Party Time!

Yeah, a new post from Tara!

I am in need of some creative inspiration. Summer has sapped every living brain cell I have left and I need your help! Aidan has been an avid finger sucker now for coming up on five years. He sucked the middle two fingers of the right hand. Since it was more than one finger he didn't get a tight seal and I've spent the last years of my life wishing there was a chalkboard I could go scrape my fingernails down instead of listening to that slurping sucking sound! This summer I think he was finally ready to give up on his habit so I helped him along. I bandaged up the offending fingers, wrote on the bandaid "no no" and drew a smily face and a donut. Why a donut? Well, I also promised him that if he could quit I would have a donut party for him!

So, this is where you come in. Beyond just having some friends over for a playdate and serving donuts, what else can we do? Maybe a game or a craft project to make it a little more memorable for him and to celebrate his giving up the fingers!

Okay, hit me with your best "donut party" ideas!

It's Garage Sale Day!

It's Garage Sale Day!
It's Garage Sale Day!
Everybody Loves Garage Sale Day!

That's the little ditty we sing as we load up the van full of grubby boys and the pink one to go to garage sales on Saturday mornings. Most of the time we strike out. The sales are all duds (if we can even find them). Come one local small town garage sale hosts, post some signs with arrows for heaven's sake! You write too small for me to see your address and most of the time I don't know where your street is anyway! Grab a big ol' fat sharpie marker and just draw a stinkin' arrow!

Today, however, we struck the big time. Travelling around our two little local small towns I found the following gems. And if I had a high speed internet connection I'd let you see pictures, but alas I do not have high speed nor do I have all day to putz around with dial up and show the pics. So, sorry! If, however, you'd like to fund me some high speed internet, call me. :)

Okay, first the non clothing items. I found two twin sheet sets for the boys for a buck a piece at two separate sales (they're not matching, but then again neither are the boys!) Since I'd purchased their other ones at garage sales years ago it was time. :) I found one of those old white tupperware plates with the dividers that you feed babies from even though I think technically it's supposed to be a relish dish. It didn't have the lid, but I don't need a lid! It did have the little triangle shaped holder that screws into the center hole where you can't clean. It was a quarter. I found myself a pair of summer dressier sandals in excellent condition for a quarter. And I got an old heavy wooden tool storage thinger that I'm going to let Evan clean up and paint to display his lego creations in. Free. (And it will provide me with an afternoon's peace as he cleans and paints it and further hours of peace as he creates lego creations to put in it. Double score for me!) Also at the "free lego displayer" sale I got a cool purple travel coffee mug for a whopping $.50. Woo hoo! And it doesn't even have the name of a gas station, college or other event stamped on it, bonus. :) I also found a little pillow that Avery can have in her bed at night. I think at 17 months old she's old enough to have a pillow now, right? I can't even remember when I gave the boys pillows!

On to clothes. I know. Try to hold down your excitement, would you? :) I found 5 pairs of fancy designed socks for myself. A nickel a pair. Yes, people here still price things for a nickel! I found some Disney store two piece summer pjs for myself. They have Grumpy on them. Perfect for most of my mornings :). Adding in a Gap t-shirt I walked out of that sale spending a whopping $.75 for the lot. They were each priced at $.75, but they were down to 1/2 off by the time I got there! Two other sales netted some casual stay-at-home-mom-who-wants-more-than-sweatpants-but-is-sick-of-ill-fitting-jeans pants for $.50 a piece.

Are you catching a theme here? With the exception of the free wooden lego thinger I did not spend any money on the children! :) I was able to fill some gaps in my wardrobe (okay, technically I didn't NEED Grumpy jams, but hey, they were $.37 1/2 cents, give me a break) and have fun doing it! Yes, going garage sale-ing with four kids was fun! Evan tooled Avery around in her stroller (giving some of the garage sale hosts mild panic attacks, but I knew he was safe). Aidan poked around in the toys and books. Toby found a jack in the box at one sale and entertained himself and the other people there for the entire time I was there (and I took my time!). I think I like that my kids are getting older. Yes, I cherish those little kid times, but it's also great that they're getting old enough to trust to entertain themselves at a garage sale without being a total nuisance, crying, begging for junk, and screaming when I say not today.

So, now I'm off to wash my finds and maybe go play legos with the boys who aren't napping today. I think they'd like that!

WFMW

My works for me Wednesday is a pretty simple idea. It might be totally obvious to you and if so, I thank you for your time and have a nice day. I live in MN. It's pretty warm here. We don't turn our a/c on unless we're actually melting into a little puddle. And our upstairs only has one a/c vent. And it's in the boys' room. So, sometimes when I wake up I'm sorta on the warmish side already. I also have a little coffee addiction and must have my cup o' joe to jump start my morning. Enter the problem; who wants to drink a hot cup of coffee when it's already warmish? Not me! So, I've worked out a system whereby I get my jolt of caffiene and get cooled off at the same time. Iced coffee! If McDonalds can charge upwards of $2 a cup (yes, Mom, people pay good money for cold coffee) I figured I could make it myself for less, much less! I brew my pot of coffee at night, pour it into two mason jar cups and pop it into the fridge. In the morning I splash in the flavored creamer (vanilla chai spice is the flavor of the week, but anything you like would work great), drop in a few ice cubes and hit the computer to check in on my favorite blogs! And that's it! If I forget to pre-brew the night before I brew in the morning, pop one cup in the fridge for later and put one in the freezer for 1/2 hour to chill it out quickly.

Works for me! For more brilliant ideas you know the drill! Click here. :)

Evan's most recent

Dang. Blogger keeps being not so nice. I'm trying to upload pictures to show this to you because just describing it isn't so good. Oh well. Use your imagination. Here's the post with the descriptions instead of the pictures. :)

Evan had a ball carrying around this duffle bag the other day:

(Picture: Evan lugging around a medium sized dark blue duffle bag. Isn't he so strong looking? Man, that bag looks heavy. Wonder what he's got in it?)


And this is why:

(Picture: The dark blue duffle bag with a smiling blond head sticking out the zipper!)

They've even worked up a little "magic show"! Aidan crawls into the bag, Evan zips him in and then gives the bag commands like "roll around" "roll the other direction" and even "bag, speak!" at which point the bag giggles like a lunatic! It's quite cute and even made Grandpa smile this afternoon!

WFMW

What works for me today? Living with no mortgage! Sound impossible? Well, for the average American it is. However, we've found a smallish house with a smallish yard in a smallish town. And if we'd combine our assets we could pay for it in cash. No mortgage. Why is this house so affordable you may ask? Well, it's got some issues. For starters, it's got REALLY bad decorating. The living room is stark white with aqua painted quarter round on every edge of every wall, floor and ceiling as well as around the windows. And it's got a lot of windows. The carpet is in horrible shape and there's a 1x3 spot on the dining room floor where they might have started to stain it but gave up. Weird. The dining room has wallpaper boarder with neked baby angels on it. The entry to the basement is in the bathroom. The room that would be Avery's is yellow. REALLY REALLY yellow. And the kitchen? It is huge. New cabinets, flooring in good shape, nice wainscoating, a sunny window. And, um, a "skylight". That is of course to say a leaky roof. :) So, a new roof would be top on our list of repairs.

All that said, if we had no mortgage payment we could TOTALLY swing this deal! In doing so, we could save a ton of money over the next couple of years, sell, make more money and buy a nice house with a big yard to raise the kidlets in! So, while it isn't possible for most Americans, living with no mortgage works for me!

If you'd like to find a post of something that would really work for you try Shannon's blog. There's bound to be something there that would work for you!

(And if this post sounds totally disjointed it is due to the fact that Sesame Street is on in the background and they're talking about loud, louder and loudest. It's pretty hard to think straight with Maria, Oscar and Slimy shouting and playing trumpets.)

***UPDATE*** Well, it turns out that living without a mortgage would have worked for us, but it seems that it's hard to buy a house that someone else has already bought. Back to the drawing board.

A simple recipe

My Works For Me Wednesday post is a simple recipe that I've been making for a couple of years now. It is really easy to make, doesn't require the use of a hot stovetop or the oven (which is a bonus here right now when it's in the 80s and humid). And another bonus? It is relatively inexpensive to make, especially when compared to the storebought version. What is this cheap, easy and cool recipe? Laundry soap! Yup. Laundry soap. :) I have been making my own laundry soap for a couple of years and actually prefer it to the store bought stuff. My girlfriend Mel gave me a tub of store bought soap not too long ago when she went to a chemical free hippie version. I'm so glad to be nearly done with it so I can go back to my homemade blend!

Ready for this magical potion? Here you go!

Homemade Laundry Soap

1 bar Fels Naptha soap (This is found in the laundry product aisle of the grocery stores in the area. Walmart might carry this product but I don't usually buy it there. If you cannot find this brand or have sensitive skin in your household it is okay to sub in other bar soap. I've done it a couple times and it works just fine.)
1 cup washing soda (I buy this at Cub foods. Call around to your grocery stores to see if they carry this. It is NOT the same as baking soda so you cannot sub in one for the other. This comes in a bright yellow box.)
1 cup borax (The only ingredient that Wally World DOES carry!)

Grate the soap. Gently stir the other ingredients in together. Or dump it all in a big ice cream tub, put the lid on and shake it around to mix. Use as powdered. I can make a x4 batch in about 20 minutes using a hand grater. This lasts for months and I do a couple of loads a day. If you have a food processor you can use that to do the soap, but for my money it's more work to get the thing out, put it together, wash it, dry it and put it away than it is to use the box grater I use for my cheese.

Use 1 Tablespoon per load or 2 Tablespoons for a really grimy load. Yes, only 1 Tablespoon!

This works in the high efficiency front loading machines. If you have some extra stinky clothes (like potty training accidents or wet towels that have sat for too long) toss 1/4 cup borax in the machine before you start it up.

And there you go! A simple, non stove, non oven using recipe that will benefit your family and your budget! Works for me!

Long overdue

I have been a bad blogger this past week, but I have a really good excuse. Our computer was in the shop. Nothing big, nothing exciting, nothing expensive, so that's good. The bad news? We might have to upgrade to high speed someday. :)

We were just settling back down from having Keven here when Jim's birthday sprang up. Knowing we'd be beat, we didn't plan much. Jim invited a few people over for lunch on the fourth (which for those of you who don't know is his birthday). I invited a few people over for lunch on the fourth. One of those people happened to be his best good friend Bubba who lives in the Chicago area! It was a total and complete surprise for Jim. He and I were sitting in the living room at 11:20 pm on Thursday night just chatting when we heard the door open and shut followed by heavy footsteps on the kitchen floor. I knew what was going on, but Jim's life flashed before his eyes as he was certain we were going to die right there in the living room! Once he recovered from the utter shock of seeing Bubba in his kitchen we had a great weekend.

I'm sure there are many other things to report from the past week of non-blogging, but my heart is more than heavy tonight. We know of a young woman named Christine. Late last fall she got pregnant under less than ideal circumstances. She nobly chose to give her baby son life and put him up for adoption. Last Thursday night she went in to be induced because the baby wasn't growing like he was supposed to. She labored for 24 hours without progressing and was sent home. When she returned to the hospital the next day the baby did not have a heartbeat.

Friends and strangers who read my blog, please be in prayer for this young woman. She has gone through so much to give this child life and to give another family a chance at a son only to lose him in the end. We know that this baby boy is safe in the arms of Jesus, and our prayer is that his brief time on this earth will point those who love him to Christ.

Thank you, Friends.

Good enough for me!

Mom: Aidan, why are you crying?

Aidan: Evan didn't put his deodorant on and I don't want his stink on my blanket!

(No, Evan doesn't use deodorant. Some days I think he should, but I'm not ready for that. In the meantime he can take a shower more often than the brothers!)

"Let the punishment fit the crime."

Do you have imagies of Haley Mills in a camp shirt and tan shorts? If not, then you're probably not old enough to remember the old Disney version of The Parent Trap. Anway, it was the inspiration for a bit of creative discipline at my house today.

Evan and Keven have been at each others' throats. Nearly literally. They've been snipping, snapping and crabbing at each other all day long displaying the most stinkin' attitudes I've seen in a long time. So, I cured their stinkin' attitudes. My magic potion? Let the punishment fit the crime. I thought one might end up dead if I did what the camp director did in the Parent Trap. I wasn't about to sacrifice a child just to teach them how to get along! So, I instituded a little creative discipline. Stinkin' attitudes get stinkin' work. One scrubbed the bathroom, toilet, potty chair and floor (and with all the boys in the house I don't have to tell you what a stinkin' job that was!) The other boy took out the trash, scrubbed down the walls and floor around the garbage can and scrubbed down the garbage lid.

So, while I had another great post thought up for Works for me Wednesday (tons of other bloggers do, so click over to Rocks in my Dryer), I'm going to have to put that one aside and focus on this one instead! :) "Stinkin' attitudes get stinkin' work" works for me!

Tattle Tale

Go to jail,
don't forget the ginger ale!

Over the past week and a half of having our nephew, Keven, my children have learned the fine art of the tattle. They give you just enough information to make you think about detaching your heiney from the chair, but not enough to actually get in trouble for tattling. Or doing ANYTHING wrong.

Keven just came in the house. "Aunt Tara, Toby's nak@d." I'm sure I'm supposed to be concerned that my three year old is outside running through the sprinkler in the buff, but really, I'm tired. I asked him if Toby was hurting anyone. Keven may thing we are the weirdest family on the block simply because I'm too tired to care that Toby is letting every square inch of his little self enjoy the sprinkler! I think I may take some Popsicles outside. But first I have to detach my heiney from the chair!

Great Expectations

I think I've mentioned a time or two that my nephew Keven is visiting us for two weeks (one down, one to go) thus taking our kid count from four to five. Sometimes it feels more like fifteen, but that's beside the point. I have never been so tired in all my life! And that includes being up at night with baby nurslings for years on end! At the end of the day when Jim asks me what I'm planning on doing I tell him, "as much nothing as I can manage to squeeze in." It doesn't help that this week is Vacation Bible School at church and I'm in charge of "tour leading" a group of kids ranging in age from 4 to 5th grade. Lovely. Fun, but lovely.

So, how do I manage to keep a house tidy-ish (I subscribe to "Good Enough Housekeeping"), keep five kidlets occupied and fed and clothed and entertained? It's really easy. Great Expectations. I read it to them until they're either comatose or begging to wash dishes or some other drudgery chore. No, I'm kidding. I have great expectations for the kids! My kids do chores. They work, they entertain each other and their TV watching is really limited. I have found that children will do what you expect them to! But, they will rarely do more than you expect from them and will only do less than you expect if you allow them to.

I have tons of examples bouncing around my head of this, but I will only entertain you with one story. Every day I sit the children down to do schoolwork. American children spend the first two months of every school year re-learning what they learned the year before (academically and socially). They also lose a month to teacher workshop days, Christmas/Winter/Spring break. That leaves just six months of actual new learning! No wonder American children are so far behind the rest of the world, but I digress. I would rather have my kids have a head start on the school year by never stopping the learning. So, every day Evan and Keven are doing two third grade reading/English/Spelling papers (two sides each) and one math fact/skill paper. Having been with me now for over seven years, Evan knows that when I tell him that he's to read the paragraph and answer the questions he is to read the paragraph and answer the questions. Keven, however, takes those directions to mean read the questions and guess. Since Evan does what is expected of him it usually takes him approximately twenty to thirty minutes to do all of his school work. Keven believes somewhere inside himself that if he acts really cute then I will let him lower my expectations. I think not! So, today we spent two hours reading the paragraphs, looking for answers to the questions and underlining them so I know he found the answers and didn't just make a good guess. Lest you think I'm being cruel, he is getting some breaks in there to run around the house, sharpen his pencil, and generally squirrel around! :) But, I'm not letting him lower my bar!

I know that there are some children who are genuinely not able to do what is asked and require certain adaptations. I respect that. But in general, a steadfast requirement for excellence will be met. There will be much gnashing of teeth, and the kids will probably complain as well, but once the bar is set, and set high, kids WILL rise up to meet it! And that's what I'm working really really hard on for the next week! :)

Woo Hoo!

82 As a 1930s wife, I am Very Superior Take the test!

I think the fact that we have a lot of kids helps my score!

And if four weren't enough, for at least this week and possibly for two weeks we're up to five! My niece has had some trouble, so her brother is staying with us so her Mom can have a break! K has been a little bit of a challenge in ways I won't go into here. We'll just say that everyone is on a learning curve. K is learning how things work around the farm. Evan is learning how to get along with people he may not necessarily appreciate and I'm learning how to juggle more creative discipline, cooking and laundry than I ever thought possible! Read Jim's take on the experience here.

Welcome to the Country!

This afternoon we had some friends over. Leah and two of her kids came to play. Leah and I eventually made our way outside to take a look at the kittens. Scruff, the mama cat, was enjoying a nice afternoon snack...of dead mouse. Well, I guess it's better than a live one! The kids (a total of 5) were all watching the kittens romp in the weeds and while they noticed that Scruff was dining on Mickey's cousin, they weren't bothered at all by it. They seemed to take it in stride that cats kill and eat mice. Circle of life and all that rot. In fact, Toby went to take the mouse away from Scruff to get a better look at it. I stopped him just before he grabbed the mouse with a cookie bar in one hand. Toby, not the mouse. The mouse wasn't really up for a cookie bar. Scruff got him before he could get to them. "Toby, don't touch the dead mouse." "But Mom, I wasn't gonna' eat it for heaven's sake! I just wanted to look at it!"

Good thing. Scruff might have given you a run for your money, Toby! Yack.

Summer Job Charts

Last summer I posted about our rotating chore chart. That worked great...last summer. This summer I wanted to kick it up a notch. This year the boys are bigger and the jobs they can do are bigger and the money they want to earn is bigger!!!
This year each boy has his own chore chart. I bought them little wooden plaques and let them each paint their own (and despite the fact that they each painted their own they all ended up a muddy shade of green. That's what happens when you mix blue and red and yellow, folks). I made a list of the jobs that are available on a daily basis with descriptions. Here is our list:

What’s My Job?

Animal feeder: Feed and water the cats and chickens.

Bed maker: Very neatly make the beds that belong to children. This is a morning job.

Bus boy: Clear the table after lunch and dinner.

Dishwasher empty-er: When Mom says to empty the dishwasher you empty the dishwasher and put the dishes away. You can nicely ask a brother to help you.

Garbage/recycling man: Anytime during the day. Empty the bathroom garbage into the kitchen garbage and put the can back. Take out recycling from the kitchen and sort it in Mom’s garage.

Laundry man: A morning job. Bring the laundry down from upstairs and sort it in the laundry room. Also do any other laundry related job Mom asks you to do.

Mailman: An afternoon job. Go to the mailbox and bring in the mail. You’ll also take any mail out to the mailbox.

Odd jobs man: Mom calls on you when she has a job to do that isn’t covered by the other chores.

Table setter: Set the table for lunch and dinner.

Water boy: Waters the gardens including the big veggie one, the kitchen garden, the yard tire and the patio line of flowers. Anytime during the day is fine. You can nicely ask a brother to help.

Water heater guy: Evan or Aidan only. The water heater guy turns the water heater down after Mom and Dad have showered.

Note that some are morning jobs, some are afternoon jobs and some are jobs where the standards would have to change depending on which boy did the job! For example, Evan unloads the entire dishwasher, but Toby only has to unload the silverware.

I wrote each job on a big Popsicle stick and put a Velcro dot on the back. Each boy has a certain number of Velcro dots on his chart. Every morning the boys choose their jobs from the job stick cup (fancy schmancy title, huh?) and stick them on their charts! After completing a job the stick goes back in the cup.

Now, comes the big question, do you pay your kids for chores? Well, yes and no. Toby doesn't really understand money since he's only three, so, no. Aidan gets a whole dollar at the end of the week simply because he's helping save up money to go in on a Star Wars or Indiana Jones Lego set with Evan. Evan gets paid on a "base plus commission" basis. He gets $3 each week for jobs done well and with a good attitude. Any jobs left at the end of the day that I have to do cost him $.25. If he does jobs above and beyond his regularly scheduled chore chart jobs he can negotiate for "commission" or we can "catch him being good" and reward him accordingly. I have a little "time card" on the fridge where he records his extra earnings.

So, while our earlier version of the chore chart worked for me, this newer one Works For Me now! Shannon has links to tons of other great ideas at Rocks In My Dryer. And while you're at it, read through some of her other posts because she's got a great all around blog!

Avery

I think we're already experiencing "girlness" with a child of ours. Avery loves to play with shoes, snuggle with "babies", can comb her hair and when the phone rings she points towards it and puts her hand up to her ear and starts babbling away. Maybe she's seen someone do that a time or two. ;)

Last night I served the kids jello. Because we're classy like that and I was hoping a square of sugar counted as a side dish. Anywho, Evan told Avery to eat her jello. She immediately pointed to the phone, put her hand to her ear and started babbling away! Apparently she mistook the J in jello for the H in hello and was ready to talk on the phone!

Cracked us all up.

And then this morning I was commenting to Avery, "look at you walking all over the place" when Toby piped in, "Yeah! Now she's just like us!"

WOW!

Shannon's doing it again! www.wowonline.com has given her 20 boxed CD sets to give away! So, all I have to do is link to www.wowonline.com and I will be entered in a chance to win enough music to last me until Avery's in college! ;) So, here's me, linking to www.wowonline.com and hoping to be not only entered in the www.wowonline.com giveaway, but hoping to win the www.wowonline.com CD collection! Link link link. Think that covers it.

How to survive the summer

As usual, the lovely, talented, creative, generous Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer is hosting this edition of Works for Me Wednesday! Today we have a theme, "Mom, I'm bored". So, without further delay, here we go!

First off, my kids know better than to use "Mom, I'm bored". If I hear those words I find something for them to do: work. So, instead they mope around the house, flopping on furniture, whining, futzing with each other and basically making a nuisance of themselves. So, this summer I've instituted several ideas for (hopefully!) beating summer boredom!

First off, I've created a schedule. Ours looks something like this:

Summer Schedule

Before 9:00
Wake up
Eat Breakfast
Dress for the day
Pick your chores for the day
9:00
Turn off TV!
Summer School
Evan: 1 activity in Camp Step Ahead
3 pages of Comprehensive Curriculum
Aidan: 1 or 2 lessons in Reading
1 math page
Toby: 1 coloring page
Activity list and chore time
11:30
Lunchtime
After lunch
Nap or quiet time
After nap and quiet time
Activity list time
3:00
Snack time
Activity list time
4:00
TV, movie or other activity list activity
5:30
Dinner
After dinner
Help Dad with outside jobs or activity list activity
8:00
Tidy your room, get ready for bed, quiet reading time
8:30
Bedtime

You'll notice several things on the schedule. One, there is no TV from 9-4 during the day. I've been rather disgusted by myself in my allowing the kids to watch TV so much of the day so I'm formally limiting it.

The second big thing is that they are picking chores to do each day. This is done by a "lottery" sort of system. Tune in same time same station next week for more details on my chore system for the summer!

The third thing that occurs several times in the schedule is the "activity list". I've written out a list of possible activites that the kids can pick from. Here is our "activity list":

Activity list
(things to do when you don’t know what else to do)

30-minute computer time (limit once a day)
Army guys
Ask how you can be helpful!
Build with blocks
Castle toys
Clean the bathroom
Collect pinecones (put them in a bin in the barn)
Color or draw
Do your chores when appropriate
Dress up box
Make a music parade
Mr. Potato heads
Pick rocks from the yard
Pick up sticks and put them neatly in the big red barn
Play a board game (Operation Shrek, Hullabaloo)
Play ball
Play legos
Play with cars
Push Avery in the baby swing
Read a book
Read to a little sib
Ride bikes
Sweep Mom’s garage
Sweep the deck
Swing set
Take a sibling for a wagon ride down the driveway
Tarzan rope
Tire swing
View master
Write a letter
Write a story

Most of the list is just a reminder of what toys they have: inside and out. Some of these are creative activities I'm comfortable with them doing with minimal supervision and some of them are extra chores not covered by the chore chart. (Extra chores are compensated by negotiable rates.)

The list is printed out and posted on the fridge. Evan can read, so he can help the lil'uns find something to do! He's great at getting the gang of brothers together to play.

Keep in mind that we're 11 days in to summer break. So far I've yet to hear anyone utter "Mom, I'm bored" so I guess this is one tip that works for me! Ask me in September how it went. So far so good!

More lame postings

Stay tuned, o faithful blog reader. Coming Soon: Works For Me Wednesday, Mom, I'm bored edition! I've got a great idea that works for me! :)

Lame post? Yup. But, since school starts again in just 85 more days I'm sort of fixated on getting through the summer than in providing you with your RDA of mediocre reading material! :)

In other news, Evan has turned a new leaf. He's being really helpful with a great attitude. He has been upstairs with the brothers for over an hour playing nicely with them.

Aidan is still Aidan.

Toby is still Toby.

Avery is finally done being sick. She spent the last week crying and whining and screaming. The aliens who abducted her 10 days ago finally returned her on Saturday. She woke up after a morning nap as her regular grinning, giggling self! She had a well child check this morning which turned out to be a sick child diagnosis. Why is it that my children never have the failsafe symptoms of an ear infection??? At any rate she's weighing in at a whopping 19 lbs 7 oz! This at 15 months. So, she's in the same shrimpy growth curve as her older brothers. Go figure!

Tune in again tomorrow for Works For Me Wednesday, "Mom, I'm Bored" edition! It's sure to please!

Works For Me Wednesday

I heard once that women walk something like twelve miles in their lives just making their beds. Multiply that by the five beds in my house and you'll see that it's a lot of unnecessary walking for a basically useless task since they just get messed up again! So, my works for me Wednesday tip is one I've figured out to make bed making easier. Ready? Do it while still in the bed. Yup. Before I get out of bed I kneel in between the two pillows. I then center and straighten just the top edges of the sheet and blankets in my hands. Then I give the blankets a big "SWOOSH" and gently shake them all out. Gravity takes over and the blankets all line up neatly. Fold over one corner, crawl out and smooth that corner back down. I think this post makes about as much sense as making the beds in the first place, but making the bed while still in it works for me!

Toby-isms

Toby is our funniest kid yet. He's three. Here are just two of the things he's said today that cracked me up.

This morning I was on my way to drop the kids off at a babysitters so I could go to the doctor's office. I was telling the kids where they were going and that it was because I was going to the doctor. "The doctor? Why are you going to the doctor? Are ya' sick or somethin'?" (Imagine a three year old with a fake southern accent on that last sentence.)

This afternoon he was sword fighting with himself. He was making all manner of sword sound effects. "Toby," I asked, "where do little boys learn to make all those noises?" "In a class." One I certainly would NOT have signed him up for!

Works For Me Wednesday

I discovered a great idea last night when I was making our BBQ chicken pizza (and cheese pizza for my BORING kids!). I have one pizza stone. Our family needs two pizzas. See my problem? So I was going to just put the kids' pizza on the oven rack. As I was opening the pre-made crust it broke. Right in half. And THAT is where my Works For Me Wednesday idea struck! In my large bar pan stone I put both halves of the pizza crust. When put together so they fit in the pan they looked a little like an S. I would have taken a picture, but that would have been too easy. :) So, now I know how to make two pizzas at the same time with just one pizza stone. Break the crust in half and use a cookie sheet! Works for me!

You know the drill. Head over to Shannon at Rocks in my Dryer for more great and practical tips on just about everything.

Tonight's menu

Tonight on the menu we have BBQ chicken pizza and salad. I'm making a plain ol' cheese pizza for the kids because, as Aidan would say, "we're boring".

How do you make a BBQ chicken pizza you ask? Why I'm happy to tell you!

Take:
1 prepared pizza crust (splurge once in a while and get the Boboli whole wheat)
top with 3/4 cup bbq sauce (if I were back in my hometown I'd get Cookies, but alas, I am not) and set aside.

Add 2 cups chopped or shredded chicken cooked and mixed with 1/4 cup bbq sauce.

Top with 1/4ish chopped red onion and 2ish green onions. We don't like onions much so we just use a small sprinkling.

Spread 1/2 wheel of Gouda cheese and 1-2 cups mozzarella cheese. Bake at 425 for about 12 minutes or until the cheese is nice and melty.

I double the toppings, put them in freezer baggies and make a "kit" to pull out in the future. Then I don't have 1/2 a wheel of Gouda smelling up my fridge!

You can't make this stuff up

The other day Evan and Jim were talking on the way to school.

"Dad, if sin had never entered the world, would the laws of physics still apply?"

HE'S SEVEN!

Peter Pan

This morning Toby woke up in one of his Eeyore moods. Those of you with kidlets know the one, he mopes around the house, not wanting to eat, not wanting to play, not wanting to do much of anything except mope. He didn't want to go to his Sunday School class so he got to go to "big church" with me. Since Jim was running sound I was running the three boys in the pew. Evan participated well, Aidan snuck off to not be in "big church" and Toby moped. Eventually I picked him up and let him cuddle himself onto my shoulder. He rubbed his hair and sucked his thumb as I sang the praise and worship songs softly into his ear. I glanced across the room at another mom whose three sons are all grown up. Her baby boy is a junior in high school. And then it hit me. This baby soft cheek that is nuzzled up on my cheek won't always be baby soft. Someday my baby son will be all grown up and that baby soft cheek won't be baby soft anymore, but will be covered with the bristly stubble of a man. So, I let my mind wander away from the praise around me and just basked in the nuzzling of that baby soft cheek on mine soaking up that memory to pull out when my baby son is all grown up.

I'm constantly reminded that these baby days ARE all too fleeting. Evan's thinking deep theological thoughts. Aidan's learning to read. Toby's learning about planting and growing seeds. Avery's learning to walk. And someday I'll be watching them all walk the stage for high school graduation and eventually, Lord willing, walk the aisle to get married and start families of their own. I keep reminding myself, at the reminding of another more seasoned mom, that my job is to work myself out of a job. My job is to mother these lil'uns so that they will be successful, Christ honoring citizens not only of Earth, but making an impact for eternity as well. So work on, mammas. Your job matters and these days WILL blow by before you even know it. Those soft cheeks you kiss goodnight WILL become scruffy man cheeks. Soak up those soft memories now to pull out later!

I may be in trouble

Update at the bottom!
The library near us teams up with the nursing home once a month for story time with the residents. Yesterday when we went to regular story time we were invited to meet up with the librarian and some other moms this morning at the nursing home to read, sing and do a craft with the "grandmas and grandpas". So, I thought it would be a fun way to get us out of the house this morning and maybe brighten someone's day.

This morning Toby was jumping and flipping around the living room in the buff. I had one of those mommy moments where I said the first thing that popped into my head regardless of the fact that it may not be the brightest thing to tell a three year old. I said, "Toby, you have to get dressed. You cannot go to story time at the nursing home neked. The grandmas don't want to see your *parts*!" "Why don't they want to see my *parts*? I think I'm going to show the grandmas my *parts*!"

Oh boy. I'll fill you in on the morning and hopefully the lack of *parts* later!

Update: We made it through the entire 1/2 hour of story time with no *parts* show and tell. However, on the way to the nursing home I did get pulled over for speeding. Yes, I was totally guilty. The speed goes from 50 mph to 30 right at the edge of our town. I was heading into town cruising along at 45ish. The boys were extremely well behaved while the officer was talking to me (and the kids were all buckled in properly in their car seats, he checked as he was coming up to the window.) I felt like a huge excuse maker trying to talk her way out of a ticket though. The officer asked where we were headed. "We're on our way to the nursing home to have storytime with the residents." Yeah, right. Like that's really happening! I'm telling the truth, officer! He didn't question me though. And, mercifully, he only warned me to keep the speed down. No ticket. Thank you officer!

Saturday Night Reflections

Psalm 29:3-5

The voice of the Lord echos above the sea.
The God of glory thunders.
The Lord thunders over the mighty sea.

The voice of the Lord is powerful;
the voice of the Lord is majextic.

The voice of the Lord splits the mighty cedars;
the Lord shatters the cedars of Lebanon.

For the past 30is hours I've been at Camp Victory about 20 minutes from home at our women's retreat. In addition to a time of fun, fellowship, food and getting to know new women (which I wasn't prepared to do but was blessed to be able to connect with women who I don't normally get to). I came away with a newly decorated candle, a prettily covered journal and 2 1/2 pages of hand written notes from a 30 minute quiet time we were to have. The above verses spoke to me and the Lord reminded me of one small truth. The same voice that thunders over the sea in such a powerful and mighty way is the same one that whispers my name in love. Thank you, Lord, for whispering my name.

*********
And on a totally unrelated note. Scruff had kittens today. The one day I'm gone and the cat gives birth. Three little kittens.

New Post!

Believe or not I'm writing a new post! Well, not exactly, but I've taken a quiz and I'll share my score with you:

You Are Totally Like Your Mom

You and your mom are practically clones. You think alike, and you even seem to read each other's minds. You're definitely you're mother's child... and that's just fine with you.

Are You Like Your Mom?

Happy Mother's Day in a few weeks, Mom! :) I'm sure my kids will grow up saying things like, "if all your friends jumped off a bridge would you have to, too?" and "I'm not the entertainment committee. Go find something to entertain yourself." LOL. Just kidding. But I did make someone in the line at walmart smile when I told Aidan that this afternoon. :)

Another day

I don't think there's much new to report. We've had a few people come through and look at the house. This is a little discouraging since before we leave to go anywhere the dishes have to be done (or at least hidden!), the beds have to be made and the toys/dirty laundry/etc have to be picked up. Why? Because we could get a call at any time of the day for someone to come to see the house. And if they should happen to call and come by when we're not there I don't want anyone to see exactly how messy we can be! (Plus of course a clean house is more likely to sell than a dirty/cluttered one.)

In other news, Avery's teething again. This time seems much worse than the other times. She was eating lunch and crying between each bite. Finally I just told her she was done, took her upstairs where she promptly konked out. I think she was asleep before I shut her door. Poor lil' babe!

I've also been doing some more "mega cooking". In my freezer I either have or will soon have: a spaghetti casserole, several kits for quick chicken quesadillas, a huge batch of beef stroganoff (which I plan to use on Thursday night when I have a passel o' relatives here) stuffed shells and a parsley paremesean chicken dish. I'm on break from the mega assembling of stuff right now. It is stressful to make so much food in one 24 hour period, but honestly, it's kinda' fun at the same time. Nevermind the fact that now I don't have to worry about a dozen or so meals in the coming weeks. :) Yippee for me and thanks to Anne for the recipes and tips!

This Pretty Much Sums It Up

I found this on Everett's Blog. After the weather lately I can't think of a better description.
Where is SPRING???

Random amusing quotes:
"I feel like March came in like a lion, then turned into a lamb. Then another lion came along and ate the lamb and I'm afraid there won't be any more lambs." JA on our recent weather.

Oh No

Our house is officially for sale. So, with three kids running around the house all day and one crashing his way into the house after school, I'm keeping a house "show ready". That means basically making it look like nobody lives here. So, yesterday at 1:00 I got a call from a realtor asking if he could show the house. At 1:30. Which, as any mother of pre-schoolers knows is right smack dab in the middle of nap time. But, as anyone who has ever tried to sell a house knows, you don't tell a realtor who may have your new buyer in his office that he can't show your house! So, while the kids were in their beds I did a quick "dash and stash". I tossed the few dishes into the dishwasher and ran a quick swipe over the counters. Really, the house stays in pretty good show ready condition. So, I was trying to stash my dirty coffee pot in the cupboard and low and behold I broke the pot. Dropped it on the floor shattering it everywhere. No problem, a quick sweep and the problem was solved.
Except for the fact that I DO NOT HAVE A COFFEE POT NOW!!! And for someone with a two pot a day habit, that's a problem. (No, it's just a 4 cup mini-pot that makes 2 mugs, not one of the big 12 cup pots, I'm not that bad!)
Oh, and Jim's car did not start this morning. So I cannot even run to McD's and get some crummy coffee because he took my van. And of course if we get a call from a realtor I have to cram us all in the Corolla, hope it starts for me and park down the (mostly private) dirt road. Should be a fun day. No coffee. No vehicle. No brain cells left. Woo Hoo! Come on over and play! Please.....

Now That's a Relief!

For Toby's birthday we got him some real tools. We got him wrenches, screwdrivers, nuts and bolts, paintbrushes and a scraper. We also got him some lengths of galvanized pipe with elbow joints, couplers and some other stuff he can put together and take apart.

In the past couple of days Aidan and Evan have been forming the galvanized pipes and elbows into guns. Now, some parents would freak out and ban the guns. I've seen little boys turn Barbie dolls, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and graham crackers into guns so I figured that even if I banned the galvanized steel I would end up with weapons. So, I put some boundaries in place for the guns. The boys spent the evening in their bedroom putting stuffed animals "stuffies" all around their room and hunting down the stuffies.

So, rest assured. We are now safe from the teddy bears and sock monkeys.

Poop

First off let me say that I'm sorry I lied. I didn't stay away from the computer. I broke my self imposed grounding about a bajillion times since I grounded myself. It started with "let me just quick see if anyone commented to the blog where I say I'm grounded" then it was quickly right back into my old habit of reading blogs, commenting, emailing etc etc etc. So, nevermind about that self imposed grounding thing. The self discipline in the Mommy Lady?? It stinks.

As do several other things around here. I have come to the conclusion that I will NEVER be done with poop! Night before last? Avery has a diaper blow out. SHE'S ONE!!! SHOULDN'T SHE BE DONE WITH THOSE BY NOW??? Jim was on duty for that one. Last night? During Toby's birthday party? Avery has ANOTHER blow out! This morning first thing in the morning? No, no poop. Instead: partially digested carrots. I'm not sure which is worse, poop or vomit. Then later this morning after morning nap? Yup. Opened the door to a stink bomb. And to make matters worse, my ordinary super huge capacity washing machine is disconnected so we can re-plumb the laundry room. To his credit, before Jim disconnected the big guns he did put the itty bitty little washing machine that came with the house down in the basement. I helped. Now, instead of being able to wash a whole packed down and heaping full basket of wash at one time I can wash approximately three things. Socks, for example. Not so good when you have a baby who poos and pukes on all her bedding and outfits two or three times a day! Now I know I'm supposed to be feeling sorry for little Avery who obviously doesn't feel well. And I do. It stinks (ha ha) to be sick and not feel so good. But I can complain about the mess at the same time, right?

Plus also, as I was sitting composing this post, Aidan comes in from the outside. I tried to shoo him back outside "go outside and play or come in and take a nap". "No, Mom, wait! I pooped in my underwear." Grrrr. (In his defense he didn't actually, but started a little bit thinking it was a toot that wasn't.)

So, aren't you glad you checked my blog today???

This too shall pass. This too shall pass. This too shall pass.....

Grounded

For my 150th post I would like to say that I'm now grounded. Jim and I are planning on listing our 5 acres in the middle of a cornfield on April 1. That's just two weeks away, people! So, for the next two weeks I'm grounding myself from the computer during the day. I'll still check email and blogs, but only after the kids are in bed for the night. Sigh. It will be tough, but to make this house presentable and to pack up a family of 6 to move for the second time in a year I'll have to do it!

On the list of things to do:

lay linoleum in the dining room and kitchen (bought it, just have to do it)
clear our parlor down to one desk instead of two
purge and pack the boys' room (esp toys)
purge and pack the girl's room (mostly done-ish)
purge and pack the basement (lots to do down there)
purge and pack the laundry area (this is sort of kind of under control)

This in addition to the regularly scheduled jobs necessary to keep our house running semi-smoothly!

So, for the most part, fare thee well dear "internets". I'll miss you and see you when I get back!

A Rude Awakening

We have three cats. They are all outdoor cats (though two believe they should be indoor cats and dart in when we open the door). Their job is to sleep in the mudroom on a very hairy chair cushion and to catch teeny little furry things that want to come in and eat our cereal, crackers and cookies. And crumbs. They do the first job very well. I'm not so sure about the second job. This morning Jim woke me up at about 6:20. "Do you wanna have some fun?" Immediately my mind went there and I thought, "are you nuts? I've been mostly awake since Avery woke me up at 4:21. No, I don't wanna have some fun." But, being the loving, gentle and demure wife any man would want I asked, "What sort of fun?" He replied with something that I cannot print here because my friend Mel would absolutely die and refuse to come to my house ever again. It rhymed with, "there's a house in the nigh hair". (Mel, stop reading. Translated that last sentence reads, "there's a mouse in the high chair".) Not exactly what you'd want to wake up to, huh? I think maybe our outdoor cats might need to spend a little time in the house.

(I also had a dream about one of the cats the other night. Scruff is a girl cat. In my dream, Scruff had kittens. But, in my dream, Scruff gave birth to the kittens, but was a male cat and therefore couldn't nurse them. Weird, huh?)

Put down the coffee and go potty. Trust me.

I read several blogs on a daily basis. Usually while Elmo is cackling in the background and my kids are totally enthralled with the electronic babysitter. One that I read on a daily basis is called "BooMama". I have no idea how I found her, but I have never been disappointed. Recently she and some other bloggers found themselves in Uganda with Compassion International. I have no idea how Compassion found them or why they decided on Uganda, but BooMama had herself some crazy adventures there. Put your coffee down, go in and go potty and then read this. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Because I'm nuts

Part of what I did while I was in Iowa and South Dakota was to stock my sisters' freezers with some semi-nutritious, non-fast food meals. I made double batches of four of my family's favorites, divided them up and provided each sister with four freezer meals to use whenever they needed them. This week I decided to do the same for my own family! Last night it was beef tips and gravy with homemade mashed potatoes. I multiplied the recipe pretty much by two and then divided it up into three portions. I served one last night for dinner and have to meals in the freezer! Then today I totally went nuts and prepared double batches of Creamy Chicken Italiano, BBQ Chicken Pizza, Chicken Enchiladas and Chili. That makes a total of ten meals in my freezer ready to go at (almost) a moment's notice! :)

I'm also part of a freezer meal swap. We each make 6-8 batches of a recipe, then swap them around so we end up with 6-8 different recipes in the freezer. Yup, add that to the 10 I already have in there and I won't have to cook dinner until after Easter! :) Feeling pretty good about that. Feeling pretty good. :)

Toby: "Mommy, Aidan doesn't want to play Rescue Heroes so I decided you can play Rescue Heroes with me instead."

In other news, Avery turned 1 year old this past Saturday! Happy Birthday, Avery! It's sort of odd knowing that she's the caboose of the family. I had my last first birthday party as a mother. With Evan I noted all the firsts. With Avery I'm noting all the lasts. Strangest thing? When I pulled the last newborn sized diaper out of the drawer and cried knowing it was the last time I'd put one of my own babies in a newborn diaper. That diaper is sitting (unused of course) up in my dresser. Why? Because I'm crazy like that.

I also spent the better part of last week in South Dakota and Iowa with my sisters who have had babies in the past few weeks. My little sisters both had their third kiddos, girls just a few weeks apart. I cooked and cleaned and dispensed much advice on saving money, budgeting, menu planning, breastfeeding and the like. They even asked questions and seemed to be listening! 20 years ago if you'd told me I'd be doing that with one particular sister we both would have slugged you. It was a wonderful time. It seems that everyone grows up. Thanks for having babies Raina and Wendy! I had a blast!

We're not so young anymore

Well, we had a blast at our sleepover! We stayed up late (3:30!!!) and talked and ate and talked and ate and talked and ate. Then we lounged about in the hot tub (!) and hit the sack. When we got up we talked and ate and talked and ate and talked and ate. Since we weren't able to get oursleves around in time for actual church we gatherd in the living room and shared what God'd been revealing to us in our own quiet times. We had a great time of prayer and fellowship (and did I mention the eating?) Then we played Wii (which was a great time) and even played Dance Dance Revolution. It was so much fun. I was glad we weren't a bunch of self consious teenagers. We've seen each other hugely pregnant, nursing and post partum (nevermind the bathing suits the night before) so we're all comfortable enough with ourselves to have a grand time making a fool out of ourselves!

Now I'm getting ready to load up the three lil'uns and head out to South Dakota and Iowa where my two sisters have each had babies in the past few weeks. I'm armed with recipes, large mixing bowls and a crock pot to stock up their freezers! Should be fun. My older sister who lives in FL will be there, so all the girls will be together again for the first time in (I think) years. Much fun will be had. And most of it will revolve around food I bet. ;)

Mamma gets a day off!

We have a friend who moved away. 1 1/2 hours away to be exact. And 4 of us are going up to have a good ol'fashioned sleepover tonight! We'll stay up late, eat way too much and talk well into the night. I'll be back! (Oh, and if you should think of it, pray a blessing over the Daddys. They'll be home with the kids!)

All In A Day's Work

Well, I was recently re-connected with an old college friend. She asked me what a typical day was like for me out on the farm with 3 kids home all day. Since today was just about as ordinary as any other day, I thought I'd just go through today.

5:something. Nursling baby wakes up. Nurses and back to sleep.

6:30ish: Someone else under 4 feet tall ends up in my bed. Since Jim is up and getting ready, I reluctantly get up too. I was deep in a really weird dream, so it takes me much longer than usual to actually wake up.

7:00: Jim and Evan leave for school. Baby decides that she wasn't really interested in going back to sleep. I get her up and feed her some mush. Meanwhile I get the other boys fed and dressed. The mush for the morning? REAL oatmeal mixed with applesauce. Probably will be the healthiest thing they'll eat all day! No, I didn't make "applesauce oatmeal" first thing in the morning. I made a huge batch of it last weekend, divvied it up in little containers and froze it. My mom is cringing now thinking of me feeding my kids frozen oatmeal. They don't know better!

7:15: Finish getting boys washed and dressed. Wash and dress Avery. Find cute pink bow/headband thinger to top off the cutie pie look. Settle all 3 lil'uns down to a Baby Einstein movie so I can take a shower. (Not even going to try to deny it, my kids watch TV.)

7:20: Take shower and get ready for MOPS. Yup, we have MOPS today. It is a normal day, however, because several times a week we're out and about early anyway!

7:55: Email myself the document I need for today's craft. Get three kids into coats, mitts, hats, van and car-seats. Everyone in? Everyone buckled. Course they are. I have to buckle all three in because of their winter gear they are unable to do it themselves.

8:08: We're pulling out of the driveway and on the way to MOPS.

8:12: Convince Toby that we cannot stop to let him ride the cows. Even though he wants to.

8:23: Arrive (**early!!**) to MOPS. Park next to one of the "mentor moms" who helps me unload the three kidlets, carry in the bucket full of baby and is impressed by the fact that I told the boys, "pretend there's a line there and stand on it" and they did! Yeah for me!!! (That's my corralling trick in the parking lot. I tell the boys to stand on the line and they stay there until I can get everyone and everything out of the van. Since the lines are covered with snow I've had to take to telling them what I just wrote above.)

8:25: Everyone in, getting coats, mitts, hats etc off and hung up. Starting to have an uneasy feeling about my emailed document.

8:32: Boys are running around the sanctuary and my uneasy feeling is confirmed. I forgot to attach the document to the email I sent to church for the craft directions. Crud.

8:33-9:15: Drop kids off at their respective classrooms. Track down friend who gave me the recipe we worked on in MOPS today, she calls friends who also have the recipe. We end up having to wing it and just type out what I remembered.

9:20ish: Head in, grab some nummy food for breakfast (mental note to self given at that time, you can skip lunch!) Sit, chat, listen to wonderful speaker about marriage, respecting your husband and another topic suitable for the meeting before Valentine's day. Listen for yourself here. It should be up soon if it isn't already.

10:36: Explain to the women how to assemble their "Fondue for Two" kits. Tell them to ignore the directions on how to complete their kits at home and that I'll email them the right ones within 24 hours. Oops. Women are understanding and laugh about my computer user error. Phew!

11:ish. Clean up all the dry ingredients, tables, etc. Chat with some mommies and remember that I do indeed have to go pick up my own kids from their classrooms. Accept compliments on how much the teachers love the kids. Leave resolved to be a better mommy and wife.

11:47: Drive through McDonalds for burgers for the kids because we have other errands to run. So much for better Mommy!

Noonish: Pick up 100 lbs of chicken feed at the coop. Proud of self for being able to shlep a 50 lb bag of chicken feed by myself thankyouverymuch!

Shortly thereafter: Stop at library to pick up books on Paul Revere for Evan's report/wax museum presentation. Leave baby in the bucket on the table of the kids' section for the librarians to talk to while I corral the other boys.

1:00: Home. Wrangle three kids out of their coats, mitts, hats and wet shoes. Remind boys AGAIN to hang up their coats and put their shoes in the closet. Put all three kids to nap.

1:45. Remember that while the boys have eaten lunch, the girl has not. Release mommy guilt and feed baby mush.

2:00: Baby back down for nap.

2:15: Let Toby out of nap.

2:30: Baby still protesting nap.

2:35: Let baby out of nap.

2:37: Wonder why I bother with Curves. I get a full step aerobic workout just getting the kids to take a stinkin' nap!

3:00: Aidan out of nap. Why is it that the oldest one at home will take an actual nap but the two little ones who really need one won't???

3:12: Talk to another human being over 4 feet tall. Wasn't MOPS just this morning? Wasn't I supposed to have gotten a little refreshed just 4 hours ago??? Why don't our kids take naps? Why do we have to listen to them running around the table pretending to be Walter the monkey? Who is Walter the monkey, anyway and why can't he be quiet???????

3:42: Remember that Jim and Evan won't be home for dinner at the regular time. Start rice for chicken and rice dish anyway.

And on and on and on.

So, Jim and Evan came home. I shoveled chicken and rice casserole into the kids. I shoveled carrots into the kids. I managed to sneak in a few bites myself. Jim stayed home with the kids while I went to Curves to workout. Jim also gave the boys a bath and got the two little ones down for bed before I got home. (!) When I got home I finished bathing two boys, got them lotioned up and even managed to glue the legs on a Valentine's Day Robot card box for a very impressed little second grader to take to school tomorrow.

Now to tackle the dishes, clean the dining room table off (I left for Curves immediately after dinner), run a load of laundry through, pay bills (maybe) and maybe read a little before crashing into bed. And then tomorrow, without the drama of the lost email attachment and the companionship of MOPS, I'll do much of the same. Sounds boring, right? At times, yes. But how can things be boring in a houseful of children? Tomorrow we'll glue beans on construction paper in the shapes of their names, color a bit, read a bit, maybe make a couch cushion pirate ship. Hey, maybe Walter will even come back! And if he doesn't, I'm sure another little monkey will take his place. All in a day's work, my friends. All in a day's work.

What is the worldd coming to???

They'rrrrrre baaaaaack.....

Mamma's Proud

Last night we took the fam to Macaroni Grill. This was our first family out to eat experience in quite a while. We usually are only brave enough to hit the local Mexican restaurant or the mall's food court with our 4 kiddos. We were given a very generous gift certificate to MG, so we figured it would be cheaper to take the kids with us than to pay for a baby sitter! And the kidlets did not disappoint! All of the boys chose the kid's pizza, which was a HUGE pizza for a little child! Honestly, the four of them could have very comfortably shared two pizzas with leftovers. But, since we had the certificates, we just let them gorge themselves. :)

It was also a great chance to see their personalities in action. Jim asked Evan for a bite, not a whole slice but just a bite. At first Evan said, no. Then he relented, tore off a slice then cut a bit off the end for Jim. Toby yanked a slice off and said, "you can have a piece of my pizza, Daddy". When Aidan saw the praise flowing for Toby sharing he tore off a slice for Avery and me to share. Toby continued to offer a slice of pizza to everyone who walked by. Customers and waitstaff were offered a piece of Toby's pizza! Even the manager who was strolling around the restaurant was offered a piece of Toby Pizza!

In the end, we all waddled away appropriately stuffed and with three boxes of leftovers. Avery even ate almost two slices of pizza along with her dish of mush from home. Jim and Evan took their leftovers to school (Evan with emphatic warnings not to microwave the aluminum leftover container at school!) and Aidan and Toby will share Aidan's leftovers. With all of his generosity Toby wasn't left with more than a plateful of crusts. :)

So, did the kids behave at this "fancy-ish" restaurant WITH REAL CLOTH NAPKINS? Oh you bet. Evan was shocked that for only $4.99 he was able to have a huge pizza, a drink AND DESSERT!!! WOAH, WHAT A GREAT DEAL THIS PLACE HAS!!! THE DRINK IS FREE??? THE ICE CREAM IS FREE??? He was shocked. Aidan and Toby sat nicely and ate their dinner. Avery was the loudest, but that's only because I wasn't able to shovel food into her as fast as she thought I ought. Heaven forbid that I actually get a bite into myself once in a while!!!

Overall I can say that I was proud of my kids. They ate well, used their nice words and didn't spill anything. :) They shared their dinners with the family and didn't make any rude comments about anyone! We just might be able to take them out in public again. :)

Clearly I don't have enough to do

I've found yet another giveaway! The BlondeMom blog is hosting a giveaway every Friday in January and February! Click on over here to enter to win a funky "OutMat" for picnics, ball games etc!

Another Contest!

A Cowboy’s Wife is having a contest on her food blog! You can win a Hamilton Beach® Stand Mixer and she’ll ship anywhere so everyone is eligible!

Diaper Bag giveaway!

I hope I'm not too late here! I found this giveaway today and since it ends today, well, I hope Im still okay to enter!!! And while I'm sure I need another diaper bag like I need a hole in my head, I hope I win!!! Click on over here to find the fun!

Away In The Manger

So I've been putting off taking down my Christmas decorations because I have a severe case of the procrastinations. So, Toby was playing with the Little People Nativity set that Gramma Sheila bought Avery. (Thank you, Mom!) And he's combined a few of the sets so that the angel and the wise men are taking turns riding a motorcycle in to Bethlehem. And then the motorcycle spins out of control and wipes out all the little animals while Mary, Jospeh and Baby Jesus are safe in the stable. And if this house had a AA battery in it ANYWHERE I could take a picture for you. But I cannot.

Christmas Day

The kids have had some wonderful fun this morning! Here are some pictures for you to enjoy! And since blogger isn't being nice today I'll have to post about them here instead of near the picture where I wanted to. Avery got her first tea set for Christmas. Let's say it all together now, "awww, cute!!!" She loves banging the teacups together, so so far she isn't playing with it a whole lot differently than a little boy! Evan and Aidan are SHARING the pirate set that Aidan got from his South Dakota cousins. Toby is coloring on his new little cardboard house. Believe it or not I actually love building stuff like that, so while the construction could have caused some major payback gifts in the future for the South Dakota cousins, I'm actually quite thrilled to be able to say that I put it together! :)

Home again, home again

Well. We've had quite the week around here. Monday afternoon Avery started throwing up. And had a fever. And a owie spot on her leg and behind her ear. Thursday when I got her up, the sore on her leg was oozing and the foot was red, puffy and hot to the touch. So, off to the doctor we rushed. Hyper Doctor Lady (whom I will not voluntarily be going back to by the way) rushed around ordering tests, taking swabs and ordering labs. Within an hour we found ourselves checked in to the hospital and the precious baby girl had had several pokes, proddings and an IV. With an eventual diagnosis of a strep infection, a staph infection and roseola we camped out in the hospital from Thursday morning until Saturday night. Avery was hooked up to an IV which dripped high powered antibiotics straight into her bloodstream. Thanks to some girlfriends who brought me sanity and clean clothes and Jim who kept the boys under control I was able to stay with her the whole time. Plus, I sort of had to stay since I was the source of the only food she was interested in eating for three days!

Well, alls well that has ended well. Avery's home, the house and I are recovering from being gone for a few days and the boys are up to their normal antics. Avery's sleeping up in her crib and I'm getting caught up on blogging and laundry.

That's all for now. :)

Praise Baby

I found a great link for a free Praise Baby bib and a $5 coupon for a Praise Baby CD. All you have to do is to be one of the first 300 to post this pic and you win! I am looking for new music for the kiddos, so I'm hoping this will be one they love!

Inquiring Minds Want To Know

Yes. I have found the stockings. The day after I went to Hobby Lobby and bought new ones.

And we've spent the last 2 days with Toby and a stomach virus. No, I take that back. Jim spent the last two days with Toby and a stomach virus. The bottom kind which isn't all that fun with a non-potty trained kiddo who yells like a banshee everytime you come near him with a wipe because his little posterior area is as red as a tomato. I took Evan to his Christmas program rehearsal on Saturday morning. Jim stayed home with the 3 lil'uns while I did that and also stayed home with the Toby while I took the three non-Tobys to church. Then Jim stayed home with Toby and Avery while I took the two big'uns to their program last night. What a man.

Edit that last paragraph in your own mind however you feel would make more sense than what I've actually written.

And now Aidan has the bug, but at least he can take care of himself. I'll just have to wash the toilet forty-leven times today in a (probably futile) attempt to avoid this bug myself.

And if these kids aren't healthy by tomorrow I'll have to miss the MOPS Christmas meeting. For the third straight year. Pray, y'all. Pray.

Holy Cow, It's December!

What happened between my last post on November 20 and today? Well, let me think...

We've put up the Christmas tree, though we seem to have lost the box with the stockings and our Advent calendar in the move.

I've tried to potty train Toby. Note the word TRIED. Not so good so far. We'll keep trying.

Jim finished his 15th-ish play The Miracle Worker. It was indeed a miracle since some of the actors weren't solid on their parts until opening night.

Avery is still not sleeping through the night. We usually have a 12, 3 and 5 o'clock show. This morning I asked Jim how many times he thought she got up. He said, "uh, zero?" No dear, three. Well, at least someone is getting some sleep!

Evan has his Christmas concert at school tonight and at church tomorrow night.

Aidan has his Christmas program at church tomorrow night.

I've signed up to make a 8x batch of chili to trade meals with 7 other women in an attempt to fill up my freezer with yummy foods. We'll see how that goes!

I've got a sewing machine for my birthday. I've got about 10 projects lined up in my crafting cupboard to do before Christmas. If I don't get to yours you might get it for Christmas next year! ;)

Especially Heather

I met Heather through a series of blog links and also in person when she visited our church last spring. She is fighting (and I do mean FIGHTING) brain cancer. She wrote this and since my brain is too fried from lack of sleep and getting ready for Thanksgiving I decided to just link you up to her blog so you can read it yourself. It reminds me of the whole vision of the Christian school where my husband has given 13 years of his life and where my son is a second grader. Christian Worldview. God should not live in a box to be taken out on Sunday morning and maybe Wednesday night. He should not be tucked away when we are not in church. All of life is to be lived with a Christian perspective. When I'm washing dishes, when I'm taking out the garbage, feeding the chickens and children, changing diapers, doing laundry or any of the million mundane tasks I can use those as opportunities for prayer and thanksgiving! No, I'm not perfect and many who read these words on their screens will be laughing their heads off at these words coming from my fingertips! The Christian walk is just that, a walk. It isn't a destination I can arrive at in this lifetime. So, with that in mind, I will go take care of some bitty bitties. They are my job, my vocation, my calling, my blessings to treasure and care for in this life. Head over to read Heather's post from this week. You'll be glad you did.

Out of the mouths of babes

Today we were driving along to the grocery store. Aidan commented from the back seat, "Mom, I see signs with red circles and a line through them," he continued, "they mean don't ever, EVER, EVER talk about the letter P!!!"

You've been told!

Two in one!

Yes, this is the second post on one day! Woo hoo! Makes up for the entire weeks that go by with no posts. So, I started out this morning with a dead mouse in my mud room. Yes, better than a live mouse, but stil, why do the cats need to show off their (s)kills???
Then after a full morning of shopping (yeah, got some Christmas shopping done!) I came home and made the kids spaghetti for lunch. Yup, sauce and all. I'll leave the mess to your imagination. Aidan decided to help me out by getting himself seconds on milk. We HAD 1/2 gallon of milk. Wednesday is shopping day. I guess we're not having cold cereal and milk for breakfast until after grocery day! Yup, Aidan spilled the majority of a 1/2 gallon of milk all over the (clean of course) dining room floor. Then he decided to help me make myself a cup of coffee. I HAD enough coffee to get me through till grocery day on Wednesday. Now my house smells like a Starbucks and I can't even have a cup of coffee! Yup, he dumped the ground coffee I was going to make myself for today and tomorrow all over the kitchen floor. I'm not desperate enough to sweep the grounds up and make it anyway. I have instant coffee. That'll do until Wednesday.
So, if I seem a little testy between now and Wednesday it's because I haven't had my coffee! Once I get the kids downfor a nap I'll mop the dining room floor, sweep and mop the kitchen floor, start dinner and rotate the laundry. And hide the Christmas gifts I've purchased. And be thankful that I have these "bitty bittys" to make a mess of my house. I know that many Mamma's arms are empty and they would do anything, anything to have a messy house to clean up.

I need a hobby

So I was browsing a friend's MySpace and came across this quiz. Seems these people know what they're talking about! Now excuse me while I go do something really important...like alphabetize my spice rack.

What American accent do you have? Your Result: North Central   "North Central" is what professional linguists call the Minnesota accent. If you saw "Fargo" you probably didn't think the characters sounded very out of the ordinary. Outsiders probably mistake you for a Canadian a lot.
The Midland
The West
Boston
The Inland North
Philadelphia
The South
The Northeast
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Contest winners

Okay, I've heard back from both of my winners about publishing their names. And without further ado: Congratulations going out to Amy and Liz! Your bracelets have been made, strung with love and prayers from Minnesota and are heading out to your homes tomorrow morning. Blessings to you!

For those who weren't so lucky as to win, don't despair! I have plenty of materials to make you a bracelet, too! Simply send me an email or comment and I can make you one and ship it to you for just $6! As I did for the contest winners, I will also pray for your family as I custom make your Mother's Bracelet.

Oh my word

Mention free stuff and suddenly a little blog in small town rural America is the place to be! I have emails out to our two lucky mammas. When I have their permission I'll post their names and link you up to them. For now let me say congratulations, thanks for coming and hope to see you again here real soon!

Another Bloggy Giveaway!

Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer is hosting another giveaway carnival! Click here to go to a list of what will probably end up being hundreds of awesome giveaways. Anywho, as I did during Shannon's springtime carnival I've decided to give away a handmade item. I will custom make one Mother's Bracelet for two lucky winners!

Each bracelet has a colorful design (or I can do all one color, your choice). Each of your children will be represented by a silver colored flower bead. The bracelets are made from colored, polished, stone beads and silver colored flower beads and spacers. All you have to do is leave me a nice comment telling me why you'd like to win making sure I have a way to contact you and I'll choose two lucky winners on Friday, November 2 around 1:00 pm assuming the kids are napping like they should! And since I know you'll be entering dozens of contests, I'll even contact you if you win! Easy as pie. :) I would also be happy to make non-winners a bracelet for just $6 which includes shipping to the USA!!! :) Good luck!

Hippie Mamma

For years I have been lovingly teasing my friend Mel about her "hippie" tendencies. She buys some organic food products for her kids, makes her own baby wipes, uses non-toxic, chemical free cleaners/shampoos/soaps etc etc etc. Well, we are both on a baby food making kick. Yesterday we spent actual mommy time talking about the various benefits of old-fashioned versus quick cooking oats. Maybe we need to get out more. Anywhoo, this morning I actually ground some whole grain oatmeal in my mini-blender, cooked it (yes, on the stove even!) and mixed it in with equal parts homemade applesauce which I made from the apples from the apple tree on our yard and home baked pureed acorn squash purchased from a farmer down the road. So, for breakfast, Avery clamped her mouth shut when offered a mixture of applesauce/squash/oatmeal. She'll be having it for lunch! Fortunately the little boys just thought they were getting applesauce oatmeal which they love! Little did they know I was sneaking a veggie in there, too! Yeah for me! That means I can feed them frozen chicken nuggets for lunch guilt free!!! :) Hey, I said Mel was the hippie, not me!

The Faith of a Child

Here is a touching (and of course humorous) story of young faith. Oh that we would have the faith of a child!

Monday Morning

I'm having a problem with the blog that I remember having when I was in sixth grade. We had journals in homeroom. Sometimes we were given the topic of "freewrite" where we could write anything we wanted to. I hated freewriting. I could never focus on one topic. I think I remember writing something to the affect of "I don't know what to write here" and calling it a day. Mrs. S. commented, "just focus on one thought at a time". Ha! Thanks fo the idea! Wish I had thought of that! ;)
I have grand plans for today. It seems that I try to get the house tidied up during the week so we don't have to spend the entire weekend cleaning. Then Monday morning comes and despite the fact that we're out running errands or doing outside things I still have to spend all of Monday morning cleaning the house anyway! What happens???
We've been a little concerned for our neighbor who owns the cornfields we live in the middle of. This fall has been incredibly rainy and he hasn't been able to get out in the fields to harvest. Yesterday, in a cold drizzly rain, the combine (I think that's what it's called!) started running through the fields. Stupid city people that we are, we got bundled up and ran outside to watch! Dang, that's something to see. The thing runs along, chops down the stalks, shucks the corn, yanks the kernels off and spits the cobs out naked and broken up from it's backside. Evan went out with an ice cream bucket to glean the leftovers for his chickens. He was out there for over a half an hour and barely covered the bottom of the bucket! Amazing isn't it? This huge machine does such an accurate job that a gleaner would starve on the corn leftover.
Well, as exciting as this post is, I'm going to just hit "publish" and go pay attention to my kids!

A new link

Jim has joined the land of bloggers! Click here and read his touching tribute to his mom. And if anyone could tell me how the heck to put links on the sidebar so I can link to some of my other favorite bloggage I'd be most appreciative! :)
Edited to add: Nevermind! I figured it out! Yeah for me!!! :)
Also, adding an update on Evan's Bible study. He weenied out. He claimed stage fright and told me not to invite his friends over for Bible study. So, we didn't push it. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak it seems.

Poor Kid

Today I was able to leave the kids with a friend and go volunteer with Evan's class. Before I left Toby I changed his diaper. Since he'd sort of leaked out of the diaper, I decided to just let him run with no pants. When Amy wanted to take the kids outside she put a pair of her daughter's sweatpants on him. Purple sweatpants. Now, I didn't have anywhere else to go, so I didn't think it was a problem. Toby, on the other hand, certainly had something to say about the situation! The following is just a sampling of what I heard on the twenty five minute drive home. "I don't like these pants. They're terrible. I don't want you to put them in the dresser. Put them in a box for Avery. I don't like these red pants. These pants are awful. Take them off me. I've got a plan, take my seat belt off so I can take these terrible pants off. They're so bad" and on and on and on. (No, colors aren't his strong suit!)
I'll be sure to let you know when Toby is on Oprah for the trauma caused to him by making him wear purple pants! ;)

A Gift

When I was little I remember my mom cleaning (or at least really really tidying up) before her parents would visit. I tried to do this when I was a young bride before my parents would visit. Mom insists that she's coming to see us and not the house, but for some reason I never believed her. I was in this imaginary competition with my sisters to show our parents that I was the "better housekeeper". At least I think it was an imaginary competition. They may have been having the competition with me too, but only in their own heads of course! Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, the gift. Mom continues to try to tell me that she's coming to see us and not the house. Well, now I'm going to accept that gift and not knock myself out trying to clean the house! I know there are some mommies who feel that they have to present their parents with a spotless house and beautifully made meals from scratch only to have their parents find something that needs cleaning, fixing or salt! Thankfully, my parents are not that kind of parents. I'll try to tidy up, might even make it around to vacuuming, but I am not going to knock myself out trying to out do my sibs! So, Mom, Dad, when you guys come tomorrow, you'll see the house as it is. I'm thankful that you know we live here in our house. We make a mess. We have a pile of happy kids. And I'm glad you're coming to see us!

Evan's most recent

Last night I was driving home with Evan from an event. During the course of the twenty + minute drive he formulated a Bible study plan! He's going to invite two (good reading) friends over to his bedroom next Friday at 5:30-6:30. They'll have a clean up committee first (to clean up his room), then they'll have a little supper and read their Bibles together. Then they'll have a little more supper, read some other books for a little bit, then "get right back to the Bible" and maybe talk a little bit about what they've read. Meanwhile, Jim and I are to have a Bible study with Mrs. M, his teacher! Mrs. M was telling the kids yesterday how she tries to read through the Bible in a year. He wants to provide her with a little "help" in doing that by inviting her over to read through it with Jim and myself. :) He also noted that if he's going to lead this study he'll have to do some studying ahead of the meeting! I asked him where they would start reading. "At the beginning of course." Duh to me I guess. The best part is that he came up with all the details himself. I inserted just a couple of ideas into his head to help with details such as day and time, but he came up with all the rest on his own (including the clean up committee)! Please join me in praying for this budding Bible study group. Jim and I want him to be successful in this endeavor to encourage his desire to learn more about the Word and in sharing that love with other students. We believe. Help our unbelief.

Monday Night

There's a toad in my bathtub.
My husband is so strange! :)
Yes, he put it in there.
He'll be taking it back out, too!