Hump Day

Last night our dinner at Olive Garden was so delicious! I decided to go ahead and get the All-You-Can-Eat Pasta too (it was way cheaper). And you know, our bill was under $30! Isn't that amazing! We got the kids two kid pizzas to share. Between that, the breadsticks, salad and letting them 'taste' our pasta we all walked out stuffed.

Today in history we learned about the Dead Sea Scrolls. Have I mentioned how much I love learning with my children? I just LOVE it. I learn so much (or relearn). It is just amazing how so many of these ancient documents were preserved. We're making an ancient document and we're making salt crystals. Both take a couple of days to complete, but we're in the process. I love doing hands-on things with my kids!

I really need to hit the grocery store tonight. We're out of so much. I haven't really even had food to make lunches! I want some mac n' cheese (remember, my 'doctor' prescribed it). Good thing it's payday at last!

accomplishments...

At the end of my last post I was talking about little accomplishments with Sweet Pea. Another biggie is seeing your child learn how to read. Booty Shaker has been reading some words and it's so cool! He still sometimes struggles with some words or how to blend the sounds together, but he's starting to get it! It's so cool to see him read!!! Go BS!!! My 'babies' are growing up way too fast!

Tuesday's thoughts

I can't help but think today and wonder how my cousin's husband, Paul, is doing. I believe he was supposed to start his treatment yesterday. Today they weigh really heavy on my mind. Praying for you guys Sherry!!! I pray GOOD comes out of it all!

I'm feeling sooooooooo much better. I don't know if I had like a 24 hour flu bug or what. Sunday evening I started perking up and by Monday morning no more headache or sore throat! I now have a runny nose and a bit of a cough but I'll take that any day over how I felt! Since I felt better I was able to do school yesterday. We had a really good day. In history we learned about Masada. What a sad, sad story, I honestly don't remember ever hearing about it before, though I've heard OF it. Then Junior Squirrel went and built the fortress out of Lego's. Those boys sure are creative with those Lego's! I think we should get rid of all their other toys- all they need is their Lego's and Bionicles!

Today we finished school before lunch! Sweet Pea woke up before 7 this morning and Booty Shaker was already in my bed (I have no idea when he crawled in, I was dead to the world). Then JS came in there, even before Zach left. I finally did get SP back to sleep but by then Chatterbox came in, so I sent the kids out. I then hopped in the shower and had CB lay with SP. So it wasn't even 8:30 am I was was all ready for the day! Amazing! I'm still surprised we finished school so quickly today. Good thing, as I'm gaining two extra kiddos while my friend goes house hunting. It will be fun for the kids to have their friends here. I really pray Sadie finds a house suitable for their family today!

I can't get over how big SP is getting! She just crawled to her 'bike', looked at me, smiled and then climbed onto it! She's such a doll. It really amazes me how much we can love these kids and still have enough love for them! You know, when your pregnant with your second child you wonder how you could love that one as much as you love that first? It's just amazing! And to think God's love outnumbers any amount we could ever have for our children! And to see these little accomplishments they make as babies & toddlers. For some reason it just never gets old. Like, I've seen 3 of my children already do this or that and then I see SP doing it and it excites me like nothing else! It's just so cool and amazing (and I hope it makes sense what I'm trying to say).

Ok, I'm off as C & A should be here soon. We're going to Olive Garden for dinner for the 'All You Can Eat Pasta'! Yum, yum!

oh my head, my achin' head

Yesterday around 5 pm, give or take, I got the worst headache. Took some Motrin but it didn't do a thing. My throat was feeling a bit scratchy and sore. Fast forward to the middle of the night. Throat felt like it was on fire, head felt like it would explode, could not sleep, Sweet Pea wasn't sleeping well either. I figured for sure I'd miss church but ended up going anyway. I should've stayed home and tried to nap because I certainly didn't get a nap in today, although I've been resting. I've taken Motrin and Tylenol interchangeably, took Silver, took EmergC, been sucking down honey, drank some tea with tons of honey in it, sucked on some throat drops and still feel awful. I don't even have an appetite. I know I'm going to have to eat something for dinner but I have no idea what. So, I thought yesterday was bad, well today is much worse. I have so many school lessons to plan but at this rate I'm wondering how I'll get to that. I'm wondering how I'll even do school if I feel like this. I just want it all to go away!!! It's so weird too, because when I was out to lunch with my friends yesterday I felt fine. It just all of a sudden hit me. And now it can leave. I pray none of the kids get it. As it is SP's had a runny nose again today. She just got over being sick and just got off of antibiotics so I really hope she doesn't get something again! Tis the season for sickness I guess...

ho hum

I'm not into jewelry. Did I mention that when I mentioned I was going to a jewelry party? I see it on other's and it looks so cute, but it's just not me. I have my 'special' items that hold meaning that I wear sometimes. Who with a 1 year old can wear a necklace without fearing it be yanked off? So, I felt kind of bad at that party because I knew I wasn't going to buy anything. I think the cheapest thing was $18! There sure were some pretty pieces of jewelry but it's just not me. I did have fun visiting with my friend though, and meeting some of her other friends!

Last night I made the BEST pizza. I will share the recipe when I get a minute to type it up. It's called Santa Fe Pizza. As I was making it I kept wondering if it would turn out good. It looked good in the picture, but I kept doubting. Then I was wondering how my kids would like it- they LOVED it! Woohoo!

We were going to take advantage of the Free Museum Day today and go to Living History Farms but it rained pretty much all night and I figured it'd be wet. The weather this morning didn't look too promising either. So I mentioned maybe we could go bowling or to America's Incredible Pizza or go on a date later. All of my ideas were met with silence (does that ever happen in your house). It's a Saturday- I was hoping to go out and do something fun as a family today! Especially after my crazy school week! So, I went and got my hair cut right away. With layers you really have to keep up with hair and mine was long overdo. I like it, but apparently it's "too short". Zach doesn't like short hair, but I have to wear the hair. Now that I'm getting 'up there' in age I am not sure how feasible it is for me to have long hair...

Anyway, I got home wondering if maybe some sort of plan would develop. I knew a couple of my friend's and their families were coming 'down'. They mentioned going to lunch. So, Chatterbox, Sweet Pea and I went to Old Chicago Pizza with them. Yum, it was good. And nice to chat and visit with my friends. But it stunk that my whole family didn't come along (Zach stayed home and did homework). That's the thing lately...weekends are spent with homework and football. Gotta love football season!

Anyway, I've just been laying around with Sweet Pea, who's been napping for awhile. Chatterbox and I did her book 'Growing Little Women', the boys have been playing with new Bionicles (Zach took them out to the store to get them when I was gone). I'm really frustrated. I guess I have been a lot this week...thanks to 'mother nature'. Pretty soon winter will set in and I know we'll really be cooped up so I was hoping to get out. I guess we do save some money this way, but I had pretty much coupons for everything I wanted to do. Blah, blah, blah...ho hum dee dum. Life goes on. I'm so sleepy from just laying around. I've been reading but that makes me even sleepier.

Well I imagine SP won't sleep for much longer since everybody just came back down into the room. Sorry for the complaining email...I guess I just needed to vent a bit. Sometimes weekends seem way more cracked up than they really are I guess.

hmmm, yeah

Today we finished school 'fairly' early. Chatterbox was done before lunch. I think Booty Shaker was too. Well, we all did science last, but I'm talking about their own bookwork. I remember last year really struggling with Junior Squirrel. It is a struggle once again. He doesn't like any of his school work. CB doesn't complain about hers, she begins it as soon as she possibly can, knowing that she'll then be done sooner. BS is so eager to do his math and phonics, he could do many, many pages a day. But JS is just another story. Today I even gave him a choice of what he wanted to do first and he still complained. I find I have to sit with him through just about everything in order that it gets done in a 'timely' fashion, and even then it's not really done. I don't know if I just should set a time and if he's not done then he'll have to do it in the evening when other's play or what. I'm not really sure that would work either. Either it wouldn't be reinforced or he'd have even more of an attitude doing it that it would take 10 times longer. It is very frustrating for the both of us, day in and day out. I have to be honest that there are days where I just wish I could send him away on the little yellow bus and have somebody else deal with it, but I know that would solve nothing. So please pray for JS and I as we try to find a way to make his work fun and enjoyable and that we can get it done efficiently. It really isn't going to be feasible for me to sit next to him every single day for every single thing that he does and at this point that's pretty much what I am doing.



I had to take the dog today to get her *glands* cleaned out again. Now her butt looks all greasy so she's banned to either her kennel or outside. I certainly wish those glands wouldn't get 'backed up'.



On a better note, I am really enjoying my library book! I'm reading this book and it captured me from the very first page. We're reading it for our 'book group' that I joined so I thought I'd just get it. I admit at first I thought it sounded really dumb and was hesitant to read it. I'm only on page 34 but already immensely enjoying it. I see there's a series of them so I guess I know I'll have something to read for awhile!

Right now Sweet Pea is upstairs playing with CB and the boys are watching a Bionicle movie. It is so nice not having SP at my feet whining! She really enjoys playing with her big sister!

Oh and tonight I'm going to a jewelry party. I really didn't want to go at first. I'm not all that into jewelry, especially a party, but I know my friend really wanted me to go and it will be nice to get out for a couple of hours. I was going to leave SP home but Zach just called saying he may take the kids to the movie so I may have to take her...we shall see. Maybe I can convince him to stay home. :)

library run

So tonight I had to make a library run. I began a book last night (called PS I Love You, apparently its also a movie now) that I read a bit more today. Eventually it got to her gay hairdresser and I was like 'whatever, I'm not reading this'. Then I began a book by Anita Shreve. After I began the book I then read the sleeve about it, realizing there was also a gay guy in it. Hence, my library run. I couldn't really find much to read there either, although I did find the book for our book club for the month (called Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind). I got another read as well. So, please tell me of any good books you've read lately. I'm up for some suggestions. I'd love something new and interesting to read.

Good times & Bad

Yesterday I went to the doctor. I thought I had a bladder infection but it came back negative. That's a good thing but I wonder why I've been feeling the way I have. I took all 4 kids with me. They were really good and were actually quite funny. They each got rubber gloves and were pretending they were doctors. Some of the things they said:

"Eat lots of macaroni and you won't get a disease."
"Your tongue is not balanced."
"Eat soft foods and make sure you don't get a disease and you'll jump up all the time" (and something about always peeing too).

I know there were other things but can't recall them now. The best thing I heard all day was Chatterbox, who asked, "Is that when you have to go and pee in a bucket?" That would be a LOT of pee, my dear!

It was a long day for me yesterday. I guess just trying to get back into the swing of school and all. I hate having appointments and such because I feel like it takes away from our school time. I just like to get school done and THEN go out and do things but that hasn't been happening and I guess that's just life. I had attitude issues with CB yesterday but then saw she'd written me a note saying she was sorry and that she just finished praying to God. Too sweet. Sweet Pea wouldn't take a nap hardly at all and so that was a bit frustrating. By the time 8 o'clock rolled around I was in dire need of the kids to be in bed. But they were not, so I went up to try to put SP to bed but then got followed up by all the rest. I have no idea what time they finally did get to bed but by that point I was like a bear and not a happy mama. I swear it's about 'that' time of month! I just wanted some quiet (and to finish my book)! Thankfully it's a new day.

Yesterday I also had some catastrophes in the kitchen. First, I was 'cooking' tomatoes and had to crush them. Oh boy, tomato 'juice' everywhere. I guess I should start wearing my apron! Then I was trying to pour Parmesan cheese and it wouldn't budge, so I closed it and starting tapping it upside down. Well all of a sudden there's Parmesan flying EVERYWHERE! Oh boy! It was NOT my night to cook! I was going to take a break today because we have a lot of leftovers, but having just ate some for lunch there's not as much. And I do have chicken in the fridge that I need to cook so I may make Chicken Pot Pie tonight. Zach has to get a filling today so I doubt he'll be able to eat but at least the kids and I will have something to eat.

Some 'bad' things that have happened lately. My cousin, Sherry, (the one who's husband has cancer) has yet another family catastrophe. Her husbands family has been through SO MUCH. Now her sister-in-law's house burnt down and is a total loss. This is the same woman who husband died a few years ago in a snowmobile (I think) accident. Please, please keep them in your prayers. Speaking of Sherry, Paul starts treatments next week and I know they'd appreciate prayers.

My mom called me this morning saying she had 'news'. Their plant is closing down. She was crying a bit, I think. How devastating. It's like the whole state of Michigan is closing down. They've already laid off many people throughout the past year and now this. My mom isn't worried, though, I don't think. She said now she'll get to stay home! I'd say maybe she'd visit more but being that she won't have an income I doubt that.

My friend, Jenn, is still going through some horrible times and her husband still is pursuing divorce. He says that he's at a crossroads in his faith and it sounds like he's not sure what he believes anymore. Please pray for him and their entire family.

sunday, sunday

I'm enjoying my last day of 'vacation' before we really get back into school now! I feel like we've had so much time off. It's so hard to get back into school but at the same time I am excited. I looked at our history for the next couple of weeks and there are some fun projects to do. Science is fun too. I'm excited to see how well Booty Shaker does with learning to read more. I really hope it all goes smoothly.



I'm not that into facebook lately and really its a huge blessing. I've been enjoying reading again. I get so tired of some of the garbage people post on there. And I would waste so much time! I didn't want to yet I would just sit there engrossed in it all. I hope my fascination for it has waned some so that I can focus on more important things, like my blog. Haha, just kidding- like my family!



My thoughts have left me as my neighbor stopped by so Chatterbox could play with her girls. It is so nice to have so many girls in the neighborhood for CB to play with. There are at least 5 girls all about the same age!



Tomorrow night I'm going to go to a meeting for a Book Club. Some lady in my homeschool group posted about it. Since I enjoy reading I thought that would be fun and it'd be great to get to know some other ladies. Thinking on this got me really thinking about myself. I can't believe that I'd go to a 'meeting' where I don't know anybody. I used to be so super shy, especially back in high school. I guess when I'm in my 'own' element, more among people I know are 'like-minded' I feel more comfortable than I do if I'm out of my element where people may be totally different than me, if that makes sense.

break time

Yesterday I vowed not to get on the computer at all. I did get on my iPod to check email and email a lady, letting her know I wouldn't be at the park. I have to admit I didn't even miss the computer! I got so much more done! Got a menu planned, a grocery list made, had a playdate, visited with the neighbors in the evening, and even read part of my book. I find that facebook takes up so much of my time that I've lost interest in reading. So, today I'm going to try to stay away from this machine as well. It becomes so addicting. You come on to do one thing and two hours later walk away. And what have you gained from it? A bunch of useless information, probably.

The other day I noticed somebody's facebook post being something about 'people need to get over thinking being gay is a lifestyle choice'. That was the day after I'd posted about not being happy about Ellen being the new American Idol judge. Some people are so lost...it is honestly so sad.

This morning/afternoon I get to go out with the Air Force wives. I'm hoping to leave Sweet Pea at home and get some time completely by myself but we shall see how that goes.

Oh, Kim, my phone is a LG env3. I LOVE it!

Ok, my computer time is up so off I go to be more productive!

testing...

Just testing to see how blogger will take care of my photos...It's been a long time since I've gotten to put a picture on here...

Whew

Today was a busy day! I decided we're not going to get back into school until Monday. I feel like we ahven't done it for forever now, but why do just one or two days? I'm certainly not even prepared much less ready to jump in again! So, what did we do today?


First we went to a FREE morning of bowling and pizza. A local bowling alley wants to start a homeschool bowling league. They also gave us free pizza, which was only two small pieces per person, but it WAS free. The kids had fun bowling and it was nice to meet other homeschoolers!



Afterwards we went to a friend's house. There were 14 kids there but you'd never have known it! I was thinking it'd be utter chaos but it wasn't at all! I love days like that! It was great visiting with friends again!



We tehn went to Homeschool Kickball. Ever since Zach returned from Mississippi they've been in the backyard pretty much every day playing kickball. Some lady from a homeschool group set up kickball. There were so many people there! It was cool. They broke off into boys and girls teams so I didn't get to see Chatterbox play (I'll get to that). The boys were more intersted in the DUSTY dirt and werne't paying attention to when their team went in the field vs. up to kcik! I think they each only got to kcick once, maybe twice. Booty Shaker was one of the smallest boys there, but he did pretty good (he did get out though). Even Junior Squirrel did great! The reason I didn't get to see Chatterbox play was because two boys collided and were pretty hurt. The one had glasses and was bleeding real bad, apparently it was quite a deep cut. Thankfully his dad was tehre (I don't know why but something reassures me more with a dad being there) and after having him lie still awhile he took him to the hospital. Poor kid:(



I made a coupel of new recipes tonight. Calypso Chicken and Italian Potatoes. The potatoes were cheesy with bacon bits- yum! The chicken was real good too. I can't quite place my finger one what 'type' of cuisine it was! Not Mexican but not Chinesse;) It was with black beans and rice and pineapples. Yum!



It is so good to be home. Tomrorow morning we're going to the park with some friends and then I plan on STAYING HOME in the afternoon!



Sweet Pea has an ear infection. Poor gal. She seems to be getting better since I have her on anti-biotics though. She sure is cruising around furniture now! Getting braver too! She's also cutting a molar and I don't think I've ever seen gums that swollen- I feel so bad for her! Today at teh bowlign alley she put her arms around my necek and hugged me for like 5 minuts. It was soooo sweet.



Oh I got a new phone yesterday. I am pleased with it so far. It's the one I've been wanting for awhile. My other one wouldn't even charge all the time anymore! Now it's SP's and she loves being able to freely chew on it! I opened it up earlier and it was just covered in slobber! YUCK!

Heading Home

Wow, what a great time we had! Let me try to recall everything...

Friday: It was rainy and there wasn't much to do. Found a Wal-mart and picked up a few things. Took a ride, got to see some amazing 'countryside'. I loved the different types of houses (totally how you'd expect to see New England houses). We went to an old, old cemetery. That was neat. That night we went to the rehearsal dinner. I didn't really care for the food much. I had Alfredo and I didn't like the creamy sauce. Oh well, I didn't have to pay for it so I shouldn't complain:) Poor Sweet Pea threw up there. Not sure if it was from the food (was she choking a bit), from phlegm or actual puking. Got to finally meet the new sister-in-law, Emily, briefly. Zach went out with Adam, his dad and the groomsmen and I sat with the kids and SIL, Rachel and did some laundry.

Saturday: Wedding day. The weather was thankfully nicer than the day before! The church was so simple yet elegant in it's simpleness. It was totally how you'd picture a New England church. Had a cool window with a Pilgrim with two Indians. The ceremony went real well. Everybody looked great. Adam was sweating! The reception didn't last as late as we'd thought but it was fun. We all got to dance a bit and see the family. Chatterbox was a bit shy when it came to dancing, even though she'd been looking forward to doing so. Junior Squirrel can bust a move and he was out there showing all he's got! SP fell asleep a couple of times during the reception. It was a great, great time. Got to 'visit' with Emily a bit more. Adam was not very nice when it came to the cake...

Sunday: We were going to go to Lancaster,PA with Jeremiah & Amie but decided to just head home. Took a different drive home. Went to the Connecticut coast. Boy it made me miss North Carolina! The drive in Pennsylvania was just amazing. I guess I didn't expect it to be so mountainous! Breathtaking! I wish we'd driven through like 2 weeks later when the leaves were colored!

Today: Drove from PA to Elkhart, IN. I can't wait to get home now! Last night Sweet Pea had a fever, today Booty Shaker does. Will it ever end? Have a doctor appointment for SP on Wed. as she can't stop coughing, especially when sleeping its like she has all this loose phlegm. Ok, she's calling me so I better go! Oh, we got food from some Pizza place- it was the best SUB I've EVER eaten!

out east

I haven't blogged in forever! My mom was here last weekend. We went shopping and I got a dress for the wedding we're going to on Saturday. We went to the Farmer's Market and to the new Bass Pro Shop (SO cool). We went to church and had my friend, Jenn, over for dinner. It was a great time. It went by real fast but it was fun.

Yesterday we drove from home to Cleveland. It was a long day but went surprisingly better than I thought it would! I wasn't sure how Sweet Pea would do traveling, but she was great! We saw a rainbow as we drove through Indiana. It was so beautiful. I just love seeing God's handiwork. You know something I don't understand? You have all these people talking about overpopulation. And then you have SO MUCH EMPTY LAND! There's 'free' land everywhere! Our earth is NOT overpopulated!

It was so neat driving through certain areas and thinking how this friend lived here or that friend is from there. I was reminded of so many friends on our drive! I had driven through New York my senior year of high school (we went to NYC, Niagara Falls & Toronto for our class trip) but I don't remember the scenery. I was probably too busy being silly on the tour bus! Anyway, I really didn't' expect NY to be such a beautiful state! Then we hit Massachusetts and I didn't expect it to be all hilly, mountainous and beautiful either. My best friend is from there but she never told me how gorgeous it is:) Now, Connecticut I expected to look as it does, at least the little bit I've seen so far.

We saw Zach's sister tonight. His brother and dad are gone out. Tomorrow I'm sure we'll see them and meet Emily, the new sister-in-law. I think his other brother and mom will be driving in too. It'll be nice to see everyone!

Ok, I'm exhausted, SP is not going to sleep like I wanted so I need to close this for now. I really need to get back into my blogging groove!

updates on prayer requests

From my cousin Sherry:

We heard from Paul's doctor today regarding the tonsil biopsy, and it was positive!! That's what we were hoping for because now we have a point of origin, which will make treatment easier for the doctors because they can pinpoint the spot of origin instead of covering a large area and hoping they get it all. Paul is supposed to have his teeth pulled tomorrow but now the girl in the dentist office said that the Dr. needs to look at his wisdom teeth to see if he can pull them:( I sure hope he doesn't back out now because Marquette wanted this all done last week already but the dentist was out of town. If he says he can't do it, I am going to give him the name and number of our doctor in Marquette and ask him to talk to him ~ that's what our doctor told us to do. I sure hope all goes as scheduled. I also can't believe we are going through this ~ I'm not sure that it has sunk into my brain yet.

In regards to my friend:

Please keep praying. His heart still has not turned back to the Lord or his family. Jenn hasn't gained any weight, but the baby is okay right now. Their 4 year old daughter doesn't know what's going on, exactly, but she's greatly impacted by it all, so pray for her. Pray for Jenn to have peace and that the Lord guides her steps in this whole process.

Thanks!!!

whew

What's my deal with not blogging??? Well, I've been busy, busy, busy! My mom arrived yesterday afternoon! Even though she's here for a short time I'm super excited! I love living 'closer' to home! I had tons I was going to blog about and now of course when I have time to blog I can't remember.

I really need to figure out how to put pictures on my blog. I have so many to share with you from all summer! What a pain in the butt!

Sweet Pea is cutting more teeth. She wasn't sleeping well for a few nights but last night slept a bit better. Her nose is like a faucet. Poor baby. She know how to push herself on her little ride on already! She will also walk pushing it! She's getting so big so fast. Right now she's on the floor with her big sister and Nanny, 'playing' with a Barbie! Don't grow up too quickly little girl!

Today we went shopping at the 'big' mall in West Des Moines. I wanted to find some things we need for the wedding coming up. I found me a dress from Dillards for only $24!!! I was super psyched! I also got the kids some dress shoes for super cheap. I love sales. Tonight we're going to go to Kohl's and probably some thrift stores. I need to get Zach some dress clothes (hopefully I can pick out something he'll like). He has nothing 'wedding worthy'. Even the clothes he wears to church are in dire need of replacement!

The boy's weren't too keen on shopping. They kept thinking we'd hit a toy store but there weren't any. I guess they're in high heaven now as Zach took them to the movie.

Oh, my cousin, Risa, drove through the other day again on her way home. The kids all got along GREAT and it was fun visiting with her again! I wish we could see each other more often.

We also got school done this week. We're learning about the constellations in science and doing some projects pertaining to that. In history we learned about Pentecost and Paul. Last night my mom helped me put the timeline together (and Zach helped a tiny little bit).

Last night I made lasagna in the crockpot. It's called Slow Cooker Lasagna, found at Kraft foods (it's in their latest 'cookbook' they sent out). It was awesome! Today I made some sort of chocolate/peanut butter cookies/bars from it and they're wonderful!

Ok, I'm just rambling now. I know I had more to say and can't think right now...