hello, is anybody out there??

• It is a relief having Zach home. I forgot how much he actually helps me out around here! Last night I made him his favorite dinner and I didn't even have to clean up! Thanks honey! It's so good to see him and have life back to 'normal'.
• Yesterday we ate lunch at Wendy's. We never go into a fast food place, especially Wendy's. Well, there were two policemen and a DNR officer in there. They were giving away free t-shirts and bike helmets so we walked away with more than full bellies!
• After lunch we took advantage of some Buy One Get One free coupons for mini golf. That is totally something just Zach and I need to do. No matter how many times we tried to teach the kids how to hold the club and hit the ball they just didn't get it (especially Junior Squirrel). We didn't even bother keeping score and about halfway through pretty much everybody but me quit! Good thing most of it was free!!
• Then we went and saw Up. It cost $40 for us to see the movie!!!! That is without popcorn and pop! Unreal! I had to step out for the last part of it as SP just didn't want to sit still any longer. It was my first 3D movie and was neat, though there weren't a whole lot of 3D parts. Cute movie though, of what I saw.
• SP is finally getting used to Daddy again. Although she still prefers mommy and will even hold her hands out to me! She was just looking at him at first.
• We went to the church I went to a couple of times when Zach was gone. Of course I had to step out with SP for the same reason as with the movie. I went into the nursery where I could hear the sermon but then the lady began talking to me so I missed most of it. You can even hear most of it in the foyer, where I was at first, but two men were talking and I couldn't hear it there either! It was nice to go together as a family again.
• Did I mention my honey got me an iPod? It's fun to find songs to put on it! I put a bunch from some CDs we had. I think I have more Taylor Swift songs on there than anything at this point but I'm not finished yet. And for me its like books...I see a book that looks good and think I need to look for it in the library but by that time I forget the title. So I sit and wonder what songs I like and want on it.

Zach's home!!!

Yeah! He's home! He drove ALL day yesterday (probably against AF standards) but he made it home late last night! I have much to write about and I'll probably forget by the time I go to post again but just wanted to shout it out:) It's like a huge weight is lifted off of my shoulders...now to only catch up on sleep...

"It's the Final Countdown"

Tomorrow morning before the rooster crows Zach will be on his way home!!! He'll be home sometime on Saturday! I can't believe I made it! Seriously! It has been a long 6 weeks. I don't know how people do 6 months or longer, especially if they have 4 or more kids like I do AND homeschool. Because that really does make a difference. I took the kids to see Night at the Museum today. And I was thinking about all the things I've done with them, some I never thought I'd do alone with 4 kids! I must be getting brave! I took 4 kids to 2 movies, to the beach, to get my hair cut, to church a few times (they sit in church with me, don't go to kids church), went out to eat at sit down restaurants (even Olive Garden) numerous times. I'm sure there are other things. I guess it's what you have to do, you know. I just never thought I'd do some of that! And as much as I sit and think how horrible my kids are, they are really good kids when it comes down to it. To not have too much of a ruckus as I get my hair chopped off. Oh and I've gone to numerous garage sales! I'm just so thankful this first stint is over- I am physically and emotionally exhausted.

new 'do

It is way shorter than I wanted. Either that or my hair just does not style like the pictures. I wish I could find a picture of what I wanted so I could show you but I don't have time to look. Most people have complimented it but it's a drastic change for me. Oh, and I got it done Friday but was too scared to share about it! Haha

you've got to be kidding!!!

Zach's been gone for 5 1/2 weeks now and do you know that every single night I've had to deal with the boys not going to bed well? Well of course you know because I've talked about it before. Last night I had a meeting and the baby-sitter came. I told her to put the kids to bed between 8 and 8:30. I wasn't sure how the boys would go to bed, especially when her nephew came over with her too! I came home around 9:30 expecting the kids to not be sleeping but the house was so quiet when I got here! I was in shock! She said the boys went to bed really well and I had to go and check- they were out! I told her when Zach's gone this summer that she's going to have to come at bedtime! haha I was SO thankful that she got them to bed! Chatterbox, on the other hand was NOT sleeping. She said she was reading. I told her to go to bed and thought she did but went up around 10 to lay Sweet Pea down and CB was still reading! Errrrr I was mad!

This morning we slept until 8:30! That's the second morning in a row! And Booty Shaker stayed in his bed all night long! It was wonderful! Especially considering I didn't go to bed until around midnight! The ladies from the meeting came over here after we met at Panera Bread. After they left I spent time in prayer and reading my Bible and then read a bit of my book before I turned off the light.

Oh, the meeting was wonderful. I think I mentioned before how we're going to start a homeschool group. There's maybe 5 families that want to start it. And we want it to be small. I am so excited for the school year to start! Well, we'll also meet during the summer for park days and a Mom's Night in July! I'm so excited to see what God does with this group!

Ok, off to the real world. I need to run out a bit today to get some milk and to Best Buy. My laptop doesn't always update properly and I get an error message on something when I turn it on so I figure I better have them check it out before we head to Michigan and I have no help!

trouble in paradise?

While I missed the show last night it seems that Jon & Kate Plus 8 is talk of the day. My mom made sure to catch me up on it all this morning. And I've been doing my homework a bit today. I even heard our local Christian radio station talking about it. Ever since she told me about it this morning it's been nagging on me. I've prayed for them, for their marriage, throughout the day. It is so sad that Kate appears to have gotten so caught up in the show and fame that she's put her family on the back burner. Not to say Jon's a saint either. I seriously think they shouldn't have done this other season. Jon didn't want to and Kate should have submitted to that. I'm sure it's difficult to have your family aired on national TV every week, but it's what you chose. And once that 'gig' was over maybe you should have chose to get your family back together, to put God once again at the front of your lives (I have no idea where they're at spiritually, just saying). I read today that they get $75,000 per episode. Who wouldn't be tempted to continue to get that kind of money!?!!? No wonder they can afford such a nice, big house! I don't always watch the show, most times I miss it, and I admit that I probably won't be watching now either. It goes to show that marriage takes work- remember to pray for them and for your friends & families' marriages also. The issues they face could happen to any of us (though I imagine not the $75K). And gossip abounds. Who knows what the truth is (and I really don't care). They just need our prayers. Also pray for their children caught in the middle of it!

it seemed so real...

This morning I had quite the nightmare. I had gotten a phone call from my Aunt Gloria, who was crying on the other end and could barely talk. As soon as I heard her I knew in my gut something was wrong. My stomach dropped as I wondered what happened and then she got out, between sobs, something about my mom and stepdad. She never said the word 'dead' but rephrased it as 'getting lost in the dark'. What a funny way to say it! But I knew what she meant. Then the baby woke me up so I have no idea how they 'got lost'. As soon as I woke up I had to call my mom to make sure she was OK! I hate dreams like that, especially when they seem so real!

Grass!

i've resorted to bullets...

• I still need to try to get pictures up from the zoo and the week. For some reason though they don't turn out right on Slide.com. I'm tired of having issues with my blog and pictures!
• Yesterday was a gorgeous day. And our last Saturday alone before Daddy comes home! So we went to the beach for awhile! It was so hot! The kids were excited. Junior Squirrel came up to me and said something about how he got water in his mouth. I was like, 'So'. I guess he thought it was salt water and didn't know if he should spit it out! I had to explain to the kids that this wasn't the ocean and the water was fresh (and that there were no crabs to search for). The bottom was a big mucky but the kids sure had a good time.
• I also took them out for ice cream.
• We've been doing so much to keep busy. We rented Mall Cop the other night. I watched Seven Pounds one night after the kids went to bed. That was a good movie.
• We've been hanging out with the neighbors quite a bit. I love the warmer weather and it's nice to let the kids run around outside while chatting with neighbors. Although we have a few couples who aren't very friendly...
• Some nights Sweet Pea can fall asleep by herself. It's like she gets so tired she just wants to lay in bed and fall asleep. I love that! Last night she was pretty much asleep and sprawled out on me and kicking her leg. It was really funny.
• I got to see my friend Angie early, early this morning! She's driving from ND to MS and stopped by real quick on the way. It was about 3:30 am! I totally didn't mind getting a little less sleep for that reason! I got to meet her little baby and see how much her kids have grown! The kids all stayed in their car and she came in and peeked at my sleeping kiddos. Her baby and SP look a lot alike, although SP is quite a bit bigger and chubbier! It was a wonderful 1/2 hour of interrupted sleep (I thought I was dreaming)! Thanks for stopping real quick Ang!
• Sweet Pea isn't as interested in baby food as she is in ours. We had spaghetti the other night so I let her taste some of the sauce and she wanted more! Yesterday she was sucking on a strawberry. We'll see what foods she'll want to try today!

10

Today is our 10 year anniversary! It's crazy to believe it's been 10 years! I sure wish Zach were here so we could celebrate. Bummer of a way to spend such a milestone miles and miles apart. Oh well, I guess that's life. Maybe we'll do something special when he returns? Happy Anniversary Zach!

no wonder...

I now figured out why I keep us so busy running all over the place lately. First, we have no schedule now that school is pretty much done. Second, it seems when we stay home (like today) that the kids fight more, mess more and disobey more. So, life seems more pleasant when we run around doing things. Although I have to admit I'm quite disturbed about the thankfulness from my children. I feel like we've done so much and what thanks do I get? Nights of fighting them to fall asleep. They can't just go to sleep like normal kids on a normal night when dad's home. I guess we're all sinful but boy I sure have been getting irritated lately with the kid's behavior! I can't wait for Zach to get home and life to get back to normal. Of course that won't happen until August...oh boy I am in for a LONG summer!

busy week

Well, we had quite a busy week. Chatterbox completely finished school. Junior Squirrel doesn't have much left. Hopefully he'll be done before our trip to Michigan. Tuesday we went to the zoo with friends. I'll have to get a slideshow of the pictures up. Yesterday we went to the park for a park day I set up. We had a great time! With all of the fresh air today we're really tired! It's amazing how the fresh air can make a person so tired! This morning I brought our babysitter into Des Moines for a hair appointment and Booty Shaker fell asleep on the way! Everyone is just saying how tired they are. So the kids are plopped in front of the TV while I make us some lunch. I got us two movies for tonight- Seven Pounds for me and the Spongebob movie for the kids.

I was ecstatic with the American Idol results last night! I totally didn't think they would go the way they did, but how awesome that a Christian won!!! I really hoped Danny would've went all the way. Kris was just so quiet throughout it all that I guess you really didn't know much about him. Then I kept seeing things pop up in the past few weeks about him being a Christian and all (Danny was more vocal about it). I'm glad the show is over for the summer so that I won't feel like I need to be glued to the TV! That's really the only show I get addicted to or feel like I don't want to miss!

ANNOYANCE

well i have a post but it won't put the pictures with it. does anybody else have these issues i have? it is sooooo annoying. i can't believe i haven't blogged in so long. trying to finish a book so hopefully i'll be back soon (and figure out the picture thing). it tells me i have too many pictures stored so i deleted some from my online picasa albums but that didn't even help....ggrrrrrr

security

Security's been beefed up at our house, so if you intend to stop by BEWARE!

Jail

We got a tour of the new police station today.

I loved this old car.

Supposedly they were detectives, though they didn't have to find much. The policemen didn't give a whole lot of information like I thought they would either...

I think they enjoyed their cell a little too much. I wonder how they'd feel if they each had their own and the big metal door closed?

hmmm....looks like somebody tried to make himself at home...

With their treasures, they got a 'Youth Slueth' pin and first aid kit!

fun at the park

the many faces of sweet pea

See her bottom teeth...

Her face looks different here than up above...

Yet another look...

Ok I don't see much resemblence in these two these days...

enjoying the outdoors

Here are some pictures I took this week...

Too bad the weather wasn't as warm today. I'm freezing!