises and then end with the scary noises being revealed as an old lady farting! Yep. The kids laugh hysterically...and me too. I'm sure the neighbors wonder who the heck moved to the neighborhood. We are LOUD! We laughed until a couple of us fell out of our chairs. :)

Sweet Baby

2011-08-04T15:31:00.001-07:00

Our family LOVES a baby. We all wait patiently (not) to have our turn holding and cooing. Love love love my family of baby hogs. :)

3rd Birthday!

2011-07-26T14:36:00.001-07:00

More catching up.

Another birthday in the house! Baby.....not so much a baby....George turned 3!!!

Oh-my-word!! Where has my baby gone? Well, I can pretend...and tell him he's my baby. :)

Three is such a fun birthday! He was OVER the moon about his gifts and cake and GIFTS!! We went to church and then came home for cake and GIFTS! Then we went to see Cars 2. Loved it!

Happy Birthday my sweet snuggly funny power house of a little boy!!

2011-07-26T08:49:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July. Kind of late....I know it. I'm still trying to get caught up.
We had a great 4th. I love the 4th!! We went to the parade with Grandma and Auntie Sara and then went to our fabulous friends' house for dinner and fireworks.

New House

2011-07-17T21:26:00.001-07:00

I wanted these photos at the end of the post but my laptop and blogger are not cooperating...so it is this way instead. :)

The move was long and hard and....stinky! But the reward is we get to live in our beautiful new home. 4 of the 5 kids were horribly sick during the move. Terribly nasty illness. 104 temps. that lasted for 6 or more days. Mr. P would vomit when his temp went up high. Awful. Baby George and Mr. P both also got sinus and ear infections. Sis and Busy Guy rode it out with just fevers and feeling terrible. The day of the big move Busy Guy and Mr. P were too sick to go to their Godparent's house with the other kids. They laid in our bed until it was time to move the bed and then they laid on the floor with towels and a bed skirt over them. It was so sad. My mom was a life saver. She sat with the boys until we could move them and then made up all the kids' beds so they could go to sleep at the new house. Thanks Mom!! Grandpa Bill came with her and besides helping with the kids they helped us move and clean. We hired a couple of guys to help us too. All the moving was done in one day. The next day we spent the whole day at the "old house" getting it cleaned and ready for the renters to move in. Whew! I have never worked so hard!
Of course there is still lots here to do but we have unpacked LOTS! The kitchen is all put away and most of the bathroom, bedroom stuff is done too. There is lots of books to unpack but were not sure where everything is going just yet.
I LOVE my new house. LOVE!!! The neighborhood is amazing!! The kids have been playing outside and riding their bikes/scooters non-stop. We take a family walk every night after dinner. There is so much to say about what I love. The view, the increased sq. footage, the yard, the quiet, the dining room, on and on.
I'll start with the best. Our master bedroom is out of this world! The view is so beautiful. I feel like I'm on vacation.

Someone is 8!

2011-07-14T21:07:00.000-07:00

Mr. P had a birthday just after we moved. It was a bit hard to plan a party around the big move. We decided on a small party at our new house.....just 5 days after moving. We went with easy. Corn dogs, ice cream cake and lots of playing. No games, no goody bags. :) The boys had a great time. They were all running around our house so I sent them outside to play in the wet yard. Oh well they didn't mind. It was a huge success and it was easy. Exactly what I needed.

I cannot believe my baby boy is 8!! He is growing into such a big kid. He is reading all the time. I love to hear him in bed at night reading Calvin and Hobbes and laughing out loud. He got monopoly for a gift and has been beating all of us at it! He is the land baron!! He has been such a huge helper too. He is very sweet to Tuba and helps me a ton with him. Sometimes when Tuba is being a stinker for me Mr. P will ask him to do it and Tuba will comply. He is also growing a ton! He is eating ALL-DAY-LONG too. I guess that is what happens when you ride your bike all day long! I can't complain when I look at him and he is the skinniest kid.

Happy Birthday my sweet, smart 8 year old. I love you to the moon...and back!

Missed Me?

2011-07-11T10:41:00.000-07:00

Have ya missed me? Well, I've missed writting on my beloved blog! Crazy busy times for me!! We moved! Yeah! More on that later and pictures of the fabulous new house too. But first I need to catch up on other things.

Just after moving to our new house I got 2 new neices! I now have 3 neices to go along with my 3 nephews! Also, Cam's siter Cinn had a baby and my sister Chelsea had a baby. Babies Babies!! I love it! For an update on Cinn and Jamie's precious baby go to her blog which is listed on my side bar. It's called A Walk In The Garden. I don't want to post pics of her on my blog until I take the photos....it feels weird to steal the photos from her blog and re-post them. I can't wait for them to visit us this winter!! Hurry!! Come see us soon!! I have your room ready!!

My sister Chelsea asked me to be her delivery coach/helper person! I was thrilled to have the job. It was an amazing experience to see a baby born! I was at my sister's other births but they were water births and you just can't see much. This time it was at the hospital and no water birth. I got a front row seat. Amazing! I loved it!! What a miracle it is when a baby is born. My sister was a trooper! She had a terrible epidural experience so decided to go natural. She is tough and is a rock!! Thanks Chelsea for asking me to be part of this special day. I loved it!! Of course, no pain for me...other than no sleep. :)

On to the baby. She is precious!! Love her, love babies! The first pic is just seconds after she was born. The Dr. is suctioning her out.

I adore this photo! You can see how tired my Sister was and how hard she worked to birth this baby girl.

I set up the camera and took my own picture with the timer! :) Proud Auntie!!

Bouncy House

2011-06-21T20:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I asked Sis what she was going to do that day. Her reply was "the bouncy house!!". Okay, we don't have a bouncy house. Then I realized this is what she meant. The boys' room has been stripped down to mattresses on the floor for the move. Ah, The Bouncy House!

Moving....Soon!

2011-06-15T19:39:00.000-07:00

We signed papers on our new house today! Woot! It will close on Tues. and we can start moving in. Yipeeeee! I want to paint Sis's room and maybe a couple others walls before the big stuff gets moved in. Sis and I are shopping for the perfect pink or lavender for the walls. So girly and fun! The middle boys' room needs painted too (it's lime green). I hope to have time to get to that room too.
Meanwhile I am a painting fool here at the "old" house. I have been painting over all the stencils in the kids' rooms. Sad! I worked so hard on them and now am working so hard to erase them. Phooey! I have finished the kids' rooms, master, kitchen, family room, bathroom...all that's left for paint touch up is the livingroom, diningroom and mudroom. Wow! What a load of work. Add to that packing (and purging) the whole house, cleaning everything, sprucing up the yard, and getting things ready for the renter. Holy Moly! It's no wonder I'm tired...and sick. BAD cold, sore throat, and just blah!

To keep all (probably 5) my readers interested I'll tell a couple funny stories.

1. Busy Guy was hollering for me....loud..."MOM". "What" I yelled back as I ran for the upstairs where he was. "Something is wrong with Sisters potty.....it's stuck inside!!!". I ran up thinking I was going to find some terrible mishap. When I arrived in the room Sis was looking perplexed and looking down at her naked potty. Busy Guy was looking horrified and while pointing at his Sis's potty he exclaimed, "It's not hanging out....it's stuck inside!!". Oh....my....word. I calmly explained to him that a girl's potty and a boy's potty are different....boys hang out...girls are inside. "Oh" he says looking rather relieved. Okay, now you might be wondering how a child gets to be 5 years old and does not know this difference. I wonder that also. Especially since Busy Guy has taken a bath with his sister almost every day for 3 years!!! Naked! Good grief!

2. We were playing at the playground and Mr. P had to go in and use the restroom. When he came out he says to me, "I bet girls wonder what a portable looks like". Hmmmmm. "I think you mean urinal", I say back to him. "Oh, yah" he says and runs off to play. Hilarious!

Like Me

2011-06-02T20:42:00.000-07:00

On Sunday Sis wanted to wear her traditional Ethiopian skirt and top. Cam bought it when he was in Ethiopia to bring her home. I had gotten her dressed in it and we were in the bathroom getting her hair brushed. As I was brushing her hair she said to me, "Like Busy Guy" (although she used his real name). I was confused because Busy Guy has really short hair. So I said, "is hair is short right now". Then she patted her chest and said, "No, Ethiopian, like Busy Guy". Oh. It was so precious. She was telling me that she is Ethiopian just like her brother. My eyes got all teary. "Yes", I told her. They are my Ethiopian babies.

Whoa!

2011-05-27T18:28:00.000-07:00

If I thought life was spinning before.....now it's REALLY twirling. Woof!

I have too much to say...and no time to say it in. We are learning all about being landlords (SO much to learn!!!) Luckily we've had lots of friends/family giving us advice. We also joined a local organization that runs the background/credit checks and gives us access to all the forms we need.

I think we found a renter. Yeah! I lost much sleep over the thought of paying two mortgages...and even more sleep worrying about picking the wrong person! ARHHH! Too many decisions.

On to the new house. It's fantastic!! 4 bedrooms!! Yep, sister will finally have her own room!! Whoohooo! Tuba and Mr. P will share and then Busy Guy and Baby George will share. Everyone is very excited! The layout of the house is awesome! You enter on the main level and there is a living room, HUGE dining room, kitchen, 3 bedrooms, full bath and access to backyard...which is also HUGE and all grass! No more high maintenance yard for us. :) Then you go upstairs to our master bedroom. There are no words to describe it! It is awesome!! Beautiful view!!! HUGE room and master bath. Heavenly. I'm so excited to get ready in a bathroom without 5 kids, the dog and the cat all squeezed in. Yipeeee! Then the basement which is where we will come in from the garage. Most of the basement is finished but needs a major overhaul. It is clean and dry and gets lots of sunlight. We can make the changes we want to do over time. There is a TON of storage, a full bath, laundry and family room....plus extra space. We plan to tear a wall out right away and make the family room bigger. I can't wait to move!!

Speaking of moving. I've began packing. Ugh! Today I packed about 10 or so boxes. My eyes itch from the dust it stirred up. It's going to be a LONG process. I am purging, purging, purging. The thing that makes me cringe is the garage....and attic. Oh!

Catch Up

2011-05-17T20:29:00.000-07:00

Life is spinning..........

Whoaaaaaa! I've been neglecting my blog. Life has been good and busy. Here's a mini catch up.

Mother's Day - I had a wonderful day!! My one wish was to have a shower without anyone coming into the bathroom....to tell on someone, to ask me a question, or to go poop!! And, yes it happened!! Whooohoooo! The kids brought me breakfast in bed. Loved it. I really love all the nice things the kids make me at school. God bless the teachers for doing such a kind thing! I laughed and cried at those precious gifts. We went to church and got to worship with my mom, sister, nephews and step-dad. Really nice. Then we went to eat. Yeah! And then spent a nice day at home.

TKD - My boys (Cam, Mr. P and Busy Guy) had testing last Sat. The little boys advanced to yellow belts! Yipeee! They did wonderful! Cam advanced to brown belt. AND...he was the only student to get a perfect score! He was amazing. Wow!! I was so impressed with his performance.

Kali - Love, love, love my sweet doggy! She had her spaying surgery yesterday so she is a bit sore. She is snuggled up in bed with me. Love her! How did I live so long without her? She makes the kids laugh so hard. She loves stuffed animals and keeps taking the little fabric dolls from the dollhouse. The kids throw them for her and she runs and gets them and then shakes her head all around. They can't get enough! Love her!

AND....perhaps the main reason I've been neglecting my blog. We are moving! Yep. We are buying a new house. Finally! We have decided to rent out our home and take the plunge and buy a new one. It's fab!!! I'll post more later about the house. We love it. The inspection is this week and if all goes well we will be moving the end of June. Yipeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. Say some prayers for us to find great renters. I'm so nervous!!

A Dog's Life

2011-05-07T10:04:00.000-07:00

We are really loving our new doggy Kali! She is the sweetest girl! She is getting lots of love and cuddles from the kids.
Busy Guy read her stories. She listened and looked at all the pictures.

She loves to go bye-bye in the car. Plus, I'll never have to vacuum the car again! Too bad she doesn't eat pine needles and dirt...I guess I'll just vacuum less often. :)

We have had a terrible spring...as far as weather goes. It was the coldest April on record. Boo! But, we had one nice day last week and we took Kali to the park. Tuba loved walking her all around on her leash.

The Real Us

2011-05-03T12:48:00.000-07:00

I really should update our family photo on the right hand side of my blog. We have all grown and changed so much. But....I really love that photo and hold that time in my heart as something so precious. Oh....I should change it since it's almost 3 years old. I'm thinking this photo would be a good replacement. What do you think?

Kali

2011-05-02T13:01:00.000-07:00

We did it!! We got a family dog. We spent our weekend driving 3 hours each way to meet and bring home this precious doggy! Her name is Kali and she is a 3 year old Boston Terrier. I found her through a woman who breeds and shows dogs. She is PERFECT for us. She is mellow and such a love! She loves the kids...but really, really loves me. :) She loves to lay on my lap and be rubbed. She is 100% crate trained, house trained and is just all around great. She is WAY into food. I don't think I'll ever have to vacuum under the dinner table again! ;) We are very thrilled with her. The cat....not so thrilled. I'm hoping Shiloh warms up to her....and stops chasing her while hissing. Sheesh mean cat!
Today I was downstairs doing some chores and it was really quiet upstairs. I got to wondering (panicking) what the kids were doing. I came up to find this. They were playing "baby" with Kali. She was sitting perfectly still for them! Good dog!!

Holy Week

2011-04-29T10:18:00.000-07:00

It's a week past Holy Week but I'm finally getting to my post. Busy! I keep thinking (hoping) things will get less busy around here....not happening. Oh well.

Confession Friday: This year Holy Week was much different than past years. Cam has always had all of Holy Week off of work. This year he took Holy Friday off and then Bright Monday (to rest). I must confess that I missed going to all the services. We made it to the evening services on Wed. - Fri. but I do miss those years when we went too morning liturgies too. Of course our gas bill is much lower and I wasn't as exhausted but I did

We did have a glorious week. Christ Is Risen! Indeed He Is Risen! Spending the time at church in worship with my kids and Cam is so wonderful. To make things even better my Mom and Bill spent Pascha with us at our parish. It was so nice!! Cam and I actually got to stand in the service and hold hands while my mom took a turn with the kids. Blessed!

Palm Sunday was wonderful. My mom, sister and nephew joined us for church. Us parents always wince when we see the palms. Just thinking of all the pokes and tickles I would sustain during the service. Ugh! Not to mention the kids playing light saber with their palm. Oh! I secretly want to lock the priest in a room full of kids and palms. Hehehe! Just kidding (not). It truly is a wonderful day....even with the palms. Hosanna!

Wednesday night is the Holy Unction service and we get to be anointed with Holy Oil. All the services are such a nice time to snuggle our kids. Even big kids get in on it.

I take a Holy Friday picture each year. Here is the newest one! I love it! The best one was taken on the first try!!

The tomb on Holy Friday. Beautifully decorated. We process outside and then walk under the tomb as it is held aloft (by strong and tall men).

Of course Holy Week is Tuba's favorite week of the year. Tuba loves the candle light services and is very good holding his candle.

Holy Saturday morning is my favorite service of the whole year. It's so joyful! My favorite part of the service is when the priests comes out dressed in white and scatter bay leaves about the church as a sign of the impending joy. The bells are ringing and it is so special. To read more about this wonderful service go here.

After the morning liturgy our wonderful friends Vern and Cheryl took us out for donuts! Yum! They wanted to treat the kids for their great attendance and behavior at church. Thanks!!

We went home, enjoyed some much needed sunshine, got things ready for Pascha, took naps, took Tuba to the prom and then went off to church that night.

The next day, Sunday we attended our feast and children's carnival. Bouncy House!! Whooohoooo! After a whole day of jumping and eating nothing but candy (Sis)....the kids were exhausted and slept in the next day. Sis slept until 10:30!!!! I'm thinking her new routine will be bouncy house and candy!! ;)

Sir Tuba

2011-04-26T12:14:00.000-07:00

I have so much to catch up on. Holy Week was amazing and Pascha was so fun! Plus, Tuba went to his prom. I'll tackle the prom bit first since I know Grandpa is dying to see photos of him.

The prom was on Holy Saturday. I got Tuba all ready to go and pinned the boutonniere on him (Cam and I got it for him). He was beyond thrilled with his tux...especially the shoes!! The shoes are patent leather and he LOVES them. He could barely walk because he was looking down at his feet. :)
I drove Tuba to the high school. On the way there I got all teary (more like blubbering) looking at my handsome boy. By the time I arrived at the school I had to blow my nose and wipe my eyes. It was kind of fun and nostalgic to take Tuba in for the dance. He goes to my alma mater. The cafeteria looks exactly the same as when I was a student and attended dances there.
When we walked in I was shocked to see so many kids. The dance was put on by the Honor Society and all of the kids in the Honor Society were attending also. I was so surprised to see hundreds of teens dressed in prom wear. I thought the kids would plan the event but it didn't occur to me that they would also attend. It was so special to see all the kids.
I sought out the teacher who is the leader of the Honor Society to thank her. Of course I couldn't talk without bawling. She told me the kids love to do it and that many of the kids say it is their favorite dance of high school. Wow! She also told me how they do a fund raiser and secure donations for the event (including a free tux rental for each boy). So many wonderful companies pitch in to make it happen. The tables were set with matching sets of china. Beautiful. The tables were draped in linen and had stemware, and silverware along with floral arrangements and candles. Beautiful! The dinner was catered and was so nice! The Jazz Band was playing during dinner.
I left Tuba to enjoy himself and ran home to get myself and the family ready for Pascha night. At 9:00 we picked Tuba up and headed to church. When Cam went in to get Tuba he found him red faced and dripping sweat rockin' out to the DJ. The kids had big beach balls blown up and Tuba was throwing it into the crowd and dancing all at the same time. Cam was told that Tuba is quite the ladies' man and had his picture taken with about every girl in the room!
Next stop was church....for Tuba's favorite service of the year. The service starts at 10:00 pm and ends at 12:30 am. Tuba was going strong the whole time. He was so excited to show everyone his tux! He got lots of attention and pictures too.
It was a magical night for all of us.

Holy Friday

2011-04-22T09:35:00.000-07:00

Every Holy Friday I take a family photo. Well this morning I'm busy getting our clothes ready...and matching for our photo this afternoon. It gets me thinking of the past photos. Awwwww.

A silly one too. What will this year's photo be like....full of BIG kids for sure.

Girl Time

2011-04-20T12:46:00.001-07:00

The boys (Cam, Busy Guy and Mr. P) have been going to TKD classes 2-3 times a week. Baby George has been REALLY missing his Daddy. He asks for him first thing in the morning and then cries if he has missed saying goodbye to him. He then cries throughout the day and asks for Daddy. On the nights the boys go to TKD Baby George about comes unglued. Cam just barely gets home from work and then is gone again.

Well, last week I begged Cam to take him with. On that night Cam first had a class (he is a higher belt level than the boys) and then the boys had a class. They would be gone 2.5 hours and I knew BG couldn't make it without a Daddy fix. Cam took him along. It worked great. The boys sat with BG and looked at books and played their electronic Leapsters while Cam did his class. Then Cam held him and snuggled him while the boys did their class. Perfect!

Meanwhile I was home with just Tuba and Sis! Heavenly!! It was SO easy and fun to be home with just the two of them. Tuba was doing his own thing so I decided to ask Sis if she would like to have her toenails painted for the first time. Well, you can imagine she was thrilled!

We went to pick out a color and then I put her up on the bathroom counter. She sat perfectly still (seriously this NEVER happens). I moved her to the couch and she sat like a statue until I said they were dry. Then at bedtime she wouldn't let me put blankets over her toes. Hehehe. So cute. She thought it would wreck them. All week long she keeps glancing at her toes and saying, "Pretty! Just like Mommies toes!". She also held up her hand and asked me about painting her fingernails. Ahhhhh! I love having this little girl!! I told her we could paint our fingernails for Pascha. She is patiently waiting. I have flowers painted on my big toenails from a salon visit...well of course she wants that too. :)

The boys all want me to do TKD too. I don't think so.

1. They do sparring and I don't want anyone hitting me (I wouldn't mind hitting them). ;)

2. Soon BG will be old enough to go to TKD and participate and Sis and I can hang out and be girly! Oh! Cam is insisting she go to TKD too....hmmmm....we will see what the future brings.

Tuba News

2011-04-18T20:10:00.000-07:00

Tuba, sweet Tuba. He loves babies. He loves his cousin!!

I have so much Tuba news!! I had his IEP (Individual Education Plan) meeting last week. I met with his teacher, speech therapist, physical therapist, school counselor, school psychologist, and vice principal. It was so great to hear all about the improvements that Tuba has made at school. The reported that his behavior has been excellent!! Yipee! He is well liked by all the kids and by the staff. Of course!

Some of the things the teacher had to report to me blew me away! I didn't even know Tuba could do these things.

1. He can count to over 50.
2. He can match numbers 1-12
3. He is learning to tell time using a digital clock. He can say hour number most of the time.
4. He has his student number memorized and can punch it in on a key pad. Wow! They said he sometimes transposes two of the numbers but then corrects himself! Wow!
5. He can write his name with hand over hand assistance. He is very good at the first two letters and can do those with help.
6. And....he was at home drawing on the chalkboard and he turned to me and spelled his name out loud!! Now, his nickname is Tuba but his official name is 6 letters and he got them all right. It was so exciting! I had him do it again and again. He did it for all his siblings, and grandma and Papa! Wow!! So awesome!!

More excitement too! The Honor Society at Tuba's high school is putting on a prom for Tuba's class! So fun! It is this Saturday night....which is also Holy Pascha. A local formal wear shop is giving each boy a free tux rental. Nice! I took Tuba on Friday to pick out his tux. Man oh man was he excited. He had numerous vests picked out and kept changing his mind. He kept pointing and calling out the colors. He chose red! He picked his tux style and is all set. When we left the store with nothing in hand he was miffed...to say the least! Ha! The prom will be dinner and dancing from 6:30-9:00. Then he will get to wear his tux to Pascha! Life could NOT get better for Tuba. I'm thinking we will have to rent him a tux every year from now on. I can't wait to see him beaming and singing his heart out!

It's Holy Week which means we have lots going on with church services. I'm taking lots of pics so I can post them later. Have a wonderful week everyone!

Other sources

2011-04-14T12:49:00.000-07:00

In addition to books there are other sources where I look for parenting tips. For starters I use my faith, my church, and the Bible to guide me. Christ is wonderful example of how I should parent. Although He was not a parent His actions and words are wonderful examples and tools for me to use with my children.

I also observe other parents with their children. Over the years when I meet children that are happy and well behaved I take note to observe how their parents interact with them. I have picked up many ideas from watching and listening....and even asking questions from other parents I admire. Our childrens' Godmother Helen has raised four girls. When Tuba was little I used to watch Helen parenting her kids in church. I loved it when one of her kids would act up and she would have to take them out of church. She would leave with a smile on her face and a calm demeanor. It was especially entertaining when the child in trouble would have the biggest frown. Ha! I also observed how she would bend over and whisper in her child's ear to correct behavior. It always worked and was a quiet and calm and private way to deal with a mis-behavior. She also gave me some great advice once. She told me that sometimes when her toddlers would mis-behave (for attention) she would close her eyes. I started doing this when Tuba was little and it worked so well. Oh, nobody is watching me be naughty so I guess I'll stop!

Another good friend of mine, Joy, who has three girls and one boy is a wonderful source of parenting tips. She has been writing articles for our parish newsletter. I really loved this one. It made me think about what Cam and I could do differently at home. We are the examples for our children.

A few years ago the drama department at Stanwood High School produced “Godspell.” You may not be a fan of that musical, but I love it and try to see it whenever I can. “Godspell” loosely portrays the Gospel of St. Matthew…it’s from the ‘70’s, so use your imagination! J I love the musical because it shows so clearly how the words and actions of our Lord turned the world upside down. There was a new way of living and acting in this world, and the standards were different no matter who you were dealing with…family, enemies, friends, slaves, etc. Jesus talked about it all. It makes me think about how we, as Christians, parent.

Back to my message from last month, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” You can teach this to your children, and their neighbor should start with their Mom and Dad and with their siblings. If children are not showing love, kindness, respect at home, they are not being Christians…Christ-followers. Share with them opportunities to be helpful and kind. Teach them to SHOW their love! “They will know we are Christians by our love.”

Young children are “Me” centered. This is natural. But, they can be taught to be “Other” oriented. When Dad or Mom greet each other at the end of the day, when they come together after being apart all day long, they can take a minute to touch base with each other. The children can be taught that this is “Mom and Dad’s time,” and that they shouldn’t interrupt. They can be close by, and even part of the exchange, but the focus is on the Mom and Dad and their relationship. This can be just a few quick minutes, but it is a positive time that is not centered on the kids and helps the children begin to see that the world does not revolve around him/her. It is a start. (This quick “touch base” time can be a life-saver for a marriage too. Especially a marriage that involves young children! This exchange should be positive and up-lifting. What a great way to start an evening together! )

Another way children can be taught to SHOW their love is that siblings can be taught to look out for each other. If the kids are outside playing and someone gets hurt, the brothers and sisters should stop and make sure that child is okay, OR run and get Mom or Dad if needed. This is not natural for young children. The parent can teach them that those siblings are the most important people in their lives.

Speaking kindly and with respect is another way to SHOW our love toward each other within a family unit. If a family speaks kindly at home, it will be easier for them to do so outside of home. Everyone, within a family unit, should be speaking kindly and respectfully at home. Children, especially, can be taught to reply to a sibling in a respectful tone of voice and this is more easily done if Mom and Dad are speaking with respect toward each other.

This is how Jesus Christ wants us to live--in harmony and love. The words and actions of our Lord were outrageous for the people hearing them. Our lives should be outrageous, too. We should be living lives that are so different from the world that those around us…our neighbors…know we are Christ-followers. We can demonstrate that others are to be cherished and supported. Please take time this Advent Season to show your spouse, children, and neighbors the love of Christ.

Always Learning

2011-04-12T20:53:00.000-07:00

I've been a mom for almost 15 years. But, I'm always trying to learn how to do my job better....how to do it differently. I fall short so many times. Too many. The other night I had a short temper with Tuba. I felt so badly. I stewed about it all night and it kept me awake thinking. I said sorry to Tuba and gave him a snuggle. He of course forgave me and life moved on. Except that I still felt bad. I want to do better. When the house gets quiet at night and I have time to reflect on the day I tend to focus on what I did wrong or what I could have done better. Cam tells me all the time to think of at least three things I did well. I do use that exercise and it does help me to see a clearer picture. But, like the example with Tuba. I did do wrong. I pulled out some of my parenting books and read some refresher material. It's always helpful to me to re-read parenting advice or ideas since each kid is different and each situation is new. These are my favorite parenting books. Okay, don't laugh...seriously. I love Super Nanny's book. Really! I love her show and I LOVE her book. The chapters are very to the point. I mean...anyone with a passel of small kids does NOT have time to read lengthy chapters to get to the meat of what to do! I really like Super Nanny's method for time out. It helped me to realize that I needed to get down on my kids' level and look in their eyes. Sounds pretty simple but I was not doing it. I can be like a maniac hollering from one room to kids in another room. Hello? How well does that work. Ummmm....NOT well. She gives steps to follow and they work. I have used the Super Nanny TO system for a couple of years. But, over time and as chaos increased I have gotten sloppy in my method. ie: maniac hollering lunatic. Not pretty. Another of my favorite books is Love and Logic. The authors have many books but the one I have is specifically for toddlers. I find parenting toddlers to be VERY challenging. The book is wonderful and helped me potty train Baby George. I did what the book said and he was potty trained...in a day! Okay, it might just be the child but the method was great. Love and Logic is big on choices. In my rushed and sometimes frustrated day I had forgotten to be giving lots of choices. It is amazing how you can get (trick....hehehehe) a toddler into doing what you want/need him/her to do. Yipee! What are your favorite parenting book? Leave it in the comments section.

Little Trip

2011-04-08T09:41:00.000-07:00

We have been on Spring Break and Cam is on vacation too. We took a little 3 day trip over the mountains to visit family and relax....and get some much needed sunshine. We rented a condo in town that we got for a great price.

The view from the condo was really nice. Lake and mountains.

We got to spend the day with our niece. We babysat her while my sister worked. We would have kept her both days but our van isn't big enough for an extra person. :( I think we need a bigger van! We were in town so we walked with the kids to our activities. It was really cold....brrrrr. The only hard part about having the baby was everyone fighting over their turn to hold her. She was so good and easy to watch.

We got to have dinner with Grandma and Auntie and cousin three days in a row! Too fun.

The hot tub at the condo was awesome. We sat in the cold air and nice sunshine and relaxed in the warm water. Heavenly.

We took the kids bowling. Tuba loves it!! We had our neice that day too. So fun. My sister asked us if spending the day with a baby gave us baby fever. Ummm....Nope! It was so nice to enjoy her and snuggle her and send her home with her Mama. ;)

More Good Ones

2011-04-06T18:37:00.000-07:00

More good questions and comments on the post about Tuba's future. Carrie wants to know of any books or online resources to help explain special needs to siblings, cousins and other children. I actually do not know of any but I'm sure they exist. If anyone knows of titles or websites you can leave it in the comments and I'll share it. We have always told our kids that Tuba has an "owie" in his brain and that it is just the way God made him. All of our kids understand that Tuba is different than they are. He takes medication for seizures every day. The kids can all recognize a seizure and will holler for me if they see one. The kids all help Tuba with things he cannot do himself....like put his shoes on or buckle his seat belt. They are a great help...especially Mr. P since he is the oldest. I know that as the other kids get older they will help too. Our kids are very comfortable with other people who have special needs too. Cam and I will always say hello and go out of our way to greet people in the community...especially those with special needs. The kids are used to all kinds of people. The thing I love most about our kids is that they are not embarrassed of Tuba. Let me tell you...sometimes he does stuff that IS embarrassing. He can have a BIG fit in public with yelling, screaming, hitting, biting, spitting, and even tries to pull the back of his pants down. None of the kids are ever embarrassed. That makes a big impression on me. I guess to them it is just the way life is in our family. :) I have often thought that kids will follow the example of the parents. I don't know...I think my kids do better than I do. Of course there is sibling squabbling and teasing with all the kids. Tuba is basically a toddler and we have two other toddlers so it can be a bit chaotic. The difference is that Tuba is a 5'1" toddler and can hold things WAY up the air to keep them away from another kid. :) The other question was from Anonymous and they asked what our plans for Tuba are after we are gone. ARRRRRRRHHHHHHHHHH! Lalalalalalalalalalalala! That is the sound I am making as I plug my ears and go into complete denial. AHHHHHH!!!! DENIAL. It is one thing to be stressed thinking what Tuba will be doing after high school but it's a whole other thing to image after Cam and I are gone. I don't like to go there....at all. I know we have to think it through. Of course we do talk about it. Cam has said that he hopes he and Tuba go at the same time. Really. It is just too hard to imagine Tuba here without us. He does have his siblings. Thank God for them and thank God there are 4 of them. We talk with our kids about them taking care of Tuba. They will all tell you that they are going to have Tuba live with them. They say that they will play video games with him and let him have a fire every day. :) At their young ages they cannot really imagine a time when Cam and I won't be here but as they get older they will understand. Cam and I have some planning to do and we are beginning to find out how to set up a trust for Tuba. Guess I better get going on that....once I take my fingers out of my ears.

Why Home?

2011-04-03T08:44:00.000-07:00

I got a great question from Carrie in my comments section regarding the post about Tuba's future. She wanted to know why we wanted Tuba to live at home versus a group home. Good question. Here's our answer. Tuba does not talk...not conversational talking. He does say dozens of words that we understand but he does not have the capacity to talk to us in detail or sentences. We feel very protective of Tuba and feel that if anyone were to hurt him or treat him badly he would not be able to tell us. I do NOT trust that Tuba would be safe outside of our care. Also, we enjoy his company and would miss him terribly. Tuba will not ever be able to hold a job on his own or ride the bus. He is very much like a toddler who has to be looked after at all times. He does not understand safety issues at all....ie: traffic, dangerous situations, etc. I know there are group homes for people such as Tuba but do not want him to live there. I want him with us. His siblings talk about how they will take Tuba for visits with their families when they are grown....so Mom and Dad can go to Hawaii alone. :) I do want to say that I believe there are many good group homes out there. I have an Uncle with Down Syndrome who has lived on his own as an adult and thrives with the help of the staff. We have another friend with an adult son who lives in a group home. This man is much more disabled than Tuba and his placement was right for his family. It's a personal decision up to each family and each situation.

Oh The Stories

2011-04-02T21:49:00.000-07:00

I could write a book about my days working in the lingerie department. "Anonymous" requested I tell some of those tales. Hmmmmm....where to begin. First let me say that I worked with some fun gals! We laughed and talked and ate candy and had a grand time. My favorite part of the job was helping little old ladies. When one would come in everyone would holler for me and tell me I had a customer. I also loved fitting women for a prosthetic after having a mastectomy. I met some great women. Some timid and scared and some vibrant and gung-ho...like the woman who came in announced she was "here to get some boobs!". The list of crazy things I saw is endless. Let me way that working in retail you see some crazy things. Plus, because it was Nordstom (known for great customer service) we had to deal with many people who were rude, mean, and downright abusive all with a smile. Here is some of the things that stand out in my mind. Having to tell husbands/boyfriends to get OUT of the dressing rooms while their wives/girlfriends tried on lingerie. Some of the men were so tall you could see their heads sticking up over the tops of the doors! They'd come slinking out. Sheesh. Watching the local "dancers" come prancing out in thong undies to ask how they looked. Fitting men for bras. Anniversary Sale. People can act seriously CRAZY. As the gate would open women would lie on their belly and crawl under it and take off running. CRAZY. One woman was shopping and her son told her he had to go to the bathroom, so she set down a little beach pail for him. Next thing you know she is hollering at him because he went #2 in it instead of #1. Yep. A huge swollen belly of a pregnant woman. Her belly was so huge it made me feel weak in the knees. Numerous men who would say their wife/girlfriend was "your size"....or worse they'd look you up and down and then say, "she's way smaller than you". Drunk men shopping. Drunk men shopping on Christmas Eve...who were annoyed that there was nothing left. I saved the worst for last. Umm-huh. Returns. The returns of underwear. The returns of WORN underwear. WORN OUT underwear. Ewwwwww. Here's a few of the reasons women would give for the return, "I was cleaning out my drawer and I just never wear these anymore", "I ride horses and these undies caused all of my pubic hair to rub off", "These go up my bum" and best of all when a woman returned old undies with stains she got very indignant and gave us a lesson on how stains in undies is a normal thing. Yep. We would use a pencil or some tissue paper to pick up the sick disgusting things and throw them in the trash can. Then we'd ring up the return and hand them the money. Unbelievable! Where do these people come from? And there you have it. Life in Lingerie. One more thing. In the comments my friend Jolene left me a message about WW. I thought I should say I am finally taking some weight off. I'm down to 138 (so that's 5 lbs down). So now only 8 more lbs. to go. Yeah. I've figured out how many points I can eat on this new plan and it's working for me again. In case you are also a petite middle aged woman close to goal weight....I eat 27-29 points a day with NO weekly points and NO exercise points. I work out 4 days a week. Oh, and yeah for you Jolene. Great job on your loss. Go Girl!

The Future

2011-04-01T12:26:00.001-07:00

It's no secret that I love to plan. I like to think about what next year will be like, or what I'll be doing in 5 years, 10 years, etc.

For Confession Friday I'll confess that I've been very stressed out thinking about the future. Specifically Tuba's future after he is done with high school. Tuba gets to go to high school until he is 21 years old. But, after that there is a BIG question mark. ??? His teacher recently sent home a questionnaire asking what kinds of things we have planned for Tuba's future. Like will he live at home or in a group home...will he go on to higher education...will he work...what type of work do you see him doing??? I broke out in a sweat and got all dizzy. Ugh!

We know that Tuba will live at home with us. We know he will not be capable of riding a bus alone or doing any kind of job without constant supervision. What we do not know is what kinds of programs are out there for him. It's time to start looking into it. It's hard for me to envision what my life will look like because I have no idea what Tuba will be doing. He has been in school since he was 3 years old so it will be a HUGE adjustment.

Recently someone asked me if I planned to return to teaching once Baby George was in school full time. It got me thinking and I would like to go back at least part time. Then I realized that I would have 2 years with all the kids in school and then Tuba would be done. Hmmm. I just don't know.

I have been laying awake at night and thinking about all of this. Did you know that Baby George will graduate high school in 2027? That there will be only one year when our 4 youngest are all at the elementary school (grades K, 1, 3 and 5). That for 3 years we will have kids at the elementary, middle and high school. That in 2023-24 we will have 3 kids in high school....which also means we will have 3 kids in college a few years later. Wow...that will be expensive!

Anyway my brain is overloaded but we will start looking at various options for our sweet Tuba. I tell myself that figuring out what to make for dinner tonight or getting a sitter for my Dr. appt. are more pressing matters. But, I can't help wondering what my day will look like...and how I'll get to the gym...and how I'll stimulate and entertain Tuba...and how I'll volunteer at the kids' schools...and how I'll run errands...and....and...and...

Laugh 'til ya cry?

2011-03-29T19:57:00.000-07:00

I love to laugh. Hysterical laughing...my favorite. You know the kind of laughing where you can't tell if you are laughing or crying. The kind where you can't stop. Belly aching rolling laughter. Love it. It's so good for you too.

The other night Cam and I were lying in our bed with Mr. P and Tuba. The other kids were asleep and we were just snuggling before sending the last two to bed. Out of the blue Mr. P says, "So Mom you were really sick when you had me". I said back to him, "Well I did throw up a bunch but it's different than being sick like the flu. Having a baby hurts. The muscles in the mama do what is called contractions to help squeeze the baby down and out". He thinks for a minute and says back to me, "So it's like trying to get a really dry poop out". Cam and I burst out laughing. Then Mr. P joined in too...and then Tuba. The more I laughed the more I couldn't stop. I had tears rolling down my face and into my ears. I laughed and laughed. It was so fun. Kids are great!

Sunshine

2011-03-25T12:06:00.001-07:00

Spring is here and we have had two days of sunshine and warmer temps. Yipeeee! I feel like a dark blanket has been lifted off of me. It is amazing what a little outdoor time can do for you. Since it's Confession Friday I'll confess that I do not make my kids play outside in the winter. I give it a lame attempt but fail miserably at it. So, from Oct. - Mar....or even April we play inside. I don't blame the kids. I mean 30-40 degrees and raining is not ideal for outdoor play. Plus, the muddy wet cleanup is awful so I just give in and let them stay inside. It would probably be better if I encouraged more outside play but it just doesn't happen.

This week I took full advantage of the nice weather and took the kids to the park two days in a row! I left a dirty messy house and went out to play. It is my New Year's Resolution so really I had no choice. :)

Tuba loves to push his siblings on the swings. What a good helper! We played at the playground, walked on the beach, looked at the airplanes flying overhead, got to see a train go by and saw a zillion dogs. A wonderful day!

Here's another confession for you. We are looking for our first family dog! Yep. Now, half of you are thinking, "Great! Every family should experience having a dog" and the other half of you are saying, "What are you nuts? The clean up, the extra work!". Well, I'm excited and the kids are over the moon. I always said when our youngest was potty trained that I would get a dog. And that time is here. I know what I want and think I have found the perfect dog. We are going to meet her soon and see if she is a good fit for us. Yipee! More details to come after meeting her. :)

Hot Tub Shop

2011-03-24T15:18:00.000-07:00

Okay, my sister in law Cinn would like to know more about my stint at the Hot Tub Shop. I was in my early twenties, going to community college and newly dating Cam when I had this job. I worked part time answering the phone and helping customers. It was BORING! I hate a boring job. I'd rather work myself to death than be bored. Any day.
Let me tell you about the guy who owned the shop. Nasty. Yep. Picture this. He was probably around 40, stuck in the 80's....mustache, feathered mullet, tight jeans, belt, polo shirt tucked in to accentuate the pecs he thought he had....NOT!. He was proud of his Italian heritage and was full of himself. He liked to pretend he was born in Italy...he wasn't. He thought of himself as the self made man....I mean millionaire. Hmmmm. He did own his own shop but was not a millionaire. In fact his wife had a high paying executive job...that he didn't want anyone to know about. He was annoying but I could tolerate him most of the time.
The job came abruptly to an end one day after Mr. Boss Man made some disgusting comments to me. He thought he was bragging. He was going on and on about his Italian family and I was half listening until he started talking about how his Grandpa had been a Nazi. Huh? I became a bit more attentive. Mr. Boss Man went on to tell me about the war and how his Grandfather had kept teeth from Jews he had killed. And how Mr. Boss Man had those teeth at home. What? I was dizzy, I was sickened, I was out of there! I quit. Disgusting Boss Man was nastier than I thought. Good riddance.

Jobs

2011-03-22T21:07:00.000-07:00

I was thinking recently about all the jobs I've had. Here's a list in order.

Jobs while in High School:
Bus Girl at Seahorse Restaurant
File Clerk at collection agency
Stock Room Clerk and Gift Wrapper at Nordstrom

Jobs after high school:
Salesperson at 579 Clothing store
Salesperson at Nordstrom-Christmas gift dept. and then Lingerie
Receptionist at a real estate office
Receptionist at a Hot Tub showroom
File Clerk/receptionist at Key Tech (a chemical packaging company)
Substitute teacher
Tutor at Sylvan
Private tutor
Community college instructor

I think that's it....does that seem like a lot? Some of these places have some good stories. Which of these jobs would you like to know more about...or hear stories about? Leave it in the comments.

Whoa!

2011-03-21T20:16:00.000-07:00

I'm exhausted! Birthday extravaganza weekend. Today I got up to dirty bathrooms, dirty house and laundry up to the sky. All my weekend chores went undone as we celebrated Busy Guy's 5th Birthday. Everyone was well. Yipee! Whatever Baby George had was short lived and didn't spread. Thank YOU God!!
First thing Sat. morning the boys had testing for TKD. I was SO nervous that I cried and then thought I'd get sick. Of course the boys weren't nervous at all....just me. They did perfect. They had to perform in front of about 50 people and in front of the judges table. They did not get to go together and they did....PERFECT. We are so proud of our Orange Belt Boys!

After testing we went out for a victory lunch and then back to the TKD center for Busy Guy's birthday party. Loads of fun!
On Sunday after church we headed to my mom's house for birthday dinner and cake. It was also Grandpa and Auntie's birthdays this week too! We had a great time. Here is Sis snuggling on my sis....and on top of baby cousin due in July. :)

The Flow

2011-03-15T20:31:00.000-07:00

I'm a planner and I love tradition. Every Saint Patrick's Day we have a big Irish dinner with beef stew and soda bread and mint chocolate chip ice cream pie. We take a hiatus from fasting for Lent to celebrate two of our boys' special day. Busy Guy was born on Mr. P's saint day! So fun. Now that Busy Guy is getting older he is having a "kid" birthday party as well as family dinner.

I am feeling stressed about this week. BG is snack person at preschool tomorrow. We did green muffins, slices of cheddar cut-out in the shape of shamrocks, apple slices and mint Hershey kisses with juice and fun shamrock napkins. Next up is dinner on Thurs. I was feeling bad that BG was sort of forced to have the Irish stew dinner each year when everyone else gets to pick what they want to eat. I mentioned to the boys that I could cook something else and they were glad....not many stew lovers in our clan. BG debated what to have and then he asked if we could go out for our favorite pizza. Hmmmm. At first I wasn't sure but the next comment form BG had me on board. He said, "you won't have to cook and clean". Well, I do love both of those things but this week I'm a bit stressed with all the birthday activities. So, we will be going out for Italian food at a restaurant owned by a Greek family on Saint Patrick's Day. LOL. Saturday is the b-day party. More posts about that later. The boys are also testing for their next belt level on Sat. Yipee. Wish them luck!

I'm rambling....the real point of this post was to say that I am a planner but sometimes I just have to go with the flow. It's good for me to be reminded of this fact. With all of these birthday/saint day/kid activities planned I am feeling extra pressure. Tonight Baby George got sick. Fever and throwing up. Ugh. I started to fret about how the week will be impacted. But, I know that no matter how it ends up getting changed it will be fine. It will be fun because we will all do it together. As long as this germ doesn't spread too far!! Yikes, I don't even want to go there in my mind.

Oh, and one more thing. A sweet BG story:

This week Sis had a terrible reaction after dinner (two nights in a row) she broke out in hives....all over! We think from tomatoes. So, she went in for a blood draw today to test for allergies. She did not cry or even wince! Amazing. Back to the part about Busy Guy. Upon hearing that Sis could not eat tomatoes...ie: pizza sauce he quickly offered to change restaurants. What a nice little boy! We are still going for pizza as there are many other choices on the menu...but we are taking Benadryl with us just in case.

Sunday of Orthodoxy

2011-03-13T18:36:00.000-07:00

The following is from www.goarch.org

Today is the Sunday of Orthodoxy....which is the first Sunday of Great Lent. The dominant theme of this Sunday since 843 has been that of the victory of the icons. In that year the iconoclastic controversy, which had raged on and off since 726, was finally laid to rest, and icons and their veneration were restored on the first Sunday in Lent. Ever since, this Sunday has been commemorated as the "Triumph of Orthodoxy."

The children get to process with icons of their patron saints. Baby George LOVES his saint....I don't know what is up with the face. He thinks that's the way to pose for photos lately.
I love how Busy Guy is looking at Saint Moses of Ethiopia.
AND....Mr. P was enrolled as an Acolyte today. He got to serve on the altar. He was so cute. I got a little teary watching him. I missed him standing next to me too. He is getting so grown up! BaaaaaaWhaaaaaaaa! He did a great job and enjoyed himself.

Friday, Friday

2011-03-11T10:18:00.000-08:00

Again, nothing to do with my post. Tuba came home from school like this. They had a Mardi Gras party. Fun!!

It's confession Friday.

I have to confess that I do NOT like (HATE) the new Weight Watchers program. I've always had great success using the WW plan. This time...not so much. I've been back at WW and using this new plan for over a month and have lost a whopping 2.4 lbs. For the first two weeks I lost nothing...even gained a bit one of them. UGH! I complained to the leader that the new system wasn't working for me. She gave me some suggestions and a pep talk.

In case you are not familiar with WW here is my dilemma. Both plans you count food with a point system and are allotted an amount of daily and weekly points based on your height/weight/age/sex. On the old system I was allowed 21 daily points and 35 weekly points. The new plan I get 29 daily points and 49 weekly points. This sounds strange but on the new system many foods have higher point values. BUT....many of the foods I eat...lean meat, dairy, whole grains, etc. have the same point amount. Many processed foods, sugary foods, alcohol, etc. have much higher values then they used to. But...I don't eat those foods. So, I think I'm getting too many points.

Finally after two frustrating weeks I cut out all the weekly points and ate only my 29 points each day. Also, you earn points for exercise and are supposed to add them back in but I just threw them into the wind. That is the week I finally lost 2 lbs. Yeah!! But, it's so annoying to not be able to follow the plan. I'm an EXACT kind of person. UGH! This last week I lost .4 lbs. Not amazing but at least the scale went down. Plus, it's Lent and all the carbs do make it harder for me to lose weight.

Each week when I weigh in I complain and tell the lady how I hate the new plan. How I'm frustrated. How I'm doomed. This last week she handed this pamphlet that she said, "could help explain my troubles". Okay. Good. Finally. Here is what the pamphlet says, "The great majority of our members see their best losses right at the start.....But a few people get off to a slow start...and often we see it in middle aged, petite females who have a relatively small amount of weight to lose". My first thought was WHAT????? Middle aged???? But, my second thought was Ah Hah!!! Yes, so they are recognizing that this new plan isn't working for everyone. I do fit this description. Middle aged....maybe if I only live to be 80...I plan to live to at least 100. Petite....yes, I'm 5'3". Have small amount of weight to lose....I have 10 lbs. to lose.

I am playing with the points and am eating about 29 a day and NO weekly and NO workout points. I hope this will work.

You may be thinking why not just use the old program. 1. I threw out all my old books...so I could embrace this new program. 2. I use the online recipe builders to find out point values. 3. I plan to do WW forever so I might as well get on board.

Wish me luck!!

Toothless

2011-03-09T12:31:00.001-08:00

Is it lack of brushing? Is it the food we eat? LOL. We are losing more teeth around here than I can keep up with. Mr. P told me he doesn't believe in the tooth fairy...since fairies aren't real. I asked him who gives him money for his teeth. He replied that it's just some person who comes in your house and leaves it. Hmmmmm. Yah, a person comes in our house while we sleep, they have no key and we don't know them. That totally makes more sense than a fairy! What can I expect from a kid who has this tooth fairy!

Heaven

2011-03-08T16:19:00.000-08:00

The other day Mr. P said the most beautiful thing to me. It went like this.

Mr. P: Mom, I can't wait to go to heaven.

Me: Really...why do you say that?

Mr. P: Because in heaven I can see Tuba and he'll be able to talk and we can chat.

Me: **gulp** with tears in my eyes.

Forgiveness Sunday

2011-03-07T12:51:00.000-08:00

Last night we attended the Forgiveness Vespers service at church. It is such a beautiful service. Humbling. It's exactly the right way to begin Lent. During the service all of the vestments, candle holders and table cloths are changed from red to purple. It's beautiful. Purple, the color of royalty, repentance, and self-discipline, is the traditional color for the season of Lent.

After the Vespers service ends we begin the asking of forgiveness part. We line up and begin with the priests. You stand face to face and each person says, "forgive me", you make the sign of the cross and bow and then each person says, "I forgive you", or "God forgives" as you hug and press your cheek to each side of each other's face. Does that sound confusing? Think of a European greeting with a kiss to each cheek...only we don't do the kiss part....okay, a few people do. After the priests come the Deacons, Sub-Deacons, Readers, and then the congregation.

We go through the line with our kids to help them along. I can say it was MUCH easier this year...my first year not carrying someone on my hip/back/front in at least 5 years. Whew! WAY easier. :) Sis surprised us all by giving each priest a HUGE hug. Wow! Baby George was more shy. Tuba LOVED it and giggled the whole way through. He loves to greet each person. Busy Guy and Mr. P did a fabulous job. It can be intimidating for adults to do this service but even more for young kids. The boys were awesome. They crossed themselves and asked for forgiveness to each and every person. Great kids!

Of course the most moving part of this is when you get to ask your immediate family to forgive you. I always linger a bit longer with each of my kids and husband as we hug. It is wonderful to see our kids hug each other too. Brings tears to my eyes.

I ask all of you for forgiveness also. Please forgive me if I have ever offended you. Forgive me my shortcomings or any wrongdoings.

God forgives.

Confession Friday

2011-03-04T17:32:00.000-08:00

This picture has nothing to do with the post. I just really miss the beach and am dreaming of summer....

I am copying this idea from another blog I read. Confessional Friday. I love it. In case you just got really excited and were thinking that I'd be posting my confession list...the one I read to Christ and in front of my priest...well, sorry to burst your bubble. It won't be THAT list but I will be confessing something each Friday.

Here's my confession for today. I have been listening to country music. Yep. And I really like it. I mean I REALLY like it. It began innocently enough one day while driving in the car I happened upon the local country music station. It's "young" country you know. I really liked it and I kept listening to it. Then I started downloading songs I heard on the radio onto my iPod and listening at the gym. Next thing you know....I've gone country.

My husband was/is horrified. He wondered if I was ill....like mentally...or if I had someone in my life that was a bad influence. Nope. I just like it. He just shakes his head in despair. Should he be surprised? I also totally love Disco!

Why do I like it? The songs are fun to sing, the lyrics in some of the songs are hilarious! Who can't use a good laugh? I just heard this song today called I'm Still a Guy by Brad Paisley and it cracked me up. I think Cam would really like it if he'd just listen to the lyrics. They could be written for him...or by him. Here's some of the song.

These days there's dudes gettin' facials, manicured, waxed and botoxed. With deep spray-on tans and creamy lotiony hands you can't grip a tackle box.

Yeah, with all of these men linein' up to get neutered it's hip now to be feminized. I don't highlight my hair, I've still got a pair.Yeah, honey I'm still a guy.

Oh my eyebrows ain't plucked there's a gun in my truck. Oh thank god, I'm still a guy.

Lenten Pantry

2011-03-01T14:49:00.000-08:00

Lent is here. This past Sunday was Meatfare Sunday. It marks the last day Orthodox Christians eat meat until Pascha. We also abstain from dairy, olive oil and wine beginning this coming Sunday (Cheesefare Sunday) until Pascha. Cheesefare Sunday is also Forgiveness Sunday...more on the forgiveness part later.

I love getting my pantry (and mind) ready for the fasting portion of Lent. I sat down with my cookbooks and made a big grocery list to stock up on Lenten foods....ie: grains, nuts, legumes, veggies.

The first year we were Orthodox we were so lost about what to eat. I remember eating lots of bread, pasta, fries, and....fries. We were hungry, frustrated....and fat! Hmmmm. Not what I'd hoped for. Then there were the years I fully embraced the fasting allowance of shellfish. We had shrimp tacos, shrimp salad, shrimp fried, baked, sauteed. We were broke but not hungry. Then came more kids and more college and more chaos and less adherence to the fasting. We cut out fancy cuts of meat and treats like ice cream but not all meat and dairy...we were barely hanging on. Don't judge.

Which brings me to this year. The kids are older. We have a new established routine. I have a better grip on life here at home. We have successfully been maintaining the fast on Wed. and Fri. Yes, we fast on those days all year round. The kids (the middle two) have enjoyed learning why we fast and what we eat when we fast. Cam and I have set a plan for the fast this year. We will abstain from meat and will have some dairy....ie: milk, yogurt, cheese. Not ice cream. The kids are excited about the plan and so are we.

The spirit of the fast is what has to be the focus. To quote my priest, "If you fasted perfectly but were mean to your spouse, then all you did was go on a diet". The spirit of the fast is to draw us closer to God through fasting. The focus is not only the dietary guidelines but also to eat less, pray more, and give more to the poor.

Plus, eating a mostly Vegan diet is good for your body and the Earth too! Bonus! I'll be sharing some of our favorite Vegan recipes during Lent. You can also go to my friend's Lenten blog for more recipe ideas. Check out the prayer at the top of the page. It is my favorite. Our dear friends always sing it....brings tears to my eyes every time.

A word about shellfish. Because shrimp/crab/clams, etc. is allowed it is okay to eat them. However Cam and I have decided that indulging in expensive shellfish does not fit the spirit of the fast. We are choosing to eat less expensive meals (what is cheaper than bean soup?) and give more money away for almsgiving (another important aspect of Lent).

I read an article last year by Philip Mamalakis, PhD and his words have stuck with me. Here is part of what he says in the article.

"As Orthodox, we fast from food to be able to fast from sin. And it is our sin that keeps us from experiencing God fully. This connection between how we eat and how we sin is what the Fathers of the Church are clear on. This connection is also something that is lost in contemporary society. In America today, we don’t hear a lot about how fasting can help a marriage stay together or how a family can learn to love God through fasting. As a therapist, I see marriages fail because people cannot control how they act towards each other. Essentially the more we indulge ourselves in whatever we want, the more we become enslaved to our desires, rather than free to love. Fasting is not magic, but when we feast at the banquet of our souls through fasting we see God transforming our worldly desires towards His Kingdom. Opening up our marriages and families to fasting, opens up our hearts to be filled with the Grace of God and be truly free".

Book Time

2011-02-28T14:06:00.000-08:00

I'm home with sick kids. 4 kids with horrible coughs, terrible noses and fevers. They were sick all weekend and on it goes. I've got it too. Tuba is the only one who is completely well. Good for him!

So, I'm home and the kids are being allowed to watch more TV than they ever thought possible. I might as well catch up on my blogging. :)

Book club met last week and we discussed 3 Cups of Tea; One Man's Mission to Promote Peace...One School at a Time. I loved this book! Everybody should read it. Inspirational and educational and entertaining. The best!

Here is one of my favorite quotes in the book. "In times of war, you often hear leaders-Christians, Jewish, and Muslim-saying, 'God is on our side.' But that isn't true. In war, God is on the side of the refugees, widows and orphans." The other is in reference to educating girls and Mortenson's struggle to get more village girls attending school. He says, "Once you educate the boys, they tend to leave the villages and go search for work in the cities. But girls stay home, become leaders in the community, and pass on what they've learned. If you really want to change a culture, to empower women, improve basic hygiene and health care, and fight high rates of infant mortality, the answer is to educate girls". I first read this quote in the book Half the Sky. I highly recommend the book. If anyone ever wonders what they can do to fight poverty, slavery, terror in the world....read both of these books and you will have your answer. We can ALL do something. We cannot do everything but we can do something. So, go do it!

I am book club host for March and I chose Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See. Thank you Erika for the suggestion...and now, what kind of chocolate would you like?? Send me your address too. I'm excited to get reading this book. Looks great. This is what Publisher's Weekly says about the book.

See's engrossing novel set in remote 19th-century China details the deeply affecting story of lifelong, intimate friends (laotong, or "old sames") Lily and Snow Flower, their imprisonment by rigid codes of conduct for women and their betrayal by pride and love. While granting immediacy to Lily's voice, See (Flower Net) adroitly transmits historical background in graceful prose. Her in-depth research into women's ceremonies and duties in China's rural interior brings fascinating revelations about arranged marriages, women's inferior status in both their natal and married homes, and the Confucian proverbs and myriad superstitions that informed daily life. Beginning with a detailed and heartbreaking description of Lily and her sisters' foot binding ("Only through pain will you have beauty. Only through suffering will you have peace"), the story widens to a vivid portrait of family and village life. Most impressive is See's incorporation of nu shu, a secret written phonetic code among women—here between Lily and Snow Flower—that dates back 1,000 years in the southwestern Hunan province ("My writing is soaked with the tears of my heart,/ An invisible rebellion that no man can see"). As both a suspenseful and poignant story and an absorbing historical chronicle, this novel has bestseller potential and should become a reading group favorite as well.

Happy Reading!

Poopy Snow

2011-02-24T14:12:00.000-08:00

It's another day off from school due to snow.

Here's a snow day riddle for you.

Question: What do you get when one 2 year old poops in the toilet and then puts a whole roll of toilet paper in and then flushes?

What do you get when 3 year old sister decides to help him out by flushing multiple times until the poopy soup runs over, and over and over the bowl?

What do you get when the poopy soup water runs all over the bathroom and then seeps through the floor vents and begins to run out of the light fixture in basement bathroom?

What do you get when poopy soup water is dripping and then splashing all over 2nd bathroom?

What do you get when the mom of these kids has to clean up gallons of poop soup in two bathrooms on her hands and knees?

Answer: You get one mom who really, really, really regrets wishing for another snow day!

Snow Day

2011-02-23T13:27:00.000-08:00

When it looks like this outside....

We decided to do this!

Now, Playdoh may cause some parents to run for the hills but I'd rather do Playdoh than bubbles any day!! Bubbles....Blech!!

The kids had a great time. Sis especially likes Playdoh and sat for over an hour playing with it. This is a miracle considering she doesn't sit still for two minutes all day long. At meal time she eats a few morsels of food and jumps down from the table to run around.

After Playdoh we dumped about a zillion little Legos out and made all kinds of ships, and robots. What a fun day!

Truth be told...the kids really wanted to go out and sled. Me? Not so much. The snow was wet and I already took them sledding....back in Nov. :)

Mid Winter Break

2011-02-21T16:56:00.000-08:00

The kids are having mid Winter break. So no school Fri. then the weekend then no school Mon. for the holiday and no school Tues. Such fun! We had beautiful sunshine over the weekend. The air was brisk and cold but sunny! Love it. We headed to the big city on Sat. to enjoy the sun and fresh air. We hadn't taken the kids to the fabulous market in a few years so that is where we went.

What a fun time we had. Fish and chips for lunch. Yummo! We took in the sights and walked our hearts out. The highlight of the day was watching a street performer play a harmonica, a guitar, and some maracas, while spinning two hula hoops and singing! Mr. P thought the guy was totally nuts...which he kind of was...but entertaining.

After the market we walked down to the waterfront and looked at the mummies at Ye Old Curiosity Shop. Baby George kept looking and saying...."oh, SO scary". Sis looked and said, "Look Mom, she's wearing a skirt, PRETTY". Yes, the mummy had a piece of cloth wrapped around her waist. What a girl!

I went back and looked how little the kids were the last time we spent the day at the market. Whaaaa! Oh, what little babies! Check them out here.

GRACE FUND

2011-02-18T10:46:00.000-08:00

Sit down with your family and watch this beautiful video. The pictures are taken in Ethiopia and many of them are at Layla House which is where our Busy Guy and Sis lived before coming home to us. The video was made to raise awareness and money for the GRACE fund. Please watch it and contribute to this great cause.

Sweetness

2011-02-16T13:25:00.000-08:00

Baby George and Sis have been playing together on Mr. P's top bunk. They climb up and then read books together. Today I heard BG yelling and I could hear the word "Mommy". I went in to see if he needed me to get him down. Of course Sis can climb up and down like a mountaineer...but BG isn't so sure footed and needs me to retrieve him. When I got into the room he tells me, "No, not you. I was calling Little Mommy" and he pointed to Sis. Precious. All day now he's been calling her Little Mommy. They are the sweetest. Although now I wonder if I'm going to be called Big Mommy?

Valentine's Day

2011-02-15T12:34:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day is my favorite holiday....usually. This year was not my year. Last year I went all out. See photos here. I had a big dinner planned and my table planned too. But, the day was chaotic and I had so much to do....ie: laundry. So, at 4:30 I was totally overwhelmed (hadn't started dinner, hadn't set anything out for the table and was still folding laundry) and called Cam to say we should go out to dinner. Where can you go at the last minute with no reservation on Valentine's Day?? Pizza! We went to our favorite place and had a nice dinner and nice time together. And we got to come home to a clean kitchen! Yeah!

I did get an amazing Valentine gift from my mom and her husband Bill. Yipee! I LOVE antique Valentine cards and I mentioned it to my mom a few years ago. Well, she surprised me with this fabulous bunch of cards!! They are so lovely. They are in perfect condition. I really enjoyed looking at each of them. I love how Valentine cards were not commercial...ie: Sponge Bob and Transformers (yes, that is what my boys picked out). The antique ones are so much more fun. I bought some picture holders to display them. Someday I'd like to have a table with a glass overlay where I can display the cards. Thanks mom and Bill!!

Here is the update on Sis. Her burn has lost almost all of the charred part. It literally peeled off like a piece of BBQ chicken. Ewwww! I know it! She is very good at letting me put the burn cream on it and keep it covered. It looks to be healing well. I wonder how long it will take the pigment to return? Any ideas?? Leave it in the comments for me.

Now that I've ruined your appetite by talking about her burn I'll make ya laugh. At Target yesterday Sis saw a white dress with green shamrocks on it. Super cute. The dress also came with bloomers with a frog on the tushy. She loved it! I love St. Patrick's Day and of course wanted to get her the dress. The bummer was that it only came in infant sizes. I went ahead and bought her the 24 mos. She is tiny. It fits great! She is in love with it and has been wearing it...and the frog "undies" for two days. Today she is wearing it with red and white polka dot tights and matching red with white polka dot sweatshirt. Spiffy!

Book Report

2011-02-10T12:30:00.000-08:00

I always mean to write about the books I've read. But, somehow I forget. So today I'll talk about a few of them at a time. I belong to a book club and we meet once a month. A fabulous and fun book club...a great bunch of women!

Last month we read Can't Wait to Get to Heaven by Fannie Flagg. It was good. The main character Elner is an elderly lady with the best outlook on life. She spent her life helping others and living each day to the fullest. She is charming and funny too. Some of the other characters in the book are annoying. Overall the book was good but I did have a few issues with it. For one I didn't like how the author used the word "retarded" numerous times to describe a girl with Down Syndrome. The book was only written a few years ago so I couldn't understand the author's use of the word. Also, I thought it was strange that the only time the author mentioned a characters color of skin was when writing about a black woman. I don't know...it just seemed odd. The others in my book club felt the same too. Overall I'd give the book a B-.

Also last month I read Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells. I have had this book on my shelf for years and finally just picked it up and read it. I loved it. It's a great story of women, mothers sisters and friends. It made me think about all the women in my life and appreciate them a little bit more. I also thought a lot about my parenting and how my kids will remember me. And also about my childhood. I cried and laughed throughout the book....and couldn't put it down. I give this book an A+.

This month's book club selection is Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. I've read 15 pages and I'm hooked. It is going to be a great read. I've also had this book on my shelf for awhile and was glad it was the pick for this month. I started reading it today at the gym. I could have kept at my cardio for hours but alas my blood sugar plummeted and left me rooting around in my purse for an almond, a cracker, a crumb. Nothing. I weakly walked to the snack machine and bought some trail mix. Now that I'm re-nourished I can't wait to dive back into this book.

Other books I've read recently...or ones that stand out in my mind. Really good books!!

The Help
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I read all three in the series.

I am hosting my book club next month and get to pick the book. What have you read that you love?? Leave it in the comments and if I choose your book I'll send you some chocolate!

Ouch!

2011-02-08T17:37:00.000-08:00

Poor Sis...her burn is looking worse. The dark part is coming off now. Baby George was mad at her and poked her in the arm...and it removed a piece of skin. Ewwww. I called the Dr. today and got some special burn cream for it. It will help with healing and lessen scarring. I just feel sick about her burn.
And I'm feeling doubly sick because of this:
I went to the drive-through at Walgreen's to pick up the burn cream prescription. I was thrilled that it was only .80! Wow! I had called ahead to make sure it was ready. As I was waiting the lane next to me opened up so I backed up and started to move into the next lane when.....screeeeeeech.....! Oh! I looked at the guy's face in the car next to me and he had his lips all pursed up and was making a very bad face. OH! I had hit the stupid-short-yellow-concrete pole that separates the lanes. OH! I got out to look at the damage. OH! When I got back in I muttered..."Daddy is going to kill me!". Mr. P got all worried looking and said, "Is he REALLY going to kill you or is he just going to be mad?". Okay, that got me laughing. No, he isn't going to kill me....and I hoped he wouldn't be mad.
I drove straight over the the autobody shop and got an estimate. The preliminary estimate is $2,177.00. OH! Well, my hopes of paying out of pocket and avoiding an insurance claim were out the window. OH! My deductible is $300.00. Not that I can afford that but it beats the alternative. OH!
I then called Cam and told him I'd been in a wreck. Right away he wanted to know if we were all okay. Well, I can see that was a good way to start the conversation. :) Of course he isn't mad and he's just glad we weren't hurt. :)
In the end it made me think how it was a good life lesson for my kids. They were all in the car and got to see how I responded. Okay, at first I did say a bad word. My bad! OH! But, then I was calm and told the kids I was mad at myself but that we all make mistakes and accidents happen.
Such is life.

The Report

2011-02-07T13:43:00.000-08:00

This sweet picture of Busy Guy was taken one afternoon last week. He was in his room playing and it was so quiet so I went to check on him. He was fast asleep in the midst of the Legos. Good thing a pillow was also on the floor.

The kids have all been growing and changing like crazy! Here's an update.

Tuba: He is doing wonderful at school. His teacher is amazing and the lady who rides the bus with him is the most positive person I have ever met. These wonderful women make Tuba's day great. He is continuing to say new words. It's amazing...when he sings he can put together so many words. He sings whole sentences and whole songs. His language has gotten more clear. It used to be that only his family knew what he was saying but now people who have never met him know what he is saying lots of the time. His seizures have been stable. Good news! He has been really hungry lately and is in a big growth spurt. Teenager!

Mr. P is really enjoying Taekwondo! It's the first sport he has done that he has LOVED from the beginning. He pays close attention and is a fast learner in class. He is anxious to learn his form so he can test for the next belt level.

Busy Guy also loves TKD! He is the tiniest kid in class. The classes are taught by belt level and not age so the class in age 4 up through adult. BG looks so small. His uniform is huge on him. He is also a studious learner. The instructor has commented how well BG is doing for such a wee kid.

Sis is singing her days away. She loves to sing and often puts two or more songs together to make one of her own creations. She is a busy body too! She is in to LOTS of things and keeps me hopping...I mean cleaning! ;) Her latest was to squeeze toothpaste up and down the cat! Ugh! I put her into time-out and after getting the cat cleaned up I went to talk to Sis. She looked me right in the eye and said, "I NOT sorry!". Well....I left her in the corner and she soon became sorry. Ha!
Yesterday she got a terrible burn at our friend's house. She was standing near their woodstove and somehow touched her arm against it. She was wearing a sleeveless dress so her poor arm was really burned. Ouch! At first we only saw the small burn near her elbow where the skin came off. But once we were home I looked at her arm and then I about flipped! I called the Doctor and after putting cold washcloths on it she felt better. She cried for a bit but hasn't complained about it since. This morning I noticed a few more blisters on the burn (there is also water or her arm as I took this photo in the tub). She is tough! I'd be crying and wincing in pain if I had that burn. Poor girl....poor Mama.

Baby George is a BIG boy. He took to potty training like a champ. No accidents! He wears big boy undies and has no problem going potty in various public restrooms. Yeah! He is super excited for school....next Fall. He says he wants a Batman backpack!

Cam and I are doing well. The adjustment to Cam's new work schedule is going great. We finally trained our tummies to wait a bit longer for dinner. :) I love having Cam home most nights for family dinner and I LOVE having him home on the weekends! TGIF finally means something to me! Cam is also doing TKD and really having a good time.

Weighing In

2011-02-03T13:37:00.000-08:00

So I'm back at it. Trying to lose some lbs. that is. I really like Weight Watchers. It works for me. I can't do the online thing....I've got to go in and get weighed. I don't mind so much someone else see my weight. It sounds crazy but having the weight written down in my book works for me. Now, I could do that at home but it's much easier to "forget" about weigh-in day. :) Also, I do like for someone to say, "good job" to me when the weight goes down. Here's a secret about me...more like a neurosis...If I know I did not lose any weight...well, I will just skip a weigh-in, get back on track. Then the next week my book can reflect my loss. I do NOT want a gain recorded in my precious WW book. Of course there are times I really fall off the wagon and months pass without a weigh-in. Then it's really hard for me to go back. But, I have returned.

The good news is WW has a new program. That means a new book! Yeah, I don't have to look at my weight gain...okay, it was only 3 lbs. but still I hate to see it. Worse yet I hate to feel it in the waist band of my jeans! Blech! Back to the new program. I like it! WW stole one of my famous quotes. They should have given me credit for it...I have been saying it for about 15 years. Here it is. "Nobody ever got fat eating too much fruit". Tadaaaaa! Seriously!! The point of them saying that is because there is no longer a point value for fruit. Eat as much as you want! Bravo! I have always said it was silly to meticulously weigh and measure my fruit.

More neurosis on my part. When I get weighed at WW I go on the same day of the week each time. I only go in the morning. I do NOT want to know what I weight at night...thank you. I wear the same outfit each week (sweats, t-shirt, socks), I take off my shoes, and sweatshirt. I make sure I'm wearing my wedding ring and no earrings. This is what I wore the first time I weighed in....some 7 years ago. Now for the really crazy town part. I drink one cup of tea, eat one yogurt and make sure I've done my morning constitutional. I know...TMI...but I already said I was neurotic. Then as I stand on the scale I wonder if I should spit, blow my nose, exhale. I wonder if my haircut will make a difference. Yep. There ya have it. Crazy Town.

Potty Dancing

2011-01-26T13:33:00.000-08:00

Yeah! Potty Dance, Potty Dance...time again to sing our Potty Dance song. Yep! Baby George is doing an amazing job of going on the potty!! Yipeeee! I said a special thanksgiving prayer to God that my last baby is so easy to potty train! He's only 2.5 and he has got it down. ALL pee-pee is done. No accidents. Still workin' on a perfect record for the other...but it's only been 3 days. Doing very well. We of course went out and got him some Toy Story 3 undies! He's in heaven. He is wearing them with his TS shirt and socks....and pajamas too.

We are so close to no more diapers!! Wow! If I add all the years of diaper duty up...it's a lot. Tuba potty trained at about 5 and then Mr. P was born a couple years later. I think Mr. P was potty trained for about 6 mos. before Busy Guy came home and then it's been solid diaper duty since. We even had three in diapers for about 6 mos. Whoa! All in all that's about 11 years. So happy to be done...soon. And..the money we will save! Actually I always think of diaper money going straight over to pre-school funds. Anyway, Yeah and Yipee!

Stats

2011-01-24T13:31:00.000-08:00

Something to entertain you! Poor Cam had a tooth fall out. It was a tooth that was damaged in a soccer game when he was a kid. The post went bad and the tooth fell out. We got some good laughs with the new look. Like Father like Son! Unfortunately the tooth couldn't be re-glued and Cam has been going through a torturous amount of dental work to have an implant done. Very expensive and very painful. He now has a retainer with a tooth that he has to take out every time he eats. What a pain. The dentist removed the root and put cadaver bone in and it will be about 6 mos. before he can get a tooth implanted. The bone has to grow. It was challenging to explain "cadaver bone" to the kids. Ewwww. But, we are thankful for access to a dentist and restoration of a beautiful smile. :)

Well, I actually got on here to post the latest stats on height/weight of the kids. No, I will not be sharing my stats. Ugh. Christmas indulgence has snowballed and I need to stop!! Eeeks!

Well, here's the kids.

Tuba: 5'1" and 88 lbs.

Mr. P: 4'3.5" and 55 lbs.

Busy Guy: 3'6" and 36 lbs

Sister: 3'1" and 25 lbs.

Baby George 3'1" and 30 lbs.

Wow! Finally, the wee ones are the same height...not so much in the weight. Sis is a feather, long and lean, Baby George is solid, strong and muscular.

Chopsticks

2011-01-23T16:26:00.000-08:00

A few years ago my mom bought a couple pair of kid friendly chopsticks. They are hooked together at the top and can be used simply by pinching them together. Well, one set broke and the lone pair have been argued over. The other night at dinner Mr. P noticed there were some real chopsticks in the silverware drawer. So, we got them out to use. Everyone was excited.

Baby George used the stab method.

Busy Guy tried SO hard to make it work.

Mr. P worked hard too.

I wasn't really much help. I am terrible at using chopsticks. Terrible. I tried showing the kids how to do it but in the end I told them the only thing I knew how to do with chopsticks was to put my hair up! I showed them an up-do! Soon after I looked over and Sis had her own chopstick hair-do goin' on!

Of course then everyone had to get in on the action. Baby George was very sad that his hair wouldn't hold the chopstick.
Busy Guy was rockin' the look.

Tuba doesn't care about chopsticks or hair-dos. He's into the food!

Oh, and by the way, Yes, we do eat dinner naked. Okay, not naked but my boys are always running around in their undies and often eat dinner "in their boobies". So in case you ever come to dinner be prepared. :)