Part 1 of 2

So its only appropriate on this last day of 2007 to look back on the year and do a little introspection. Don't worry - I'm not a deep thinker so you won't get lost in my thoughts. But we are hopefully learning something new every year, whether its about ourselves or the world around us. So I am going to attempt to pinpoint a few things that I think have increased my intellect.

1. It is really an honor to be called " mom" and I need to make sure I live up to it every moment of every day.
2. I'm not one to get too mushy, but I really married well. I've seen a new side of my husband for the first time in 10 years. One time a few years ago I remember saying (in the heat of some argument, I'm sure) "Your not the person I married." And he said to me "that's right, and we shouldn't be the same person we were years ago, we should always be growing and changing". We have probably had the best year marriage wise in our 10 year history. And if you know about some of our circumstances, that could have gone the completely opposite way. I love him more than ever.
3. I have learned you actually have to work to lose weight. In my life, if something doesn't come easy - I just quit. Well, here's something I can't really quit. There'll be more on this in tomorrow's post.
4. I learned that baking homemade bread isn't really that hard
5. I learn this every year. I can't always do everything I want, or say I can. Which leads to overcommitment. Which I have to work on every single year.
6. Even if you keep a clean house and feed your children healthy, they get sick.
7. Having 3 children is not like having 2.
8. Not all my babies are 6 lbs. Some, well one, was actually 8. (I thought my Dr. didn't know what he was talking about when he told me this baby would be bigger than the others.)
9. And finally - God really doesn't care about my time schedule. And if I know nothing else, as long as I cling to the fact that I believe what He tells me in His Word, I have nothing to worry about.

Okay, part 2 is going to be my goals for 2008. Cliche'? yes. Do I care? No.

Man, after 4 days of feeling awful, I'm finally pulling out of it. Its funny, when you're a mom and you're sick, its really irrelevant. I remember Andy getting sick and sleeping all day long. I was lucky to get a 2 1/2 hour nap after begging my husband to stay home with the kids for the morning. And the kitchen.....well we won't even go there.


So, I finally uploaded the Christmas pics so here is a sampling. Enjoy!

The Day after Christmas

Christmas was great. Lots of fun - lots of wrapping paper, food, and fellowship with family. But its the day after Christmas that will be the day to remember:

• First thing in the morning, took Rene' to the Dr. for yet another ear infection that burst her eardrum Christmas Eve. She has to get tubes now.
• Zak played with his Moonsand he got for Christmas then had a horrible rash all over his hands. Guess he's alergic to Moonsand.
• By the end of the day, I'm flat on my back sicker than a dog.

And that has been the last 3 days - me in bed sick.

Good times. Christmas 2007.

Silent Night?

This wasn't quite how I had envisioned her singing it.

Merry Christmas!!!!

Our Christmas Card

Its just not going to make it from my head to paper this year, and I need to mark something off my "to do" list this week. So here is our Christmas picture and what it would have said:

Merry Christmas

Love, Us

I'm supposed to be baking, wrapping gifts and singing carols

Instead, I'm worrying myself to death over that fact that since my son, Zak, now has strep throat, the rest of the family could follow shortly. Aren't there like 7 more days till Christmas?

Yeah.

At 3:45 yesterday he breaks out in a rash all over his body. That was my cue that the sore throat, and fever he'd had for 2 days was probably not going to go away any time soon. I called the doctor, they were full, but they'd fit me in. I didn't have time to find anyone to watch the girls, and a desperate call to request the husband off work, didn't work. So I loaded all 3 up and raced to the doctor to get there before they closed. All I'll say about the 30 minute wait in the waiting room is that it was full and my 2 year old was jumping to the only 3 empty chairs. That's right. I was the mother that everyone else was either looking at in disgust, because I couldn't get my child under control, or they were feeling sorry for me because they'd been there. Then there were the words every potty training mom dreads most when your in a public place - well, almost - "Mommy, I need to go pee pee." Now, had I not raced so fast to the doctor, I would have put her in a pull up. And at this point, I probably would have done the biggest potty training "no no" and told her to just go in her pull up. But that of course wasn't an option. I beg Zak to stay and wait for his name to be called, but he'll have none of that so we head to the bathroom. Here, I learn it is hard to put toilet paper on the toilet so my child won't get germs, while holding the baby. I can't put the baby down because she'll crawl all over the disgusting floor. I choose the lesser of 2 evils and tell Paige to just get her self on the potty. I had left the stall door open so we could all fit, and in wanders some little girl, without her mother, who wants to check out the commotion. Then of course we haven't mastered wiping by ourselves yet, so I need to do this, while holding the baby. I misjudge the depth of the water below and soak my hand in potty water. I KNOW! Somehow she gets her pants up I place the baby on the counter because I absolutely have to wash my hands, no matter what it takes. I block her from falling with my elbow as I sing the ABCs in my head while I wash my hands because I need to make sure they get really clean.

We didn't miss our name being called and as soon as the nurse saw Zak's rash she said "I bet his strep test is so positive". Our very nice Dr, Dr Albiek confirms this and proceeds to tell me that when they told him who had called, he said he'd see me because he knew I wouldn't bring them in if it weren't serious. We're on a first name basis. I believe in co pays alone this fall I've paid for his entire family's Christmas.

Remember that magical Christmas season I blogged about. Its still just in my head.

Now, I'm going to share a picture of our Christmas tree

More Holiday cheer than you'll know what to do with

So I stumbled up the blogosphere Christmas home tour hosted by Boomama. And since there is nothing I like more than taking a gander inside people's home's, I've spent too much time checking this all out. So my Christmas tip for today is to go here and look until your hearts content. It will make you want to redecorate, or not, or at least clean your house. Have fun!

You can't forget your neighbors

This is what all my neighbors are getting from us for Christmas.
The Rachel Ray Five-Minute Fudge Wreath

1 (12 oz) bag semisweet chocolate morsels
9 oz (3/4 of a 12 oz bag) butterscotch morsels
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 8oz can walnut halves
1/2 cup currants (I'm not using those)


8 inch cake pan, lightly greased with softened butter.

Place heavy pot on the stove and preheat it over low heat. Add chips and milk and stir until chips are melted and milk combined. Save the empty condensed milk can, cover with plastic wrap, and put it in the middle of the cake pan. Add the vanilla to the fudge then remove it from the heat. Stir in nuts and currants if your using. Spoon fudge into pan around can. Garnish of candied cherries in red and green can only be added the first couple of minutes so work quickly. Cover and chill in refrigerator.

Go here to see a pic. I'll post mine when I get them done. I forgot to get the butterscotch morsels yesterday. I hate it when I forget something at the store.

And that people, can not get any easier.

Thrifty Gifty

First things first - we're home and with power. We only had to go 2 1/2 days without it. That was long enough for me (and my parents, I'm sure), but there are still many who aren't as lucky.

I admit, my expectations of the Christmas tips blog have been all but a lot of things in my head. So I'm going to crank it up now for the next 13 days. A tip a day. So here goes.

Who doesn't love Hobby Lobby???? Well, if your Hobby Lobby isn't out of power due to an ice storm and you have some teacher gifts to buy and can only spend about $1.99 each, Their ornaments are half off this week. Who doesn't love a new ornament to put on their tree?? And you always remember who ornaments are given to you by, so you are thought of at least once a year. If your a crafty sort, buy a box of clear ornaments, grab some glue and glitter and create till your hearts content. Actually, you don't have to be crafty at all. Just able to write the numbers 2007 and your name in glue. So if your one of my children's MDO teachers, just forget you read this. And of course the sky's the limit. Check out the adoreable ornament my friend Cristina made (scroll to the bottom)! Yes, Matching ornament trees are very pretty, (my mom's can rival the best of the christmas open houses) but there's something about those ornaments that were given by someone else. And remember, wrapping is EVERYTHING!!

I must make a special thanks to my cyber friend Meredith who had some very entertaining blogs about all the ornaments she has on her tree and how each one is special. Thanks for the inspiration! Thats where I got my inspiration. When you can't create - copy.

Ice storm 2007

Thats what the weather men are calling this one. "Ice storm of 2007". I remeber when we lived in this beautiful place called Colorado where the snow would drift quietly to the ground. It's like a dream now. The past 24 hours have included rain, sleet, and snow. And of course it makes a nice big city wide ice rink. Basically, my family of 5 is at my parents because we lost our power today around 9am - which translates to no heat. Its going to be one big slumber party tonight. We'll see how high strung grandpa Don does with my 3 children playing with their glass ornaments on their Christmas tree. So I will leave you with some photos of the big storm.

So I had this totally cheesy picture of what I did for my kids the other day that I was going to post, but have decided against it. I had a cheesy moment and cut their PBJ sandwiches out with a Christmas tree cookie cutter and then put raisins on them for ornaments. They were very impressed so I guess I should be really proud.
I think I'm in a bit of a writers slump. Which is totally ridiculous when this is my absolute favorite season. So I'm going to post a breakfast favorite at our house. Paige devours it. Zak even asked for some the other day over his usual Honey nut cheerios.

So here you are: Breakfast Granola (courtesy of Southern Living Magazine, slightly modified by me)

3 cups uncooked regular oats
1 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup sliced almonds
12 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp canola oil
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup raisins

Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl. Cook honey and next 3 ingredients in a saucepan over low heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Pour over oat mixture and stir well. Spread mixture in a lightly greased aluminum foil-lined jelly roll pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes stirring every 5 minutes. Invert onto wax paper; let cool. Stir in dried fruit.

This is so delicious with vanilla yogurt stirred in. And you can pretty much throw in whatever nuts, dried fruits, etc you want. And it sticks with you a lot longer than a bowl of cereal. And of course, a cup of coffee is a must have.

The Stocking

It all started when I was still dating Andy and I made him a stocking for Christmas and filled it. I tend to like gaudy, sparkly, etc. So its one of those kits that have lots of sequins that shimmer. I was slightly hurt when he didn't gush over the fact that I had made it. Come to find out - he's a plain sort of guy. His stocking growing up was just red and white and his name was written on it in felt marker. Mine had all kinds of sequins and my name written in gold cord. I ended up taking his name off of it and putting mine on. We went back and forth over the years on what kind of stocking we were going to have as a family. And I would really love to have beautiful stockings made out of rich fabric that match my decor perfectly - but really, thats just not me. So finally, I trumped him and said I was making everyone a stocking out of a kit. With lots of sequins. I tried to choose one that was fairly plain for him. As few sequins as I could find, yet it still went along with the theme. Here's what I came up with.



So last year I made Zaks.


I learned a little lesson in choosing a stocking. Don't pick ones with lots of little things. I believe there were like 250 steps and I began early December. After many late nights and before my December 24th deadline, I finished the stocking. And he loves it.


So this year, I guess I forgot I was behind a child and I started what I thought was Rene's stocking, only to find out when I got the stockings out that Paige didn't have one. So I had to take off Rene's name and put Paige's on. And I thought I was planning ahead. It is December 2nd and I am on step 13 of 145. So now every evening when the children go to bed, I am frantically sewing.

Now, for the point of this entire story. Paige is out of control with anything that makes a mark. Pens, markers, pencils, crayons. Her writing utensil of choice is a marker. Its a double edged sword too, because if I need her to be busy for say 20 minutes - the writing utensils work like a charm. The bad thing is, though she starts in a coloring book, I find marker on things like the coffee table, bills, and books. I usually take them away, only to give them back again because I'm desperate and need her to busy. So, it is only fitting that I pulled out the stocking the other night to commence my work and I found she has colored the white back to her stocking with purple marker. It will be on there for years to come and when she pulls it out every year to hang it on the mantle, we will all have a good laugh about how she colored on her stocking. I think the unplanned memories are better than the planned.

Its always magical in my head

Last weekend was the "big" weekend. You know, the one where we hit the tree farm and make lots of memories. I'll set the stage. 4 out of 5 have runny noses. (The ironic thing of it all is the one who has a finger in the mouth then up the nose nervous habit, doesn't have one.) And these are the runny noses where you are wiping them like every 3 minutes. And since 2 out of the 4 can't wipe their own noses - they'd rather lick it - it makes for a busy day. I'm thinking "the high today is 41 degrees, lots of Kleenex on the back of that wagon, getting in trouble for littering the tree farm with said Kleenex blowing out of my pockets, my infant getting pneumonia - yeah, not worth it." "Babe - lets hit Home Depot". Actually, Andy brought up the "f word". That's right - fake tree. I can't bear the thought so I nixed it. As I watched my 2 oldest kids have races up and down the aisles of Home Depot, I knew that they were making memories. Granted we weren't in the tree aisle because Andy needed "a few things". But they were memories nonetheless, and I'll lower the expectation bar just this once. Within minutes we found the perfect tree because well, they're all perfect when they're grown at the home depot tree farm.

I had a new menu this year for our little family decorating party. Little smokies, Chex mix, chips and Rotel cheese dip, and some nutty cinnamon sticks. It went over well with the under 5 crowd. While I enjoyed the stuffed mushrooms last year, I learned my kids pallets aren't quite as sophisticated. So we're enjoying our snacks and putting the lights on the tree and we discover that half of our light strands are burnt out. And you can't decorate the tree without the lights on. By this time we don't want to get out again, so we stood and admired our half lit tree void of our ornaments and called it a night. Guess there's a little tweaking to do before next years tree decorating party.

some m&ms and determination

A funny thing happened over Thanksgiving break. Paige is now potty trained. One day, she began telling me everytime she went to the bathroom in her diaper. I decided that was a sign. So with a bag of M&Ms and a whole lot of trips to the potty, I think we're officially trained. Except for a few accidents, she's done wonderful. And there is no going back now. I think we just got a raise.

Turkey happenings

We had a great Thanksgiving. Great food, great leftovers. Nothing too uneventful. I did venture out on black Friday at o'dark thirty. My mom was gracious enough to not let me go it alone. Last year it was my sis-in-law Lana in Dallas. I may have to recruit someone new every year, but I'm prepared to do that. As for this year, I had a plan. I mapped it out. I had to be back by 7am because Andy had to leave for work but that left me with 2 good hours. I brought the coffee and mom brought the breakfast bars and we were off at 4:30. I hit walmart first, where it was just as crazy as I thought it would be. People grabbing toys, no room to walk. I did score what I went for so it was worth it. Next it was to Sam's where it wasn't near as busy and they had this HUGE continental breakfast set up with fruit, yogurt, pastries, etc. Since I was on a mission, I only grabbed a bottle of water. But next year, that's the first stop. Target was going to be my last stop, and what I really wanted there was a digital camera for $89. But my poor planning had us in line after about person # 506. Needless to say - the cameras were gone by the time I got there, but I did get everything else. The entertainment there were the people getting a little hostile about the line cutters. We heard some not so Christian exchanges. I'm probably 66% done with my Christmas shopping so it was worth it to me. I, of course, love the thrill of getting up early and running with the masses. But I will never attempt the mall.

Let the fun begin

It was 80 degrees yesterday. Now its 41. Good thing we put up those Christmas lights on the house yesterday.

Where Santa and baby Jesus hang out

I am out of control excited. This is the big week that I live for every year. The trimming of the tree, home, etc for Christmas. For me, this is all about how many traditions can we start and how many memories can we make. When my kids look back on Christmas I want them to relive every magical moment from cutting down our tree to camping out under the tree, to the Christmas story being read on Christmas Eve in pajamas with hot chocolate. With my children getting older, its getting more fun. Last year, my evening of Christmas tree decorating and appetizers didn't quite go over like I had planned. No one liked the appetizers I spent all day making. But the trip to the local Christmas tree farm was a hit. We're keeping that tradition. It includes a saw, hot chocolate, a ride in the back of a truck to the field, and the children running up and down rows of Christmas trees just begging us to "pick them". Last year I scored real boughs of greenery at Sams to hang around the door and on the mantle. This year, I'm doubling it - every room is going to have the smell of pine and the look of Christmas. And you all are so lucky, because I'm going to share it all with you from pictures to tips to recipes. I'll probably have to revamp the appearance of the blog in order to give homage to the season. You best check back often because this is going to be a busy place.

7 random things

Cristina tagged me and I'm just learning about this blog tag thing. So here are my 7 random things about me that you may not know.



1. I'm a closet or not so closet soap opera watcher.

2. I could eat pizza every single day and never get sick of it.

3. Once I've raised my kids to adulthood, I'm going to culinary school and then opening a coffee shop.

4. Martha Stewart is my inspiration. Smart, successful, domestic, and rich. (I choose to ignore that she's a diva)

5. I had around 7 miscellaneous pet birds of all species growing up.

6. I get star struck extremely easy. (I know why God didn't allow me to be famous. I'd get all wrapped up in the fame and fortune and probably lose my soul - thank you Lord for knowing my weaknesses)

7. I started playing Christmas music in September

And on the heels of that last post

Its a good thing I had a good mom day the other day. Because yesterday, I picked up Rene' from Mothers Day Out only to notice there was oozing stuff out of her ear. I knew enough to know that wasn't normal and rushed her and my crew to the Dr. Hint: don't take your children to the doctor at 3:30pm. Out of Control. Anyway, I'm such a good mom, I didn't even notice that she had an ear infection and it had proceeded to burst her eardrum. I had chalked it up to a new "clingy"stage. Well, that home assessment cost me over $100 in medicine and a whole lot of guilt. Lesson: when your otherwise non clingy daughter is clingy - she's probably sick.

The trip to walmart of my dreams

I had put it off too long. Going to the store. Ever since Rene' was born, it has thrown off my entire grocery store day schedule. Mainly because its rather daunting taking 3 children under the age of 5 to Wal-Mart. And having to go to Wal-Mart is a whole nother issue. I miss my great grocery stores in Colorado. But I'm stuck with Wal-Mart. Poor Andy, when he was making his lunch this morning and I had the refrigerator door open, looking for some breakfast, he said "Its slim pickins around here". I felt bad. So I decided if we went to the store right after breakfast, at least there wouldn't be a bunch of people there to disrupt. So we were off around 8:20am. I loaded all 3 of them up in the extra large cart. That would be the one with 2 seats for older children and one for baby. You need a license to drive those things. Anyway, I dug out 10 pennies from my purse and gave them both 5. I told them that whatever they had left at the end of the trip they'd get to put in the new donation contraption. You know those things that have creative ways of making your coins fall into the donation bucket. Well, there's a new one. Anyway, I explained that if they disobeyed, poked their baby sister, or fought, they'd have to pay me a penny. Zak ended up with 4 and Paige, well she must have dropped a few along the way because she only had 2 and I had only taken 1 from her. We were in and out of there in 45 minutes. And oh the joy of watching the pennies spiral around the big black funnel. Even Rene' was smiling. Call it lucky, whatever, I know its not due to my parenting skills - just my copying skills. If you don't have the book Creative Correction , run to your nearest Barnes and Noble or library. I actually felt like an "in control" mother this morning.

The Wax

Andy's 10 year college reunion is this weekend. He ever so gently asked me to go get an eyebrow and lip wax. I was happy to oblige. So I hit my local Beauty Brands store. The thing with Beauty Brands is that you tend to get a different person every time, unless you find someone you like - but then if your like me and call the day of for an appointment, you'll rarely get the girl you like. So when I called today and my girl Lacy wasn't there, I said - just give me whoever. I was a little worried, because I've had some bad eyebrow waxes before. But you just can't beat the convenience. They informed me I'd be with "Bellagio". Hmm. Probably a foreign girl. Wrong. Bellagio is a 6'3" buff African American male with long flowing hair down his back and tattoos up his arms. I was FREAKING OUT. I just hoped he knew what he was doing. My worry increased as his method of waxing wasn't one I had ever experienced. For those who have never had an eyebrow/lip wax, they usually apply the wax to one portion of the brow, and then put their little while fabric on it and rip it off. Not Bellagio. He applied wax to both my eyes and my lip all at the same time. I was convinced it was his first time to wax and thought to myself. "If this is bad, Andy is going to his reunion by himself this weekend". I kept my eyes shut the whole time. When he was finished and handed me the mirror, it wasn't bad at all. Just a normal wax. I was relieved. Then he proceeded to tell me I should go for the exotic look and he showed me what he could do with my eyebrows. He began explaining things like lining up with the jaw and cheek bone line, and symmetry, etc. I just couldn't get the word exotic out of my mind and said - lets do it. I want to look exotic. Then he brought in the little razor blade and told me to hold the mirror and watch if I wanted. He proceeded to shape my eyebrows with precision and form with the razor blade. All I can say is "impressive". This would be yet another lesson is judging a book by its cover. I have a new favorite person at Beauty Brands and his name is "Bellagio".

All in the name of "free" fun

I have this serious problem. I'm addicted to our local library. Now you might ask why that is such a problem. Its because everytime I go in to the library - I owe them anywhere from $3 - $12. - IN FINES. My father in law once told me that I needed to run as far away from the library as I could. That was because I had just had a baby and he took my library books back for me and covered my $24 fine. So last week I cleared my fines and decided to turn over a new leaf. I was going to be a good steward of my money and turn in my books/videos on time. Last week we checked out 6 videos because we hit the jackpot of The Wiggles and The Magic Schoolbus. So today I log onto my account to see what all we need to turn in today. My 6 videos are 1 day late and that totaled a $3 fine. I can't win. I just might have to end this relationship with the library. It would be a terrible break up and I'm going to try everything I can to salvage the relationship, but I just can't pay them anymore of my money. And I think my husband will send me to counseling.

My new thing

I made some homemade french bread yesterday. I think its my new thing. I'm going to bake all our bread. Zak said to me "mom, whats that wonderful smell?". I have to tell you, there is nothing like the smell of baking bread in the oven. Its a lost art. And it really wasn't that hard.

They say you can freeze anything

I never wanted to be the people who stored their cereal boxes on the top of the refrigerator, but we are. Mainly because my pantry is pathetic. And also because Andy ended up at a Buy For Less one night and found out their cereal really is less and spend half our weeks grocery budget on cereal. It was a great reason to have cereal for dinner a few nights that week. As far as the cereal on the top of the refrigerator goes, I've learned a few things. First and foremost, if you don't get the box completely centered on top of the refrigerator, when you open the freezer door, many, many Honey Nut Cheerios will come crashing down on your head. (This was reminicent of my 8th grade experience when the large frozen catfish gave me a large bump on my head when it decided to escape). Now for Paige it was 2 year old snack booty flying from the sky. She was right by my side shoving in as many oh's would fit in her mouth. I did not see the humor in the situation because lets face it, when you step on those things they turn to dust and everywhere I tried to avoid stepping, I stepped on 3. It forced me to mop. I hate it when that happens.

This was a few months ago. And if you were to open my freezer any day between now and then, you would see a mound of Honey Nut Cheerios just at eye level (if your 5'2"), frozen solid. I think I looked at those every day. I can't explain to you why I didn't just get them out. I just didn't. But today, we were out of Honey Nut Cheerios and I was desperate for some breakfast for my kids. Just kidding. I threw those things away. I felt it my duty to share. I know you thank me for it.

Halloween photo shoot.

Testosterone and some pumpkin carving tools

This is what happens when the males in the family are in charge of pumpkin carving.

Yes, that would be Darth Vadar.

Because it just wouldn't be a holiday......

WITHOUT SOME PERSON IN MY HOUSE UNDER THE AGE OF 6 WHO IS SICK!

I am a clean person. My husband is a clean person. (If your not counting how many different toys are on the floor) We eat a lot healthier than some people. So why, do tell, are my children sick all the time????? We've got fevers and watery eyes in 2 out of 3. I'll just thank the Lord that this kind of sickness usually just requires lots of hugs and kisses and no cleaning up of you know what. You know its bad though when Paige is asking to go to bed.

Despite the fevers, I plan on dressing up the little kitty cat and flower, because these are the times that make for memories. "Remember that Halloween when Paige and Rene' were sick and we made them dress up anyway?" I will refrain from taking them to Mothers Day Out, but I figure Paige can trick or treat via the stroller so as not to miss out on the fun.

Fun.... My definition of fun has sure changed from pre-children years.

Grandma teaches us about pumpkins?

Today was the annual school trip to the pumpkin patch. I would post pictures but frankly, I didn't feel like lugging the camera all over. So we've just got the memories. It was your basic trip to the pumpkin patch with many many children, a sack lunch, and a hay and corn maze. But this was different from the other pumpkin patches we'd been to before. You get to sit on some hay bales and "grandma" gives a short lesson in pumpkins. It starts out with the rules. No playing with the hay. She was saying this to the 4 and 5 year olds....... many of whom were boys. She explains that just like moms, dads, and teachers have rules, so does the pumpkin patch - Don't play with the hay. And now I'm just going to quote her " you know how some boys and girls are out smoking and drinking - they're not following the rules" Remember, she's talking to 4 and 5 year olds. I wondered if some of the poor children wondered what was wrong with drinking their juice. They then got a lesson on a "lung disorder called asthma". Anyway - she shared many facts about the different kinds of pumpkins, which were quite interesting. Then she closed the lesson with this - again, the only way to do it justice is to quote her. " What happens if you leave your gourd in a chair and someone sits on it and it breaks? Who's fault is it? (Many blank stares) Its your fault. Its your fault if you leave your pumpkin or gourd somewhere where someone can sit on it. There's no one else to blame but you. Now go enjoy your day at the pumpkin patch!"

A Shout Out to the Clergy

If you didn't already know, its Pastor Appreciation Month. And so I feel obligated to post my thoughts and feelings on the clergy and the hardest job in the world. Just think about it. When your a pastor you have to deal with many things. One might be just answering "the call" even when you don't want to. I personally am so thankful for not getting "the call" to pastor. God knows I tend to run on a short fuse and my mouth would have me in trouble no matter how many times I read the passage on "how a tiny spark can start a fire, so is it with the tongue." (My paraphrasing, obviously) God just knows what he's doing. Back to the clergy.....they have to deal with so much. The opinions of many people (most who would rather criticize, rather than serve or pray). That alone would make me quit in one day. You have to have a tough skin. And you have to be confident in standing by yourself if you are so called. I'll tell you what I have no tolerance for - those who criticize a church, its pastor, or its activities, when they are 1) not being an advocate for change if need be or 2) not praying for Gods will or 3) just yakking about it in order to bring dissension. I believe if you have a problem with the church, how its run, or the person God put in charge of that church, you need to take it to God in prayer, not people. In MOST cases, the pastor is doing what he feels is best, and lets remember - God ordained him to be the head of our church, not us, or we would be the one on the pulpit. And if the pastor isn't acting unethically, or unbiblically, its probably just a matter of "fluff" - so cut them some slack. So those who criticize a sermon, talk, or the like need to take into consideration the fact that if they think they can do it better, you best be in line to preach it next week. (in my opinion, of course) So this is my sincere thanks to the pastors in my life who have accepted the call, have endured many a criticism and have had an interest in my family's spiritual life enough to "preach it". Namely, our current pastor, Tony Bailey. Our prior pastor, Gene Grate, and my youth pastors, Paul Baker, Jeff Cox, and Mike Shinn. I am forever grateful for your time, leadership, and friendship. Now, go bake some cookies, write a note, or personally thank your pastor for caring enough to stand before you every week and deliver the Word.

Sleep

Gone are the days of sleeping until noon in college in my cozy dorm room in the winter. Gone are the days of sleeping in on a Saturday morning after a long week of work at the office. The definition of how much sleep I need used to be 8 hours. These days - I'm praying for 5. Its amazing how essential it is, yet how little I seem to get. Last night was the night of all nights. It all starts with the problem of me putting my sleep first and not helping Rene' learn to sleep through the night. Her little internal clock is now set. I know this because she wakes up at midnight and 4 on the dot. And because I want to sleep too, I nurse her and put her back to bed. Well weaning is coming soon and I am foreseeing a nightmare ahead when I want her to be totally weaned and she's still waking up at night, expecting "the ninny" as we call it at my house. That was probably TMI - but we're all family. ANYWAY - I prepped Andy for the fact that when she woke up, he was going to have to put her back to sleep because if it were me, we all know what would happen. He was game....... Midnight - like clockwork - and crying for the next 2 1/2 hours. The poor man tried everything from rocking, to the lullaby CD, to holding, to rubbing her back - you name it, he tried it. And well, it ended up like every other night. Except since the girls share a room Paige was up most of that time, then ended up in our bed because she couldn't go to sleep because of all the crying, or course.

So at this point, I know that you readers aren't ones for posting comments, but I am desperately needing some help from across the nation. I need tips, stories, and encouragement. I fully realize this is my fault as Andy has been so nice to point out. I don't know how I got so soft.

On a funny note - my other 2 are into switching beds. Zack sure looks peaceful sleeping in the pink and purple butterfly sheets while his sister snoozes in his room with his beloved "Copper". I just might be creating another habit we'll have to break.

Inspiration

I have an obsession today. Its reading this blog. I just found it from another blog and now every spare minute I am pouring over her archives. She lives in a renovated one room schoolhouse and she is the queen of domesticity. I have a love for all things domestic and now I see how totally behind I am. I am prepared to now take my cooking to another level, purchase a sewing machine, and host many, many exquisite parties. I am however not on board with the homeschooling. I will avoid that at all costs, although if I see the need, I'll suck it up and do it. And I'm not really into vintage anything, but it is very fun to see her style. And she's a lawyer on the side. Why oh why can't I have neighbors like this woman?

PG-13

This might not be appropriate, but I just want to give you a glimpse of my day. And I think you'll probably get a good guttural laugh out of it.

I'm (trying) to feed my 9 month old (who has now refused solid food for the 3rd day in a row), when my dear sweet barely 2 year old Paige comes up to me and says "Look mom, at my penis". She has a toy lobster hanging out the top her her pants. And she's laughing hysterically.

I don't even know what to say now.

Back to what I know.

I've been in a funk the past few weeks. I haven't wanted to cook, clean, or pretty much do anything. Organization usually rules my life. That's the way I function best. I like to plan out my meals each week, and have my daily "to do" list handy. I don't quite understand why I've veered off the beaten path but I have got to get myself back on it. I think I wanted to just try throwing caution to the wind and letting my day just "happen". Or maybe its because I'm in the vicious cycle of overcommitment. But what that has left me with is a very dirty kitchen and my kids watching way too much TV. So this the day of me turning back to my normally motivated, organized self. I figure if I can give myself a little pep talk via the blog then I'll have to hold myself accountable. So self, lets do what we do best and get to lists and charts.

A post without the "p" word

The look Rene' gives everyone


cousins a.k.a. partners in crime

Who Knew you could get your PHD in puke

If your still reading after that title, I commend you. I know I have my P.H.D. , because it isn't phasing me anymore. Yesterday was my 32nd b-day. I was sick with the body aches and my dear sweet infant gave me the gift of puke for my b-day. My birthday activities included cleaning up puke, having a little of the chocolate I got for my birthday, and cleaning up puke. I don't really remember a whole lot of birthdays after 20. They all just kind of muddle together when you get old. But I do believe this one will be the most memorable. Yesterday morning, I sent my in laws off, who had to stay an extra day because they were aching and puking. Then Rene' carried the torch for them since they left. I just have to think that we have gotten our sickness over for this fall season. In the aftermath, I am bleaching everything in sight and trying to get my house back to normal. Really, there is no such thing as normal.

Parties, puking, and pirates

Those 3 things were the main event at our house this past weekend. It was a fun one. The birthday boy had a great time and I made it yet another birthday without him asking to have a "friend" party. Don't get me wrong. We love our friends. But I am waiting until he asks me to invite his friends to his birthday party. Parties get much more complicated when friends come, with games, party favors and the like. And I know they'll be in the future at some point so I'll wait till then to break out the plastic party bags and rubber balls.

And it just wouldnt' be a party if someone hadn't puked. No one actually puked at the party but cousin Parker had to take the hit first on Friday. Then Rene' last night and Paige today. Its inevitible when family comes that one child gets sick and then the rest do.

And the pirate party turned into a space party at the last minute - with him telling me next year would be pirates and then the next would be Star Wars.

I'll leave you with some pics.

Thanks Uncle Chris and Aunt Lana for his first whoopie cushion.

Astronaut cupcakes

Those are guilty looks from frosting stealers.

Braum Family Farm tour

It was the first full day with family in town and we headed to the Braum Family Farm and Plant to see how they make and package our milk, ice cream and yogurt. Here are a few pics and I'll leave you with a few facts.

• 24-36 hours after a cow is milked, the milk is packaged and on the truck headed to your local Braum's store.
• Braums milk has 50% more calcium than other brands of milk due to some patented process they do through a bunch of pipes. (I kindof missed this)
• They rotate their flavors ever 4-6 days.
• We saw a new flavor on the first day of production - fried ice cream. It should be in stores in a few days. We also saw them package Egg Nog and Butter Brickle ice cream.
• They are building a beef herd now so they can sell their own beef too.

If you click on the pics, you can see them much larger.

If dreams could come true......

I heard Zak telling his friend this dream in the back of our van the other day.

Zak: "I had the scariest dream last night."
Hailey: "Really?"
Zak: "Yeah, I dreamed there was a bad guy in our house and he killed my mom into a toy. And then I couldn't eat breakfast, lunch and dinner because the toy couldn't make it"
Hailey: "Oh, that's bad"

It gives me purpose now, making all those meals. My poor little boy would be devastated if I couldn't make him his PB Honey sandwich.

Will I EVER learn??????

I just don't get it. How I get myself into the predicament of being over committed is beyond me. I can't get a handle on it and its DRIVING ME CRAZY!!!! This week my mind is just spinning and I'm going no where. My "to do" list is out of control......I mean out of control people. I know its a complete disservice to my family to be so totally busy and a few years ago I deemed life success with how many things I could be involved in. But today, I'm desperately searching for a way to get out of everything. Sit back and hold on because I'm going to take you for a ride on my train.

We'll just start with today. This is usually my "busy" day. I take the little ones to Mothers Day Out and Zak goes to work with me until time to go to preschool. I then go to school with Zak as I am volunteering in his class on Wednesday's (I do remember putting on my volunteer form that I could not work every Wed, but the girl who I'm trading off with just had a baby. Now I'm every Wed). I get dinner ready and then head off to Bible Study. That's normally how it works.
Today happened a little differently, Rene' is under the weather so I thought it best not to subject her to a plethora of new germs at MDO. Which means I can't go to work, nor can I volunteer in Zak's classroom. So I'm home trying to do a few things for work while Zak watches "Thomas and the Magic Railroad" in Spanish. Yes, that's his new thing, he wants to watch all of his videos on the Spanish setting. I'm bowing out of Bible study this evening, only because my in-laws (6 of them) are coming tomorrow. Wal Mart is a necessity today if we are to eat anything besides cereal. And I just might want to clean my house so as my company won't know what my house really looks like on any normal day. And there's that pirate cake I promised I'd make and oh yeah, a party needs to go with the pirate cake because that is why the in-laws are coming. But I sure can't do any of that tomorrow morning because they are making the cutest canvas craft at REST tomorrow at church. (REST is an oxymoron)

Have I worn you out yet? I'm dying for a nap today because I STILL HAVEN'T GOTTEN RENE' TO SLEEP THROUGH THE NIGHT!!!!!!

With that, I must sign off now.
Can you put my inability to say "no" on your prayer list??????

Pirates

For some odd reason, my son who has never seen any pirate movie except for Scooby Doo and the Pirate Ghost Ship, is into pirates. We're gearing up for a pirate birthday party this week. Over the weekend I found pirate costumes at the dollar store. Now, I don't know what I was expecting to get at the dollar store, but now I know. For a dollar, its going to be paper. Nevertheless, it was good times this weekend. Now all I have to do is let the paper costumes be my inspiration for planning the birthday party. I have to say though, after 3 years of Thomas the Train themed parties, I'm looking forward to the pirate one.

The schedule

I am a planner. I like things organized and I like to know whats going to happen next, unless its a surprise party for me with lots of gifts of course. So with my children, I put together "the schedule". With Zak, this was perfected. My entire day revolved around "the schedule". He had a nap at 10 and 3 everyday and went to bed at 8 every night. He was an excellent baby and slept through the night at 4 months and has continued to do so. I owe it all to "the schedule". With Paige, I implemented "the schedule", but decided it could be a little more flexible. I didn't need to be so rigid. She still had the same nap times and bed times but I fed her a little longer in the middle of the night so she didn't really sleep through the night until around 6 months. Because, you know you have to buckle down and let them cry so they understand they can't be feasting all night long into adulthood. Poor Rene', I had all the good intentions to put her on "the schedule". She is #3 and well, #3 is on whatever schedule the rest of the family is on. So naps are not consistent and they are frequently taken in the preschool drop off/pick up line. And for some reason I can't seem to let her cry in the middle of the night so she is STILL eating at 8 months. These days, I value sleep more than consistency. This is bugging me to no end. I have got to get a grip and just let the girl cry. I know from previous experience it only lasts a night or two and then she'll be a great sleeper like the others. I just can't buckle down for some reason. I keep telling myself this will be so much harder to do when she's one so I have to do it. So this weekend is the chosen weekend. I'm going to let Rene' cry in the middle of the night until she realizes meals are during the day, not in the middle of the night. She's had some random full nights of sleep so I know its not a hunger issue. Those who have seen her know that most definitely isn't the case. Some may think I'm harsh, I know, but the benefits of children who sleep through the night are my motivation and I've experienced it before and I'm determined to experience it again. So if there are a few posts in the middle of the night this weekend, you'll know I'm trying to get my mind off the crying child in the other room.

Its a big week

Its a big week. Its abc premiere week. I'd like to say I've got some great books I'm going to read this fall, but its just not true. My book review posts will have to come at a later date. One reason I love the fall so much is that we can light a fire in the fireplace, grab some blankets and coffee and watch TV. 3 of my favorites are back this week. First off is "Dancing with the Stars". When this first came on, I was not a fan. I thought it sounded totally dumb. Then, Ian Zering from 90210 was on last season, and I wanted to see him dance since I was a huge 90210 fan. And then I was hooked. Although my loyalties changed to Apollo Ono (I know that's not how you spell his last name). This season, I'm looking forward to Jeannie Garth - another 90210 alum. Next up after "Dancing with the Stars" is "The Bachelor". Now I hear the snickers and see the roll of the eyes but every ounce of girl in me likes to watch this for the sheer romance of it. No one ever stays together and there is always one psycho one. But those dates they go on are so fun! And I am always trying to figure out who he really likes the most. So everyone can head over to my house for a Bachelor finale party. And lastly, is Grey's Anatomy. I'm just sucked in. Now the show I am most anticipating isn't coming back until January. That is "Lost". Its just plain wrong to go a year without a new episode, but I'll be there with popcorn in hand when it does come back. That's what I'm doing this week. What are your favorites?

The Dinner Ritual

This began like 2 weeks ago. And anytime we are all at the dinner table together, about 4 out of the 7 evenings, it happens. Daddy comes home and everyone's excited. Especially me! I've usually got dinner timed just about perfectly to being ready when he walks through the door. We're all at the table, except for Andy, because well, he needs to do about 10 things before he can sit down. And I see it - the fly. I have usually killed about 2 flies in the process of making dinner because they hover around my head for some reason. (no laughing or snide remarks) That purple fly swatter I bought at Wal Mart has the battle scars of my wrath. Its missing a few slats. For some reason, I stink at trying to kill them. I try to ignore them until I can't take it anymore. I am always positive I've gotten every last one until that moment when Andy sits down at the table. They must all be in the same family and think they're funny, because its at the exact same time every night. Or maybe they are wanting revenge for killing their brother, sister, mother, grandfather, I don't know. I try not to think I've hurt they're family. Okay, anyway, it becomes quite the game of "Where is the fly"? We each try to spot it before the other. It always lands somewhere on the table or the light fixture. And of course, you can't swat it on the table or light fixture because then it could bounce onto someone's plate. So it takes a good while to get the fly. But I'm going to brag on my husband here a minute. He can swat a fly in mid-air and kill it. I know, I'm a lucky gal. While its been a fun game, I'm getting tired of it. But I wanted to pass this info along to you if you're looking for a family bonding game to play at the dinner table, just open the back door and let the bonding begin.

Monk and Neale Madness

Okay - today is the day that the new Monk and Neagle CD comes out. If you'll remember I posted an ever so professional review of their new CD here. You can take a listen to a sampling of it right here. Enjoy!!

The weekend in review

The weekends never seem to be dull around here. I'll just share the top 3

1. Rene' ever so gently pushing over the large drink at the counter at Chick-fil-A, splashing all the customers behind us with Dr. Pepper.
2. Zak asking me how I would call him for dinner when he was in outer space.
3. Rene' turning blue Saturday morning and me calling 911 for the first time in my life. (she's fine - don't know what that was about)

But God sees the heart........uh, oh

All 3 of my children have snotty noses. But if I had to pick out of all the germs/illnesses to have, I'd take the snotty noses any day. But for poor Rene' that means long sleepless nights as she doesn't get to sleep on a pillow and her favorite way of eating requires breathing through her nose. So it was a long one last night. But as this is #3 and I am now officially used to only running on 4-5 hours of sleep, I woke up in fairly good spirits.

About 30 minutes later I got a call from Andy's cousin's wife. Her babysitter is sick and she needs to be at work in 30 minutes. I felt for her so I said sure, bring the girls over (they're 3 year old twins). They are very good girls and the kids all play together well so I buckled down for a day with 5 kids under the age of 5.

Thirty minutes into the day long play date, I'm feeding Rene' and thinking to myself - I'm good. I've got this down. The older kids were playing together nicely. The baby was happily eating. Then I heard it. That sound that makes me shudder. Vomit. I look over and see poor Ali vomiting all over my couch and carpet. (I silently thanked God that Andy made me upgrade the carpet in our house). Snapping back, I realize, Its me, with 5 kids, one puking, and the rest just staring. I really felt for poor Ali, but COME ON! I whisked her off to the bathtub, stripped her down and put her in. Her beautiful long hair got it the worst. Bless her heart, she was such a good sport. At this point, I'm sure trying to be. After draping a towel over the bodily fluids (I figured out of all the things, that could wait) I bathed her, called her mom, and stuck all the children in front of the TV on a blanket. This wasn't quite how I had planned to spend the day. And my sympathy for her mom in needing a babysitter was dwindling to pretty much, nothing.
Their dad came and picked them up and then I had to address that stuff under the towel. I really want to give you the details of smell and consistency but I'll spare you.

As of today, I'm officially quitting my job as babysitter.

(And I'm pretty sure, since I'm so annoyed about the whole thing, God will decide to humble me and the next time I need to drop my kids off at a friends, they'll throw up.) (But at least I won't be cleaning it up)

Worth every minute

This - is my 2nd gutteral laugh of the day
(Thanks Tricia for the first!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uISuvTiTYJA

Martha, its all about you baby

I got the homemaking gene. I think it is one, because well, everyone doesn't have it. There is also the creative gene, that I do NOT have. My mother got the gardening half of homemaking, but definitely not the cooking half. She passed that one on to me. And tonight, I proudly exercised it. It was a nice cloudy day here, almost fall, if it wasn't for the 80 degree heat and 99% humidity. Anyway, I had this whole chicken I had bought and it absolutely had to be cooked today. And like a proud mom, I've posted my kitchen artwork. If I had a really great digital camera, you could see the specks of fresh basil under the skin. I have never roasted a whole anything and I even stuck my fingers between the skin and bird and rubbed my homemade seasoning. I was tempted to begin my cooking show persona I developed as a small girl making boxed macaroni and cheese for the camera, but I refrained. And the thing I am most proud of is the gravy. I actually made gravy....from the pan drippings.....on the stove. I added some mashed potatoes and green beans and called it good. Paige just ate the green beans and Zak the potatoes, so I'd call it a hit in the toddler world. I can't promise anything more than cereal tomorrow night.

And I hope you've noticed my new blog picture to the right. It expresses my heartfelt feelings about coffee. I heart coffee - get it?

To Dallas and back in 24 hours

On Friday afternoon at about 4pm I made the spit second decision to whisk away my 3 kids to Dallas for their cousin's 4th birthday party on Saturday. Oh the craziness. But I have to say, it felt good doing something super spontaneous like that. Well, it wasn't completely spontaneous as we were planning to go but Zak threw up that morning so I called the trip off. But by 10 that morning he was back to his old self and well, I just can't pass up a party so off we went. Andy had to work so we hit the road with Damma, Dampa, and Uncle Chris.

The trip was actually non eventful, thanks to a little thing called a portable DVD player and many, many, Wiggles videos. And of course Zak loved the princess birthday party. He did comment that there were too many girls around but he thought they all looked "gorgeous" in their princess dresses. And of course Paige was decked out in hers. It was a great party! It was at Sloan's aunt Debra's house that is in the downtown area of Dallas where big old houses have been redone. That, for me made the trip, getting to see her fabulous house!

We pried ourselves out of bed this morning barely making it to church, but of course I was so glad we had decided to go. Now my house is in complete shambles and I should be doing my Sunday sprint of cleaning, but I'd rather blog. I just hate to start the week out with a messy house.

Well, there's a nice dull "what we did over the weekend"post. I'm sure this week will produce some blog fodder as I've over committed myself, yet again.

A little sense knocked into me

For those who are wondering where my previous post went, I had a very kind friend talk some sense into me and made me realize that one of the "friends" I spoke of just might read this blog, because I'm lucky like that. And you know, I need more drama like I need more poopy diapers to change, so its gone. If you read it, consider yourself privileged to view my heart on my sleeve. Ha.

On a lighter note, We hit a huge milestone today. Zak thew up in the toilet...twice, not on the floor, bed, or me. That's the benefit of an almost 5 year old. I can see the light...

A fresh coat of paint

We painted our living room/dining room area chocolate brown a week or so ago. I'm loving it. Nothing says "welcome home" like the color of a chocolate bar.

Because I care

I'll admit it. I like to read People magazine and catch up on the stars. I like to see them shopping and playing at the beach etc. Its probably one of the things on my "List of things to weed out of my life". But I have to say, I'm so troubled by the news of Owen Wilson. He is one of those actors that can get me laughing so hard it hurts. My first introduction to Owen was in "Meet the Parents". He had a smaller role, but I think it was one that brought on larger roles. He's just so stinkin' funny. And I'll just go ahead and admit it. "You, Me, and Dupree" is one of the funniest movies I've seen in awhile. I think its rated "R" and we rarely, if at all, rent movies with that rating. We rented it strictly because we love Owen. And it of course has many inappropriate things. But that Owen Wilson makes me laugh. If you hadn't heard he had some sort of suicide attempt. Why is it always the funny ones who want to end their lives? Because they feel they always have to be funny? Who knows. Owen, here's my message to you, since I know your a regular reader of my blog. "Get right with the Lord, then keep making those funny movies (minus the crude humor)."

bedtime lullaby?

Bedtime is one of my favorite times of the day. And Paige is all about the lullaby. Its very sweet to hear the voice of a 2 year old singing sweet songs like "Jesus Love Me", "Twinkle, Twinkle, little star", and the like.

Her newest obsession is "The Wiggles". And for some reason the only Wiggles video left at the library was "Merry Christmas Wiggles." So of course we checked it out. So her new bedtime lullaby turned in to Jingle Bells. She will need to know this one in a few months so I'm happy to oblige, for I love ALL things Christmas.

Last night, here's how the lullaby went:
Paige: Jingle Butt, Jingle Butt, Jingle all the way. Oh what fun it is to ride in a one horse open butt, HEY!

That's right, that sweet little voice is now adding the word "butt" to every song she knows. There's also "Papa, Mama, Baby Butt, baby Butt, baby Butt.

I know I need to correct this, but last night I couldn't keep the laughter in, she sang it with such conviction. We'll set a goal of correcting it before December.

Oh, Now I get it.

I have never met my match in life before. That is until I had Paige. Words can not describe the joy and the tears that girl brings me. She gives these kisses that are so sweet. She screams so loud I really think she's going to break my favorite glass pitcher.

Today, I had a moment. A moment when God imparted on me just a small piece of his very big plan for me. The reason why Paige is my daughter is not for me to hone some great parenting skills in order to write a book later (I thought this earlier). He's building my character. And if there's one thing I've learned about God's refinement - its not always a quick process. I have begged and pleaded for him to quit "refining me" in certain areas of my life. And for some odd reason, I don't think He's taking my advice. So with this one, I'm just going to consent early on. I'm throwing up my hands and saying "God, go ahead, refine me because I know your going to anyway. Whether I put up a fight or not." Plus, I don't know what the heck to do with this daughter you gave me.

I honestly have good intentions

My sister, bless her heart. It was only a matter of time before she became a subject of one of my blogs. She is thousands of miles away, but her big sisterly ways still impede my conscience.

Traci is all about doing things and eating things in the most natural form they come in. I could give you the big long drawn out reason as to why she suddenly turned this way, but it really would take me forever. The short version is she drank too much hot diet coke which gave her all these wacky symptoms that no physician could diagnose. It turned out to be because of the aspartame in the diet coke.....that turns to poison in when hot.

Anyway, she has felt it her duty to let everyone know of all the different, harmful things we are ingesting on a daily basis. Most everything I enjoy eating is on the "shouldn't eat list". Now I have changed some of my ways. She really should be proud of herself. I actually read the labels at the store. Some of my friends have even made comments on how healthy my family eats. (Granted, I will always have that stash of chocolate, which is why I am officially the chunky sister. Some people are addicted to cocaine, for me its all things sweet.) Maybe its a big sister thing, maybe its just a my big sister thing, but when I am about to have something really unhealthy like canned cinnamon rolls, I can just picture my sister's face, and she is shaking her head disapprovingly.

There really is a point to all this.

I want to do what is best for my children and teach them good eating habits. So I checked out about 7 books from the library on making your own baby food, because its time for Rene'. I bought all my ingredients and made up the first batch of pureed carrots in my blender. As I was browsing the books, I kept reading how sterile your utensils and blender need to be and I thought to myself "I sure hope that spatula I used didn't have any of that crusted stuff on it that the dishwasher leaves sometimes." I then decided that this was probably going to be way to complicated, I do have 3 children you know. And I promptly headed off to Wal mart to get some organic baby food. Now some of you are probably can't believe I'm buying organic baby food and some (Traci) can't believe I'm not making my baby food. This, my friends, is why God made us all individuals. You can make your own baby food, purchase it, or even purchase organic baby food - life is full of choices. We just all have to make choices we can live with.

I am comfortable with my choice to buy organic baby food.

Because I'm keeping it real......

Its just one of those odd things about me, I want my life to look like it does in commercials. Especially the Christmas ones. The children bound down the stairs on Christmas morning to a glowing tree with beautifully wrapped presents around. Mom and Dad are drinking coffee and smiling at one another. Or its the first day of school and everyone is sitting down to a large homecooked breakfast in their extra large kitchen with many windows. Its all about the memories.

So it was the first day of school in our house today, for Zak. I was going to get up early and make a nice breakfast, even though he doesn't go to school until the afternoon. And I did get up early - like 4 times, thanks to Rene'. None of those times did I get up and begin to prepare the large breakfast I had in mind. Instead Paige woke me at 5. After an hour of trying to get her to go back to sleep I realized it was pointless and stumbled into the kitchen grabbing at the coffee pot. I could feel it - I was ultra cranky. I don't do well without much sleep. The only homemade breakfast I could muster up were some blueberry muffins.

The morning was rather uneventful, as we're waiting for the clock to move faster. And by the time its time to take Zak to school, I'm getting really sleepy again. I grabbed the video camera, scooped up the children and we were off. He did fine, as usual. And I somehow felt I'd ripped him off by not making a bigger deal of his first day of school. While I left a smiling, waving boy in the classroom, I heard from another mother in the parking lot, he was not so happy. I toyed with the idea of going in, but then I didn't want to be one of those moms, so I took my now cranky other 2 children home for their naps. Here's a pic of the first day of school last year

And here is this years pic

The good news is I have 13 more years and 2 more children to perfect the first day of school memories.

Its my blog and I can whine if I want to.

Okay, This is strictly a vent and if your not in the mood to hear one, you might want to check someone else's blog. I promise I won't be offended.



I AM SO STINKING TIRED. Remember that queen of overcommittment post? Well, I'm still depending on the Lord to deliver me from the fact that I can't say "no".



I just got back from a power trip to CO, where we stayed up much too late because they are an hour earlier. I then came home to clean my house like it has never been cleaned before because I was hosting my first Southern Living at Home party in this town. I squeezed in a meeting for the ministry called "REST" at my church for mothers of preschoolers. (The name is slightly ironic for those of us who plan it) Then today my children had 3 different play dates. The first one was a regularly scheduled play date. Then my aunt called and said my cousin and his kids were in town so that was the 2nd one. Then Andy's cousin called and said her babysitter's kids were sick and she needed to go to work so that made 3. That is why my daughter just put herself to bed at 6:30pm.



I need to go to work, I need to work from home, and all I want to do is sit on the couch and watch Guiding Light that I recorded from earlier today. Tomorrow Zak meets his new Pre-K teacher and then Friday he officially starts school.



The bottom line is I'm going to have to cut out the late night TV watching of Frazier which Andy and I love so much. Its about to kill me. (They don't make sitcoms like that anymore., you know).



With that said, Its 7:00 and I am going to sit in the bathtub, read a book, and probably fall asleep before I finish the first page.

Our Sunday

5:45am the alarm goes off, and we hit snooze.

5:50am we have to get up if we want to get to the airport in time to head home.

7:10am Our initial time to leave was 6:30am. Our plane leaves in less than 3 hours. We have a 2 hour drive ahead of us and security at Denver International Airport.

8:50am We pull up to DIA curbside, kiss and hug our goodbyes and stand at curbside check in.

8:51am I realize Rene' is poopy and its on the verge of spilling over on me, Zak has to desperately go to the bathroom.

8:55am The United Airlines employee tells us our bag is 15 pounds over the limit and we need to take something out or go inside and check an additional bag (plastic bag).

8:56am Thank goodness for a husband who loves space saver bags because he just opened up our suitcase, pulled out the tightly vacuumed bag and stuck it in the airline bag. We were off

8:58am We're in our respective bathrooms, THERE IS NO CHANGING TABLE IN THE WOMEN"S BATHROOM. (Yes, I realize all caps means your yelling, because I am.)

8:59am I change Rene' on some random chairs.

9:00am We enter the security line, which is moving, but the line winds so far outside of the designated area, I know we're in for a wild ride.

9:15am Still in the security line

9:20am I start praying

9:39am We're finally out of security and on the little underground train to our terminal. Note: there is only one train working.

9:50am We arrive at gate B47 where there is no one but the lady taking boarding passes

9:52am The 5 of us make our way to the very back of the plane with 120 eyes on us, sweat is dripping down my forehead because I am carrying an 18 pound baby on my chest, Zak's spiderman suitcase is bumping every 5th aisle passenger.

9:55am We are in our seats in Row 20 bound for home with 5 minutes to spare.

I'm too worn out to even relay the events of our arrival. That could be another post in itself.

We had a bittersweet week in Colorado Springs, paying our respects to dear Aunt Sydney and enjoying family.

VBS fun

Last night was VBS at our church. We just do a one night thing, and do it up really big. I volunteered Andy and I to work with the 2-3 1/2 year olds. Simply because they were done at 8:00pm and the bigger kids weren't done till 10pm.

It all began with me taking all 3 of my children up to the church by myself because Andy was going to be late, of course. So I knew I had to purchase 4 T-shirts and feed my children pizza all by myself before Andy would get there. I planned to get there a few minutes early so I could be first at the T-shirt table so I wouldn't have to wait in a line with 3 little ones in tow. I had my check all written out - I was prepared. So as soon as I get there I am the first in line and thankful for the gift of organization. I am rattling off T-shirt sizes to the guy while the line gets long behind me. I think I might have jostled Rene' too much because she spit up all over the floor, me, and my new T-shirt. With an audience behind me, I bend down to the floor, grab and extra outfit out of my diaper bag and clean the floor with it, all while holding Rene' and repeating the T-shirt sizes to the T-shirt guy, and Paige pointing and yelling at the top of her lungs "spit up, spit up, spit up". Now I am wearing some low rise pants. And I went with undergarments that were comfortable, not necessarily stylish or the right pair for the pants, all knowing that I would be buying a T-shirt that would well cover my low rise pants and underwear that showed. At this point I hadn't put on my T-shirt so everyone behind me got a great view of my navy blue underwear sticking out of my low rise pants. And the funny is, while I am juggling all of these things, no one behind me offers to help. And the person standing next to me was the nursery worker who was going to take care of Rene' and I thought just maybe she would offer to hold her, but not a chance. So that was my experience at the T-shirt table.

We rush off to the mothers nursing room to change because that is the only place I can lay Rene' on the floor. I then drop her off in her class and the remaining children and I go hit the pizza table. It was very crowded, and I realized I needed to get 3 plates and drinks. So I begin my juggling act only to look over at my children eating the ice that is keeping the drinks cold. I finally convince them to take a bottle of water, not the ice and we find a space on the floor to eat. The only mishap there was Paige spilling all her water on the floor. Since it was water, I rubbed it in with my foot and we promptly left for our classes.

The next 2 hours was spent moving 17, 2-3/12 year olds, from "country" (the whole theme was Northview Jones - based on Indiana Jones) to country. If you have ever tried to keep track of 17 toddlers in VBS madness, you can only sympathize. If you haven't, just picture utter chaos. There is this chain of rings that they are all supposed to hold on to while we move them from place to place. There were only 3 of us adults and we basically spent 2 hours corralling them back to the chain of rings. I have never been so tired in my life.

All in all, they had a great time. And next year, I will volunteer with the class that doesn't need a string of rings to move from place to place.

One Second can change your life

We got word last night that Andy's aunt and uncle were in a terrible car accident. His aunt didn't make it. As I sat consoling my husband I kept thinking to myself. These are the things you just don't think will happen to your family. I have never known anyone so close to die in such a sudden and tragic way. My days in Colorado, I sat many a morning at her table drinking coffee and shooting the breeze at "breakfast club". I'm going to share a few things about Sydney that will help you know what the world lost yesterday.

Sydney is the wife of Jimmy, a mom of 5, grandma of 11. She is Andy's dad's sister. She is a FABULOUS cook. Every holiday or birthday you are hoping to get one of her homemade desserts as a gift. Many times Andy asked for her famous macaroon tarts for his birthday. I personally wanted her pie. Her crusts were just perfect. She made the desserts for the Juniper Valley Restaurant. You would always find an open door and some yummy treat at her house. She had a love for her grandchildren that was so evident in the way she interacted with them. There was always one of them at her house at any given time. Every fall, you could always count on Sydney to have a Denver Bronco party. The family would all meet in her large living room for football and family time. And you could count on her to be wearing blue and orange. Every holiday consisted of some time at her house. She has this large living room with this great fireplace that is always burning in the winter. She took care of 99 year old Evelyn nearly every day. Taking her dinners or stopping for a visit. She loved golf and would take lots of trips with her husband Jimmy to play on various courses. You could count on her for an honest opinion. And most of the time, what Sydney said was gospel. She always had great jewelry on. I never paid much attention to acessories until I moved to CO and always saw Sydney with great matching jewelry. She was my next door neighbor for 2 years. She was a devoted Catholic. She loved her family dearly. Sydney we love you and we'll miss you.

Just take a moment today to remember the only reason we are on this earth is to see how many people we can take with us to heaven when we die. And the only way to do that is by the blood of Jesus. The difference of 1 second can change your life. Now go give your family a hug, and please remember ours as we move with heavy hearts through the rest of our week.