Laundry

I'll let you in on a dirty little secret of mine. Promise not to look down on me?! I hate laundry. Of all the house hold chore this is by far my least favorite. Like most chores it is never ending...meaning there is always more when you accomplish the feat in front of you. As our family has grown the amount of dirty laundry has too, drat. For a while I was doing a load everyday. But then it would sit in the dryer until I did the load the next day and then I would have to run the dryer to get the wrinkles out. I didn't like this system. On to the next option every other day and two loads. Well at least one load would get washed, dried, folded and put away...but that second load would sit in the dryer and we would have the same problem. When I was testing out the different laundry options we lived in our first home. It was all one floor and the washer and dryer were in the half bath right off of the master bedroom. The last option I tried was doing laundry once a week on the same day every week. At first it was a bit overwhelming, and I think we only had 5 people in our family at the time. But as the weeks went by I started to love only doing my dreaded chore once a week. The only problem I had was were to put the mounts upon mounts of dirty laundry waiting for the day for it to be washed. Remember our house was small 1200 square feet. The only space big enough for it all was our bedroom and by the 6th day our room started to smell like dirty clothes. I'm happy to say that in our new home. We have a laundry shoot and I don't see the clothes until I go into the basement to sort and to do the laundry once a week. We don't have anything in the basement so there is plenty of room for the dirty clothes to hang out until I can wash them. It is still my least favorite chore but at least I only have to do it once a week and don't have to smell it the rest of the time.

Honor

I have already posted today. But I feel the need to do another post. Today was the processional for the fallen soldier and they were driving right past the kids school. I heard them yesterday talking to the kids at lunch what was going to happen and what was expected from them while he was driven by. Take your hats off, put your hand over your heart, and stand still. I was very happy to hear that they were not only taking the students outside but telling them what was expected of them. This morning I had *TONS* of errands to run before the kids have break. I will not have a chance to do any tomorrow morning as it is the Kindergarten Thanksgiving program in the morning. I went to the chiropractor, and three groceries store before heading to school to be apart of honoring our fallen soldier. As I pulled up to the school I saw some adults standing outside then as I got closer there were more people as I looked closer it was our high school students as I turned the corner and saw the long side of the school and hundreds of students, teachers, administration and parents standing there I started to tear up. What an amazing thing to see that many people holding our flag saluting a soldier who gave all he could give. Just typing that brings tears to my eyes. It was such an honor and privilege to be there as he was driven past. Though I hope and prayer I never have to experience this again. As they drove by I saw the brother of Katie (who is the soldiers wife) in the car and it made me think about how not even two years ago this little boy (in 3rd grade) buried his mother. My heart is so heavy for this family.

Puzzle

We are a puzzle and game family. And I really like that about us. They are things that bring us together to reconnect as a family. Well the other day I bought our Thanksgiving puzzle! I'm so excited. I showed it to GG and she was just as excited as I was!! I love that girl. This is the post from last year's Thanksgiving puzzle. I hope to take pictures each day after we work on it. The kids only have about an hour attention span when doing the puzzles. Which is why it takes us all week to finish it. Though this year I got us a 750 pieces instead of a 1000. I also bought us a stow and go mat to put the puzzle on so that we can move it easily from the table. I will post the pictures of the progression when the puzzle is finished. That will be an easy post! I am also very excited about the kids having one more week of school and then being off for a whole week. I should start planning my Thanksgiving menu. Maybe this year my in laws will come over?! I should invite them...

planning

I sat down today and started planning out our Thanksgiving meal which is in 8 days! I am very pleased with the dishes I have planned to make. It isn't necessarily a traditional Thanksgiving spread but it is good all the same! We are going to have Roast Turkey in Rosemary like we did last year because it was SO yummy. It also made a very tasty leftover turkey soup. As I was sitting listing out everything I needed for Thanksgiving I realized I haven't been doing a real grocery list for our meals during the week. Which leads to a lot of the same meals because I grab what seems to be easy to make. Some of our regulars are Texas chili, veg stir fry, and some sort of chicken meal. As I was sitting there and realizing this I also thought about the fact that the kids were going to be home for a whole 9 days and I better plan those meals or we are going to be making lots more trips to the grocery store than I care to make with 4 children under tow. I am going to shop today as I do that Wednesdays and then I will only have to shop again next Tuesday! Kids always seem to be hungrier when they are at home...

Naptimes

This time of day is the most happy and most dreaded part of my day. I love when the little one is asleep and I can get things done but I hate the process of actually getting her to sleep it is killer for both of us. And for anyone who thinks that maybe she is out growing her naps. I will nip that thought in the bud right now. She hasn't. I know this because on the days she fails to take naps she is about asleep at 5:45pm and her naps are about 1 1/2 to 2 hours in length. When my kids outgrew them they started taking 45 minute to an hour nap. Most days I feel like I need a nap myself after getting her down for one.

Schedules

Jeff and I are leaders of a small group at our church. We love this small group as it is couples around the same age as us with children around the same age as ours...ours always being the older of the kids. Anyway in our group we have two police officers, a fireman, and a nurse. Which makes scheduling a nightmare. The nurse is married to one of the police officers so when he is off she works making it all the more difficult. We really do love this group of people I just wish getting together wasn't such a headache. But this isn't the only thing that is hard to schedule. Sometimes I find trying to get together with just one other couple can be just as hard. Which is a bit odd if you think about it. Nonetheless that is the case. There is a couple that Jeff and I have been trying to get together with for over 6 months. I stopped trying to find a date a couple months back and then decided that we should try again and sure enough we are running into the same situation of schedule conflict. The sad part of it all is we really don't do much so our schedule is pretty wide open unless Jeff has something at work he has to do but that isn't a whole lot. Am I alone on this dilemma?

P.S. I'm half way through the month!!!

Cough Cough

Dear Lady in the row behind me and to the left,
Seriously you have to take not only one phone call but TWO during the movie? Can you not read the signs that say don't add your own soundtrack? Could you not hear them say it too? I paid $14 for my son and I to watch this movie and I really didn't appreciate your talking through it. I'm almost 100% positive that the calls you took were not life or death because you would of left after receiving them and you didn't, you stayed put. And I know you saw me turn around, look at you and shake my head when you took the first call, you looked directly at me.
Sincerely, Me

I took Monkey on a date yesterday in between two of the birthday parties. We had a good 2 1/2 hours to kill. He didn't want to go mini golfing. I didn't want to spend a fortunate taking him to laser tag. So we agreed upon a movie. We saw Megamind. It was actually pretty cute and clean for having a pg rating. I was very relieved that I didn't have to talk with him about any inappropriate scenes. I would recommend taking your 8 year old. I might take my 5 year old to see it but probably NOT my 3 year old as it would be too scary for her. It was so nice to sit next to my little man and hold his hand while we watched the movie. I tried to buy him a treat but he didn't want anything! Such a cheap date and simple date we had. I took Red to see a movie over the summer and he still talks about that date we had together! I need to be more mindful of spending one on one time with this little people. I used to be pretty good at it and for some reason life just seems to be busier so I need to slow it down again.

This is the Day...

pray for me. I need "will power the power to will away temptation". Anyone know what song that quote is from? Anyways, today is the day of the THREE parties. Fortunately, I am only attending two of them. However the two I am going to are going to have pizza and pasta.
Side bar: Dear Gluten, You are so yummy but my body doesn't like you. Love, Me
Moving along...I am planning on bring salad to the first party as it is a kids party and I'm pretty sure there isn't going to be any there! The second party is for my friend's 30th birthday and it is at a restaurant so I think there will be something I can eat that won't kill my tummy later. Just pray that I can say NO to the cake and sweets with great conviction. Thanks in advance :)

Tragedy

I'm sure you have heard in the news of the attack that is going on over in Afghanistan and some of our troops have died. Well we got the news a couple of days ago at school that one of our teacher's son was killed over there. The teacher teaches 7th grade and I have never had any contact with him as far as school goes. I was sad for him but in that disconnected kind of way when you don't really know someone but are sad for what they are going through. Later in the day I found out that he was married and has a 1 year old. I know his wife, she is the same age as my sister in law Liz, and they graduated together from our school. It breaks my heart that this young wife and mother are now forever without their husband. It breaks my heart that this little girl won't see her father again. To make things even sadder the wife lost her step-mom to brain cancer not quit 2 years ago. I guess all this to say please pray for our troops and their families. This soldier paid the ultimate price...his life.

Health

I know awhile back I wrote that I had my blood levels rechecked to see if they were improving. Well I'm not sure if I posted about it. I got two of the results back two weeks ago but had to wait for the last test to come in. I finally got the call with those results. The first two leptin and VEGF were both within normal range. I was so happy! Last time they were really out of whack, it was nice to know all the hard work I was doing was making positive changes in my body. I will say that the results for my c4a were quite discouraging though. They had gone up. I need it to go down. They went from 19,605 to 22,804. So NOT happy about that and freaking out a lot a little about it. But really what can I do? I feel so much better than I did before and have started to get lax on what I eat. I think I need to really restrict my eating again. I can tell that I don't feel as well as I did when I was eating really healthy. It just really stinks to eat like that ALL. THE. TIME. Parties and get togethers are really tough to be at because I have a really bad sweet tooth. And there is ALWAYS sweets. This coming weekend we have 3 birthday parties. What am I going to do?! I need lots of prayers for strength and to avoid temptation in this area. I am so weak. I did talk to my friend Andrea and she is going to ask a friend who knows more about that test for some advice. I eagerly wait to see what she recommends.

Home Improvements

Like I said a few posts back we are refinancing so we are doing a few things to make the house look a little nicer for the appraisal. The last thing we want is for the house not to appraise for the amount we need it too. On Saturday a guy from church came over and put in a bathroom fan in our master bathroom and replaced the one in the big bathroom, or as we lovingly call it "the pink bathroom". Now that those are installed we are ripping out the hallway carpet that runs down the stairs too. There is hardwood underneath. I like the look of the hardwood so much better than the nasty greenish color carpet that was there. Though we are totally going to need to refinish them to get them looking a little nicer. It is so fun to make this house ours! Here are the pictures of the carpet to hardwood!


As far as other home improvements like the bathrooms, the kitchen, new siding and windows they are going to have to wait until we can afford to dump a big amount into this house. The nice thing is that they aren't things that need to be done right away. Though I would really like to get new windows to help with heating and cooling costs and when we do the windows Jeff wants to do the siding at the same time. For now I think I will enjoy the small change to make the house ours...

Thanksgiving Comes First

So it is the beginning of the 3rd week in November. I wish I could say that this is the first time I went into a store and saw CHRISTMAS trees and decorations up. But it isn't they have been in stores for weeks now. I believe that one store had them up before Halloween was even over. When did this become ok? Why is it alright to sell stuff for a holiday before the previous one is over? Do people really buy Christmas stuff before Thanksgiving? I don't understand the logic of putting Christmas decorations out so early. Don't get me wrong I LOVE Christmas. It is one of my favorite holidays. But I really enjoy Thanksgiving too. I don't want to feel rushed through the Thanksgiving season. I think that having Thanksgiving before Christmas helps prepare our hearts to be thankful for what we have. It suppresses the "give mes" and the greediness because you force on what you have and not on what you want or think you need. You are able to look around at the people in your life (family) and see how truly blessed you are, there are no expectations of gifts just your presence and creating memories. I think we should tell the retailer that THANKSGIVING comes before Christmas so stop shoving your merchandise on us at the wrong time. Besides Christmas isn't about all that stuff anyway it is about the birth of a Savior. My Savior. I think stores are too much about the almighty dollar and should remember what Christmas is all about. I say enough is enough!

Around and Around we go

Ugh! I feel like I am getting NOWHERE. The kids and I were rear ended in April of 09. I had back neck pain and sore muscles and Red and GG complained of the same things. We went to the ER to make sure nothing more serious was going on. With everything that was going around that time I pushed it to the back burner and thought I will deal with this later. Well, now is later. I called to make sure all of our medical bills are together and ready to be submitted so that we can close out this claim. I got 3 bills from the ER visit one from the hospital, one from the ER doc and the other from radiology. The kids each had one from the hospital and that was it. I have been trying to make sure that there isn't another bill out in nowhere land for each of the kids for the attending ER doctor. Every person I call tells me to call a different place that tells me to call a different place. It is getting quite annoying. I really want to close out this account and move on from it. I want the claim adjuster to STOP calling me in regards to this accident. I guess more calls are in my future, I will get to the bottom of this. Why is it that the person who gets hit is the one that has the biggest headache in dealing with the aftermath of the accident. The one in the wrong gets off scott free, at least that is the way it feels.

My Dad

Today is my dad's birthday. Growing up I was always embarrassed of my dad actually I still get embarrassed of my dad. He is like a big kid. Even through the embarrassment I still do love him. I am glad God made him my dad. (at least most days) He is a very energetic grandpa and all my kids love him to pieces. He always has these HUGE plans and most of the time they come to pass. Almost all the times he calls me it is either to tell me that he doesn't have presents for the kids from a recent business trip (his way of saying he bought us gifts), he wants to go out to eat or he is planning a vacation for all of us. He is planning our next trip right now so the calls are fun and exciting. He is a big dreamer too. He wants to spend a lot of one on one time with each of the kids and they really love it. He makes them each feel very special and for that I am so proud of him. He has a huge heart and loves deeply. All that to say Happy Birthday Dad. I love you!

Kid Update

Well the last few posts have been all about me so I thought I would update on each of the littles that live here!

Peanut: she has been in the phase that I hope ends soon where she cries every time I take her someplace and leave her...school, Sunday school, gymnastics, Puggles or if I just leave the house without her. The night I went with my dad as soon as she heard me telling Jeff what was for dinner she knew I was leaving and was stuck to me like glue until my dad got there and then the water works started. It is the strangest thing because they only last about 10 seconds after I leave...I've waited outside of the doors and listened. Then she tells me about all the fun she had. All that to say it is really wearing on me and I can't wait for her to out grow this phase! Other than that she is doing really good at school and gymnastics. She is learning her abc's and how to do a cartwheel. She just crawled into my lap while she watches television.

Red: His reading has gotten so good! But now he is doing poorly on his writing assignments. His teacher told me that if he keeps handing in sloppy work she is going to give him double so that he can practice to get better at his writing. He had a field trip on Friday and then a Harvest party afterward. I was one of the room moms. I love being there for things like this so that I can see the interactions he has with his classmates! I had 6 kids in my group and they were pretty good for the most part. It was a great field trip.

Monkey: He is my silent, keep it all to myself, person. I have to really work at getting him to talk to me. He seems to be doing good at school. Next weekend he has a birthday party for a friend at church and I am going to take him. Then afterward spend time with just him for a few hours. I hope that will help us reconnect. Other than that he is my boy who always helps me with stuff without being asked or if he doesn't know what to do he will ask what he can do. I love that about him. He is such a good natured kid. I really look forward to hanging out with just him.

GG: She is taking violin lessons at school. We got a really great deal for them...FREE :) She just has to rent a violin for $20 a month. She has lessons twice a week for 40 minutes it is the sweetest deal EVER! Oh and the lessons are during school so I don't even have to take her anywhere or wait longer for her. Another cool thing is that everyone keeps telling me she is a natural at the violin. She taught herself how to play "Happy Birthday" and then played it for me on my birthday. Other than that I am heart broken for her. She got invited to a birthday party for a friend at church. The party is on a Tuesday starting 10 minutes after she gets out of school. It takes us at least 30 minutes to get there and they don't get out of the school for at least 5 minutes after the bell rings. She was so sad she couldn't go, but I just can't figure out how to make it work.

Refinance...

I kept hearing how the interests were dropping and I was debating whether or not we should refinance. We bought the house at the end of May so we have only owned this house for 5 months. When I weighed out all the pros and cons of doing it and talked to Jeff we decided we were going to go for it. When I called to get the ball rolling on the refi we got an interest rate that is one whole percent lower than we had 5 months ago. Which is AWESOME. We are going to be essentially starting over but will have only lost 5 months in this house. When talking to my friend and mortgage broker the rule of thumb is if you can recoup your closing cost within 4 years then it is worth to refi especially if you plan on staying in your house for the long haul which is what we plan. We will recoup our closing cost in about 2 years! All the money responsibilities have always fallen to me. I am the one without the outside of the home job and I do all the shopping for the house and pays the bills. I actually enjoy dealing with the household finances, I always have. It works great for us because Jeff dislikes dealing with bills and making sure there is enough money to pay for things. The only funny part of the whole interaction with the refi is that I was the one on the phone talking to the bankers and mortgage brokers but in the end I sign nothing because I don't make any money so the loan isn't in my name but in Jeff's. It's a good thing that he trusts me :)

InStlyer!

After drooling over the InStyler for about a year now. I finally own one! I used it for the first time on Tuesday. Can I just say it is SO much easier and faster than a flat iron in straightening my hair. And AND it gives my hair bounce and curl at the end. I love it. I can't believe I waited so long to get it, oh yeah that's right it is $100...that was the reason I didn't get it when I first wanted it. Now I leave you with pictures of my hair after I used the InStyler...I was trying to get different angles while holding the camera myself.

It will cut the time I do my hair in half...SCORE :)

These lines first caught my attention in the song
You are more than the choices that you've made
You are more than the sum of your past mistakes
You are more than the problems you create
You've been remade

These next lyrics are just so beautiful.
This is talking about Jesus dying on the cross for your sins.
It's talking about the heartache that brings you to the cross of Jesus.
We all have heartache but Jesus is there to love you.
Cause this is not about what you've done
But what's been done for you
This is not about where you've been
But where your brokenness brings you to

This is not about what you feel
But what He felt to forgive you
And what He felt to make you loved

I've only heard this once on the radio before posting it on here and it stuck with me all day. How wonderful it is to know that I am more than what is going on in my life right now. I've been remade through Christ. I have a purpose!

Maturity

I don't get to spend one on one time with my dad much but last night we spent about 3 hours together. We talked a lot...ok I talked a lot and he listened. I told him about this relationship I have that I am always unsure of, I never really know where I stand with this person. A lot of times it seems by their actions or lack of action that I really don't matter to them. It hurts me deeply. I have tried to put a positive spin on all the little hurts and I forgive them all the time even when they have no idea they have hurt me. It was really weird to be talking to my dad about this topic but at the same time it was nice because I know he loves me unconditionally. To be quite honest I'm not even sure how we got on the subject of this person. A few things my dad said that really helped put it into perspective were; it seems like there is a lack of maturity which leads to selfishness. As much as he was talking about the other person it made me look at myself because in every relationship there are two people right?! How can I be more mature in my actions toward this person and how can I be more selfless? Because really I have a part in this too. I think in this world we put the blame on others way too much and never take responsibility for the part we play. I want to be better at taking ownership of my mistakes...I've got a long way to go that for sure.

National Blog Posting Month

I have seen this done for a few years but have never done it because I was always worried that I would miss a day or not have anything to say but this year I think I want to give it a try. For the next month I will be posting once a day. I can't say they will be very long posts but I will try and keep them interesting enough.

My birthday was yesterday. I had a really great day. The kids showered my with hugs and kisses in the morning and they got me tetris for the wii. What a dangerous gift. I asked them, "Do you never want to eat again or have a clean house?!" Jeff's gift was the coolest. He gave me a necklace with a police star that had his department name and his number. I love it. Now I carry him with me where ever I go. Then last night we went to trunk or treat at our church. Every year they sing to me, so embarrassing, but this year took the cake! After they sang one of my kids told our youth pastor I was 42...and he said it in the mic for everyone to hear. Thankfully my GG was right there to correct him and told him my right age of 32. OY Tonight my dad is taking me out for dinner just the two of us so that will be fun. His birthday is this coming Sunday.

Halloween

I know it isn't until tomorrow but I think tomorrow is going to be a pretty busy day so since I have some time on this lazy Saturday morning I wanted to post. Last year my kids were characters of Toy Story and we decorated our van with Toy Story stuff for our churches trunk or treat. This year Jeff wants to do a crime scene with our van so the kids are going to be clue characters. GG is Mrs. Peacock, Monkey is Coronal Mustard, Red is Mr. Green and Peanut is Mrs. Scarlet. Their costumes are a little lame but it was the cheapest easiest ones I could come up with to go with the van. I am really hoping that the weather will be fairly warm tomorrow! I also may come back and update this post with a picture of the kids in costume :)

Just two days ago my kids had no costumes and now they each have two!!! In years past Chipotle has given free burritos on Halloween to people who come as a burrito. I was planning on getting some tin foil and wrapping up the family this year. Well Chipotle is doing something different this year. Check it out here. If you come dressed as a processed food you will get a burrito for $2 and that money goes to Jamie Oliver and the food revolution. What a great cause! After some thought, I came up with some costume ideas. Peanut is going to be Mrs. Scarlet and will be in a red shirt with a skirt and red leggings. If I take the skirt off and put a ketchup label on her she has a second costume! Monkey (Coronal Mustard) will be in all yellow...print out a mustard label and we have our second one done! GG wants to be mac and cheese so she will wear two boxes on her arms. Red is going to be cereal. I pulled two boxes out of the recycling bin, cut them open and taped them together! I am going to be a bag of chips...same concept as the cereal but with bags. And Jeff is going to be a hersey kiss and wrap his head in tin foil ;0 We are a family of junk food...haha. I hope to have pictures of both set of costumes!!! ***update*** I didn't get a picture of us in our food costumes. We were so hungry by 7pm that we threw them on and ordered then the kids took them off so they could eat. They really weren't anything special anyway!

Parenting...

Tonight was Mom's night at boys truth in training (TNT). The things we do for our kids I tell ya. It was a theme night of western so I carried a toy gun in my pocket and wore a cowgirl hat and pig tails. Then they had us peel apples in a game...oy was that messy ;) I got to sing with my Monkey which I LOVE doing. Then we played games in the gym! That was interesting to say the least. This is the first year Monkey is in TNT so I had no idea what to expect from this night. The games are NOTHING like the Mom's night in GIRLS TNT! I actually got hot from playing the game. Though I will say it was a really fun game. It was a human version of foose ball. I heard something tonight during the devotion that I really think is quiet important. Wendy talked about how she knew that her mom loved her no matter what. I really hope and pray that my kidlets know that I love them no matter what silly or stupid things they do. I want to be their hero. Though I think role model would be a better term but this year in the boys TNT they are talking about heros. I hope Monkey knows I love him because I could of told him I wasn't coming because I am a JAM leader. Actions speak louder than words and I want them to know they are my first priority after God.

Unsure?!

I have no idea where this blog post is going to go! I have so many ideas I want to write about but not sure what is going to actually come out. I think what ever pops in my head will be what spills out onto this post! Consider that your fair warnings of the randomness that is to follow ;)

My oldest brother is going to be having another baby...number 7! I am a little shocked but not really. It will be my brothers 4th biological child. I'm excited about another baby but not really sure how I feel about them actually being the ones having the new baby. Their youngest just turned 1 in September. There is a lot of stuff with them but I really don't feel like taking this post in *that* direction! I think I will just be happy for a new bundle of joy.

I am kind of sad about this Friday. We have 3 leadership teams for the Jr. High ministry. Jeff and I are on team one or as we lovingly call ourselves Team Luke. (No we don't have anyone on our team named Luke) This week our team is planning the night. We are doing a Harvest theme. Jeff is doing the gym games that will have something to do with carving pumpkins and making scarecrows. He won't give me anymore details than that. The down stair games are going to involve eating apples from a string and candy corn. Then snacks are going to be apple cider, pumpkin something, apple and carmel dip. The reason I'm not going is that Peanut got invited to a friend's birthday party. It is at a place we have never been to so I am excited about checking the place out. I just can't be in two places at once. I really need to figure out how to clone myself!

Speaking of birthday parties why do they always happen in twos??? It seems that lately every time we get an invitation a second one comes. Though they are never on the same day! Like for instance we have the one on Friday night and then we have one on Saturday. These are also both convenient because the whole family is invited. In Nov we have two on the same day just at different times. The first starts at 3:15 until 5pm (for Red only) and the second one starts at 5pm (adults only). They are about a 40 minutes drive from each other. At this point I think I am going to go to the second one alone (it's my friends 30th) and Jeff will just have to take Red to the other one party and I will need to get a sitter for the over lap in time until Jeff gets home.

Ok I think this is the last thing I want to write about. My house smells so yummy today! I made granola and brownies from scratch! I haven't even started cooking dinner yet. Homemade soup on a day like today is just awesome. It doesn't take long to make either :)

Girl Night Out!

I have a wonderful group of girls to hang out with! I feel so energized and ready for the rest of the week. It is just nice sometimes to regroup and relax. I have the world's best husband for taking care of the kids while I was out. He made dinner, made lunches for school tomorrow, and got them to bed. He is a very hands on dad and I feel so very blessed to have him in my life and as my husband and the father of my children. I just don't say that often enough. I love you Jeff.

Perfection...

In my mind today was as close to perfect as they come! We got up and headed to the pumpkin farm with grandparents! It was an absolute BEAUTIFUL day out, 65ish and Sunny.

We found some bats while we were there...
some scary

some sweet

we also found some really small children!

we had to bail some jail birds out

I took a enchanted pumpkin ride with my prince charming

time for a camel rides!
the girls...

the boys

they were trying to shoot the girls...haha

snack time...APPLE CIDER DOUGHNUTS!
Yummy

thought we should tire the kids out and let them JUMP.
they got some great air these are only a couple of the pictures we took

Once they were good and worn out we went out to eat with my dad and step mom. We were going to go to this restaurant that my dad took us to every Friday night for pizza when I was growing up but they got their license revoked. So sad, but it was so cool to look inside and have all those childhood memories rushing at me. After lunch my parents gave us presents from their recent trip to Greece and Turkey!!! This afternoon the kids racked leaves and I got new pictures for my blog! They played in those leaves for over an hour.
GlamorGirl and I left and picked up her violin. I just realized that we have a guitar, violin, drum set and recorder in our house...like we need more noise makers ;) Now we are starting the good ole fire pit and having some homemade apple cider!!! Sorry no pictures of that ;) See it was PERFECT!

Poor Ole Blog

I have really been neglecting you! I thought this year was going to be great having 3 mornings to myself but it has proven to be the most busy weeks ever! I think I finally have my routine down with a few adjustments needed. Just to get an idea of my week this is what I do.
Monday: drop 4 kids off at school, go to chiropractor appointment, grab some groceries from Aldi and Valli, help with lunch at school. Then I pick up the two littles and we head home and it is homework with Red and nap for Peanut. Get older kids from school...homework, dinner and bedtime routine.
Tuesday: 3 kids to school, get the rest of the groceries from Trader Joes, take Peanut to Gymnastics, then go pick up Red. Then lunches, homework and nap. Get older kids from school...homework, dinner and bedtime routine.
Wednesday: Drop 4 kids at school, go to Bible study, get grocery before getting the littles from school. Lunch, homework, naps. Get older kids, homework, off to church for dinner and Awana clubs and JAM.
Thursday: 4 kids to school, chiropractor, do a good cleaning of the house, get the kids from littles from school. Lunch, homework, naps. Older kids from school, homework, dinner, and bedtime routine.
Friday: 3 kids to school, come home and do all weeks worth of laundry. Red from school, lunch, homework, naps. Older kids from school, homework, dinner and off to church for JAM.
I'm busy...

Here are some highlights over the past week. Wed. I went on a field trip with GG's class. It was really a cool place it was a settlement from 1890ish area. Then that night it was moms night at Girls TNT so it was a full of my oldest daughter and it was so much fun. Thursday we carved pumpkins. I do have pictures but they aren't on the computer yet. I saved some of the pumpkin goop to try and make pumpkin pudding. It should be interesting! Tonight we have JAM which I am in charge of the gym games along with another leader. Tomorrow we are going to a pumpkin farm with my dad and step mom. Maybe go to the homecoming game at school not sure on that one yet. Sorry for such a random post!

testing

so on Thursday I went to the doctor. In the course of the visit we decided it was time to retest my blood for the c4a, leptin and VEGF and see what a year of good eating and clean environment has done. I am trying not to think about it but it keeps popping up in my head. What if the levels are the same? What if they are lower but only a little? What if they are higher? There is nothing I can do but sit here and wait the month to get the results back. 30 days. I really hope it is good news because right now I feel like I am falling apart. At the kids' orientation I slipped and pulled my sciatic really bad. The chiropractor and I have been working at helping my body heal from the pull but it seems I keep reinjurying it. I get so mad at myself. Other than me *feeling* OLD...I have really been enjoying my new role in youth ministry. I never thought I would say this but I love the junior highers!

As far as the kid front goes I could use some prayer in a situation with my oldest. I plan on writing about it at some point I just don't feel I should right now. But I could still use some major prayers in it. God knows the details! Other than that I feel like lately I look at my kids and can't believe how big they have gotten. I was trying clothes on Peanut and she doesn't look babyish anymore. When did she get SO big? It is weird at different times I will look at one of my kids and think, "man they have grown" I don't like that feeling though I know it is going to happen. Ok so this post was all about me tonight...

Babywearing: A Call to ACTION

I started babywearing right after my babies were born. I love the ability to keep my babies close and do things I needed to get done at the same time. We could go on an outing and I could keep the baby warmer this way!

(Peanut not even a month old)

We could take the kids to fun places like the children's museum and the baby could still get a nap while being carried in the mei tai...

Water slings make swimming so much easier with babies!

Hiking is much easier too!

They get to experience things up close while in the sling.

Sometimes it just makes parenting so much more FUN!

Over the last almost 10 years (wow, it is going to be 10 years in a 3 months) of parenting the sling has been the one item I have used with all 4 of my babies. Whether it is to use the sling for one of the ways mentioned above or to comfort a fussy baby or just to reconnect I have loved my slings and cherish the memories of slinging all of my kiddos.

The CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) is going after all slings, pouches, mei tais, and the like. It makes me so sad. And as much as I feel for the parents who experienced such tragedy I know that slings are safe, healthy, wonderful additions to parenting if used correctly.


Steph at Adventures in Babywearing are calling all mothers who have worn or are wearing their babies to speak out and tell parents that babywearing is SAFE.

Now that was relaxation!

My hubby and I went away for the weekend just the two of us! We left Friday at 1ish and headed north. We stayed at a quaint little bed and breakfast with some other couples from our church. I think this year we had about 25 couples there, it was more than last year. It was just so nice to only have to worry about ME for a whole weekend! I was able to take a long bath and shave my legs without rushing. I laid in bed and watched tv with my hubby with no interruptions from little people. We even brought a puzzle with us and were able to put it together together and with other people from church. I could go on but I will just say it was such a nice break from reality. I really enjoyed the social aspect of it and hanging out with other couples our age. I did pretty good with my food while we were there but I know I could of done better as I did have some stomach issues. I owe a huge thanks to my sister, Aunty Becky, for taking care of my crew while we were gone. They had a great time and she did a pretty good job keeping things together. Now I must go make lunches come to the realization that my break is over and real life must go on!

should be...

Right now there so a few things I can be doing other than blogging but I sit here tired and feeling like I got hit with a truck. My sinuses are not my friend today. Yesterday I went to the chiropractor and she adjusted me to help drain the sinuses and I think it is working because they certainly are draining. This weekend my hubs and I are going away and I was really looking forward to it, I still am but I feel like I am going to be doing way more sleeping then I planned so my body can fight this. On one hand it is good we are going to be kidless and free so that I can have rest but on the other it is a bogus time to feel like this. I washed all our clothes yesterday but didn't fold or put them away and that was one of the things I wanted to get done before we leave. I still haven't even started packing yet, it is only 2 days so not much packing needs to be done but still I have to put some thought into it. I guess I shouldn't be too hard on myself as I did, pay a bill, put money in the bank, returned some things at the store, bought some needed things (toilet paper and such) and got gas in the van. This post is so random all to say I have no motivation today!

Chicago Marathon

I'm not a runner (yet) but I have some friends who are running in the Chicago Marathon.

However they aren't just running to run they are supporting a wonderful Christian ministry called Family Empowerment. Please think about supporting them even if you don't know them because they aren't running for themselves but other people. All donations are tax deductible. All money raise goes to the organization too. The marathon is Oct 10th!!! Here is the link to support them. Their names are Valarie and Ken Garrison. Even if you can only do $5 it helps families in need. Thank you for considering! God bless :)

Teeth

I can't remember how much detail I went into about Monkey and his teeth...too lazy to go look it up! Anyways, the dentist sent us to the orthodontist to have them scan his mouth to see about his permanent teeth. Well his head is too small and their machine couldn't take a picture of his mouth. He is one of the smaller kids in his class, which makes sense since he is also one of the youngest. He is 49 inches tall and weighs 50 lbs. Well yesterday he tells me to come by him and he shows me that he has a second tooth loose!!! This is good news in one sense and bad in another. Good because it shows that he is just going to be a late tooth looser but he will loose them. Bad because his mouth hasn't grown much more to give those permanent teeth room to come in straight. I'm hoping that tooth takes about 2 months or more before it falls out. Then maybe he could have a 3rd tooth loose at his next dentist appointment and make our dentist less worried about him! Because I'm not at this point and I hate when doctors are worried when I'm not and then they start to make me worried when it is all for nothing. We've had this happen a few too many times. Our children are slow growers...

Ahh Life is so good...busy but GOOD!

I love the busy-ness of the fall I think that is one of the reasons it is my FAVORITE season. Plus it means my birthday is soon, Thanksgiving and Christmas are just around the corner too! How can you NOT love it. The changing colors the cooler weather but not too cold. It is prefect to me. I have a few minutes before I need to go pick up the two youngest from school so I thought I would update the good ole blog! I think I will do a person by person update as well. We'll start with the kids and then the parents :)

GlamorGirl: She is in 4th grade this year and has her first male teacher. She has talked about having him as a teacher for years and she is so excited she finally has him...haha. He doesn't believe in a whole lota homework which is AWESOME. Everyday she comes home with stories of the day and things they are doing and learning in class. I think it is going to be a great year for her other than the fact that her two besties are in the other class. She will make new friends, she is like that! And it isn't like she never gets to see her besties because they eat lunch together, have gym together, and recess together. Things are going good for her.

Monkey: He has one of my favorite teachers at that school. I say one because I have A LOT of favorites :) I have talked to her a few times already this year about his eyesight and other things. She told me that he is a very bright student and very smart like his sister. Last year his grades were rough and it really bugged him to the point he stopped trying. I think this year will be MUCH more positive for him. He is also in class with a bunch of his friends who were in a different class last year so he is happy about that. Time will tell but I have a really good feeling about this year for him as well! He loves going to school this year which is so neat to see and he has started to enjoy READING. Yay!

Red: This year has started off really rocky for him. This summer I tried my hardest to get him to continue reading but he is so stubborn and would just sit there or moan and groan to the point I just stopped trying. It is showing to be his downfall this year and he is REALLY struggling in his reading. I have talked to his teacher several times about his reading homework. They read it in class first and then at home. But you would think he never saw the material before when I sit down with him. Last night I started doing something different with him to help him. We read the homework twice and then we do the next days reading once. I make him do the phonics flash cards too. He hates it but I think if we keep doing it he will get better and feel more confident in his reading and then it won't be such a power struggle for him to do his reading. UGH This could be a rough year for him but I really hope not.

Peanut: She is LOVING preschool. She gets really sad on the days she has to stay home but I'm not ready for her to go everyday. I like having one on one time with her a few days a week. She has been getting extra pages send home with her that I am going to keep for next year when she isn't in school. I have decided that we are going to hold her back so that she is the oldest in her class and not one of the youngest. There are other reasons but that is a whole separate post! I just can't believe she is 3 years old. She has such a BIG personality too for such a little person. Red's teacher Mrs. R told me yesterday she saw Peanut with her friend Kate (who is Mrs. R's granddaughter), Kate ran up to Mrs. R, "Grandma!" and gave her a hug so Peanut ran up to Mrs. R "grandma" and so Mrs. R gave her a hug too. Peanut has adopted many of her friends grandparents which is so funny to me! She's not shy that's for sure.

Me: I'm running around like a crazy women now that school is in session. I try and get all my errands done on the days that all 4 kids are in school. I only have one present to buy for Christmas and my immediate family is done. Such a great feeling. Still need to talk to the extended family and see what we are doing about presents this year. Then I'll know how many more presents I need to buy still. Tonight is the first night this week that I am cooking a meal. Monday we went out with my dad, Tuesday was Peanut's birthday dinner, and Wednesday was AWANA clubs and they serve dinner there! After dinner I am going out with some ladies, can't say anything more about that. ;) Friday my friend and I are going apple picking, then Friday night is the first night of JAM (jr. high ministry at church) outreach night, we are doing Minute to Win it, it should be so fun. Saturday we have a birthday party. Sunday we have church and another birthday party. Then the next week should settle down where we only have something Wednesday night and Friday night...though I do want to take the kids to a pumpkin farm one day after school. It is cheaper on the weekdays than the weekend. Then that Saturday is Peanut's friend party. See I'm busy!!!

Jeff: Schools have started so his job has gotten busy again too. He has meetings at night which is either days off or overtime. He has been doing a lot of training days too. He has the day off for Red's first field trip this year and so he will go with him. Jeff and I are going away for a weekend with a bunch of couples from church. We are both really excited about that. As far as church goes, he stepped down from Sunday morning worship (very happy about that) and sparkies, he is doing JAM, kids' Sunday morning hour worship, and has a role in our Sunday School class.

Life is good and God is good. We are so blessed...

My Baby is 3 years old!

Last night we went out to eat with my dad and step mom because they are leaving for Greece on Friday and Monday was the only day both of us were available to celebrate Peanut's birthday. We went to our usual eating establishment. She got the cutest outfit for her birthday! She is planning on wearing it tomorrow to school.

Last night after she went to bed I decorated her door with letters she got and a birthday sign and then I decorated her bed with streamers. About 1:30am she woke up. I told her to climb into our bed in between us. Apparently she was sticking her fingers in J's ear so he kicked her out about 2am. She was scared so I told her I would lay with her for a few minutes. I was trying to wait til she fell asleep but everytime I tried to ease out of the bed her little hand would swing over and touch my face to make sure I was still there. By 3:15 I was done laying with her and I didn't care anymore that she still wasn't sleeping. I kissed her and told her I was going back to my bed. She gave a small whimper and that was it. I have no idea when she went back to sleep. She said she was scared of the dog in the house because it was trying to bite her. I think she got woke up by one of the neighbors letting their dog out to go potty and it barked. Needless to say, this morning came super duper EARLY. Peanut woke up and got showered with birthday wishes, hugs and kisses. She opened her cards before we took the kids to school. Then we went for a birthday breakfast just her and I. We had to do some not so fun things like go grocery shopping but it needed to be done. Then she had gymnastics! Which is her present from J and I. We are having her party in a couple weeks. We are going to go out as a family for dinner at her choice of places so we'll see where we end up...the kids are trying to persuade her to say Chipotle, she isn't a big fan of their food, it's too spicy. But when I made it she LOVED it, I didn't put as much spicy ingredients as the recipe called for. Great now I'm hungry for Chipotle. Peanut has had a wonderful birthday so far, but her birthday always means my is right around the corner!

Dear God, thank you for this precious little bundle of enormous JOY that is my Peanut. She brings happiness to our family and to other people she meets. I love watching her grow into such a sweet little girl. I pray she will follow hard after you Father. I pray Proverbs 31 for her. Thank you for letting us parent her it is such a privilege. Amen

In-house Retreat

This year my husband and I are JAM leaders which is the Jr. High ministry at our church. My husband did Friday nights last year and this year we will do Wednesday and Fridays together. I am really excited about it but it will also put a HUGE damper on our social life of having people over as Friday nights we have a commitment. This weekend all the leaders and students for both Jr. High and High School were at church. It was such a great time. We started planning some of the theme nights and we have some really great ideas. J and I have wanted to be youth leaders since we were married but the kids came right away and it was too hard and now that our youngest is going to be 3 years old tomorrow it is making this ministry easier to be involved with. I was thinking the other day that I am going to start to feel old when I start to get my toddler kids in Jr. High, which will be awhile since they are only 4yo right now. But I bet that 8 years goes fast!!!

Other than that I am feeling sad today. For the last few days I feel like satan has been attacking me. I just wish sometimes I wasn't so sensitive and I didn't let things bother me. But it is hard when it *feels like we are never included or invited to things with our friends. (And I know we have 4 kids but still it is a sucky feeling) I get that you can't invite EVERYONE to stuff as I struggle with that when hosting. I probably shouldn't post this but it is who I am and how I am feeling RIGHT now. I'm sure it will pass but right now it just blows chunks.

*but I know it isn't true
**Update on this subject after I wrote that above paragraph I talked to my husband and we got to the root of my mood on the subject. It had to do with poor choice of words in a conversation I had about the outing, that were not true.

On a completely different note...I took GG out on Sunday after church with another mom and daughter. We had a complete BLAST. We took the girls out for lunch, nails, ice cream and then shopping! It was a great afternoon of fun. The girls decided to switch moms for the afternoon which was really funny. The funniest comment of the afternoon was when we were at Target in the halloween section. LDC had a black hat and mask on and was saying, "Have you seen my dead husband?" I told her, "He is buried in the ground" Then my GG says, "Yeah he is the one with rip on the top." But she said rip instead of R.I.P. it was so funny. I then explained to her how R.I.P. stood for Rest in Peace. There was many other laughs too but that comment was the funniest. Let's just say that LC and I had trouble keeping the pee in at one point! Those girls had us laughing so hard :)

The First Day of School

Today was the first day of school for all 4 kiddos. Here is a group shot...
I took more pictures of them individually put I'm really not in the mood to upload them so this one will have to suffice. We got to school at 8am got Peanut settled in to her class with many pictures of her at school and with her teachers. Before we left her we prayed together for the school year, it would of been better if Dad could of been with us but he was at work. After all the hugs and kisses to Peanut we headed to the opposite side of the school. The older kids gave each other a hug and kiss and went to class. I walked with Red to his class and got him settled in and pictures taken. I then went to Monkey's class and did the same thing. Lastly I went to GlamorGirl's class to take pictures and she was so embarrassed. Most of the parents in her class didn't walk their kids to class so she was one of a few whose parents came and...I TOOK PICTURES, oh the horror of it all! I was out of the school by 8:30. Not bad for dropping 4 kids off. Then I hurried to get as many errands done as I could while I was kid free. I went to the chiropractor, two grocery stores, put the groceries away and uploaded school pictures to facebook (because you know that is IMPORTANT...haha) and then it was time to run to get the two littles. I got Red first because he gets done first and then we walked to get Peanut. She was so sweet when I picked her up. She looked at me and said, "Mom where's Monkey and GG?" I told her they stay at school longer and she was ok with that. During Peanuts nap. Red did his homework and worked at the computer while I made dinner for tonight! The kids wanted Chipotle Burritos and so I got recipes online. I made the marinade, salsa and cut up the peppers and onion for the fajita part. That took me the whole afternoon...a lot of chopping but it was SO worth it. Tonight the kids ate a TON. They each had two helpings. They aren't saying they are hungry tonight. I must admit it was a really good meal. Tomorrow morning I'm making pancakes (was suppose to make them this morning but didn't get up in time...ooops) with strawberry and blueberry toppings and I even bought whip cream too. I love being able to really start cooking again from scratch this summer has been too busy!

A First

On Saturday night GlamorGirl had her first sleepover. The girls were really good. No fights or arguments just playing together and having a lot of fun. Her friend E is a very sweet girl who doesn't try to get GG in trouble but doing stuff they both know is wrong. This summer she has had a few friends like have been bad influences on her and E is a good influence so I am happy to have her over whenever! Though I'm not sure about her sleeping there...not sure I'M ready for that. I also don't know how well she will do. She is pretty much a homebody. Has a hard time sleeping in hotels and such so we'll see. But they only live 3 minutes from our house! They were really cute when I put them to bed. We blew up an air mattress in the spare bedroom so they wouldn't wake up Peanut. I gave them each a finger flash light and told them they could talk but they had to be quiet because the other kids were sleeping. I also shut the door and told them when we went to sleep I would come check on them. At 10pm when I went in to say we were going to sleep and they told me they decided it was time for them to go to sleep. They came to that decision because the church picnic was the next day and neither of them wanted to be tired for it. I was so proud of them they made a great choice! I didn't take any pictures and now I wish I had taken at least one of them in the bed together. Oh well. At least I blogged it!

oh the DENTIST!

Why does EVERY dentist visit give good blog fodder??? There was this dentist visit that still gives me nightmares and this visit was good entertainment. Our appointments were at 9:30am. We got there early in hopes that we could be done early and get some grocery shopping done before lunch seeing as we had NO FOOD for lunch. They called GG and me to the chairs. I sat down, got the cover put on me had the seat adjusted and then the power went out. Great! Can you image in headache rescheduling 5 people will be for them and for us?! They tried calling the electric company and got a message saying they didn't have any specifics at this time. After about 15 minutes in the dark we came up with a plan. I left the two oldest at the office and took the two youngest with me to get some groceries. As soon as the power came on they were suppose to call me so that I had 30 minutes to get back there, the time it would take to clean the oldest twos teeth. They called me at 10:25 which was fine because I had grabbed everything I had needed and was headed to the check out. I called back to see how much time I had before the kids were done and the lady told me they were done and that they were waiting for me. I think she got side tracked and didn't call me right away! Ugh that was a bit annoying so I drove back there and stuck my meat and dairy in their mini fridge. Because of the power outage they were trying to get us done and out as quick as possible...but Peanut had other ideas on that subject. The plan was for me to get her set up in the chair and leave when my room was ready. She was NOT having that. I ended up sitting on her chair and holding her and then she was completely fine. They didn't do the whole cleaning with her since it was her first time and she isn't quite 3 years old yet. I have a feeling we are going to have a rough go with her in the chair next time. The dentist showed her the polisher and put it on her teeth and then turned it on for a second and she freaked. We'll see what happens in 6 months when they will actual clean them :) The dentist reports on the other kids were as follows. GlamorGirl needs to brush better and brush her gums and also brush morning and night. She told the dentist she was too busy to brush at night. Not sure what that was all about as that is usually one of her excuses to stay out of bed! Monkey got a referral to an orthodontist because he has only lost ONE tooth and none of the other ones are loose. I guess that concerns him. I told him I didn't loose my first tooth until I was in 2nd or 3rd grade. I was older then the average kid. But not only is his teeth not coming out but he doesn't have a whole lot of room for his adult teeth to come in. He wants us to just get it check out...really hoping our dental insurance covers this but thinking it doesn't. Red had a great check up. The dentist said he is doing a great job, way to go Red! I have no cavities either.

Park Fun

Yesterday when I posted and had gone through some old photos on the computer it got me thinking that I haven't taken many pictures this summer. First, reason is that we have gone to the pool A LOT, water and cameras don't get along and they aren't allowed at the pool either. Second, I forget to bring it with me. Today was a beautiful day and I was determined to bring the camera to the park and get some pictures. I want to have pictures to look back on of my kids to see how little they were and how big they have gotten :) But honestly, all of us had so much fun looking through the pictures of them as babies and toddlers and so on. Here are some of my favorite pictures of the day!

This picture of Peanut cracked my friend and I up!

We enjoyed a picnic at the park and play time with friends and obviously taking pictures to remember it all...

My Girls!

I finally have learned how to get the pictures off the new camera onto the computer! I know it took me long enough :) GG had a friend over for a play date and this is the sight I saw and HAD to take pictures of them they were too cute.




Next is my youngest on her first day of GYMNASTICS!!! She was so excited to be a BIG kid :)



And just for a little look back this is MY GG in the same outfit when she was in gymnastics!

Tonight

In about an hour and a half actually. My step mom will be pulling up to our house and whisking me and my oldest daughter away for a girls night in Downtown Chicago! My oldest doesn't even know it is happening. We are kidnapping her :) After the pool today I told her she had to dress up. She might have an idea something is happening but she is clueless as to what! After grandma picks us up we are heading to pick up (Aunt) Becky and then go to the restaurant that we are meeting two of my cousins who are in town. One of my boy cousins are getting married this Saturday so they are here for that. I unfortunately am not going to be able to go to the wedding. I feel bad I haven't gone to any of my cousins who have gotten married...I have 22 cousins. I have plenty more to attend in the future! Anyways, I totally got side tracked there. I am so excited to have a night away with just the girls!!! I love that GG is getting old enough to be able to do fun things like this. Great memories should be created tonight that's for sure.

On the topic of girls night the ladies in my small group have organized a girls night out in a little over a week. Then in a few months J and I get to go away for the weekend just the two of us. We have our room booked we just need to get child care but I know that will work itself out. This sounds like I don't like being with me kids. I do love being with them. But I'm with them ALL. THE. TIME. Mama needs a little break every once in a while, ya know?

Little Things

I think I am one of those people who love the little things in life. I look back over this summer and I pretty much think it was a really great one. We didn't do anything BIG. We didn't even go on a vacation at all. We spent most of our days at our new house playing, having play dates with friends, going to the pool, riding bikes to parks, riding bikes to the library, and just enjoying life at a slow pace. J was a part of our church's softball league on Monday nights the kids and I have tagged along, there are only one or two more games. As much as I have loved this summer I can't wait for fall weather to start. And today we had a great taste of what that is going to be like! Things I look forward too, using the firepit more, sitting outside at night, Peanut starting her gymnastics class, the church picnic, going on the church couples getaway, the kids going to bed early (they already get up early) and some of television I actually want to watch. It really is the little things in life that make life so great. This summer has been just that...soaking up the little things in life.

The Boat

First I want to say thank you for the input on what to do with our little Peanut. As for now we are going to leave her where she is with the plan of putting her through K1 and the K2 with the option if she is doing exceptionally well we just move her ahead. We have time :)

Today we went on my dad's boat. Last night when I went to bed the forecast said thunderstorms ALL. DAY. LONG. I got up this morning and it said partly cloudy with 10% chance of rain!!! We headed out the door for what I think was the PERFECT day for boating. The weather was absolutely gorgeous and because the forecast was calling for storms there was BARELY anyone on the water!!! We were on the water by 10am. My dad's 4 person tube (Mable) died. They now only have the two person one. The boys went out first. Then Monkey and Peanut went out, she was love, love, LOVING it. You could hear her laughter all the way in the boat. Then GG and Red went. By the time all the kids had a turn it was lunch time. We anchored the boat by the shore and we ate lunch and then went swimming. My parents neighbors came with us and the wife had some special lotion that attracts the sun to speed up tanning. I put that on and laid out for a little bit. When I got too hot I jumped in the lake to cool off. I did sunscreen the kids and my face a few times. When the adults were done swimming, because the kids could of swam the rest of the day and been happy as can be, we did more tubing. My dad and J went first. We gave Peanut one more turn with one of her siblings (I can't remember which one) before I put her to sleep. Each of the kids, except Peanut got a turn with daddy. J said Peanut didn't weigh enough and it would of been to hard to keep the tube upright. A little after 3pm we headed to the dock to put the boat away. We went back to my dad's house to unload the wet boat stuff and then went out to eat. It was such a fun and relaxing day for me. No cooking meals or cleaning up afterward. See perfect!

Up in the Air

So since Peanut has been born we have talked about putting her in school so that she is 2 years apart from Red. I have a good friend that really wants me to keep her back a year so our girls will be the same grade. She says that they won't be as good of friends if she is a year older in school. They are only 2 months apart in age. If I move her ahead it will be her and two little boys at church if I keep her back there will be her with 2 boys and 6 girls. Then I start thinking about my Monkey and how he is one of the youngest kids in his class. I wanted to hold him back so he could be the oldest in his class but J said has the same birthday and was the youngest and he turned out fine. Now seeing Monkey as one of the smallest kids in his class I'm wondering if we did the right thing. It also doesn't help that at least two boys age wise should be in the grade above but their parents held them back so they could be the oldest. He isn't really struggling academically he gets As and Bs for the most part, though he did get one C the last quarter of 2nd grade. The only way to fix his situation is to put him in public school and hold him back because no one there would know him or homeschool him a year and when he tests in he tests for the lower grade and then he can blame me ;) He is my issue what do I do with Peanut??? Her birthday is 6 weeks after Monkey's making her even younger than him in school. Though she is a girl and the youngest of 4. I just don't want to make the same mistake with her but I also don't want her to feel left out at church. I also don't know if I want Red and her 3 years apart in school. I didn't like the idea of having the boys 3 years apart which is another reason I wanted to hold Monkey back so that he and Red would only be 2 years apart. I guess in the grand scheme of things it really isn't a big deal they just get out of our house a year earlier, which kind of makes me sad. Oh I think we should of held him back :( I hate second guessing myself and having all this guilt. I really didn't sleep well last night thinking about this. What are your thoughts? What would you do with Peanut? How about Monkey?

Emotional

The last few days have been quite the roller coaster ride for me and not in the good way. Two members of our family left to go to camp. I got to talk them the first night away. Monkey wasn't having a good time because he had gotten bit by mosquitoes all over his body and mainly his face. Poor kid hasn't even met any of the other campers and his face is swollen with bug bites. J said the first night he wanted to come home. Yesterday the rest of the campers got there. Monkey has never been my super out going kid that makes friends where he goes. He has pretty much had a built in friend since he was born in his big sister and she is really good at making friends at the park and then he plays too. As hard as this is on me I really think they will be a great experience for him to spread his wings and meet some kids on his own. He is a kid that will be just fine being by himself and couldn't care less that no one is playing with him. J said that he has been walking to meals by himself. That breaks my heart but I highly doubt he really cares if he walks with someone. His cabin leader is my sis-in-laws boyfriend so he knows him, which is good. I just hate hearing reports from J and Liz that he is not having fun. I don't want his first camp experience to be bad, but he is a different kid then his sister. So I am consistently thinking about him and praying for him. Then we have what is going on at the homefront. The first day wasn't too bad. I had a really sad Red because his brother and playmate left. He was super sad at bedtime because he was alone in his room. I offered for him to sleep in my bed with me. Half way through the night we had a really bad storm. Peanut woke up and got scared so she came to my bed too. Red didn't like the closeness of having 3 people in my bed so he want to his bed at that point. Then we had a play date with Peanuts friends (twins) and their baby brother. Their dad is at camp with our guys so it was nice to hang out and share our missing of the boys. They left after lunch and right in time for naptime. I put Peanut down for a nap and went downstairs to clean up after lunch. I hear noise upstairs and when I went up their Peanut was covered head to toe in my hair tac. Apparently she brought it to her bed and then put it all over herself then went into my bathroom to try and wash it off. So it was all over her bedding, the toilet, sink as well as her. I was so upset. I know I was a handful to my parents but I don't remember getting into stuff. ALL. THE. TIME. It never ends with her. The only time I can get anything done is when she is sleeping. And I have to stay close by to make sure she stays in bed and does fall asleep or we have episodes like the above mentioned. She is tiring to the core. I almost feel bad saying that I am looking forward to her starting school. I thought I would be so sad to send off my youngest but at this very moment it can't get here fast enough. We'll see what I say when it actually happens.