The Antics of the Three 22nds...and their sisters!

So Many Things

2012-01-28T23:59:00.000-06:00

Life moves so quickly.

I am really not good at documenting things, and I always regret it. I often look back in my blog posts to see when a certain child did this or that or when a certain event happened. I am planning on printing out parts of my blog, and so I am trying to make a conscious effort to document the things that need to be documented.

I think it would be fun to write out each child's birth stories for sure, and I am toying with writing out Noah's and my love story. Next week I am planning to attempt to spend no money, and I think I will blog about that experience. But today? Today I am going to catch up on "Quote of the Days". I have posted most of these on facebook, but here they are for those of you who are not on facebook:

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Lincoln put Everyn's pacifier back in her mouth. I said to Everyn, "you should thank Lincoln for giving you your pacifier back". Lincoln looks up and me and says, "Mom, you know she can't say that. She has her pacifier in her mouth!" Yep, Linc, that is the reason...

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Berean really likes Tarzan and Jane. Everyn was laying on my lap one day and Berean came up and pushed her chest up against Everyn's head and said "heart"- just like when Tarzan and Jane took turns listening to each other's hearts.

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Deacon spends a lot of time talking to Everyn. One day I heard him say, "why do you like me so much, Everyn? I didn't exactly give birth to you."

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Lincoln: "Deacon, can this bug fly?"
Deacon: "It used to be able to. Now it is dead."
Lincoln: "Do you think it flew into our house and than we whacked it?"
Deacon: "maybe"

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Lincoln is convinced he wants a Blackberry. He just hasn't quite decided what kind. Roman wants a phone with a key pad that pulls out.

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We are reading Little House on the Praire. I asked the boys if they would like to ride west in a covered wagon (my sisters and I would have jumped at the chance!). Roman said, "no way" (he doesn't like long trips). Deacon said, "no...well, maybe it would be ok if I had my DSI XL (nintendo)". Poor Laura and Mary, they didn't even have a cassette player, much less a dvd player or a personal gaming system.

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Deacon: "If we went to McDonalds more often we would have a lot more worthless toys."

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Deacon attempting to use the word "ravel" as in opposite of "unravel". It didn't quite work.

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Lincoln is talking away now, all the time. When we want to tell him to please be quiet, we try to remind ourselves of how much money we paid to get him to talk. And we are happy that he is talking. Right now, though he makes his guys talk to each other, even if he is playing alone. He also is our best movie/book/cd quoter. The boy has his favorite "lines" and he uses them often.

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This week I was complaining about pencil sharpeners. We just use handheld ones and they just don't work well, or they quit working or the pencils don't fit in them properly. Maybe I expect too much from a product that costs 99 cents. Deacon asked me if I thought that it was a situation in which the people making the pencil sharpeners KNEW that they were bad, but were just trying to get my money and giving me a faulty product on purpose. I clarified, asking him if he was wondering if it was a big scam. He did. His father agrees. (note: the boys just finished listening to The Green Ring Conspiracy so they are totally up on counterfeit rings and all kinds of scams).

New Questions

2012-01-26T16:01:00.001-06:00

Before Everyn was born I got alot of questions about how many kids we were going to have, and surely this was going to be the last one.

Now those same people keep saying stuff like, "you may as well just have a 6th" and "wouldn't it be awesome if you had another one that was a girl and then you would have 3 and 3?!"

I think the whole thing is cute. For the most part, people love babies and when the baby is there it seems that everyone is happy and rejoycing and thinks it is a marvelous thing.

And it is. Babies are pretty awesome.

And older siblings are pretty awesome too.

I have had to change my tactics a little bit when we go out. I have to handle the baby carrier and whatever bags/purses I need. I also have a slippery almost 2 year old that needs to be monitored and controlled. There are keys and doors and cards that need to be maneuvered. Honestly, I just used to do it all myself- except the carrier of course. The boys tend to lose things out of bags and get distracted and let go of their sister. Now though, I give them jobs. I've been putting Roman on door duty, and I hand him the van key and he is in charge of that and getting everything unlocked and opened. Deacon gets to pick if he wants to carry bags or handle Berean. He usually picks Berean and she holds out her hands to him and he holds her hand and tells her all kinds of things as they walk along together. Lincoln usually holds Berean's other hand.
Lincoln lets go at will, though, so I can't really trust him.

It has been working, but I am thankful that it is 36 degrees today and that we haven't had cold days or lots of snow this year.

The other question Noah and I have been getting is this, "So, how is it going..." but it is said in a way that the asker expects the answer to be "it is so horrible, why did I ever do this!" or "we are dying due to lack of sleep". They seem like they don't believe me when I say that things are going fine.

Homeschooling moms with lots of children say this instead, "how's the sleep?" I tell them she sleeps at night in 4 hour stretches and they say, "you're ok then." They know, like I know, that if you are sleeping in 3 1/2 hour segments that you can conquer the world. Well, maybe not the world, but at least the pile of dirty dishes. Maybe, with some chocolate, you can even get to the laundry.

I am not going to lie, there have been hard moments when everyone is crying at once or I have had to put the pacifier back in someone's mouth for the 100th time. A couple of days the boys have watched more tv then I would prefer. Many nights I have fallen asleep before I have finished my days work.

But really, the hard moments have not been that many. Maybe 5% of the time.

It is like any job, I suppose. Some days your customers (or patients, or students or coworkers) are more needy than other days. Some days the tasks you are asked to do are harder than tasks you have to do on other days. Some days the amount of work is more than you have time for. I think that is just the way it is.

I do know that things will be harder when I go back to work in a couple of months. I am a little worried about that, but it will be ok. Right now I am enjoying my time off, enjoying my family and enjoying things not being too hard.

An Evening Out

2012-01-24T00:14:00.000-06:00

The title is really a lie.

Well, unless you count a quick trip to Kohls, Target and the Y an evening out.

First off, the only reason that I was leaving my warm house and family on a cold, snowy Sunday night was because I needed to go to Kohls to pay my credit card bill. Yes, I am bizarre like that. I take care of all of our bills online, but my Kohls credit card is not one that I use that regularly, so I just pay it as it comes. Well, actually I remember the day it is due and than I pay it in store on that day (yes, I realize that it makes zero sense, it is just one of those things that I do). And it is craziness like that which draws me out of the house on a Sunday evening in January. As I changed into Yoga pants in anticipation of a quick run at the Y, I caught myself wishing for a friend to run with, running with someone is a great motivator.

I walked into the store and took care of the bill. I wandered past all the clearance clothes and thought again how I really, really need a new wardrobe- maybe a whole new look- when I lose this last 15 pounds of baby weight. But now is not the time. I need to resist the urge to shop when I am postpartum- it makes no sense, because whatever I buy will no longer fit in another month. And so the waiting game persists.

The baby section was nearby so I went in to see if there were some footie pjs for Berean and Everyn. There was a pair of girl 2t footies for $5 on the rack. I considered them. I do laundry once a week, so it is really nice for her to have 8 pairs of pjs, since she still wears that stinky diaper. Wow, 8 pairs of footies, that seems like a lot. It isn't that hard to gather that many pairs, however, since she still can wear some of her 12 month ones as well as 18 months and now 2t. The NFL playoffs were on and I knew she was home sporting a pair of the boys old football footies. The holes in the toes are only very small, and her feet don't reach the ends anyway. $5, should I buy them? No, I decided, she doesn't need them. Saving $5 here and there is what makes people rich. Actually, inventing facebook makes people rich, but that has already been done. I do what I can.

I left Kohls emptyhanded: visions of my children's full closets firmly documented in my mind.

Target was next. I only needed a couple of things there, and considered the possibility of getting out of the store for less than $50. Target is a money sucker. They sell so many things there and it seems that there is always something to be purchased. I head for the nursing bra section and made my selection. A nursing cami caught my eye. $26. My eyes quickly slid to the promise of it slimming my tummy. Tempting. "No" my mind shouted. "You do not need to spend $26 to slim your tummy, go get on a treadmill for free and do it yourself!" Of course, treadmills and Y memberships are not free either, but I was living in the moment and not concerned about such details. I determined to run a 7 min mile at the Y.

And then I moved on to pick out a bag of french fries. I vaguely wondered what I was doing. My mind is screaming about 7 min miles, while I am picking out french fries. I thought about the inconsistencies in my life as I wandered by the valentine's candy. Thoughts like that helped prevent me from buying more starbursts, so I headed to the checkout lane with only 2 items: a nursing bra and a bag of french fries. You gotta love Target.

The Y was next. I had time for a quick run before heading home for bedtime routines. I was walking down the corridor when I heard someone calling my name. I turned around to see a woman I know from homeschool gym and swim. She was heading up to the the fitness floor, so we found treadmills together and got a nice run in. No, I didn't attempt my 7 min mile, but I did run a couple of 9 1/2 ers and walked a little too. And on top of that, we had a nice conversation.

Hmmm...

Kohls, Target and running with a friend.

Maybe that can be considered an Evening Out.

Homebound

2012-01-19T22:42:00.001-06:00

I really despise cold weather. Taking 5 kids somewhere is no small task, but taking 5 kids anywhere when it is like 0 degrees is almost enough to make me cry.

Yeah, I know, I live in the wrong state.

This year has been so wonderfully above average temperatures. It has been a real blessing to me, but now the cold has come and I have locked the doors to my house. There has actually been days in the last week that I have not gone anywhere. That is almost unheard of for me. And there have been days that I have sent Deacon out to get the mail, that is also almost unheard of for me.

As an aside, when I do send Deacon out to get the mail, the other boys want to go too. So all three of them go out there and then they stand by the mailbox and equally divide the mail up so they each have something to carry back to the house. I always wonder if I actually get all the mail that was in the box.

Everyn is still sleeping a lot. She tends to be a little more awake and a little fussier in the evenings. Mostly she just wants attention. And who can blame her? She is growing like a weed and Noah and I both feel a little sad - she is already losing that newborn look. She doesn't really have much of a routine yet, mostly because she sleeps so much that her night time sleep just kind of moves right into what could be considered her morning nap. The last couple of days though it seems that her pattern is maybe normalizing a little bit. Most nights she does pretty well, usually one 4 hour stretch and another 3 or 4 hour stretch. Occasionally she will have a bad night where she apparently isn't sleepy at 0400 in the morning. At those times I lay down with her on the floor and we just sleep there.

Ok, I know that sounds crazy. Sleeping on the floor? Basically there are two reasons: 1. I don't want her getting used to sleeping in our bed and I also don't want me to get used to always just bringing her back there. 2. I think she is safer on the floor since siblings will occasionally sneak in and climb into our bed,

Lincoln is still enjoying his bus ride to preschool. I am enjoying not driving him there. I am also enjoying not taking him to private therapy.

We have so much time for school work now that I am not working and we don't have therapy. I am pretty sure I am driving the boys crazy with how much work we are getting done. Housework though is still daunting. I feel like everytime I turn around there is another mess to clean up. I feel like I never have time to get any further than just surface cleaning, laundry, dishes and basic paperwork stuff.

Oh well.

Hmmm...time to go find the wayward pacifier. Sorry about the boring post. Maybe I will talk about my shoes tomorrow.

First Sled Ride

2012-01-19T08:50:00.003-06:00

That Hill Looks HUGE!
(no babies left the surface of the bed in the makings of this picture)

The Bag Lady

2012-01-17T18:04:00.002-06:00

Ready to Go Shopping!

Berean is in one of those stages that has been laughing (or crying) all day. Ok, she doesn't really have me crying-but she definitely does try my (and her brothers!) patience. She likes to bang the chair into the lamp just to hear the noise, she likes to steal Pokemon cards and write in people's school books. She repeats what we say and learns new words daily. The last couple of days her word is "jeans". As in "Mommy's jeans" while she helps me with laundry. The girl knows her fabrics, that is for sure :)

She likes to "help" me more than the boys ever did. If she sees me start folding laundry or loading/unloading the dishwasher, she is instantly there, ready to help. And help she does. Sort of. She is good with the dishwasher, and she knows whose clothes are whose, but after a while she gets tired of sorting and starts tossing things back into baskets which is decidedly not helpful.

She also likes to shop. In these pictures she put her goggles on sideways (the girl is a trendsetter) and gathered her bags and cart. The babies get tossed in and away she goes.

Earlier today she was playing with her purse, instead of her cart. She would go over to the couch, open her purse and take out her hair binder, which she would then place on her wrist (like I do!). Next she would remove a book and page through it. After that she would remove a Barbie hair brush and comb and brush her hair. Finally everything would go back into the purse, she would put it on her arm and tell me "bye". Then she would go down the stairs. This was repeated over and over again.

Hope those babies are buckled in!

I never really cared if I had a little girl or not, but let me tell you- I care now! I love having 2 daughters, they are so different than the boys and so special.

I love having three boys too- they are also so different and so special! There is something about the way that boys love their mamas...

We were over at my mom's today and she was sitting at her laptop, showing the kids my sister's blog. She had the baby on her chest, and the other four surrounding her. It sure looked like a lot of kids! I looked into each one of their small, perfect faces. They all looked so happy.

How blessed I am!

2012 Goals

2012-01-10T23:03:00.001-06:00

A couple of days ago Noah suggested that as I run I try to convince myself to not "be so psychotic". He wasn't trying to be mean, but without over-analyzing everything too much- he basically thinks I need to relax on the goal setting front.

I think he maybe needs to try goal setting.

But to each his own, right?

I have been very "lazy" these last two weeks. I have only made a couple of lists, I have spent most evenings cuddling my baby and reading to my kids. I have stayed home during the days, and I haven't created undue stress for myself.

And it was good for 2 weeks, but I can't live my whole life that way. I need goals and to push myself or else I flounder around and accomplish nothing. I can't enjoy life with things hanging over my head.

And so I will make goals for 2012, but I will also attempt to "not be psychotic". My 2011 goals were posted last year on January 4th. It is kind of funny to read them now, because I clearly had no idea that I would have another baby by the end of 2011! I was anticipating running a half marathon in the fall of 2011, not being in my 3rd trimester!

Anyway, here is the start of my 2012 goals:

PHYSICAL:
*lose baby weight (95% by March 26)
*Run/walk 1000 miles
*Run a 25 min 5k
*Run a 1/2 Marathon
*Complete at least 1 triathlon
*Start and complete INSANITY workout program

HOME/YARD:
*Plant apple trees
*Maintain garden/fruit plants
*finish lot cleanup
*Paint family room
*possibly get new furniture/floor lamps
*plan for a possible addition

ACADEMIC/WORK:
*Get CCRN! (this goal has been very elusive, I am scared to try...)
*Make a nonfiction reading plan (hope to come up with a list of books I want to read soon!)
*be diligent about putting content on my ipod to listen to while working out

PARENTING:
*read and reread parenting books to keep concepts and goals at the forefront of my mind
*be diligent about disciplining consistently so the kids and I both know that what will happen if defiance/misbehavior occurs
*work with each child to come up with specific goals for themselves
*implement a longer "family time" each week
*continue Bible Story readings and prayer time at night

FINANCIAL:
*pay off lot! (by end of January)
*save up money for possible addition/savings/new vehicle
*cut back on eating out expenses

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

2012-01-08T18:59:00.001-06:00

Sisters!

THE GOOD

I ran 2 miles tonight and it felt great!

Everyn has been awake a lot of the day, and I am hoping for a good night!

It is a full, beautiful moon and I am not going to be at work!

I got a picture of the girls together that does not have Berean acting as if Everyn is toxic.

Our house is full of life!

Our church has brought us awesome meals, and they have been such a blessing!

THE BAD

My kitchen is still in disarray. I am trying to take deep breaths and just go with it, but it is taking a toll. I am not irritated with Noah about it- this is just the way it goes when you have 5 kids and jobs.

My whole house has taken a beating. I don't think it has been this big of a mess since Lincoln was a baby. I am determined to pull things together, but it is not going to be easy!

This week we get back into our routine. I need to spend some time tonight trying to stratigize our activities and how they will be handled with all the children.

AND THE UGLY...

We have had some tough behavior lately with some of our children. It is hard to know how to deal with it- especially when they refuse to give us any inkling about what they are thinking...

I have been sleeping on the floor for a couple hours a night with Everyn. The reasons are perhaps crazy, but they are there none-the-less. My back hurts, I am too old to sleep on the floor.

The mounds of laundry are ginormous. That is all I will say about that.

Brain Dump

2012-01-06T01:49:00.003-06:00

This is just going to be some scattered memories of the last 10 days- the first 10 days of being a family of 7. Of course, I was going to get things done this evening, but baby girl wanted to cuddle, so who am I to say no?

The more kids I have, the more I remember that this newborn stage is so short. Some nights can feel like forever, and I know it sounds cliche- but little newborns grow and they grow fast! Everyn already looks bigger in her carseat than she did on the day we brought her home. I am really trying to enjoy this time. If she wants to be held, then I hold her (although I am trying to be very disciplined about her sleeping in her own bed at night).

Earlier today I was busy helping a very stubborn Berean get ready for bed. She was tormenting her brothers and not obeying very well. I decided that it was time for bed- as I could tell that the boys patience with her was very thin - and besides that it was 7:30. I took her upstairs where she proceeded to tell me "no" to every song I wanted to sing to her. We read her books (one about Mowgli from the Jungle book, Barnyard Dance and a book about babies going to bed. Somehow I managed to avoid her favorite- Tarzan. No, seriously, she loves Tarzan. Noah reads it to her and explains to her how best to pick out a husband). Deacon came up with Everyn, "she needs to feed, Mom". I told him that she was going to need to wait a minute (the girl did not look starving to me) and he responded with, "didn't you hear her? She was screaming for you".

"Deacon", I replied, "I don't think that was screaming. It sounded like she whimpered once and you picked her up." (Noah was downstairs with them and confirmed this).

That is the life of Everyn. Her brothers can't stand to hear her cry and it is somehow greatly magnified in their ears- or else it is minimized in mine? Who knows. Deacon is a big help with her (he does much better when he is just home with us and not trying to show off!) and will just sit on the couch holding her and talking to her while he reads to himself or listens to me read. Roman likes to hold her while I read his school stuff to him as well. It is a nice treat for the boy who is having to do schoolwork.

Yesterday morning I put Berean and Lincoln in the bathtub, sat next to the tub and while monitoring bathtime and nursing Everyn managed to supervise Deacon's science and reading lessons. Yup, I had him bring his books into the bathroom and we worked in there. It was a good half hour of school and Berean and Lincoln got clean and had fun too!

Berean has been rather difficult during school. She wants to be right there and in on the action. The first couple of days of having Everyn at home Berean was mean to her and always trying to hurt her. Now Berean just torments the boys and essentially ignores Everyn. She does still give a running commentary on everything Everyn does, so I know she is keeping an eye on the situation, but at least she is staying away from her a little more. I hear, "baby crying", "baby sleeping", "baby eyes", "baby eating" multiple times a day. Speaking of language, Berean's language is exploding. She copies everything I say, sings little songs to herself around the house and babbles long sentences that I don't understand.

I was reviewing Lincoln's Awana Cubbie motto with him, "Jesus Loves Me". Of course, Lincoln was being noncompliant, but Berean was right in there trying to say the words with me. I mentioned the word "ruckus" today while on the phone with Noah, and she cocked her little head to the side and repeated it.

Oh! 2 items of great news- 1) our missing harddrives have been found! We still can't access anything on them, but it looks like the odds are good that someone should be able to recover the files, we will just have to be willing to pay the price. 2) the kitchen is coming along and by the end of the weekend I should be organizing cupboards instead of working around "oven islands".

Friends from church have brought meals this week which has been such a blessing. The week has been going well, and I know that in large part that is due to not having to deal with supper (feeding 5 kids breakfast and lunch already feels like plenty of kitchen work) and the fact that we haven't had to go to our normal places! Next week co-op, basketball, and swimming all start back up. We are done with speech therapy, however, so that will ease up the schedule. Oh, and next week too I have to go into work for a few hours and I think we have 2 doctor appointments scheduled. It will be hard to get into the swing of things again, but it will be good too. Next week is also the week that I am going to start running and expedite the poundage removal...

Today Lincoln went back to preschool (he goes one day a week) and it was the first day he rode the bus! This was a hard decision for me to make, but he seemed to like it and it will be much easier then me driving him and hauling the other 4 along for drop off and pick up in the dead of winter. He seemed proud to get on the bus, especially since his brothers are somewhat jealous about the situation.

Well, that seems like plenty of information for one night. It's time for me to catch a little sleep before it is time for the next baby snack time! One thing I have learned is never count the hours of sleep you may get...it only makes you feel worse!

Some Pictures

2012-01-02T22:56:00.003-06:00

She is usually sleeping

See what I mean?

Heading home from the hospital- she likes to have just one eye open

The big sister

She saw this!

2011-12-30T20:17:00.001-06:00

When Julie came down this afternoon from her well-deserved nap...

She saw this!

Oh.

Well, she did, that's true. But that was not the exciting part.

(I wonder how much Pepsi paid for that spot?)

Then she turned the corner and saw this!

The Visit

2011-12-28T16:49:00.002-06:00

Lincoln inspecting Everyn

Everyn was born at 1855 on Monday. The other kids were at my parents and ended up spending the night there. Tia Erica even took them to McDonalds. I was pretty miserable Monday night- very nauseous and dizzy, so we decided to wait until Tuesday to have the other kids come visit.

On a side note my heart rate has been in the 40s to low 50s the whole time I have been here. I don't know if that is my new baseline and I just hadn't known before, or if this is something new.

Noah stayed until after midnight since I was feeling so sick. The hospital I was at with the middle 3 really encouraged babies to go to the nursery so the moms could rest. This facility is more into Mom/baby bonding and does not encourage the use of the nursery as much.

Roman laughing

The first thing Lincoln said when he walked into the room and saw the baby was, "she is much smaller than Berean". I am not altogether sure what he was expecting. He was moderately interested in the baby, but probably still most interested in his new Leapster he got for Christmas.

Roman was very interested in Everyn initially, but he soon moved on to asking if he could "turn on the telly" (yes, he thinks it is cool to call the tv the "telly"). He also became interested in taking pictures of everything and everyone in the room.

Lincoln and Everyn

Leapster and Cheerios

Deacon wanted to hold the baby and was heard to say, "there is just something about newborn babies that make me want to just look at them."

Everyn and I are looking forward to getting home to everyone and getting back into a routine. Sitting around for 48 hours is a hard thing to do! Thankfully I have a book, my laptop and the "telly" to keep me busy. (oh, and of course the baby, but she is under going bili-light therapy so I am not supposed to be messing with her that much.)

The whole family- wow, that is a lot of people!

Everyn Laura's first post!

2011-12-26T23:01:00.001-06:00

This evening at 6:55 we welcomed Everyn Laura officially to the family! In brief, we came in at 9:30 this morning to get the party started, and after some induction and some pushing, there she was tonight. None of that to take away from what Julie did, but Julie will tell you more about it at some point I'm sure. I'm just the ghost writer.

She came in with the following vitals:
Dec 26, 2011
7 lbs 15 oz
20.8 inches

We are thankful to God for a straightforward delivery and a mom and baby that are doing well. Julie is nauseous and tired, but tear free, and Everyn is a trooper and has taken to eating right away :)

A mighty cheer went up from the boys when they heard they had another little sister.

-N

The Big Update

2011-12-26T08:21:00.003-06:00

This is the final update for the "70 things to do before Baby"- things I wanted to get done in the last 10 weeks of my pregnancy. I am most proud of walking 210 miles. We got a lot done, and actually we got a lot more done than what actually made the list. There are a few things left (as documented below) but for the most part those things will either get done in the next week or they are things that are really beyond my control- and I am ok with that. All in all, I consider this project a success and am already planning out my next list :) Incidently, my list-hating, non-goal husband kind of secretly liked the list too.

~~Go to zoo~~ (actually went to an aquarium, but since we did that I won't be taking them to the zoo before baby)

2. ~~Children’s Museum~~

3.~~Buy Carseat~~

4. ~~Find/Wash baby clothes~~

5. ~~Make L an ENT appt~~

6. ~~Take L to ENT appt~~

7. ~~Clean out van- OCT~~

8. ~~Clean out van- NOV~~

9. ~~Clean out van- DEC~~

10. ~~Fall Yardwork~~

11. ~~210 mile Challenge- OCT~~ (I have determined to run/walk 210 miles before baby!) (21 miles done this week!)

12. ~~210 mile Challenge- NOV~~

13. ~~210 mile Challenge- DEC~~

14. ~~Seasonal clothes swap~~

15. ~~Winter weather wear established~~

16. ~~Finish and Mail Roman’s thank you notes~~
17. ~~Office to our room~~

18. ~~Move Boys to office~~

19. ~~Berean and Baby to boys room~~

20. ~~N- make vision appt~~

21. N- ~~go to vision appt~~

22. ~~FMLA paperwork~~

23. ~~2012 insurance selection~~

24. ~~Preregister at hospital~~

25. ~~Clean out garage so cars will fit~~

26. ~~Freezer meal cooking~~ (

27. ~~Cabinets finished and installed~~

28. ~~New countertops~~

29. Backsplash (HOPEFULLY WILL BE DONE BEFORE THE NEW YEAR!)

30. ~~Replace microwave~~

31. ~~Fix/replace CD player in van~~

32. Pay off lot (HOPEFULLY WILL BE DONE BEFORE THE NEW YEAR!)

33. ~~Mattresses for boys beds~~

34. ~~Take pictures of boys~~

35. ~~Mail pictures to Grandparents~~

36. Christmas letter/pictures/birth announcements (DECIDED TO WAIT TO MAIL OUT THE CHRISTMAS CARDS WITH THE BABY ANNOUNCEMENTS- DID HAND CHRISTMAS CARDS OUT LOCALLY. HOPE TO HAVE THESE MAILED OUT BY END OF THE YEAR!)

37. ~~D’s birthday party~~

38. ~~Christmas shopping~~

39. ~~Christmas presents for teachers~~

40. ~~Christmas decorations~~

41. ~~Study for ACLS~~

42. ~~ACLS~~

43. N- fix computer (COMPUTER IS STILL MISSING, BUT NEW LAPTOP WAS PURCHASED SO WE ARE OPERATING OK RIGHT NOW.)

44. ~~N- finish knife~~

45. Get ring fixed (NOAH WILL TAKE CARE OF THIS IN JANUARYl)

46. ~~Finish cleaning kitchen~~

47. ~~OCC boxes~~

48. ~~Sparks Fall Frolic~~

49. ~~Dentist- me~~

50. ~~Paint boy’s room~~

51. ~~Paint Berean’s room~~

52. ~~New blinds for boys room~~

53. ~~32 week appt~~

54. ~~36 week appt~~ (scheduled!)

55. ~~38 week appt~~

56. ~~40 week appt~~

57. ~~Make yogurt on a routine~~

58. ~~Sign boys up for basketball~~

59. ~~Basketball evaluations~~

60. ~~Swimming lesson sign ups~~

61. 21 day plan (HOPEFULLY WILL START THIS FOR THE NEW YEAR.)

62. ~~Buy shoes~~

63. Potty train Berean (IT's GOING...APPARENTLY I CAN't CONTROL THIS ONE)

64. ~~Christmas charitable giving with boys~~

65. ~~Mystery of History Timeline~~

66. ~~Bean Candles~~

67.Paint family room (THIS IS THE ONE THING I AM DISAPPOINTED THAT I DIDN"T GET DONE. HOWEVER, WE REALLY NEED SOME NEW FURNITURE, SO IT MAY BE BETTER TO WAIT A LITTLE BIT SO EVERYTHING MATCHES :)

~~68. ~~Family trip to Duluth~~~~

~~69. Go through toy cabinets~~

70. ~~Fix Oven~~

The Christmas Without a Sink (But With a Microwave)

2011-12-25T23:34:00.002-06:00

New counter on a new cabinet (thanks Jere!).

Quartzite tile.

New tile on old counters (no backsplash yet).

Backspash still to come! Then a sink! Progress!

A Kitchen Island for Christmas

2011-12-21T10:18:00.000-06:00

Islands with ranges are trendy right now.

Kitchen Sinks are Not Overrated

2011-12-20T22:51:00.000-06:00

You may have already realized this, but I am crazy. Do I love chaos? Do I embrace stress? I am not sure. I do know that I do well under stress, and I get more done with deadlines. Noah and I were talking last week about how close I was to completing my goal of walking 210 miles between 30-40 weeks of pregnancy. I almost said what I was thinking, but then thought better of it.

He knew what I was going to say and challenged me to say it. Secretly I don't want the baby to come until after the due date so that I can finish the 210 miles.

That is crazy.

Here is a little picture of Baby Fett. Berean wanted skim milk today because it had a pink cap. Berean repeats most of what we say, thinks that pooping is peeing and has pooped on the potty 4 times and peed on the floor numerous times. Apparently #63 on my "70 things to do before baby" list is not something I am going to be able to control. She spills milk on the floor just so she can clean it up. We all love her, but she is definitely giving us a run for our money this month.

Here is a picture of our beautiful new cabinets. It is amazing how much storage they are going to give us. I say going to, because right now they just have random stuff stashed in them while the rest of the kitchen is under construction. January's project will be to organize them.

Last Friday night we started the tile countertop and backsplash project. We were supposed to meet with our small group, but we had declined because of this project. Last minute everyone else backed out of small group, so our friends Matt and Becki called and came over and brought pizza. Matt helped Noah get a start on the project and Becki, Cole and I wrapped some presents. I love working with friends, and I gotta tell you the fudge that they brought over has really helped me out this week :)

Early in December the "Santa Parade" lined up in front of our house to begin their rounds. Berean learned how to say "fire truck" and now thinks that anything larger than a mini van is also a fire truck.

It was an impressive (and loud!) sight!

I put together sand art brownies for the boys teachers. For being homeschooled, they sure have a lot of teachers! Yes, I was up quite late curling ribbons, but it was fun to make something pretty and crafty.

Deacon was in "GT and the Halo Express: Ticket to Christmas". The whole group did a wonderful job, Deacon showed skill in singing and choreography, and it is my all time favorite Christmas drama. What could be better than that? (yes, I am not a huge Christmas music person, but I love the songs on that cd).

What else is going on? Well, Saturday our soon-to-be BIL James came over and helped Noah work on tiling the countertops. It was a big help, because as Noah says, "I love working with you, babe, but James- he understands the metric system." sigh. The metric system is one thing (to my shame) that I seem completely unable to grasp. Saturday evening we hosted Deacon's "kid" party at our church. Thankfully it was at our church because we had 13 boys there ages k-3rd grade and it was crazy. Some of the dads stayed and they all had fun playing dodge ball, eating, watching a movie and than playing more dodge ball.

Sunday, Noah worked more on the tiling and removed the kitchen sink. It is not an easy thing to take care of a house, be 9 months pregnant and keep 4 children fed without a kitchen sink. Just sayin'. I have only had 1-2 near panic attacks in the 48 hours we have been sinkless. Noah is quite helpful when I am about ready to lose it saying things like, "stop it right now." That sounds mean, but it actually is quite effective in helping me to buck up and just deal with the situation. After all, I asked for the countertops.

Monday night we hosted Deacon's extended family party without the sink. Let's just say there won't be any more parties at my house until I have a sink. The oven has also been out of place and the microwave and dishwasher are no longer usable either. Noah thinks maybe Christmas Eve I will have everything back.

Tonight's plan is to finish wrapping presents and get my room and some stacks of papers in order. Every night before I go to bed I look around and feel panicky...if I were to go into the labor during the night I would be leaving the house in a very disorganized state. Tonight I am hoping to feel better about things when I go to bed. Good night!

Contest Time!

2011-12-16T13:23:00.001-06:00

This is actually going to be a prize-less contest. Honestly, I ran completely out of toilet paper yesterday, my list has about 10 large projects to accomplish in the next 10 hours AND I don't precieve that things will ease up all that much in the near future. Because of those things, please go ahead and guess in the contest, but do know there will be nothing but recognition for the winner!

Here are the questions:

1. When do you think baby #5 will be born?
2. How big will the baby be?
3. Boy or girl?
4. Name?

Just so you know...

*I have been induced 3/4 times after my due date (my date is 12/25 this time).
*My 3rd came on his due date.
*All 4 of the kids have ranged from 7 lb 10oz- 8 lb 5 oz.
*Our kids names are Deacon Christopher, Roman James, Lincoln Andrew and Berean Joyce. No "Mary", "John" or "Sarah" for us. Just so you know.

Guess away!

My coworkers are guessing that the baby will come today and that it is a girl...

A Girl After My Own Heart

2011-12-16T13:19:00.000-06:00

Oh, Blogger

2011-12-15T08:30:00.002-06:00

I have been fighting with blogger this am, trying to get my 70 things list up and running...it is posted below, but I can't really edit it except in HTML- and since I don't understand code, I keep messing things up. So it is partially edited...and maybe later things will magically fix themselves! One can hope, right?

2011-12-15T07:39:00.004-06:00

1. ~~Go to zoo~~ (actually went to an aquarium, but since we did that I won't be taking them to the zoo before baby)

2. ~~Children’s Museum~~

3.~~Buy Carseat~~

4. ~~Find/Wash baby clothes~~

5. ~~Make L an ENT appt~~

6. ~~Take L to ENT appt~~

7. ~~Clean out van- OCT~~

8. ~~Clean out van- NOV~~

9. ~~Clean out van- DEC~~

10. ~~Fall Yardwork~~

11. ~~210 mile Challenge- OCT~~ (I have determined to run/walk 210 miles before baby!) (21 miles done this week!)

12. ~~210 mile Challenge- NOV~~

13. 210 mile Challenge- DEC

14. ~~Seasonal clothes swap~~

15. ~~Winter weather wear established~~

16. ~~Finish and Mail Roman’s thank you notes~~
17. ~~Office to our room~~

18. ~~Move Boys to office~~

19. ~~Berean and Baby to boys room~~

20. ~~N- make vision appt~~

21. N- ~~go to vision appt~~

22. ~~FMLA paperwork~~

23. ~~2012 insurance selection~~

24. ~~Preregister at hospital~~

25. ~~Clean out garage so cars will fit~~

26. Freezer meal cooking (can't do this until the oven is fixed and I can cook a turkey!)

27. ~~Cabinets finished and installed~~

28. New countertops (next weekend?)

29. Backsplash (next weekend? Or am I too hopeful?)

30. Replace microwave (next weekend!)

31. ~~Fix/replace CD player in van~~

32. Pay off lot

33. ~~Mattresses for boys beds~~

34. ~~Take pictures of boys~~

35. ~~Mail pictures to Grandparents~~

36. Christmas letter/pictures/birth announcements

37. D’s birthday party

38. ~~Christmas shopping~~

39. ~~Christmas presents for teachers~~

40. ~~Christmas decorations~~

41. ~~Study for ACLS~~

42. ~~ACLS~~

43. N- fix computer (first we have to find the computer, so this goal is kind of on hold.)

44. ~~N- finish knife~~

45. Get ring fixed (probably will wait until January since I can't wear it right now...may replace this goal)

46. Finish cleaning kitchen

47. ~~OCC boxes~~

48. ~~Sparks Fall Frolic~~

49. ~~Dentist- me~~

50. ~~Paint boy’s room~~

51. ~~Paint Berean’s room~~

52. ~~New blinds for boys room~~

53. ~~32 week appt~~

54. ~~36 week appt~~ (scheduled!)

55. ~~38 week appt~~

56. 40 week appt

57. ~~Make yogurt on a routine~~

58. ~~Sign boys up for basketball~~

59. ~~Basketball evaluations~~

60. ~~Swimming lesson sign ups~~

61. 21 day plan (this never really got off the ground since it is the holidays...we'll see...)

62. Buy shoes

63. Potty train Berean

64. Christmas charitable giving with boys

65. ~~Mystery of History Timeline~~

66. Bean Candles

67.Paint family room

~~68. ~~Family trip to Duluth~~~~

~~69. Go through toy cabinets~~

70. ~~Fix Oven~~

Video "Vader Did You Know"

2011-12-13T14:41:00.002-06:00

One of my friends posted this on facebook...check out this video if you love Star Wars!

What is your favorite line?

(personally I like, "Obi Wan would be his next door neighbor". As Noah says, "that is a prime example of searching for a rhyme and coming up with something awesome").

Not the Kids

2011-12-12T23:18:00.002-06:00

I passed the 38 week mark this weekend! We are in the homestretch now! Noah and I were laughing earlier about the differences between a 1st baby and a 5th. With our first I had carefully packed a bag, the carseat was installed, we were ready at a moments notice.

With this baby I have no illusions of going into labor anytime before an induction date of 40 weeks plus 5 days. I know in my head that it could happen, but my heart says it is not going to.

Maybe it is not my heart, maybe it is my cynical nature.

Anyway, I had a lot of contractions at work last night and all day today. Noah wasn't home from work yet, and I suddenly realized that we have not made any plans at all for what to do with all the kids if I were to go into labor. I called my mom and asked what she was doing over the next couple weeks. I want to avoid the 17th and Christmas day, but other than that- I think anything would work fine!

---

The other day I was reading my sister-in-law's blog. She said something about talking to her husband about stuff other then her kids. Now, it totally wasn't the point of the post but it did get me to thinking about my own marriage.

Noah and I have been married for 11 years, and "together" in some sense or another since jr. high. We have known each other since childhood. There is not a lot about our childhood memories that we haven't shared sometime over the last 27 years. And actually, we have a lot of shared memories from our past as well.

So what do we talk about now?

Even though we have a lot of children, we don't always talk about them. Sure, we do some but we do fit in other topics. Consciously or unconsciously, we have developed a system of staying in close communication. We talk a lot, we talk daily and we talk about a wide variety of things.

Talking about our jobs often leads to discussions about morals, ethics, other peoples perspectives on life and just plain funny stories. Obviously, I have constraints due to confidentiality, but there is plenty of coworker drama to lead into conversations about more serious underlying discussion topics. We both are familiar with each others coworkers- not because we are gossiping about them, but getting to know the people that we spend so much time with helps us know each other better.

I spend my days with such a variety of people with all different perspectives, personalities and interests that discussion topics are always coming up. Friends, co-volunteers, homeschool moms, speech teachers, neighbors, people at the Y- all bring new interest and stimulation into my day.

Noah is very good at keeping up on current events and paying attention to trends, culture and news. I hit the highlights and we spend time discussing politics, local news and national news. Noah keeps up with sports, and although it isn't as interesting to me, I make a point to have at least some rudimentary knowledge of what is going on in the major sports arenas. That way, if he brings up something he wants to talk about, I at least have a little background going into the discussion.

I don't read as much as I would like to, but I do read some. Noah doesn't read as much, but I summarize books for him and then we discuss them. Noah teaches the youth group some Wednesday nights and Sunday mornings and so the studying he does for those events also can lead to more serious discussions between us.

Sometimes I miss those days when we had nothing but time with just each other, but I am pretty happy with how we have managed to keep a measure of freshness in our interactions with each other. Looking back at my list, it is clear that having other people in our lives helps keep us on our toes and keeps us from getting into a rut discussing the same old topics.

But, all that being said, discussing the kids isn't all bad either :)

Sometimes I get Encouraged

2011-12-09T17:48:00.003-06:00

We bought our tree from the lot at Ace Hardware. It has become a sort of tradition- some of us go to a "real" tree farm with Noah's family to look at trees and cut one down for his parents, and then our family goes to Ace and picks up one for ourselves.

I told the boys that it is so that we would have more money for presents.

They like that.

And it is a compromise between my frugal side which chafes at the idea of paying for a dead tree every year and Noah's sentimental side that requires what he considers a live tree every year.

And it is a tradition. Last year Deacon puked in the tree lot. We remember that. No one vomited this year. As the kids excitedly ran around the enclosure, the tree guy said, "are the kids picking out the tree?" I replied, "no way. I am."

Guess who picked out the somewhat lopsided tree?

The kids.

And I decided that I was ok with it. It is dead anyway, right?

But the best part of the night for me was when we pulled up to Ace and I heard a conversation from the back:

R: "I don't like going by this store. I don't even like to see it."

D: "Why?"

R: "It reminds me of breaking mom's screen and this is where we had to take it to get it fixed." (referring to the screen that he cut a hole in so that he could have a "secret passage")

D: "I know what you mean. Sometimes I still think about the lego gun I dropped down the drain." (when he was 3).

R: "I just don't like remembering the screen."

I interjected at this point and assured Roman that he was forgiven by us and that he had made restitution.

R: "I know, but I wish the whole thing had just never happened."

---

I don't want my son to feel guilty his whole life about things, but Roman is a kid who often does not show any remorse over anything at all. We often wonder what he is thinking and feeling and if he even feels bad when he does something wrong.

This incident made me realize that he does in fact feel remorse, maybe more than his brothers do because he internalizes it. Hopefully this new insight will help us in dealing with him- and help us be more sensitive to what he may be feeling and just not saying.

Ah, parenting.

It is such a learning experience.

This Was Going to Be An Actual Post

2011-12-04T23:43:00.004-06:00

Hi All!

I am 37 weeks pregnant today, and my friend who was due 2 weeks after me just had her baby today. I doubt that I will go early, but even if I am late, it is not that far away! I am having some reflux and say "ow" about 20 times when I get up in the morning because my hips threaten to give out on me...but once I am up I am doing ok!

We got new cabinets installed this weekend (pictures to come) and we have been busy with a bunch of other things too- both Christmas related and non-Christmas related. Oh, and of course, I have been walking like crazy because of this silly "210 miles before baby" plan I am on. In case you were wondering, I think I just finished mile 148.

Speaking of crazy, last night I was telling Noah that I wasn't sure if I was going to attempt to study for (and take) this big nursing exam during my maternity leave. He encouraged me to use the time to do it, which surprised me. I asked him about it and this is what I got back: "I know it is something that is important to you, and honestly, if it is not this you will get some other cockamamie idea in your head." Apparently, he thinks that having me busy studying for a test will keep me out of trouble, and will keep him from getting roped into another scheme. I do recall him begging me to go back to work when I was on maternity leave with Berean because I was getting too much sleep and driving him crazy. I doubt that will happen this time, however, because of the homeschooling and the fact that Berean is still so young and relatively needy.

Well, I was planning to write an actual post versus just an update, but it is currently midnight and I need to get some sleep...otherwise I will be falling asleep during the fifth reading of "Diego Saves the Sloths" tomorrow...

Banana Lasagna

2011-11-30T21:35:00.003-06:00

The boys checked out a movie from the library, Nickelodeon's Barnyard or something. It stars a cow/bull named Otis with a male voice but an udder. I'm confused. I don't think it's a "progressive" [trans-bovine?] thing, but I guess I don't now. Shudder. I suppose I should check it out.

According to the Nickelodeon interweb, "Otis is a cow with charisma...Ultimately, he's a good cow who cares about his friends...and even the farmer. " [emphasis is mine]

Julie's grandpa Andy, the dairy farmer, would have a few words with the show creators about that.

Why was I telling you all of this?

Oh yeah.

Apparently in one of the episodes, there is a monkey and they bribe him with banana lasagna.

The boys thought this was hilarious.

But now my wheels were turning.

So I was going to to come to you all for suggestions. I had some ideas: layers of 'Nilla Wafers, pudding, whipping cream, bananas, maybe some yellow cake...

But then I got to thinking, "This is 2011. This is the age of the internet. Someone out there has done this." Sure enough, a search for "banana lasagna" turns up almost 2200 hits, most of which look like recipes. They star things that I had thought, plus ingredients like pound cake, strawberries, Cool Whip, etc.

But the most interesting recipe was from Puerto Rico, and was an actual lasagna with ground beef, onions, green pepper, spices, cheese...and fried plantains

[big bananas, or are they little bananas, or is that just another name for a banana? I'm really confused right now].

Sounds weird.

Sounds like something I'd try.

-N

70 Things- UPDATE (4 weeks and 2 days left!)

2011-11-25T09:36:00.008-06:00

(66, 67 and 70 aren't actually done- but by accident I struck them out and I can't figure out how to unstrike them...guess I will just have to do them!)

1. ~~Go to zoo~~ (actually went to an aquarium, but since we did that I won't be taking them to the zoo before baby)

2. ~~Children’s Museum~~

3.Buy Carseat

4. Find/Wash baby clothes (found part of them!)

5. ~~Make L an ENT appt~~

6. ~~Take L to ENT appt~~

7. ~~Clean out van- OCT~~

8. ~~Clean out van- NOV~~

9. Clean out van- DEC

10. ~~Fall Yardwork~~

11. ~~210 mile Challenge- OCT~~ (I have determined to run/walk 210 miles before baby!) (21 miles done this week!)

12. 210 mile Challenge- NOV

13. 210 mile Challenge- DEC

14. ~~Seasonal clothes swap~~

15. ~~Winter weather wear established~~

16. ~~Finish and Mail Roman’s thank you notes~~

17. ~~Office to our room~~

18. ~~Move Boys to office~~

19. ~~Berean and Baby to boys room~~

20. ~~N- make vision appt~~

21. N- ~~go to vision appt~~

22. ~~FMLA paperwork~~

23. ~~2012 insurance selection~~

24. ~~Preregister at hospital~~

25. Clean out garage so cars will fit (we are almost there, but Noah has been using his tools out there a lot)

26. Freezer meal cooking (can't do this until the oven is fixed and I can cook a turkey!)

27. Cabinets finished and installed (should be finished this weekend, hoping to install next week!)

28. New countertops (next weekend?)

29. Backsplash (next weekend? Or am I too hopeful?)

30. Replace microwave (next weekend!)

31. ~~Fix/replace CD player in van~~

32. Pay off lot

33. ~~Mattresses for boys beds~~

34. ~~Take pictures of boys~~

35. ~~Mail pictures to Grandparents~~

36. Christmas letter/pictures/birth announcements

37. D’s birthday party

38. Christmas shopping (started this and have a plan)

39. Christmas presents for teachers (should be done by the end of the weekend!)

40. Christmas decorations (my decorating consists of a tree- maybe next weekend :)

41. Study for ACLS (in progress!)

42. ACLS (next week!)

43. N- fix computer (first we have to find the computer, so this goal is kind of on hold.)

44. ~~N- finish knife~~

45. Get ring fixed (probably will wait until January since I can't wear it right now...may replace this goal)

46. Finish cleaning kitchen

47. ~~OCC boxes~~

48. ~~Sparks Fall Frolic~~

49. ~~Dentist- me~~

50. ~~Paint boy’s room~~

51. ~~Paint Berean’s room~~

52. ~~New blinds for boys room~~

53. ~~32 week appt~~

54. 36 week appt (scheduled!)

55. 38 week appt

56. 40 week appt

57. Make yogurt on a routine (did this once!)

58. ~~Sign boys up for basketball~~

59. Basketball evaluations (will be taken care of next weekend! Wow, I think next weekend could be busy!)

60. ~~Swimming lesson sign ups~~

61. 21 day plan (this never really got off the ground since it is the holidays...we'll see...)

62. Buy shoes

63. Potty train Berean

64. Christmas charitable giving with boys

65. ~~Mystery of History Timeline~~

~~66. Bean Candles~~

~~67.Paint family room~~

~~68. ~~Family trip to Duluth~~~~

~~69. Go through toy cabinets~~

~~70. Fix Oven~~

27 Hour Vacation

2011-11-22T21:11:00.002-06:00

At this stage in our lives, vacations that are less than 48 hours are the best kind.

As Noah pointed out, if you go on a longer vacation some of the time needs to be downtime; the problem is, with 4 kids and one on the way, there is no vacation downtime. Well, at least no relaxing for the adults of the clan, anyway.

The environments aren't child proof, you are constantly having to be one step ahead of the "I'm starving" cries and apparently just "tough it out" is not as easy for a 4 year old as it is for a 33 year old.

Last year we took a November vacation to Wisconsin Dells. We had a great time, but it was somewhat stressful. This year we decided to take a shorter trip and just head north a couple of hours and stay at a waterpark hotel overnight.

We got a late start on Sunday because of a volunteer commitment, and so we didn't arrive at the hotel until 8:15pm. The waterpark was open until 10, however, so we got some swimming in upon arrival. When you have a family of six, nothing is cheap- but how is this for a deal? Our room was $100 and it included a room with 2 queens and a foldout, microwave and fridge. It also overlooked the waterpark, which is worth more than you think when you have an almost 2 year old. Berean usually tries to destroy hotel rooms, but she was so interested in looking out the window that she left everything else alone. Included in our room rate was a large pizza, a couple of drinks (Pepsi!), continental breakfast and waterpark evening/morning passes for the 6 of us. Definitely a good deal.

The waterpark was less stressful than WI Dells had been because this one was smaller and there were only a couple of very small areas that were over 48 inches in depth. Basically, Deacon and Roman were able to go down all slides and we didn't have to worry about their safety in the pools

as much as we did last year. Of course, one of us had to be with Berean and Lincoln, but the whole park was more at our kids level which made it easier to handle. Berean was content to chillax in her life jacket on a tube with me in the lazy river. If we weren't on the lazy river, she just let me carry her around the pool- as long as she had a ball in her hands. Lincoln was able to go down slides with Noah and to do some of the other activities on his own, as well as just playing in the water.

After we left the hotel the next day we got lunch and then went to the local aquarium. We are discovering more and more places where it is cheaper for us to buy annual memberships than just to pay one time admission fees for our whole family. We had a good time looking at fish and then headed for a huge Christmas light walk-through display.

We headed for home about 24 hours after we arrived.

And now we are home, working on our "70 things to do before baby" list and enjoying Thanksgiving week!

(I am planning to update the list on the blog soon, but I have been having some problems with blogger. I am about 8 miles behind on my walking, as well, so I gotta spend some more time getting caught up on that!)

Snowpants

2011-11-17T01:13:00.003-06:00

When I was young, my mother wore snowpants wherever we went.

At the time, I thought it was a little strange.

When I was older I thought it was even more strange.

But now, standing outside trying to herd 4 kids in the van,

buckling seatbelts,

tucking in coats,

fixing mittens,

running inside for forgotten items.

Yeah, I am thinking about snowpants.

The Problem With Having a Double Oven

2011-11-15T15:59:00.002-06:00

The problem with having a double oven,

is that if something happens to one, you still have the other.

So instead of calling a repairman,

your husband may tell you (3 weeks ago), that it should be easy to fix.

In the meantime,

you have the other.

Then you go to the store and buy a turkey,

and you realize it won't fit in the top oven.

After you put your turkey in the freezer,

you may get ready to make your husband's annual angel food cake.

Only the angel food cake pan won't fit in the top oven.

So you go to Dairy Queen.

And now your husband is ordering parts,

so that he can have turkey and angel food cake.

This is what may happen to you,

if you have a double oven.

Blessing Box

2011-11-13T21:00:00.000-06:00

I wrote the below post several days ago, but of course it never got finished and published. My sister wrote a comment on my last post, "Where ARE YOU?"

Where am I?

I am in the basement, painting furniture.

I am in the kitchen, making food.

I am walking.

I am running.

I am in the waiting room at the doctor's office.

I am in the living room, reading stories.

I am in the dining room, teaching math.

I am in the bathroom, giving baths.

I am in the car, listening to cds.

I am making appointments,

crossing things off.

I am feeling the baby kick.

I am in bed, not sleeping.

I am at the hospital, saving lives.

I am holding my children, cutting fingernails.

I am in my yard, raking leaves.

I am here.

---

11-08-2011

Today I read a post by Lindsey, over at ifweabideinhim, that inspired me. I love this idea of a blessing box.

Last night a friend of ours auctioned off all of his "stuff" in order to donate the money to feed starving children. Tonight we are going to an organization to package food for starving children as part of our friend's birthday celebration.

As I look around my house, as I look at our bank account, as I walk through the grocery store, I am struck again over how blessed we are. Deacon wears a shirt that says "1 in 7 people go hungry everyday". We have (nearly!) 7 people in our family now. I think about moms trying to find scraps for their children to eat, I think of brothers stealing things to feed hungry siblings. I think about instances of human trafficking brought on by extreme poverty.

And then I look around my house again.

This year I am determined to give. Give more than I want to. Give more than I have to. Give to bless others and to teach my children that feeding the hungry is part of our work as Christians. We have a picture now that says, "Blessed are those who are generous, because they feed the poor." Proverbs 22:9.

Yes, I want an addition. Yes, I need a new couch. And I think those things are fine - but I refuse to let them take the place of GIVING and of service. As I explain to the boys,"we don't buy you everything you want- not because we don't have the money, but simply because we believe there are things more important than toys to spend our money on."

Oh, how I want them to be generous. Oh, how I want them to love people.

Weekly Catch Up

2011-11-05T21:57:00.002-05:00

*There are flies in my house. They are skittish things (as Deacon would say) and I am having trouble killing them

*Berean is talking a lot. Her most common word is "yeah" with which she answers questions that she wants to answer in the affirmative and questions that she doesn't understand. Today when I got home I saw that she had made quite a mess with a blue marker. I said, "Berean, was daddy keeping an eye on you?" She violently shook her head "no". Poor Noah.

*Two of the boys are now on antibiodics for strep throat. Their only symptoms were occasional headaches. I finally brought them in on Wed morning for cultures, because I know sometimes kids don't get the typical sore throat with strep. Their rapid cultures were negative, and the nurse told me that they would incubate the cultures for 36 to 48 hours and call us by 1pm if they were positive. By 1pm on Friday we had not been called, so, it having been 48 hours, I figured we were in the clear. Friday night Deacon got a headache again and I started to worry that he was going to start getting migraines or something. Saturday at noon (while we were on our way home from a party with their friends), the clinic called and said their strep tests were positive. I feel really bad about exposing people in the interim between the negative and positive results, but I am glad that it is strep and that Deacon is not headed for a lifetime of migraines. I also think that it would definitely be easier if people who had strep would have a sore throat, and maybe a temp over 99?! Seriously, shouldn't those be some of the rules?

*My mom and I took the kids to the Children's museum this week. We had a good time. Berean and Lincoln especially had fun, and once again I felt bad that I don't do those "age appropriate" kind of things with them more often. It is just so hard to balance the older ones and the younger ones. There are not enough hours in the day, that is for sure.

*I am using my extra hour tonight to write this post.

*Today I painted Berean's room. We are slowly getting closer to getting everything moved around and into new positions. My basement and garage, however, look like we just moved in. I know we will get there, but right now getting everything resettled feels very daunting. Hopefully by the end of the weekend she will be moved in to her new room and the office will be semi-established in our room. That will help my blogging- sitting at the kitchen table with a laptop in my 33 week pregnant state is not very comfortable.

*I am glad I don't have a desk job. Honestly, pushing beds and moving people around is easier right now then sitting. The baby jabs a foot under my ribs when I sit down and it is quite uncomfortable.

*Today I broke the rung of the bunk bed ladder when I stood on it to change sheets on the upper bunk. I also weigh more than several of my friend's husbands. Yep, I am getting to the point of looking forward to having this baby and starting 1/2 marathon training in earnest. Oh, to be small again!

*All that aside, though, I am not expecting this baby to come until after it's due date. I will be totally surprised if it does come early and it will probably throw me for a loop.

Well, I'd better go on another walk if I am ever going to get this 210 miles in before baby!

70 Things to Do Before Baby- UPDATE (49 days left)

2011-11-05T21:42:00.007-05:00

1. Go to zoo

2. ~~Children’s Museum~~

3.Buy Carseat

4. Find/Wash baby clothes (found part of them!)

5. ~~Make L an ENT appt~~

6. ~~Take L to ENT appt~~

7. ~~Clean out van- OCT~~

8. Clean out van- NOV

9. Clean out van- DEC

10. Fall Yardwork (this has been started, but I am not ready to call it completed yet!)

11. ~~210 mile Challenge- OCT~~ (I have determined to run/walk 210 miles before baby!) (21 miles done this week!)

12. 210 mile Challenge- NOV

13. 210 mile Challenge- DEC

14. ~~Seasonal clothes swap~~

15. Winter weather wear established

16. ~~Finish and Mail Roman’s thank you notes~~

17. Office to our room

18. ~~Move Boys to office~~

19. Berean and Baby to boys room

20. ~~N- make vision appt~~

21. N- ~~go to vision appt~~

22. ~~FMLA paperwork~~

23. ~~2012 insurance selection~~

24. ~~Preregister at hospital~~

25. Clean out garage so cars will fit

26. Freezer meal cooking

27. Cabinets finished and installed

28. New countertops

29. Backsplash

30. Replace microwave

31. ~~Fix/replace CD player in van~~ (purchased one, Noah just has to install!)

32. Pay off lot

33. Mattresses for boys beds

34. ~~Take pictures of boys~~

35. Mail pictures to Grandparents

36. Christmas letter/pictures/birth announcements

37. D’s birthday party

38. Christmas shopping

39. Christmas presents for teachers

40. Christmas decorations

41. Study for ACLS

42. ACLS

43. N- fix computer

44. ~~N- finish knife~~

45. Get ring fixed

46. Finish cleaning kitchen

47. OCC boxes

48. ~~Sparks Fall Frolic~~

49. Dentist- me

50. ~~Paint boy’s room~~

51. ~~Paint Berean’s room~~

52. ~~New blinds for boys room~~

53. 32 week appt

54. 36 week appt

55. 38 week appt

56. 40 week appt

57. Make yogurt on a routine (did this once!)

58. ~~Sign boys up for basketball~~

59. Basketball evaluations

60. ~~Swimming lesson sign ups~~

61. 21 day plan

62. Buy shoes

63. Potty train Berean

64. Christmas charitable giving with boys

65. Mystery of History Timeline

66. Bean candles

67. Love and Respect series

68. Family trip to Duluth

69. TBD- Noah to submit

70. TBD- Noah to submit

Over Achiever

2011-10-31T21:52:00.002-05:00

The other day I admitted to Noah that my "70 things to do before baby" list and the 210 mile challenge I put myself on is really taking a toll on me.

He laughed. I think he liked to hear me say it.

That doesn't mean I am giving up though, it just means that I am more determined than ever.

And I will admit to being slightly frustrated that everything on my list that I do accomplish seems to generate 3 more things that I must do.

Tonight he bought me roses (on sale ones, which are the only kind I accept)

And we watched "The Lion King" with the kids.

We ate Pear Pie- which Noah decided to make after being inspired by a 3 year old at Sunday School who made a pear pie out of play-doh.

Tomorrow will be soon enough to finish the laundry, and everything else.

No amount of free ice cream is worth this!

2011-10-25T20:39:00.003-05:00

What No One Told Me

2011-10-24T16:04:00.002-05:00

People ask lots of questions about having a "big" family. Things like, "how are you going to have time for them all?" and "how are you going to buy them all cars and send them to college?"

What I have discovered though, is that neither one of those things are that big of a deal.

They can share rooms. They can share cars. They don't need everything.

They are individuals, and as individuals, they naturally get individual attention.

They demand it. When I list my kids out: Deacon, Roman, Lincoln and Berean it doesn't seem like that many. They are so different. 4 different people.

Instead people should be asking me, "how do you keep track off all the dental appointments?" "how do you wash all the clothes?"

and "how do you manage so many schedules and paperwork?"

But they don't ask those things.

Even they know, those things are just details.

70 Things to do Before Baby- UPDATE

2011-10-23T23:08:00.001-05:00

1. Go to zoo

2. Children’s Museum

3.Buy Carseat

4. Find/Wash baby clothes (found part of them!)

5. ~~Make L an ENT appt~~

6. Take L to ENT appt

7. ~~Clean out van- OCT~~

8. Clean out van- NOV

9. Clean out van- DEC

10. Fall Yardwork (this has been started, but I am not ready to call it completed yet!)

11. 210 mile Challenge- OCT (I have determined to run/walk 210 miles before baby!) (21 miles done this week!)

12. 210 mile Challenge- NOV

13. 210 mile Challenge- DEC

14. ~~Seasonal clothes swap~~

15. Winter weather wear established

16. Finish and Mail Roman’s thank you notes

17. Office to our room

18. ~~Move Boys to office~~

19. Berean and Baby to boys room

20. N- make vision appt

21. N- go to vision appt

22. FMLA paperwork

23. 2012 insurance selection

24. ~~Preregister at hospital~~

25. Clean out garage so cars will fit

26. Freezer meal cooking

27. Cabinets finished and installed

28. New countertops

29. Backsplash

30. Replace microwave

31. Fix/replace CD player in van (purchased one, Noah just has to install!)

32. Pay off lot

33. Mattresses for boys beds

34. Take pictures of boys

35. Mail pictures to Grandparents

36. Christmas letter/pictures/birth announcements

37. D’s birthday party

38. Christmas shopping

39. Christmas presents for teachers

40. Christmas decorations

41. Study for ACLS

42. ACLS

43. N- fix computer

44. N- finish knife

45. Get ring fixed

46. Finish cleaning kitchen

47. OCC boxes

48. Sparks Fall Frolic

49. Dentist- me

50. ~~Paint boy’s room~~

51. Paint Berean’s room

52. ~~New blinds for boys room~~

53. 32 week appt

54. 36 week appt

55. 38 week appt

56. 40 week appt

57. Make yogurt on a routine (did this once!)

58. ~~Sign boys up for basketball~~

59. Basketball evaluations

60. Swimming lesson sign ups

61. 21 day plan

62. Buy shoes

63. Potty train Berean

64. Christmas charitable giving with boys

65. Mystery of History Timeline

66. Bean candles

67. Love and Respect series

68. Family trip to Duluth

69. TBD- Noah to submit

70. TBD- Noah to submit

New Favorite Song

2011-10-21T16:22:00.001-05:00

Noah has a lot of friends that are always going off hunting or on little vacations or have (seemingly) endless freetime. I said, "I don't get it! How do they get away with being away so much? Sometimes I feel bad Noah, because you rarely do any of that stuff" (except broomball. and volleyball :)

He essentially told me what this song says, so when I heard this song for the first time the very next day, it became my new favorite!

Terrible Accident

2011-10-20T21:31:00.003-05:00

Unfortunately, the numbers didn't buckle up before they left home.

70 things to do before Baby

2011-10-20T11:28:00.004-05:00

As of last Sunday, I was 30 weeks pregnant. That means 10 weeks (or 70 days) until baby! In honor of that milestone, I decided to make a list of 70 things that need to get done before baby. Of course, this list is not all-inclusive, but it does include some things that I am in danger of forgetting and/or neglecting. Some of the things are quick, some are going to linger. I am going to try to update the list weekly, so I can see what is getting done!

1. Go to zoo

2. Children’s Museum

3.Buy Carseat

4. Find/Wash baby clothes

5. Make L an ENT appt

6. Take L to ENT appt

7. Clean out van- OCT

8. Clean out van- NOV

9. Clean out van- DEC

10. Fall Yardwork

11. 210 mile Challenge- OCT (I have determined to run/walk 210 miles before baby!)

12. 210 mile Challenge- NOV

13. 210 mile Challenge- DEC

14. Seasonal clothes swap

15. Winter weather wear established

16. Finish and Mail Roman’s thank you notes

17. Office to our room

18. Move Boys to office

19. Berean and Baby to boys room

20. N- make vision appt

21. N- go to vision appt

22. FMLA paperwork

23. 2012 insurance selection

24. Preregister at hospital

25. Clean out garage so cars will fit

26. Freezer meal cooking

27. Cabinets finished and installed

28. New countertops

29. Backsplash

30. Replace microwave

31. Fix/replace CD player in van

32. Pay off lot

33. Mattresses for boys beds

34. Take pictures of boys

35. Mail pictures to Grandparents

36. Christmas letter/pictures/birth announcements

37. D’s birthday party

38. Christmas shopping

39. Christmas presents for teachers

40. Christmas decorations

41. Study for ACLS

42. ACLS

43. N- fix computer

44. N- finish knife

45. Get ring fixed

46. Finish cleaning kitchen

47. OCC boxes

48. Sparks Fall Frolic

49. Dentist- me

50. Paint boy’s room

51. Paint Berean’s room

52. New blinds for boys room

53. 32 week appt

54. 36 week appt

55. 38 week appt

56. 40 week appt

57. Make yogurt on a routine

58. Sign boys up for basketball

59. Basketball evaluations

60. Swimming lesson sign ups

61. 21 day plan

62. Buy shoes

63. Potty train Berean

64. Christmas charitable giving with boys

65. Mystery of History Timeline

66. Bean candles

67. Love and Respect series

68. Family trip to Duluth

69. TBD- Noah to submit

70. TBD- Noah to submit

It's Never Boring

2011-10-18T21:42:00.000-05:00

This week is my 29th week of pregnancy.

This week is the week that my work schedule got all messed up.

This is the week that I am taking a big critical care class with test.

This is the week where I actually sent Noah a highlighted email breakdown of the week so he would know where he was supposed to transport what kids and when.

So, it stands to reason that this would be also be the "cd player breaks in the van" week and the "fire in the kitchen week".

----

Ok, so the above paragraphs were written last week.

This week is my 30th week of pregnancy,

This week my work schedule is more normal, but feeling more stressful,

This is the week that I don't have to study because I passed my big test,

This is the week that I am not organized enough to even find my list, let alone email it (or anything else), to anyone,

This is the week in which we are still microwave-less, CD-player-less and are still cleaning up the kitchen...

----

Last week I worked on odd shift. In the morning I rushed home to pick up the kids in order to get them to class on time. I ran in the house for about 30 seconds to grab something and get a quick report-off from Noah, who had gotten the kids ready for the day. Noah was taking Berean to my mom's house and I was just going to sleep in my car while the boys were in class.

Everything went as planned, but I would not recommend sleeping in one's car, except on an emergency basis.

After classes were done, the boys and I drove over to my parent's house to pick up Berean. We went home after that and settled in for the afternoon. I noticed when I got home that Noah's ice maker was on our electric, flat top stove and that the red light was on which means it is not actively running, just on standby. Shortly after we got home we went outside to play. I was sitting on the deck and the kids were occupied in various pursuits around the yard.

After a few minutes, Deacon ran up the deck stairs and went into the house. He immediately came back out and said, "Mom, you've gotta see this!" It was the tone of voice he uses when he sees an unusual spider or his brother stealing cookies.

"Deacon, I am exhausted. I don't want to get up right now. What do you want to show me?"

"No, mom, you really need to see this!"

I got up and went over to the door. I looked into the kitchen. Flames and smoke were surrounding the ice machine and moving down the counter. I told Deacon to keep everyone outside and grabbed my fire extinguisher. The smoke detectors started going off as I put the blaze out.

I had never used a fire extinguisher before and I have to say I was impressed. Yes, it made a terrible mess, but it was very effective very quickly, and there was a lot of stuff left in the extinguisher- I could have put out a much bigger fire.

Turns out, the small burner on the back of the stove was on. It must have gotten bumped when Noah put the ice maker on the stove. The cord was running across the burner. Somehow, though, nothing happened for the 6 hours that we were gone. I didn't smell anything hot or melting when I got home. As near as we can figure, us all coming home, opening the door etc. blew something onto the hot burner and since everything back there was already hot- it just ignited. The boys and I talked about how God had protected us and our home by having the fire happen when we were home, and that Deacon had chosen to walk into the house right then and had seen it right away. It could have been much worse. Our hearts were filled with thanks and praise for a God who loves us and watches over our daily life.

I did mention to Deacon that if a fire is spotted, yelling "fire!" is probably a better idea than trying to convince me that there is something "I really need to see".

So our kitchen is slowly getting clean and we are washing every dish from every cupboard. That fire extinguisher stuff gets everywhere! We bought a new extinguisher, and are now planning on expedited backsplash/tiling project. There is always something, isn't there?

Someday Soon

2011-10-17T09:02:00.003-05:00

I really, really want to tell you all about the fire in my kitchen.

I really, really want to tell you about some funny things the boys have been saying.

I really, really want to post my "70 things to do in the 70 days before baby"

I really, really want to tell you about the conference I went to last week.

And about charlie horses,

and having to stay at work late everyday,

and a couple books I am reading,

and my awesome husband.

I would say that last week was one of the longest ones of my life, because that is what people say. But it didn't feel long, it felt incredibly short.

And I am guessing the next 10 will feel even shorter.

My goal is to write about some of these things in the next day or two,

but now there is laundry to fold, school to complete, a baby girl to dress and breakfast to serve.

And maybe somewhere in there, I might get a nap.

Day in the Life- October 2011

2011-10-08T15:16:00.014-05:00

NavigatingtheMothership is hosting the fall edition of "Day in the Life"! Here is my contribution:

DAY IN THE OCTOBER LIFE:

Noah-Husband

Julie-Me

Deacon-7

Roman-6

Lincoln-4

Berean-18months

Name TBD- Christmas Day

0723: I roll out of bed. My goal is to get up at 0700, but considering that we were up late (past midnight) last night, I gave myself an extra 23 minutes. Surprisingly, my morning shadow, Lincoln, was still asleep. That didn't last long.

0725: Check blogs, facebook, email. Then I run down to the laundry room to get some laundry going- I try to get all the laundry done on Mondays, but I had an extra load to do that had gotten missed. I note on the way down that the bizarro atomic clock is still reading bizarro times and cannot be trusted.

My laundry room is very fancy. See the blue laundry basket in front of the dryer? That basket is 11 1/2 years old. Noah believes that it is time to toss it out, but I just haven't done it yet. The more laundry baskets, the better- I always say.

0735: I start some water for hot chocolate. My microwave has been on the fritz for nearly a month now, and it is truly aggravating. Apparently not aggravating enough though to get me to go to the store and buy a new one. I sit down to read my Bible and pray. I look up to see this cute little face yawning at me. One of the boys or Noah must have released her from her pack n' play.

0755: Noah is around, getting ready for work. The boys are playing. I take a quick shower. And then head for the kitchen to start breakfast for the crew.

0805: Breakfast prep in full swing, my goal is to have breakfast going at 0800, before that time, if the boys are up they are on their own. Toast for me (with butter, peanut butter and jelly) and the boys and Berean with various combinations of toast, cereal, bananas and milk.

0820: Mother-in-law arrives a little early and so I rush to get Lincoln dressed and cleaned up for his speech therapy. She takes him out the door for therapy and the older boys and I get the kitchen cleaned up and ready for schoolwork. Somewhere in there I get Berean changed, cleaned up and dressed. School starts around 0830.
School goes on from around 0830 until 1030. Lincoln gets home somewhere around 1000 and joins in the fun. I spend some time wrangling markers away from Berean and trying to keep her off the table. I get the swimming bags packed while the boys do their worksheets. It is amazing what we can get done in couple of hours- all subjects and pages that are supposed to be done, get done. I release the boys and quickly cut up the rest of my apples for applesauce. I have made applesauce out of around 4 bushels of apples- some from friends and some from an apple orchard. We will be able to have applesauce for a snack at least twice a week for the next 6 months. I also start lunch.
1115: I enter the once completely clean living room (I didn't include the picture from earlier of it's clean state). Hmmm...what have we here? Camera is having flash problems, and there are lots of movements, but as you can see, great fun was had by all.

1120: I informed the boys that they would be cleaning up the living room before playing with any friends that afternoon. Everyone sat down to eat their pancake lunch. Applesauce still cooking down.
During lunch I ran upstairs to get my running shoes on and to make sure that I had everything necessary for the afternoon's activities.

1140: grab the swimming bags. Yes, the swimming bags were sitting outside the door in the garage. This precaution is necessary to prevent a certain someone from distributing their contents all over the house.
1141: Berean and I head outside to get in the van (our garage is holding several large tools that my husband is supposed to be finding a place for). I look over our yard. No sign of the boys. I call and they eventually come running from all corners of the yard and pile in the van.
Oh! Here is Berean chillin' in her chair while I hunt for the boys.

1145: We are finally on our way to homeschool gym and swimming lessons at the YMCA.

1200: I get the older boys to their class, drop the two younger ones off at childcare and head up to the treadmills. Normally I walk/run and talk to the other moms. This time I half listen to the conversation while trying to keep my attention on the "Prereading" (which is 16 chapters of non-light reading) that I need to have done for a Critical Care class I am taking next week. I walk 3 miles.

1300: pick up the boys from their class and get them changed for swimming lessons. Roman has his lesson first, and I swim a 1/2 mile during his lesson. Deacon has passed his pinkwristband test and is allowed to be in the leisure pool alone.

1350: pick little ones up from childcare and get their swimming suits on. Roman, Lincoln, Berean and I all swim during Deacon's lesson. Roman passes his pink wrist band test and he is very happy.

1445: out of the pool and headed for the dreaded locker room. Showering and redressing all those little wet bodies in a locker room is no easy task.

1505: walking out of the Y. Think getting out this fast must be a record.

1520: arrive home. Berean has fallen asleep and gets put in her crib. The boys clean up the living room (very nicely!) and get all of their AWANA (church stuff) together by the door. I strain my cooked down apples through my applesauce maker. While I am doing that, our friends arrive from down the street and we head outside.

I stop to take some pictures of my flowers- the monarchs love them!
Deacon climbs his favorite tree. I visit with my neighbor.

The kids all want their pictures taken. I didn't ask permission to post the pictures of the (several) children in our yard, but here are some of the boys.

1630: head back inside. The boys turn on the tv and I finish up my applesauce project.

1655: Grandma Pam arrives to take Deacon to church choir. She brings him a new shirt from Feed My Starving Children, since he had gone with to help pack food the night before. I took some pictures of my mom, but I am pretty sure she would not want them posted :)
1700: I wash and bundle up my new favorite purchase, my applesauce maker, to take to church for my friend Renae. I clean up the kitchen and get myself ready for church.

1740: I load the 3 younger kids up in the van and we set off for church. Spaghetti pie for supper! The kids eat the meat, I eat it all. We meet Deacon at church, but he eats supper with his friends.

1830: Everyone is dropped off at their appropriate classes, and I head over to the K-2nd grade group (with R and D) to work with my kindergartners. The format is changed up a little tonight, and it gives me a little downtime to relax.

2000: AWANA is over. I regather everyone and we head for home. Usually we see Noah (who works with the youthgroup) but he doesn't appear to be around. He is cellphoneless, so I can't call him. I expect to see him at some point tonight.

2020: We arrive home and Noah arrives soon after. He had gotten hung up at church. Lincoln asked for the camera and took some shots.

2030: After being jammified, the kids settled in with their icecream. After that it was toothbrushing time.
Lincoln asked Noah to cut his nails, so they did that while Berean redestroyed the living room.

2100: All kids in their proper rooms for bed.
2100: I spend a little time on the computer, talk to Noah, Clean up the kitchen and the main floor (again!) and then settle on the couch to read some more of my text book. Noah did his Insanity workout DVD. Sometime after 2200 I fell asleep on the couch. Sometime around 2300, he woke me up and we went to bed.

And that, my friends, was our day.

School Update

2011-10-07T09:25:00.002-05:00

I posted our homeschool plan awhile ago, here is an update on how things are going and how I like the curriculum! (original text is in black, my comments are in red! Obviously :)

Our homeschool co-0p is actually a "school" that is open 2 days a week with an a la carte menu. The teachers are paid and although it is spendy, we feel that it is worth it for the boys to have exposure to different teachers, other students and a different environment for that one morning a week. Also, once my volunteer hours are over, I will have time to grocery shop :)

Volunteer hours are now over. Last week I got my workout in (at a nearby YMCA), grocery shopping and an additional walk with just Berean. After we picked up Linc, we had an hour before the other boys were done which gave us enough time to pick up some shampoo etc that we didn't buy at the grocery store. I could get used to this.

Deacon is going to be in 2nd grade, Roman in 1st and Lincoln in preschool. Lincoln will go to preschool once a week at the public school for speech, and once a week at the co-op. He will also have private speech therapy 1-2 times a week.

Lincoln is enjoying his two preschools. Private therapy is not as exciting for him, although he seems to enjoy it once he is there. I am really looking forward to it being over, though, and am hopeful that by the new year we won't be doing private speech any longer.

Here is our plan for this year:

PE: (this is my favorite subject to plan for :) D and R are both going to take Taekwando at our local homeschool "school". They are also going to do a 2 day a week "gym and swim"kind of thing at our YMCA. In the winter they will play Upward basketball at church. We may sign them up for swimming/flag football etc during the year.

D really likes Taekwando, and R tolerates it. R is not really into exerting himself. The 2 day a week Gym and Swim got cancelled, so they are now doing a gym class and swim lessons on the same day at another Y. It actually works out pretty well, and it is a really good class for them.

ART: The boys will have art once a week at our homeschool co-op and then will also have some projects on "Grandma" day once a week. In addition, I signed D and R up for a nature photography class for fall at a park nearby (living in a big city has advantages!).

The boys liked their photography class, although they were heard to say "what do we need a class for? You just push the button and take the picture!" Of course Grandma has done projects with them as well.

MUSIC: Deacon will sing in Kid's choir again at church. I will give them a basic review of music and we will listen to some different kinds of music during the year. We may or may not eventually do music lessons for our kids. I would like to say we would, but they are quite expensive, and with 5 kids it may happen only for the kids who care. At this point I can't see paying for something only to have them whine and complain about it.

Deacon's choir will be involved in the production "GT and the Halo Express: Ticket to Christmas" this year! Yeah!

BIBLE: The kids will be working through their Awana books again this year, and I am planning to use a "walk through the Old Testament" book that I have to offer a Biblical Framework. We also will probably build off of the Jelly Telly "What's In the Bible with Buck Denver" DVD series.

The boys are flying through their AWANA books this year, and are very motivated to learn their verses. We aren't doing other Bible like I was planning, because our Mystery of History and other subjects are incorporating Bible stories and Bible themes.

MATH: Roman will be starting Singapore Math 1a, Lincoln will be doing Singapore Kindergarten and Deacon will be using Math Expressions 2nd grade curriculum. Deacon's curriculum comes free from our school district (I know, it is a big MACHE no-no, but seriously??! The curriculum is free and I like it. I pay taxes too, you know). I do like Singapore math, but I don't live or die by it.

Math is going ok. I am trying to really get them to know their math facts quickly. They don't like math very much, but they are plugging along, and are on track with the timetable I have in my mind.

SCIENCE: This year we are going to use Alpha Omega LIFEPACs for science- 1st grade for Roman and 2nd grade for Deacon. Let me start off by saying that this was a difficult decision. I feel that these LIFEPACs are incredibly easy and simplistic (although I could be proved wrong as we get into it) but what I like about them is that they are intended for the kids to be able to read and they have to write in the book! My boys need as much reading and writing practice as they can get, and I like how LIFEPAC sneaks it into their subjects. This material is also grade level appropriate and I can clearly see that it will easily cover what they need to know for the standardized test that they need to take in the Spring.

I like the LIFE PAC science a lot more than I thought I would. Roman's is really simplistic, but he can read the stuff, take the tests and is learning something- I think. Deacon's units so far have been on plants and incorporate quizzes, reading, writing and experiments. It is a "learn by mastery" kind of thing, and I like the repetition, the self tests and then the whole unit tests. The tests aren't difficult, because the material is covered thouroughly. I think what he is learning will stick.

However, I could not let it end there. D and R will be doing earth science one day a week at our co-0p, and so as a family we are going to supplement our science by using Apologia's Astronomy textbook. I LOVE THIS SERIES! It is intended to last a 1/2 year to a year and you hit the subject super hard and in depth, instead of moving around from topic to topic. her e is the link in case you are interested in looking at this text.

I really, really love this Astronomy curriculum. We have learned so much (me included!) and the activities, projects and workbook activities are interesting and informative.

HISTORY/GEOGRAPHY: This is by far my favorite subject and has been the biggest disappointment to me as a homeschool parent. I feel that it is very difficult to find good hardcore history curriculum for the younger grades. Then I realized that no one seems to teach it in the younger grades. They discuss communities, flags, famous buildings and other super-basic knowledge. This annoys me.

We are going to useLIFE PAC (this link brings you to the 5 subject set- we only bought 3 of the subjects) for grade level expectation history learning. The kids will learn that they are special and about communities. It makes me gag, but it incorporates a lot of reading and writing and it will teach to the standardized test and make sure I am not missing anything vital (such as what a community in Japan looks like).

I like this Life Pac more than I thought I would too. It is a lot of reading for the child, writing and incorporates Biblical themes as well.

To supplement we will use two more texts,Mystery of History and Exploring American History. The former will give us a summary of history from Creation to the Resurrection (I am very excited about this book!) and the later will go through basic American History and highlight the presidents. We will also work on cementing our knowledge of continents, oceans, states, big countries and memorizing our Presidents. We will do these two texts 2-3 days a week and it will be mostly me just reading to them- no real projects or tests or anything. My boys (especially Deacon) learn really well by listening.

I love the "Mystery of History". It gives a nice framework of history and I like the activities that go along with it. I haven't gotten our time line going, but plan to soon. Our American History text is interesting, and we are taking it slowly. We don't do anything with it but read the text.

LANGUAGE ARTS: I left this for last because this is the subject that I like the absolute least. If I could pick one subject to leave for someone else to teach the boys, this would be it. The boys will be taking a writing class at co-op and we will be using the LIFE PAC grade 1 and 2 language arts curriculum, a phonics book and 2nd grade reading books obtained through our school district. Deacon is not a strong reader yet, so I will be pushing him as I also teach Roman and Lincoln. This will be a subject that we work on as a group and separately.

The lifepac language arts are a lot of work for my writing-hating boys. It is good for them though, even though I am not sure we will get through all 10 units by the end of the year. Deacon is doing much better on his reading, and Roman is too.

Well, that is my plan. I know that it is pretty intense, but we won't do everything every day. My goal is to be a fun and engaging teacher so that they catch my enthusiasm. That, of course, will be difficult on the days that my house is a mess, Berean is needy and I just want to take a nap- but I will do my best! In a couple months I will update you on what is working,and what has been thrown to the wayside!

Lincoln is gone for a couple hours 2 mornings a week, and we can get a lot done during those times. Berean is a big distraction and takes it upon herself to get into trouble during school. I have learned to hold off her breakfast until school starts- then she can sit in her booster and eat and watch the activity. I am hopeful that things with her will get better, not worse.

Well, that is it! I am off to get some sleep!

In The Name of Frugality

2011-10-04T23:00:00.000-05:00

I went grocery shopping today, and I gotta tell ya, every time I go it gets more and more discouraging. Prices are up, and with a lot of hungry mouths to feed, more and more of our budget is heading the way of the grocery store. Well, that and the gas station. Once upon a time I could consistently pay for a tank of gas on 1 hours wage, not anymore.

All this got me thinking about how far I will go for the sake of frugality. I will read a blog about someone saving money on something, and I will think, "but consider the time! Not worth it". Other things sound like good options. So without further ado, here is the start of my list:

GIVE BIRTH AT HOME: not going to happen. I like hospitals. I like (some) doctors. I have no need/interest in pursuing a home birth. I realize people never used to give birth in hospitals, but mortality rates were higher than as well. This is something I will spend money on.

MAKE MY OWN LAUNDRY SOAP: I see this one tossed around a lot. I estimate that I do about 8-10 loads of laundry a week. I use a little less than the recommended amount of detergent, therefore I think I use a 32-load bottle a month. Using coupons and watching sales, I can get that for between $4-5 a month. Over the course of the year, that is only about $60. I can afford that- making my own is not worth my time.

DIY HAIRCUTS- We do this. I use a clippers on Noah and the boys and my mom cuts there hair with a scissors if necessary. My mom really likes to cut hair, and sometimes it is hard to get her to stop. I will occasionally go somewhere to get mine done, but she will often cut it for me as well. Right now I just haven't had it cut, which I don't necessarily recommend. Bottom line, we are already saving as much as we can on haircuts.

CLOTH: I used cloth diapers when Berean was younger, but I have fallen out of the habit since I got pregnant again. I don't buy papertowels very often- instead using washcloths for spills etc. I draw the line with toilet paper, however. We don't use corn cobs or old Sears Roebuck Catalogs- really, we don't.

CLOTHES LINE: This is something that I would do more if I had a good clothesline and if I hadn't been permanently scarred by our ex- neighbor in regard to clothesline protocol (It is a long story). Anyway, I don't currently have a great place for one, but I do dry the sheets and blankets on the deck railing. Tacky, I know, but it makes them so fresh! I also hang Noah's shirts to dry.

TV: We don't pay for TV- we just get basic channels. This has the side benefit of us not watching as much TV. We do have high speed internet, but we only have one cell phone and it is on a plan combined with extended family. So I guess in our book, TV is not worth paying for, but internet definitely is.

HOME COOKING: I just finished freezing applesauce made from a couple hundred pounds of apples. I would like to get back into making my own yogurt. I try to do some freezer meals and bulk cooking as time allows. We do like to eat out as a family and as a couple and so we won't completely eliminate that. Oh, and we will never eliminate pizza either.

FUEL: One big idea for saving money is being a one car family and combining errands etc to save on gas. We do spend a lot of money on gas, but I don't have many solutions to this problem that I am willing to try. Noah and I both have long commutes, and that is just the way it is. I could work 12 hour shifts, and not have to go in as often, but that really gets in the way of family life. I could group errands and excursions more than I do, but the kids get tired after 1-2 stops (who am I kidding, they are usually tired of it before we start!) and so I am not willing to do that either. I think we will just continue to spend a lot of our money on fuel, for the time being.

REDUCE HOUSING COSTS: We don't live in a big house now, we have a lot of kids and we will not be downsizing anytime soon. Our mortgage payment is pretty low as it is, and we do appreciate not trying to manage a huge monthly payment.

GYM MEMBERSHIP: We have had a YMCA membership for 6 years now, and I love it. It is one of the few "non-necessities" in our budget that I (not Noah) insist on keeping.

VICES: We choose not to drink (this decision, is, of course, not all related to cost) but not having alcohol on the restaurant tab and a liquor store receipt does help the budget. We also don't smoke and Noah has given up pop for the most part as well.

PETS: Every time I cut coupons I am thankful we don't have a pet. I have zero interest in paying for vet bills and dog food. Zero.

I could go on, but I think I will stop here for now. Where do you draw the line on frugalness? Have you heard of any other frugal activities I should try? Let me know in the comments!

Steam Punk

2011-10-03T22:38:00.006-05:00

Yep, once again no excuses for not blogging except for that I feel like I haven't had a moment to myself all week...

This situation must change soon, because I really like to blog and I don't want to stop. I will give it some thought before I drift off to sleep.

Here are some new QOTD's for your enjoyment!

J- called Noah and work and said, "I saw the pictures of my coworker's steampunk wedding! The cake had a blimp on it!"

N (in a slightly condescending voice): "I guarantee it was not a blimp. Blimps are for sporting events and sales. It was an airship."

Yep, I married a man who not only understands steampunk without googling it, but he also appreciates it's idiosyncrasies.

D: "flies are more skittish than mosquitoes"

Deacon was telling me the other day that the Bible doesn't tell us what language people spoke before the Tower of Babel. Roman pipes in with, "I am pretty sure it was English".

2 Things That I Need

2011-09-27T22:07:00.002-05:00

September has been a whirlwind of activity. I am pleased to say, though, that the kids seem to be at least somewhat enjoying school and we have been keeping up with the pace that I set in the beginning.

This month I have been driving Lincoln to all of his speech stuff, and the older boys have their photography class. In addition I have been volunteering full days at the co-op. That is all over this week though, and then- oh the extra time we will have!

But, through this month I have discovered what I need to have daily:

1. hot chocolate

2. 4 pieces of toast with butter, peanut butter and jelly

Otherwise I am just so sad.

I tried to give up butter- I had decided it would save both money and calories, and so it seemed like a win-win. Only I lost. I had no interest in my breakfast, I didn't look forward to the start of my day- so I went back to the butter slathered toast. Now I am happy.

And my hot chocolate. I am not a morning person, nor am I a coffee drinker. Hot chocolate and a hot shower (not at this same time though!) get me going in the morning. No matter how expensive Swiss Miss is, I will not be leaving it anytime soon.

Well, I am off to do some studying and to read a little. I am reading "Heaven is For Real". I was skeptical, but I am really liking it so far. Good night!

24 weeks (only I am really 27 now)

2011-09-26T07:47:00.002-05:00

Sorry about the lack of a good backdrop here, but this is a picture from my 24th week pregnancy. I am currently 27 weeks, so I am only about 3 weeks late in posting this! The good news is, that now that I am pretty much entering the 3rd trimester, I will allow myself to wear maternity clothes if I want to. And lots and lots of yoga pants.

17 Hours Down

2011-09-21T07:25:00.002-05:00

Over the course of the semester I have to volunteer at my kid's "co-op" for 24 hours.

I use the word "co-op" lightly. I don't really know what else to call it, but this place has paid teachers, paid nursery workers, a snack bar, a lunch counter, organized field trips, a graduation ceremony etc.

Anyway, Noah has taken 3 days off so that I could get my volunteer hours all done in September and then in Oct, Nov, Dec and Jan I will have 3 hours with just Berean one morning a week. Oh the things I will be able to accomplish in that amount of time!

Last week I set up, did some office work/direction kind of stuff and worked as a hall monitor. Then I did a lot of vacuuming.

This week I worked the snack bar most of the day and than cleaned up. I love homeschool moms because they are such interesting people. Not that people who don't homeschool aren't interesting, but the homeschool crowd is so energetic. A lot of them homeschool and work (like I do- and it is fun to see how they juggle it), some of them have a lot more kids than even I do, and it is fun to hear their stories. Some of them have gone back to school while homeschooling, some do such fun things with their kids. I love to hear their stories about how their families and their schooling systems have grown and evolved over the years.

Some of the moms have young kids like mine and we commiserate over trying to keep our boys from jumping off of our decks, staying away from fire, and not unscrewing every screw they come across. We also discuss how our husbands dress our daughters like boys, and good responses to the statement, "you ARE done having kids now,aren't you?"

They are definitely not a crowd of boring people- and they are all vastly different. Some wear jean skirts and turtlenecks, some wear boots and mini-skirts. Some have strict schedules and routines and some do not.

Oh, and, just in case you are wondering, the snack bar sells a lot of Mountain Dew- and very few packs of dried vegetables.

She is a Busy Girl

2011-09-19T16:39:00.002-05:00

Milk and a smile.

The things we do for fashion- black patent leather shoes and underwear on our heads!

She loves to be a big girl, but, after my work weekend I came home to find a new keyboard. Turns out she isn't such a big girl and pulled off 3 of the laptop keys....

2011-09-15T08:54:00.004-05:00

I have several posts I have been attempting to write...

I have a 16 chapter Critical Care textbook that I will be tested on in one month...

I have more garden produce to be processed...

I have more apples to be made into applesauce...

but...

instead let's talk about,

Lincoln kissing my belly and saying, "I like your tummy, Mommy"

Roman, waiting for the "S" in Awana Sparks, and announcing "Sparks" as something to be thankful for

Deacon: "what's this on the table, Mom?"

Me: "Daddy's Basil".

Deacon: "what is it called again?"

Me: "Basil"

Deacon: "I thought for a minute there was a kid in my class named Basil, but turns out it is Liesal".

Berean is our master re-arranger. She is always putting stuff in cupboards, shoes, laundry baskets and ice machines and than cackling with glee. The other day my mom called me because she found one of our portable phones in her purse after she got home.

Berean also thinks most animals are ducks or dogs.

Roman, upon seeing the snack of blackberries and whipped cream: "I've died and gone to Heaven"

Accomplishments

2011-09-12T14:59:00.002-05:00

A lot has been happening in these parts, sorry to bullet-point it out, but that is all the time I have!

*after a 6 month stalemate, Roman has finally agreed to eat a pb & j sandwich made with grape jelly. I am so proud.

*Berean no longer hates her potty chair, NOW she likes to put stuff in it and push it around. Unfortunately, the "stuff" she puts in there is not the "stuff" we want in there.

*Berean also hates peeing on the kitchen floor, mostly because 90% of the time she immediately slips on the pee. Who knew potty training could be such a health hazard?

*My kids eat a lot. I am going all little-house and storing away all I can for winter. This requires a lot of time. The salsa is all done and I have more apples coming tonight...

*Noah completed a triathlon (.6mile swim, 16.5 mile bike, 5 mile run) this weekend. Yeah for health insurance discount!

*We are doing pretty well at going to bed earlier and getting up earlier. This has really helped me stay on top of things over the last 2 weeks. My work weekend will be the test as to if I can keep everything together...

*We moved a big pile of rocks back into their proper position yesterday. It was accomplished quickly because we said it needed to be finished before the NFL game came on. I can see a lot getting done around here during football season...the boys even did their part. I can't wait until they are older and stronger...

*I had to revise my exercise goals due to #5 and the fact that the way the baby is positioned means that intense exercise is decidedly uncomfortable. I have a new goal of "going" 5 miles a day (1 mile walking/running=1 mile, 4 miles biking= 1 mile, 1 mile swimming=4 miles). I am not beating myself up if I don't make it, but it is a good goal. The mileage goal works well for me right now because if there is something else I want to do, it pushes me to go faster :) Also, stationary biking lets me do some reading, but I won't do that for the whole time because even with a book it is just too boring. Also, Berean loves to be strollerized, so going on long walks with her counts toward the daily total.

The Best BLT Ever (or So Far)

2011-09-08T23:12:00.004-05:00

I made the best BLT I've ever had this summer. It was very nearly transcendent. I'm afraid I did not get a picture. I sort of regret it. But I was too busy enjoying every last succulent morsel. Besides, I am not the Pioneer Woman.

Here is the recipe.

Make bacon. Preferably something thick, and make sure there are at least four full strips per sandwich. Reserve some bacon grease; waste not, want not.
Thinly slice a small onion and some garlic. Saute until lightly brown in the reserved bacon grease.
Slice up a garden fresh tomato.
Slice up a garden fresh cucumber. Make sure these don't get too thick.
Toast two slices of bread. The bread is a bit player in this sandwich. I'm not geeking out on the bread. I once thought Texas Toast was going to be the ultimate, but it was too much. It was hogging the spotlight from the marquee players bacon and tomato. We're back to regular, generic bread.
Let it begin!
Put a thin layer of mayonnaise on the first slice. I definitively prefer the olive oil mayo. If you choose another, I won't judge you for being wrong. Someday I will make my own mayo, like I am making my own peanut butter, but that is a different post for a different day.
Artistically and carefully dump the sauteed onions and garlic onto the mayo. The mayo should help adhere the sauteed goodness to the bread and hold it into the sandwich. Things might get crazy, and any bit of structure helps.
Break two bacon strips in half. If you used full length bacon strips and normal sized bread, the four bacon halves should make one layer of bacon.
Layer on at least one layer of red, juicy, garden fresh, grown with love, watered with care, harvested hastily while fighting off hordes of mosquitoes, tomato. Oh so good. This is seriously one of the reasons God invented summer. And if one layer is good, two is oooooh my! Words fail. But the sandwich is getting precariously tall already and we're not done yet. Do what you can safely do.
Layer on a layer of the thinly sliced cukes. These do need to be moderately sliced or the sandwich might just give up on you here. You played all your cards at tomato, so you'll have to hedge a little at the cucumber.
At this point we have to mention that, yes, we have dumped the lettuce. Going to the cukes retains the green aspect of lettuce, but it significantly raises the bar on crunch. Lettuce has been hereby relegated to salads, where, frankly, it belongs.
Wow, it turns out I have some strong food opinions.
You've still got two bacon strip left, so break those bad boys up and layer on a second layer of bacon. A sandwich is filling between two slices of bread, but we're doubling down and sandwiching our fresh tomato between bread and bacon! Take that KFC!
You're almost home. Drink a glass of lemonade and get back in the game son!
Trust me on this one. I didn't believe it either, but this is the real deal. Take the second slice of toast, and spread on a layer of good peanut butter. Put the mayo down, and pick up the peanut butter. Not the kind with sugar. That shouldn't even be in your house! Get the kind with two ingredients - peanuts and salt (if there's three, the third had better be peanut oil!).
I know, most of you are hung up on the last bullet. Don't be. Put your blind faith in me and try it. It's what I had to do. The results defy explanation, but it works. Just. Try. It. You can thank me later.
Place PB'd bread on top to complete the sandwich. Use both hands. 9 O'clock and 3 O'clock. Take a bite. Close your eyes. Exhale slowly. Chew carefully and watch the kaleidoscope of flavors. Swallow if you must. Wow.

And there you have it. The most amazing BLT to date (with insincere apologies to the L).

And no, if you haven't gathered by now, Julie did not author, or authorize, this post.

I leave you now with a blurry picture of someone else's [inferior] BLT.

First Day

2011-09-06T20:37:00.002-05:00

Yep, this is my boys camping. They are sitting on that bench, being reflective and enjoying the view. Or maybe they are watching the portable DVD player.

I'll never tell.

Well, the first day of school is over and it actually went pretty well. The boys were interested and engaged in their work, for the most part. We would have been done by 11ish, except that we chose to take some morning breaks.

So I can look back in a couple months and wonder where it all went wrong, here is how the day went:

7:oo- I got up. I had my devotions, took a shower, checked the computer, started laundry (still playing catchup from vacation). I informed the kids that they could play or do whatever, but that breakfast wasn't until 8am.

8:00- breakfast and clean up the kitchen. I dressed Berean and flipped the laundry.

8:30-We weren't going to start school until 9, but everyone was dressed, fed with their teeth brushed and the kitchen cleaned by 8:30, so we started.

8:30-9:30- I read them 2 books each of their choosing (Lincoln only picked one, so it was 5 books and then Deacon read one to us) and then I read a chapter of Encyclopedia Brown. We read the introduction to the "Mystery of History", the first part of the first week of Astronomy and the first section of our American History book. After that we had "circle time" where we sang some songs with Berean, read her a book, reviewed body parts with her (along with "Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes" - I am sure you can imagine how that went), reviewed our address, phone number, days of week, months of year and math facts up to 10.

9:30-10:00- break. I switched more laundry, tidied up

10:00-11:00- Life Pacs for Deacon and Roman, drew pictures of their favorite pokemon sailing Viking ships. It was hard to balance my time between Deacon and Roman.

11:00- Deacon and Berean went outside onto the deck and I worked with Lincoln on math and reading for about 15 minutes.

11:45- I was making lunch and Deacon and Roman came by. I snagged them and had them do their math lessons. We went out into the yard and they played and I picked up sticks.

12:30- We ate lunch, and then did reading with Deacon and Roman. Boys played around.

2:00- Noah came home early and stayed with Berean while the boys and I went to Target.

3:00- We got home and Noah took off for his thing. I started in on Salsa prep while Berean slept and the boys waited for the neighbors to come home.

Boys played.

I salsaed.

Quick supper and my mom came over when the actual canning was about to start to keep kids safe and to assist.

8:00- Canning complete, stories read and brushing of the teeth finished.

Now I blog. I must finish, however, as I have all the week's laundry to fold and put away and quite frankly, I am exhausted. I promised myself an early bedtime- so off I go to get started folding!

Straight Up Stuff

2011-09-05T20:56:00.002-05:00

1. I always think of Myself and Noah when I hear the song "Crazy Girl" by The Eli Young Band. Something about the song, and the way Noah always shakes his head at me when I come up with yet another plan seem awfully similar. Today I decided to watch the music video for Crazy Girl. Unfortunately, the whole psych hospital (even though it was just a dream) has officially ruined the song for me.

2. The whole music video viewing, however, followed by some additional music video watching, led to a fabulous quote of the day. Noah: "It must be really easy to make music videos, because apparently there is no such thing as a bad idea." So true.

3. We spent part of the long weekend up at our church's family camp. As always, a great time was had by all!

4. Oh, I have another great quote of the day. Julie: "Should I get my hair cut?" Noah: "short of shaving it, do whatever makes you happy." 11 years of marriage has worked wonders for him.

5. As long as we are on quotes of the day, here is my favorite conversation from the weekend.

Location: our cabin up at camp

When: bedtime

R: "Mama, I am scared"

Me: "why are you scared?"

R: "I hear voices" (brothers agree)

Me: "it is just the people in the cabin next to us"

R: "I am also scared that a bear will come in our cabin"

Me: "This cabin is pretty solid, I don't think a bear is coming in"

R: "Maybe they could come through the roof."

D: "How would they get on the roof?"

R: "Well, this second one is just a theory, but maybe the bear could use the tent as a trampoline"

D: "The tent is too far away for the bear to use it as a trampoline to get on our roof"

R: "ok, but I am still scared."

I didn't mention that if the bear really wanted to attack, he would probably just attack the guys in the tent, instead of becoming a gymnast to get to us. It seemed more prudent just to let them go to sleep.

6. My salsa canning adventure today took up way too much time and energy today.

7. I feel very nervous about the start of school tomorrow. The fact that I didn't get to do nearly everything on my list today isn't helping my nerves.

8. Balance is on my mind. Balance between home and work, school and chores, activities and home, exercise and rest.

9. I just told Noah that I don't feel ready to start my 3rd full time job tomorrow. He went upstairs to clean the kitchen. Smart man.

10. I am officially 24 weeks pregnant now. I feel tired and huge. I think it was about this time in my pregnancy with Deacon that I told my mom that I didn't think I could get any bigger. She laughed. I don't feel like I can get any bigger this time either, but oh I know I will. From this point on it is going to be harder to fit into elevators with beds, vents and IV poles. I am going to dread emptying catheters and picking up toys. Having a baby will be worth it, I know, but 3rd trimester-how I dread you.

Goodnight!

Tell All On Baby #5

2011-08-29T22:07:00.002-05:00

Yes, I am now 23 weeks pregnant with #5 and it seemed like the appropriate time to do a tell-all exclusive. There are questions I know you all have (because I've been asked them by friends and strangers alike) and since I aim to please on my blog, here you go!

Q: Yikes! 5 kids! Was this planned?

A: Sort of. When I was pregnant with #4 I said that I wanted a 5th if 4 was a girl. You see, I thought it was important for the only girl to have someone to force her to not to be the ONLY GIRL, THE YOUNGEST and SIGNIFICANTLY YOUNGER than the 3rd. All those things (in my mind) could lead to her being quite spoiled. This has been proven to be true. This spring, Noah finally said that he was ok with having a 5th. Sometime. A couple weeks later I realized I was pregnant :)

Q: Why did it take you so long to tell people that you were pregnant?

A: We have never told people about our pregnancies very early. It seems a little awkward to be all like "Hello! I am pregnant!" Besides that, it is sort of fun to see people whispering about you and taking double takes when they notice your expanding waist line. However, in this case it was very late and I was really showing. The extreme lateness can be blamed on Noah who did not tell his parents until I was arond 16 weeks. I finally had to tell him that if he didn't tell them, that I was putting it on facebook. Why didn't he tell them? Good question. I am pretty sure though that it had something with him walking around looking shell shocked and trying to come to grips with reality himself.

Q: Did it bother you that everyone thought you were just getting fat?

A: YES! I was getting pretty irritated because instead of people thinking I was pregnant, they thought I was getting fat. WHEN HAVE I EVER JUST RANDOMLY GOTTEN FAT?! Besides that I HAD NEVER said that I was not having any more kids. My dear friends Molly and Renae made me feel better by saying that they had suspected I was pregnant because, "when have you ever just gotten fat? And besides that, you looked pregnant, not overweight". That helped my self-esteem.

Q: How is Noah doing now?

A: Noah is doing well. He freaked out for awhile, and mostly about vehicles. Now he is back to his laid back, take-it-in-stride self and I am the one awake at night thinking about vehicles, bedrooms and dealing with a carseat and the most unbalanced 18 month old in the history of the world. He even told his boss about the baby. We had planned a really fun scenerio about me coming into his office 9 months pregnant...and well, we had several more planned, but in the end we didn't use any of them.

Q: Is Berean really the most unbalanced 18 month old in the world?

A: Probably not, although sometimes it seems like she is. I took her swimming the other day and I couldn't even walk next to her, because my disturbing the water in her immediate area was enough to unbalance her. I think it is partially due to her small size, and partially due to her elevated baby toes. They told me she would compensate for the toes, but I don't know if she really has yet. Or prehaps she just really needs to work her core.

Q: Are you going to find out the sex of the baby?

A: nope! We never have, and we are not going to start now. Deke and Roman want a girl, Linc wants a boy. I doubt that Berean wants either. I have a great boy name, but it would be nice for Berean to have a sister. We will be happy either way, I am sure.

Q: What is the boy name?

A: As if I would tell.

Q: When are you due?

A: Christmas Day. And no, this was not planned to avoid working the holiday. I am 23 weeks currently.

Q: How are you feeling?

A: Not that great. No nausea or anything, but for being only in my 2nd trimester- I sure feel like I am in my third. The midwife lady told me that it would probably be a harder pregnancy, since it is my 5th- and so far I agree. Some of it may be due to the fact that they will be less than 2 years apart. It was SO MUCH EASIER to have the longer break that I did between Lincoln and Berean. I just think my body was still tired going into this one.

Speaking of tired...I am tired now....

Maybe I will finish this another time, and who knows...maybe I won't...

Impending Doom

2011-08-28T21:14:00.003-05:00

I get asked all the time "How do you do it? You have 4 kids, you are pregnant. You are working, you are homeschooling."

And my honest answer is: I have good help. I have a supportive husband and extremely helpful extended family.

But, my other honest thought is: I have no idea.

Right now I have a feeling of impending doom. It is a feeling brought on by school starting again. Not only is school starting, but a rigorous fall schedule of juggling MD appointments, work, classes, therapy, school, church, exercise. Not to mention my own personal time and time just chillin' with my peeps.

On paper, it all fits. But in reality, will it work?

I didn't pencil in extra time for melt downs and temper tantrums.

I didn't schedule cleaning up spills and rescuing people from the tops of things.

I didn't schedule phone calls from friends, and extra time in the yard.

I would like an addition to our house, but when would I manage that?

Right now I am feeling overwhelmed.

And I know that once we start school and get into a rhythm that things will work out.

But right now I don't know how it will go, how they will adjust.

All day long now they play and run and swing and play some more.

And I wash dishes.

But pretty soon we will be doing school, and when will I wash dishes?

Is Berean going to scream all day because she is not the center of attention?

Will we find hours in between Lincoln's therapy for school?

Will I ever run again?

How will I get these people to go to sleep at night?

Should we send the older boys downstairs to split them up?

I don't know. And today I feel overwhelmed.

Tomorrow may be different.

I guess we will see.

One Of My Favorite Camping Pictures :)

2011-08-27T09:13:00.001-05:00

Curriculum

2011-08-24T23:00:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, my friend Tonya left a comment asking me about which homeschool curriculum I have been using/planning to use. I missed the question originally, and then it has taken me forever to post this.

So, Tonya, sorry it is so late, but here is my answer:

I have found a few things I love, but I have not found any complete curriculum that I am completely sold on.

Let me start out by saying that I am very frugal and I hate the thought of spending a ton of money on a curriculum (and let's just say that some of the ones out there are very spendy). I could justify the expense by saying that I will be homeschooling 5 children,so I will be able to use it 5 times and possibly resell it later. And that is true, and maybe if I found something that I LOVED and thought would work for 5 different kids, I would maybe go for that. So far, that hasn't been the case.

Our homeschool co-0p is actually a "school" that is open 2 days a week with an a la carte menu. The teachers are paid and although it is spendy, we feel that it is worth it for the boys to have exposure to different teachers, other students and a different environment for that one morning a week. Also, once my volunteer hours are over, I will have time to grocery shop :)

Here is our plan for this year:

Yeah,it's kinda like that

2011-08-22T22:43:00.002-05:00

People I work with ask me what it's like living with all these young children. Well, yeah, it's kinda like this:

-N

Still Laughing

2011-08-21T16:51:00.002-05:00

Noah told the boys that it was time to clean their room. They were supposed to do it last night, but had begged for mercy and a deferment until today.

Here is how the conversation went (I will leave out most of the screaming and wailing noises):

N- "guys, go clean your room"

(screaming and wailing)

D- "all of it?"

N- "your room is like 80 square feet. Yes, all of it"

D- "and it is like AN INCH DEEP!"

and off they went (with much gnashing of teeth).

---

Deacon showed me his new pokemon card, Piplip.

I mentioned how much Piplip looked like a Penguin.

Deacon replied, "Piplip is a version of a penguin." A lot of the Pokemons are versions of animals"

I love that kids vocabulary.

---

Berean was throwing toys in the bathtub. Before she threw each one she said, "watch!"

Wonder where she got that?

Our Little Model

2011-08-18T14:19:00.002-05:00

We only have one child that is always willing to get his picture taken

He likes to pose, he likes to smile

He doesn't even mind if we snap a picture when he is not quite ready

Or if he is being propped up on a rock by Uncle James

Isn't that sweet?

Even though he is the 3rd, I think he may be our most well photographed child (at least the one with the most decent looking pictures).

He knows how to overcome middle child syndrome- with a smile and a pose.

At Our Campsite

2011-08-17T23:28:00.000-05:00

Once Again, We're Back

2011-08-16T21:22:00.003-05:00

We just got back from a camping trip to the North Shore.

There were a lot of positives and very few negatives:

Positives:
*no bugs. seriously awesome.
*beautiful blue skies
*Berean did not come (we love her, but 17 month olds + camping = too much work). Thanks for watching her, Mom and Dad!
*in laws did 99% of the cooking. I flipped two pancakes, and I think Noah flipped 3. Thanks Chris and Debbie!
*the boys had a ton of fun and I brought home great quotes of the day, like:

-D "cliff jumping is illegal? I just thought it was fun!"
-L "Get your 'oooohhhs' ready, there is a tunnel coming up!"
-R "I miss Berean. We had to leave her behind, and I kind of like behind".
-D "c'mon Dude, I need some fast bucks here!"

Negatives:
-port-a-potties (don't look down!)
-minor back injury
-multiple near heart attacks as boys did what boys do
-being pregnant definitely hinders my mobility and agility. I could feel it much more acutely there than when I am at home doing my "normal" routine.

We had a full evening of commitments upon our return, and now I am off to bed before the house is put back together...oh well...

In Two Weeks

2011-08-08T16:59:00.002-05:00

Yep, I am going to implement potty training part 1 in 2 weeks. Berean is still really young, but I can see it going well. I can also see her not getting it at all.

But we are going to try.

And if it doesn't work, I will try again later.

Getting her trained before the next baby arrives seems like it would be good for morale :)

The Men in My Life

2011-08-06T17:00:00.002-05:00

I am in the midst of writing some longer posts about pregnancy and homeschool curriculum (exciting, right?) but I am not sure exactly when I will get them done. Right now I am in the midst of a long stretch at work, and well, we have summer to finish up strong!

Our van is making weird clunking noises and is having trouble shifting. Ominous noises that make the money in our bank account quake with the fear that it will soon be pulled out to go hang with the mechanic. We have an appointment for Monday, but I called my dad yesterday to see if I could borrow his "spare" van a little early for driving into work. He told me that I could but that it didn't have much gas in it, etc. I said I would fill it up, after all I was the one borrowing it. When Noah and I arrived to pick it up I was informed that my dad had gone and gotten it washed and filled it with gas. I love my dad!

Noah and I got into an argument last night at Chipotle. It was the kind of argument where Noah actually said to me, "we are not going to get anywhere with this unless you approach it with SOME degree of rationality". I was trying to explain my position, and was having trouble expressing what I was thinking. He stopped me, told me "I already know your position" and then proceeded to sum up exactly what my position was. I guess that is what being married to a person for 11 years does :) Now, I am not saying that I like arguments- but it felt good. We used to argue and debate all the time, but we don't very much anymore. We have grown to agree more and more and don't often find ourselves on different sides of an issue. It was kind of fun to once again have an animated discussion. I love that boy.

I got up from sleeping today to find my whole family gone. I knew they had been gone awhile, because they are quite loud and I hadn't heard them all afternoon. I could not figure out where they would have gone for that length of time. Finally, I called my parents. Sure enough, Noah had left the girl there for her nap and taken the boys to the beach! Did not expect that. I am still waiting to find out if he found all of the swim trunks, the wrist bands, goggles and towels, or if they just kind of used what they could find. Have I mentioned that I love that boy?

My little boys are SO EXCITED about their pokemon cards and just life in general right now. They play hard, and they look forward to everything. Even though they can be very wearing with their constant "what are we doing next?", "where are we going", "how can I earn more money" questions, we are still loving summer and I am not looking forward to the start of school. I gave them all buzz cuts this week and they are so cute :)

And now a word about Berean. She is adorable and sweet (although she can screech) and is doted on by all. Yep, she is spoiled. Despite that, she is pretty good-natured and we have all been enjoying teaching her new things. Oh, and she likes long naps. We like that too.

Catch Up

2011-08-02T22:02:00.002-05:00

Sorry the posts have been few and far between- part of it is due to the fact the our computer is still non-functional, so I have to post from my laptop. I like my laptop, but it is not very comfortable for typing long posts. Noah hooked this one up to our big monitor a few days ago, though, and that makes it much more tolerable.

Besides that, however, no excuses. We are just enjoying summer and I am using my "free" time to work or to take 2 hour naps in 2 minute intervals. Maybe you also know that kind of nap? sleep 2 min..."Mama, can we have a snack?"...sleep 2 min... "Mama, can you open our popsicles"...sleep 2 min..."guys?! I hear a beep, make sure the freezer is shut!"sleep 2 min... "Mom, can we take a bath?"... sleep 2 min... "Mama, Roman is throwing things..."

Well, maybe you get the picture.

The naps are due to the fact that I am not sleeping well at night. My mom reminded me that I had sleep trouble with some of my other pregnancies, and I think that she is remembering that correctly. Also, every pay period I have a 7 day stretch off of work, and I always sleep worse then because I am not "tired" enough.

So I take 2 hour naps, (when Berean is sleeping) in 2 minute segments.

2 weeks ago I told Noah that I needed a couple of days to myself. I needed to be alone, to clean the house and plan for the fall. Noah graciously offered to take the kids to visit his grandparents, and even roped his parents into going along to help. Thank you Gpa Jim, Gma Ruth, Chris, Debbie and Noah for letting me have a couple of days off!

I was informed that Gma Ruth is "nicer than you, Mom, because she let us have dessert without finishing our vegetables".

Friday night of my "off" weekend I went to the Y and then met my friend, my mom and my sister at Feed My Starving Children, an organization that uses volunteers to pack food for starving children.

Saturday I cleaned all day long. I washed bedding, windows, blinds, vaccumed, mopped, cleaned carpets, scrubbed cabinets, went through everything in my kitchen, weeded out toys, and scrubbed bathtubs and toilets. I spent time cleaning up the garage and basement (although those two areas require more of Noah's input). It was wonderful. No, I didn't get everything done- but it was a good start.

Sunday I had to be in children's chuch, since it was my volunteer week, but after that I went to the church picnic alone and actually got to talk to people without constant interruptions. The fam arrived home in the late afternoon, just in time for a birthday party with friends and some downtime before bed.

The last couple of days I have just been finishing things up around here (it is never-ending) and the boys and I have been taking it easy.

It is very sad to think that there is just one more month before school starts, but I guess that is the way of life!

No Romans Were Hurt in the Making of This Film

2011-08-01T10:56:00.000-05:00

*Roman also gave us permission to post this. He thinks it is uproariously funny. Also, congrats to Lincoln on successfully mastering the monkey bars!

Not the post I meant to write

2011-07-25T22:18:00.003-05:00

First off, let me begin by informing you all that I am tired :) I am sure you wanted to know that- but it has been a long, long week. Not necessarily all bad and not all stuff that directly involves me, and yet it weighs on my mind. Maybe I think too much.

The world is a crummy place, my friends.

But it is also a beautiful place.

"In this world you will have trouble, but take heart! I have overcome the world."

My heart hurts for the mothers who have no food to feed their children.

I am sad for the people caught in addiction.

The political state of our world scares me.

A friend's severe illness upsets me

An acquaintance dying leaves me in tears

"In this world you will have trouble, but take heart! I have overcome the world."

So in addition to my normal domestic woes, work struggles, childrearing worries, relationship managing- I also just have a heavy heart for the world right now.

And I am trying to remember

"In this world you will have trouble, but take heart! I have overcome the world."

On Being Useful

2011-07-22T13:07:00.003-05:00

The boys and I LOVE listening to Adventures in Odyssey. For those of you who have never had the pleasure of listening, AIO are radio dramas put out by Focus on the Family. AIO is broadcasted on the radio (and has been for like 25 years) but you can also buy (or check out from the library!) the various albums.

Anyway, the "shows" follow the citizens of a town called Odyssey and they always teach a lesson. Some of the episodes deal with deeper topics such as evil (they have two "sagas" that are pretty intense), divorce, death etc. Most of the episodes deal with elementary topics however such as cheating, lying, stealing, bullies etc. Over the 25 years the writers have showed great variety in their presentation. Sometimes it is story telling form from one character to another, some are historical with characters traveling in "The Imagination Station" and some are narratives by a character.

I love when the Barclays move to Pokenberry Falls and the 2 part episode is a parody of "It's a Wonderful Life". I love "The Secret Room" where the bad guy has sleeping darts in his cane. I love the Novacom Saga and the evilness of Dr. Blackgaard and the patheticness of his twin brother.

But the episode that is stuck in my mind right now? It is a less popular episode called "The Girl in the Sink". In this episode Bernard (local window washer) tells Tamika (local girl) a story about when he was a child. What leads to the story is Tamika talking about how God should send an angel to help her widowed neighbor. Bernard's point is that we can all be useful- the neighbor doesn't need a bona fide celestial being- she just needed someone who was willing to be useful.

This concept of "being useful" has been flipping around in my brain for months now- and I always come back to that episode.

"Being Useful" is going to be the theme of our homeschool and home this fall. I want to see opportunities to be useful and to take them (despite children) and I desperately want my children to be able to start detecting opportunities for themselves to be useful.

Because when you think about it, people who are well liked and who succeed are those who are useful. My favorite coworkers are not the ones who are the smartest, the best in a code or the ones who have the drug book memorized- my favorite people to work with are the ones who know how to make themselves useful, seeing what needs to be done and doing it.

And I really believe there are two parts to usefulness. First, you have to be able to see the problems and the opportunities. I think this is a learned skill. (it is NOT useful to always have to give people step by step instructions for everything you need them to do). Second, you have to take the opportunities and actually BE USEFUL!

I haven't quite decided how I am going to attack this with the boys, but I think I am going to start with pointing out when they do something useful, so they can start recognizing it. For example, (sorry Elise! I am going to use your daughter!), the boys cousin didn't want to leave the park the other day. I had Roman walk with her so she wouldn't feel so lonely and then when he came back I pointed out how it helped his cousin. In situations like that I am going to start using the word "useful".

I can see how it could be a problem that the opposite of "useful" is "useless". If my kids aren't being "Useful" I don't want them to jump to the conclusion that THEY are "useless". I am going to be careful to make sure that they don't feel that way, but I think this practice is going to be good for our family.

I want my kids (and myself) to "see the good they ought to do and do it"- whether it be big things like helping feed starving children, opening doors for people with packages, distracting a sad child, cleaning up a spill.

So that is our overreaching goal for fall:

To be Useful.

Girl Trouble

2011-07-18T16:47:00.002-05:00

Berean is now 16 months old. She can throw a temper tantrum with the best of them (complete with peeking to see if anyone is paying attention) and she is improving her climbing skills- her new favorite hang spot is the top of the dining room table.

And new words are coming every day.

Just yesterday she said "Jordan" and "Todd" and "cherry".

Today she said "ice cube".

She doesn't use them all consistently, but she is constantly testing and trying new words.

Oh, and she has a knot in her hair.

She has always twisted her hair when she is tired, but last week she managed to get it into a tenacious twist. I don't know if it was the syrup, the fact that her hair is getting longer or sheer determination on her part; but I can't get it out. I think this one is going to get cut, but I see a big bottle of detangler in my future.

Back Online

2011-07-16T20:55:00.002-05:00

Did you all think I dropped off the face of the earth?

I kind of did.

We lost our internet. Including our wireless.

*GASP*

We got a temporary setup this morning, and that means it was a total of 6 days without internet at home.

And let me tell you, it wasn't pretty.

I hate to admit it, really I do.

I take care of drug addicts. And alcoholics.
I was with my husband when he withdrew from caffeine.
I mock people who need their coffee.

But those first days of withdrawel were kind of ugly.

No, I didn't have delirium tremors, and no I didn't think I was in a train station.

But I was crabby and a little on edge.

It got better after a few days.

It got worse for Deacon.

"Mom, life without the internet is SO HARD!!!" he proclaimed after being told yet again that we couldn't look such and such up and that he couldn't play any games.

It is not even that I spend that much time on the internet-I just am on here for 5-10 min at a time multiple times a day. It is just that I conduct "business" on email, I renew library books online, we get our news online and it is my encyclopedia, dictionary and phonebook all in one.

I was clueless about the weather, about the world and about how much sun rasberries really need for the whole week.

I didn't have phone numbers for essential people and businesses, I couldn't contact my playgroup or friends I was supposed to be lining up meetings with.

Maybe I am a little too dependent on the internet.

But boy am I glad to have it back.

(stay tuned for more posts about what happened while I was "gone"-things like, "how much am I willing to pay to get back all the photos that were lost when my computer was struck by lightning", "why there is a gigantic blue monkey in my living room", "there is a knot in my babies hair", "Happy 11th Anniversary", and of course more on Baby #5!..and vacation pictures if we can find and restore them...)

No Craft Household

2011-07-07T19:47:00.003-05:00

Do you all search for things for your kids to do?

I have one friend who sets up "stations" for her younger children while she does schoolwork with the older ones. Other people I know have boxes of an activity or activities for each day of the week.

I don't have either.

Online there are tons of activities for preschoolers, crafts to make and ways to keep little kids occupied.

I grew up with a creative mom and she planned creative projects for us.

We don't do stuff like that.

Sometimes I feel bad when I read a blog and I see that someone helped their kids make 9 different sheep crafts on the "S" preschool day.

I never do crafts or projects with my kids.

We barely do play-doh.

I read to them, we go places, we play games sometimes or do puzzles. They color or make stuff sometimes on their own, but I don't have "organized" activities for them. We don't cook, we don't sew.

I am not sure if this is good or bad.

But, here is the thing. They do their own thing. There is so many of them and they play well together, that from sun-up to sun-down they are pretty self entertained.

Now, their sister? She is another matter. She loves to stand at the sliding glass door and watch them play. I guess it is like tv. But, when she is not doing that
she is unloading every shelf, basket or bag that she comes across.

Berean is a very busy worker.

Maybe she will need boxes and bins of crafts and activities. And maybe she won't. I guess time will tell. I kind of hope she doesn't. I like creative free-play. Or maybe I don't like free play as much as I dislike table activities.

Catching Up

2011-07-06T08:27:00.002-05:00

We got back from Chicago just in time to deal with a melting freezer/fridge. Noah had Monday and Tuesday off, so we have been spending time in the yard and playing catch up in the house. Oh, and preparing and hosting a 4th of July Celebration. We can see fireworks from our front yard, well, those of us who choose to brave the swarming mosquitos can see them from our front yard, anyway.

But, Noah is back to work and I am trying to get back into my routine.

Before I forget,

Deacon has been talking a lot about "when you abandon us". Now, we think it stems from the fact that he has read books about children without parents who are "on their own" etc. As far as we can tell, he doesn't really think we are going to abandon him. Anyway, he says stuff like this, "I suppose when you abandon us I will have to get a job first. And then a house. And insurance. And some toys to keep my brothers occupied. Then I will need some stilts." We asked him why he needed stilts.

"so I can help my brothers cross the street and so that the cars will see us", was the reply.

I guess I do often tell him that they are too short for cars to see well, etc. And we are always telling them that we have to pay for other things before we can spend money on toys. Maybe he is slowly learning.

And, although I have no interest in trying it- I think Deacon could rise to the challenge if needed :)

HOME!

2011-07-03T16:49:00.002-05:00

Just got in from a vacation to Chicago. Yep, we took all the kids and yep, it was crazy.

I learned a lot about my children, and really wish I would have brought Lincoln a Camelbak and urinal- as I threatened to do.

I also learned alot about the Penguins of Madagascar and how my daughter looks when she throws herself to the floor in anguish- a tiny little pile of tulle.

More to come, but now, off to start laundry and get some rest before a holiday shift!

In Honor of Cars 2: UPDATE!!! (Finally!)

2011-06-28T13:59:00.000-05:00

Thanks for all the ranking! It is interesting to read which ones different people like best. And, it is also interesting to note that different life situations when certain movies come out probably make an impact on the ratings. For example, even though I think that visually "Finding Nemo" is pretty incredible, I don't like it as much as some of the others. Why? It came out when I was pregnant with Deacon and I watched it right after he was born. The mom dying was just too much :)

Most professional movie critics feel that Cars is one of pixar's weaker movies. I love Cars, but I am sure it is mostly because the boys love it so much. It was so fun to watch them fall in love with the characters and to carry around their "friends" wherever they went.

Anyway, here is the link to a professional's opinion, and here is my list:

1. Cars

2.TS 3 (Noah loves TS, so it is partially endearing just because he laughs so much)

3.TS 2

4. Nemo (I love animated water and sea creatures.)

5. TS 1 (SID was creepy, that is why I rank it lower than the other TS's)

6. The Incredibles (too scary for kids?)

7. Monster's Inc. (the boys are obsessed with "little Boo"

8. Ratatouille (too many rats. Ugh)

9. UP (was not impressed. I think I don't like unrealistic things happening to humans. I don't mind cars, super heroes, fish and monsters talking, but I don't like houses being carried away and stuff like that.)

10. Wall E (I shouldn't even rate this, since I was unable to complete a viewing due to FALLING ASLEEP because it was SO BORING.)

A couple days ago I read a "professionals" opinion of how the 11 pixar movies should be rated, #1 being the best all the way down to #11 which was just "good".

Noah and I made our own lists a couple of nights ago.

Now is your turn...anyone want to play? Rate the pixar movies! If you haven't seen them all, just leave off the ones who haven't seen and rate the others.

Here they are, in alphabetical order:

1. A Bug's Life
2. Cars
3. Finding Nemo
4. Incredibles
5. Monster's Inc
6. Ratatouille
7.Toy Story 1
8. Toy Story 2
9. Toy Story 3
10. UP
11. Wall E

I will post my list, Noah's list and the professional's list sometime soon- but for now, start rating!

Don't like blood? Don't look.

2011-06-22T16:53:00.002-05:00

IF you are the 4th kid, and your dad finds you like this when he goes to take you out of your carseat, THEN you get your picture taken.

(she was fine, just got a bloody nose- it was just a little startling to come across her like this)

What Do You Mean, You Need Your Blanket?

2011-06-21T21:17:00.002-05:00

3 little boys.

3 little boys that are all 4 and older.

3 little boys that never clung to pacifiers.

3 little boys that never sucked thumbs.

3 little boys who didn't haul around blankets,

or stuffed animals,

or random "soft" things.

1 little girl.

1 little 15 month girl.

1 little girl that never clung to a pacifier.

1 little girl that never sucked a thumb.

1 little girl who wants to haul around her blanket,

and stuffed animals,

and random "soft" objects.

*sigh*

Do we really need to do this now?

(seriously. I am in a quandry. Do I insist that she keep her "stuff" in her bed, only for naptimes and bedtimes- or should I let her haul it around? I gotta decide soon...)

Supposed To

2011-06-20T12:53:00.003-05:00

I was supposed to run preschool VBS all week, but due to low enrollment we cancelled it. Can I insert a muted "yahoo!" in here?

VBS takes lots of time to plan and then essentially wipes out all my energy for an entire week. So, even though I am sad for the kids who were going to come, I am super happy for myself.

I think my yard, my garden and my house is grateful too.

So, even though we are looking at (another) rainy week- I am on a mission to get stuff done and to continue having summer fun with the boys.

It always amazes me when moms complain about summer and having to spend all summer with their kids. I LOVE summer. My love of summer probably stems from the fact that since we are homeschooling, my workload is significantly decreased in the summer and I am used to having them around all of the time anyway.

I am also coming to grips with the fact that with 4 kids, a smallish house and a "do-it-yourself" mentality, my environment is never going to be wide open with tons of free space.

My new goal is to always have at least 1 shelf/space empty in each room so that I never feel like we are at absolute capacity. The problem is, everytime I empty a shelf, someone else in the house sees it as an opprotunity.

Oh well, it is summer and I don't care!

Amusement Park/Zoo

2011-06-14T23:11:00.002-05:00

My mom just sent me these pictures of our outing yesterday.

The rides were thrilling (especially for 3 little boys who have never been on rides- at least ones they can remember)
And there is nothing better than a baby Polar Bear, even if it is fake.

Thirty-One

2011-06-13T21:53:00.002-05:00

Today is my 31st birthday.

Last year I had a really hard time with the whole turning 30 thing, but this year, the whole "getting older" thing feels ok. Maybe I just have had less time to think about it, or maybe I finally have friends that are more my age- and that makes it easier.

Noah organized a family birthday party for me last night and made me a cake (which was in fact chocolate, had nothing weird in it, and was very good). I spent the day today at the zoo and amusement park with my mom, sister and the kids. We had a good time. This evening Noah grilled steak for supper with onions, mushrooms and parmeson cheese. Yum.

This evening I have actually had a chance to do some cleaning and sorting in our office. That is very exciting, to be sure. Ahh...life as a mother of 4- choosing to spend my birthday evening cleaning out my office.

The older I get though, the more I want to streamline my life. Get rid of the extra fat, get rid of the extra junk, get rid of the bad attitudes, unhelpful relationships, the irritation over little things.

Enjoy the good things, the helpful things, the simple things.

Poor Deacon was crying today because some of the neighbor kids were lying to him and were being mean. He does not like it when kids lie to him or tell him "things that are false". Through his tears he said, "I don't tell them lies,why do they lie to me and try to trick me?"

I wanted to tell him to forget them, that there are other people to be friends with and that it is not worth it. But it is such a quandry, because he has to learn to get along with all kinds of people. To spot the lies, the falsehoods and to become a man who tells the truth.

We are always learning, always growing, always changing.

Both at 31.
And at 7.

Chubby Bunny

2011-06-10T14:07:00.002-05:00

*Her brothers passed her these marshmallows on the DL...you should have seen her scurry to get away with them!

10 Things

2011-06-07T21:19:00.002-05:00

1. My husband is currently reading "World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War". I am not kidding.

2. We have started the Insanity workout 60 day challenge and I am pretty sure I am going to need to replace my carpet after it is over due to all of the sweat.

3. A simple "plant the blueberry bushes" has now turned into a full blown "rock removal and landscaping project".

4. I worked 44 hours Sunday to Sunday last week and am looking forward to enjoying some lighter work weeks!

5. Most of my fall curriculum for the boys has been ordered and delievered!

6. Our sump pump has finally stopped running, but a few days ago I took a walk in our neighborhood and heard running water the whole time. Every few houses had a hose running down to the street with water pouring out of it. I guess we are not alone.

7. The kids were out eating icecream cone things and the neighbor boy was overheard saying, "Let's pretend it is beer and we are just sitting around drinking and talking." Probably a good thing that Noah heard that and that I wasn't out there. Don't say things like that to my precious little boy! (who, incidently, is looking scarily older and older. I grabbed his arm the other day and he is all "man muscle" and not "little boy fat" anymore.

8. My birthday is next week and I (surprisingly) am looking forward to it. Last year I was not- something about the big 3-0. Somehow, 31 seems easier to accept. Maybe it is because I have learned in the last year that just because you are no longer in your 20s doesn't mean that you are old. (Tell that to the next 21 year old you see and watch for the blank stare of noncomprehension).

9. I am still eating butter on my toast along with peanut butter and jelly. I just can't give it up. It is simply better that way.

10. Little Debbie Cloud Cakes are superior to Hostess Twinkies*. It has been proven. Well, kind of.

*I was in no way compensated by Little Debbie for that statement.

New Skills!

2011-06-06T22:36:00.002-05:00

One month ago

Berean discovered a new kingdom

to explore.

She is full of concentration, planning each move.

Finally, she is in position!

Should I do it?

Ok, so the mud at the end of slide and the subsequent crash landing was a parent fail that became a 1 year old's misfortune.

(it didn't stop her though, she loves that slide!)

We Are Here

2011-06-04T18:03:00.003-05:00

Ahhh...the first week of June and finally some warm weather!

I have a busy work schedule this week and I am still trying to get the yard in order and keep the kids in order...

hopefully there will be time for blogging soon!

Something to leave you with:

We are always telling the boys "be careful of cars, they might hit you" etc, etc and blah, blah, blah.

Today a car went past us kind of fast and Lincoln stops walking, points at the car and says, "you missed us!"

Apparently I should let him know that it is not that the cars WANT to hit us, it is just that they might not SEE us.

Deacon's Musical

2011-05-31T21:18:00.003-05:00

I guess it was close to a month ago that Deacon was in a musical at church. He had a few lines, sang with the group and even participated in the choreography :)

The set was incredible

He was pretty pleased with the whole thing too!

(by the way, I am still having trouble with my nonblurry pictures showing up on my blog all blurry until you click on them. Anyone experienced something similar? What did you do?)

Since January!

2011-05-30T04:35:00.002-05:00

When I went on the schedule at work back in January, I had hopes of occasionally getting a shift off due to low need. People used to get them a lot. Over the last few months, however, due to a variety of circumstances, "holidays" are few and far between.

In fact, since January I have not gotten a single shift off. Until tonight, that is.

Tonight I picked up an extra 12 hours for a friend. They gave me my first 4 off, I went in for 4 and then they asked if I wanted to go home early! Yahoo! And since it was an extra shift my paycheck won't suffer, nor will I have to use PTO. (note to anyone who cares- if they offer to let you go home early, take it as a sign from the Almighty that things will be better for you if you leave- if you choose to stay under those circumstances, you have no one to blame but yourself when things go south).

I know you blog readers probably could care less- but my first holiday since January? Seriously, so excited!

Now, the big question is what to do now- it is 0430 and I am wide awake...the possibilities are endless!

I have a child...

2011-05-26T18:11:00.002-05:00

I have a child who has suddenly caught on to reading, after what seemed like a very long struggle.

I have a child who plays Little League, but admits that when he is playing outfield he secretly just wants to sit in the grass and hang out.

I have a child who was talking about babies being born and said, "well, when the mom launches the baby out..."

I have a child who, when I started laughing at the above comment said, "ok, I know it doesn't launch out. It is more squeezed out."

I have a child who likes to help, but likes to talk more, and can not do both at the same time.

I have another child whose eyes twinkle when he sees his friends out playing.

I have a child who pretends he cannot read, but occasionally he will let something slip and I will know that he can.

I have a child who is learning to control his temper.

I have a child who is full of plans, dreams and his imagination.

I have a child who received a thankyou note in the mail and won't let us see it, because it is private.

I have a child who is full of enthusiasm and shakes when he is excited.

I have a child who today said, "I see a goose sitting on the pond", when last year at this time all he could say was "no" and "mom".

I have a child who copies everything his brothers do.

I have a child who loves to roll and play with his baby sister.

I have a child who has to have his cuddle time with his mom and dad.

I have a child who (when she saw her brother holding a towel to his chin) insisted on getting her own towel to hold to her face.

I have a child who loves to pretend to clean like me and unload the dishwasher.

I have a child that will calmly hang out next to me as I do tasks.

I have a child that now (appropriately) says "chicken", "hi", "bye", "sli dow" (slide down), "banana" and of course "mama", "dadda" and "Dee" for Deacon

I have a child who laughs and giggles with abandon.

Sump Pumps, Urgent Care and McDonald's Play Place

2011-05-24T10:00:00.000-05:00

A few housekeeping notes before we get started: (mostly written on Sunday, finished and posted on Tuesday morning)

1. Happy 4th Birthday, Lincoln! You will get a proper post after your party tomorrow! At least, you should :)

2. I am having a bad house day. And a bad yard day. Everything is a disaster and I feel like it will never be put back together again! Ok, I feel slightly better by saying that. Now tomorrow I will work on it, inbetween the 40 million other things I need to be doing tomorrow.
---

This weekend was supposed to be Lincoln's fabulous birthday weekend/staycation. We had big and fun plans- and we were hoping to slip some yard work in too! But we have had tornados and thunderstorms and rain all weekend, and so it turned out to be rather less fabulous than the plan.

Lincoln didn't seem to mind too much, although he is disappointed that we were unable to go to the zoo today.

But we were grateful that we hadn't left for the zoo when the tornado sirens went off. Honestly, hunkering down at a zoo in some dank tornado shelter with all my children could have been the death of me.

Instead we went down to the basement where we were faced with a new problem. Water. a puddle along one well, some dampness along another. We have a poured concrete foundation and in the 7 years we have lived in this house we have never had the slightest hint of dampness in the basement. Now, there was standing water in our backyard and in the rocks around our house, but still- seeing water oozing in along the concrete floor was strange. Thankfully when we finished the room downstairs we didn't lay carpet!

The next thing we noticed was that the sump pump hole was full of water and the sump pump wasn't running. Not that we have ever seen the sump pump run. Ever. Noah did some troubleshooting with that, but still it wouldn't run.

Our handy friend suggested Noah go by a new one at Fleet Farm and install it. So he did. It was awesome. He just went to Fleet Farm, came home and installed it and it is now functioning perfectly. Quick project, little drama. (I am kind of proud of him! :)

That situation being taken care of, we moved on to the next. Roman had been outside playing in the puddles and he came in, slipped on the kitchen floor and came chin down on the table. The gash in his chin was pretty wide, so it was off to urgent care next.

Thankfully, the PA suggested that we do steri-strips instead of stitches. He said if it was on the face, he would do stitches, but because it was in a more hidden location he felt even if there was a little more scarring it wouldn't matter as much. He said he would do stitches if I wanted them. I didn't want them, and neither did Roman, so about 3 minutes later his "stickers" were in place and we were off.

We got home and decided to go out to eat for Lincoln's birthday. McDonald's play place was the location of choice (besides, I had coupons!).

Disgusting.

Everytime I go there I swear I will never go again, but then some little sweet boy's birthday comes around and they ask, and we go.

We are 36 hours past that germ fest and no one is vomiting or sneezing yet...maybe we escaped unscathed? Not sure yet...I will give it until hour 48 before I will no longer blame McDonalds for any sickness that befalls us.

Birthday party is now complete as well, and it is time to do some yardwork before the next downpour. *sigh*

Disturbing? Or is it just me?

2011-05-21T17:53:00.002-05:00

We are doing a little "staycation" here this weekend. It has been fun, even though the weather situation has been a little unfortunate. The day has been filled with Lincoln singing, "rain, rain, go away, marching band wants to play, rain, rain, go away."

Wherever he got that from.

Anyway, yesterday we became members of the Children's Museum in our city. Well, it isn't our city- I don't want to claim it- but we are close enough. We became members because there are so many of us that it really seemed like a pretty good deal, especially since it will get us into some other museums as well.

We had a nice time hanging out all together, and then we split up so that Berean could go into the toddler area and Noah could take the boys to a station that wouldn't be as interesting to her.

So Berean and I hung out in the toddler room. And yes, I saw an O.I.M (overly involved mother) peer into her child's diaper and comment about her not having any "toodles" today and how she often doesn't go if she is excited. Ok, we all needed to know that. And "toodles"? really? Or maybe it is just me that thinks that is weird.

I noticed the nursing mother's room with the door standing open. Berean has been successfully weaned for 8 days now and so we didn't need to use it, but it did catch my attention.

Before I go on, let me say that I am fully supportive of breastfeeding. I don't use one of those weird wrappy coverup things and I nurse in public. I don't mind if other women do as well and I think that it is a completely natural process that doesn't need to be hidden or covered up or whatever.

But I did find it odd that there was a giant picture made up of many smaller pictures of people breastfeeding. Close up shots, clothing strictly optional.

As I said, I love breastfeeding but as I nurse my own child I just don't feel the need to stare at pictures of significant boobage.

But maybe it is just me.

Over

2011-05-19T20:38:00.002-05:00

Homeschool group is over.

Preschool is over.

Helping Noah cater the senior banquet is over.

Awana is over.

Choir is over.

Too bad work isn't over.

And that we are in the midst of Little League Season.

And VBS planning.

But, just must get through 8 hours of work and then,

I will have some time with the family,

and some time to plant my garden.

If the rain stays away.

Please.

The Line

2011-05-18T08:43:00.002-05:00

I worked the weekend and barely slept Monday. We had Little League after dinner last night and by 9:00 I was so tired I couldn't maintain an upright position. I fell asleep and got up at 8:00 this morning. I feel so much better! Yeah for sleep. Anyway, I figured I'd better write a post this morning in case my nightowlish tendencies get derailed again tonight.

Before I tell you this story, I need to tell you that we have been having a great deal of trouble recently with one of our children. Roman is smart and can be very charming, but he has a very strong sense of justice and he likes to be the enforcer. This, combined with a temper and impulse control issues can lead to a great deal of drama.

We were watching Deacon's Little League game last night and "the boy with the strange name" (as Roman calls him) came over to play. Lincoln refers to him as "the boy with the red shirt". Anyway, they played with the toys that we had along and then they started drawing with the boy's chalk. They were working their way down the sidewalk away from the field, but hadn't yet gotten anywhere near where I would have called them back. (I let them go as far as the point where I can no longer run them down in a quick fashion if it becomes necessary. Lucky for them, I am a good runner).

The boys Grandma, however, wasn't so spry and so she went over and told the boy that he couldn't go that far. He said, "I will draw a line with chalk so that I will remember how far I can go". She showed him where to draw the line, and he drew it and the play continued.

A little while later I heard Roman's loud voice. "You aren't supposed to cross this line!!" I looked back and Roman's toes were on that line. The boy and Lincoln were across it. Roman was distraught and kept telling them to come back- very panicky. (This is odd to me because even though Roman does like justice, he is not big into following rules himself). Positive Reinforcement time. As I made my way over, The Boy said to Roman, "Oh, it is no big deal. I will just draw a new line." And so he did.

Wow. And we wonder how the world is so screwed up.

Even 3 year olds are drawing "new lines" for themselves.

I got there and congratulated Roman on doing the right thing and for gently reminding his friend (without hitting or dragging) to do the right thing too. Roman beamed with pride. Lincoln ran back over and placed his toes squarely on the line too.

It was an encouraging moment in a week of parenting stress.

*In other Little League news, Roman was wearing a reverseable outfit and kept going into the portapotty to change it back and forth. R and L love portapotties. Yuck.

*Berean was in a baby swing and I was pushing her. A mom and her little girl came over and started a conversation with us. I won't bore you with the whole convo, but the girl is 2 1/2 but was 6 weeks early. The mom told me that she would be 6 weeks behind (per the Md's) "mentally" but that she is not and she is very smart. (pretty sure that 6 weeks doesn't matter a whole lot once you are 2 1/2, but what do I know?) She then proceeded to tell the little girl to sing her abcs. Then twinkle twinkle, then count and on and on. Really? Is this some sort of show? Why are you trying to prove to strangers that your daughter is so smart?

*Noah is the pitcher for the coach pitch Little League. It is very stressful and he was nervous and I was nervous for him. The kids only get 6 pitches, whether they are bad or good, so if you don't make them good the parents will start getting angry. The problem is, you have a clueless 7 year old catcher behind the plate and a batter that has about a 20% chance of getting a hit. Not only are you trying to get it over the plate slowly and in decent position, but you also can not kill the catcher. It is a sticky situation. Noah didn't hit any batters, though, nor did he get attacked by any parents, so I guess we can call that a success.

*Deacon likes to be catcher and hold up fingers for how many outs there are. He is pretty clueless out there and looks a little scared, but hopefully he will become a little more aware soon.

It is breakfast time! Have a good day, everyone!

Roman On Easter

2011-05-13T13:38:00.002-05:00

For some reason, all my pictures are showing up blurry- but if you click on them, they will be clear.

It was a lot of work...

For one pink egg...

Good thing there is a ladder....

To make things easier...

Wondering

2011-05-11T11:47:00.000-05:00

Why Berean only likes to read books to herself...

Which child put some baby plants into a dark closet...

How many months of their allowance will my children lose to pay for the screen they destroyed...

If, by not hiding all of the screwdrivers, Noah was giving his silent approval of my plan to dismantle the oven...

Will it ever stop raining long enough for my garden to be prepared and planted...

Why isn't there laffy taffy at Walgreens...

Will I ever get a handle on my housework...

What curriculum should I use for next year...

What other things should I put on my new closet shelves...

How many miles should I run today...

What is for lunch...

I Keep Saying It

2011-05-09T14:42:00.002-05:00

I know that I keep saying that I have no idea why I can't keep up with my blog. I have plenty of ideas, and I write blogposts in my head constantly- but it seems like I can hardly post a facebook status, much less a real blog post.

This morning I was jotting down a rudimentary map of our yard and our lot. We really want to start using our space well so that we can actually save money at the grocery store by eating our own produce. Last year we did pretty well with our garden, but this year we are expanding the operation.

Our main garden plans include:

Beans

Tomatoes

Peas

Lettuce

Onions

Zucchini

Cucumbers

Peppers

Carrots

Herbs

Pumpkins?

Watermelons?

Some of those things will be planted in the main garden, and others will be in boxes around the garden.

In addition,we are planning to get apple, pear and cherry trees for the lot.

We have a strawberry patch in the back, raspberries and blackberries along the fence (they look a little sketchy, but I am hopeful) and are planning to put in asparagus against the other fence and blueberries in a variety of other places.

This week is final decision and planning time, next weekend will be tilling the garden and making the boxes and then it will be time to plant!

In inside news, the closet is done and I am trying to put stuff in it and get my room back to normal. I have some plans for the office to aid in organization, but the more pressing project is the disaster that the boys made in the basement while I was working on the closet :)

Never fails...

But next week is the last week of normals and then we are off for a summer full of vacations, relaxation, water and fun! Oh, and mosquitoes, yard work...jobs...and running...

He Is Pretty Cool, Even When He Sleeps

2011-05-03T22:35:00.000-05:00

A Typical Day In Our Living Room

2011-05-02T17:55:00.001-05:00

Guess I Forgot

2011-04-29T16:09:00.002-05:00

That I have a blog.

I logged on today and was all like, "What? I haven't been posting? I thought I was...what is going on?" Then I realized that although in a very small set of circumstances it would be convienent for my thoughts to automatically shoot over to blogger, most of the time them doing that would be a disaster.

People would think I was crazy. I wouldn't have any friends.

You would know that I dream about the hospital, and escaping Nazi Germany.

And that Noah dreams about being a security guard for children bound to be kidnapped.

You would know that I have to go to the Y for the next two days to get my insurance discount.

And that I thought the whole Royal wedding was a little silly.

Prince William outkicked his coverage.

The dress wasn't that great.

And what's this about "to have and to hold from this day forward" when, from all accounts, that has already been going on.

Now, I am not saying that there is no point in getting married if you are already living together, but I will say the whole thing can come across a little like a farce if you don't adjust the wording of the very traditional ceremony.

Mawage, Mawage.

You would know that the only reason I caught the ceremony (and the fanfare) leading up to it was because I was at work and every TV in the hospital was tuned in. I couldn't escape it.

You would know that I have no groceries in the house, and that my schedule is awfully tight the next couple of days. I am worried about having to send Noah to the grocery store. Noah likes to grocery shop a little too much.

You would know that Deacon is in a musical this weekend and I am worried about him forgetting his lines and freaking out.

And that I am feeling guilty over an interaction I had with another parent, but that I get so irritated when other people boss my children around when I am RIGHT THERE, without giving me a chance to take care of whatever is going on.

You would know that I think people that constantly boss other people's young children around must not have anyone else in their life that listens to/obeys them, so they feel the need to push around those younger than themselves.

Of course, I don't mind if people intervene if I am not there or I miss what is going on. But please! Give me a chance! (By the way, most of the time your children aren't perfect either).

You would know that we have pulled a deer tick and a wood tick off of people this week.

And that, even though Noah doesn't understand this, 2 minutes does make a difference when waiting for a tick to be pulled off.

You would know that I need it to be sunny. Soon. I can feel myself withering away to nothingness.

You would know that it is time to go read the Berenstein Bears and scrub my children.

Yep, those are the things you would know if my thoughts uploaded themselves to blogger.

Good Friday

2011-04-26T20:52:00.003-05:00

I've been waiting to have more than 3 minutes to type so I could blog about Good Friday. In retrospect the story is kind of funny, but let's just say that I hope to never go through a situation like this again! Roman heard me relaying the story to a friend and stated (very emphatically) "I am never doing that again!" In fact, I may have my children so scared that they may never get in the wagon again. Ever.

I worked Thursday night and slept a little on Friday morning. After that I gave the kids lunch and then my friend Jackie and her girls came over to paint paper mache eggs and frost Easter cookies. We had a fun time, and I was feeling rather energetic.

After they left my mind shifted to the evening ahead. We were planning to go to my parent's house for pizza and a movie after Noah got home from work. There was one slight problem: the van was in the shop and due to a miscommunication both my double stroller and all the carseats were still in the van, which was now 6 miles away. The kids don't all fit in Noah's car and we didn't have enough carseats anyway.

The van was done, however, and so we had to figure out a way to pick it up so that we would have it for the weekend. I decided that the best solution would be to put the kids in a combination of bikes and wagons and move ourselves over to my parents where the kids could stay while Noah and I went and got the van (when he arrived after work). I didn't want to wait for him, because I wanted to beat the sun going down and the imminent rain.

Confusing, isn't it?

I called my dad and told him that the kids and I were heading over. My dad mentioned that it was raining. I said it was more of a mist, and that was why I was leaving now vs later. He sounded dubious, but I assured him that all would be well.

2.7 miles. That was all I needed from my troops.

I bundled the baby up in multiple layers along with her winter hat. I told the boys to dress warmly, as temps were in the low 40s. I put a hat on and added my fuzzy jacket over my shirt. Deacon argued about attire. I told him to bring his sweatshirt and a hat. Roman wore his winter jacket, Lincoln put a hat on and was wearing long sleeves.

I put a towel in the wagon and Lincoln and Berean climbed in.

Roman was on his silly scooter, Deacon on his bike.

And off we went.

My first inkling that this was a bad, bad idea was 1/4 of a mile into the trip when Deacon came back to get his sweatshirt out of the wagon and we realized that it had been jettisoned before we had even left the garage, persumably by one of the smaller members of the party. I didn't want to go back for it, because I knew that we were already pushing our luck. In retrospect, I should have sent him back for it and then had him catch up with us...but I was concerned about him not locking the house up properly.

On we went. At 1/2 mile Roman decided he was tired of scooting (as I knew was bound to happen) and he and the scooter landed in the wagon, slightly disturbing the other inhabitants.

We made it to the 1 mile mark and turned the corner.

The direction change caused a severe drop in temperature, due to the new wind patterns. It also began to rain.

Oh, so not good.

But, it was a mile home and 1.7 to my moms. I told the kids that when we got to the next gas station I would stop and buy them candy. I told them to start thinking about what they wanted.

We went a little further and Berean started screaming. She was being jostled by her brothers and was done with this whole "wagon experience". So I put her on one hip and on we went. Suddenly Deacon was screaming. He was so cold, he couldn't bear it anymore.

I gave him my jacket.

Hauling 100 pounds of kid in a wagon through the rain is no easy task, and I was sweating anyway.

And on we went.

We needed to cross the road at a stoplight and I encouraged Roman and Lincoln to get out of the wagon at the other side and run up the hill to warm up. They did so. Well, kind of. Roman got out and ran up the hill with Deacon and his bike. Lincoln cried and fussed and wandered up the hill. I tried to get Lincoln to put the towel around himself, but he wanted to sit on it and didn't seem to understand that it would be warmer if it was around him. Finally I convinced him and he ran up the road, beach towel like a cape around his shoulders, tears streaming down his face all the while, howling like a wolf.

Berean had her head back and was in an all out scream by this point, Deacon was about to have a nervous breakdown and Roman...well, I gotta tell you, Roman was the one who kept his head. He was probably warmer than the other ones...but that doesn't usually matter with Roman. Roman is usually the one who loses it the quickest, so it was quite surprising (and pleasing) how well he handled the stress.

We walked across the bridge and watched the cars below. It distracted Roman and Deacon from their distress for a couple of minutes, although it didn't seem to impress the little ones at all.

Down the hill we went.

I wondered what all the people driving by were thinking. I was glad no one had stopped- because really, how awkward would that be, but quite frankly I was surprised. A women, holding a baby, pulling an empty wagon with 3 crying boys heads down the road in the pouring rain on a 40 degree day and no one even stops?!?!

We finally reached the back of the strip mall that is next to the gas station. We ran down through the grassy ditch (which, later, Deacon was to tell me, was awesome) and recollected ourselves in front of the liquor store, which, by the way, Roman tried to enter.

Deacon immediately calmed down when he could see the gas station and was out of the wind. He willingly gave my jacket up for Lincoln and excitedly headed for his promised candy.

I told them that I wasn't going to take them in if they were all crying, but soon realized that 2/4 not screaming was all I was going to get.

We walked into the gas station.

We bought candy. The older boys were happy and ready to return to the road. The little ones were not. We walked out the door. I knew, as soon as I walked back outside that there was no way I that we could go any further. It was just too cold, too rainy and I was just out of all of my earlier enthusiasm.

It is hard to admit. I am a person of boundless energy and an "I can do anything" kind of mentality, but I had reached my limit.

Now that I had quit walking, I was suddenly feeling how wet and cold I really was. It was miserable.

We went into the bathroom so the boys could pee.

Everyone was calm, finally.

I checked my phone. I had missed a call from Noah. I had missed a call from my mom. I got a hold of my mom. She was with Noah and they were trying to find me.

They must have driven by when we had already left the road for the short cut.

They were on the way to get the van from the shop.

They would be there to get us soon.

I hung up the phone. A young women was standing in front of me.

"are you ok?" she asked, "do you have someone to help you?"

She said that they were on their way to the baseball game and had seen us walking down the road. She said she told her husband that they just had to stop and make sure we had someone to pick us up.

I thanked her and told her that it was a long story but that my husband was on his way to rescue us from the rain.

She left and I turned to help Roman. Roman wanted to hand me his skittles so he could take his coat off. I didn't realize that the skittles bag was open, and the handoff was less than ideal.

Skittles all over the floor of the gas station.

Do you ever just want to disappear?

The boys started picking them up and eating them off the floor.

I stayed very calm, but inside I just wanted to cry.

Then Deacon said, "look, Mom, Roman is eating Berean's sucker that he dropped on the floor."

Gross.

One of the young employees mentioned that there was an eating area in the back of the store, and she said we were welcome to use it. I am sure she wanted us out of the front of the store. We went back to our area and sat down. I nursed Berean, which improved her mood dramatically. The boys chatted about their favorite parts of the "adventure".

I had to nix their plans for an elaborate game of gas station hide and seek.

We ate candy and we waited.

Finally my mom picked us up. Noah was on his way back to our house to get dry clothes, and pick up the movie and the pizza.

I took them to my parents and gave them warm baths. My mom made them hot chocolate and we wrapped them in warm pajamas.

Noah brought me dry clothes.

He brought me comfy outer wear, but very impratical innerwear.

I thanked him anyway.

We watched our movie, we ate pizza.

It turned out ok.

But never again will I make the same mistake.

Well, at least not until next year.

Taking The Time

2011-04-25T21:09:00.002-05:00

I don't have enough blogging time tonight to write a "real" post...so here are just some quick points:

*we made neighborhood rounds today: 1 hour with some friends, 1 hour with other friends, 30 minutes with some more friends. Yard hopping may be the thing of the summer.

*my yard and garden need some serious help...if only it would stop snowing and Berean would stop putting everything in her mouth...

*I ran 12.1 miles last night. Yep. 12.1 miles with the only stopping being waiting for a car here or there before I crossed the occasional road. No walking. It took me 127 minutes- basically a 10min 30 sec mile, which isn't fast but isn't bad for doing 12 of them :) At least, I don't think it is :) I actually started out more at an 11 minute mile pace and picked it up for the last half, next time I will probably try to start out faster.

*Although Berean has been taking steps, she hasn't really been loving walking. This weekend however, she has made a transition. I don't know if it was something about not being able to crawl in her easter dress (because she kept getting it stuck under her knees) or if it was just time, but walking is now officially the preferred method of transporting her cute little self.

*Deacon has started Little League

*Deacon's play is next weekend and I am a little nervous. He apparently knows all of his lines, but he often gets distracted and forgets to say them. The girl next to him may have to do a great deal of poking.

*Lincoln's speech continues to improve dramatically.

*Roman's pajama wardrobe is falling apart. I have told him I am not replacing them and he is going to have to start wearing clothes during the day. Time will tell what happens next...

*Noah made great progress on our "new" closet organizational system this weekend. I am so excited to get it finished and put it all together!