April's Ramblings

Jan. 4, 2008 - Uhmm....Homeschooling--What is that???

Let me start by saying: I realize I am a truly bad, horrible, lazy blogger! I wish I could make a New Year's resolution stating I would blog everyday about the wonderful things happening in our home. BUT then I would be lying since I know myself well enough to know I will not blog everyday!

Since our new addition at the end of Sept. school has not been what I envisioned quite honestly it was not what I wanted in the weeks before her birth either. I was simply to tired and to large to do the extra. Yes, they did the basics. BUT I do not want our "school" to be about the basics. Since she was born we had recovery time, Thanksgiving (we study that every year) and Christmas and a big birthday party. Once again they did the basics.

Well, MY plan was to start school back full force on the 1/2/08. Guess what!?! December 31st one child was feeling ill and I did not have the house in order but I still had the next day so I was hopeful. Jan. 1st. said child ran a very high (104) temp and had a stomach virus. Oh! great! By the end of the day (of course I did not have things in order for school) two children were sick. By the 2nd four children were sick and the baby was VERY fussy!!!!!!!

So much for school and getting the house in order! When I was near tears and feeling overwhelmed dh helped me refocus by asking a question. Are the children being cared for and loved?

Yes, they were! And that is what counts. In this house when you are sick enough to not want to play (if you can play you can work and do school!) then Mommy and Daddy focus on you ( and whoever joins you in your illness). We have snuggled and played lots of games and watched lots of movies!

So now it is Friday and everyone is feeling better although we cannot leave the house just in case someone would need the restroom. Now I will work on getting the house in order and school organized.

I LOVE schooling year round! This way I do not have to stress.

Smile!

Nov. 19, 2007 - 'Tis the Season

This time of year has me thinking on how to keep my family’s focus on Christ. I love to make crafts with the children and cook and read stories, but if I am not careful I will forget why we do all these things. And become more focused on accomplishing a list of ‘fun stuff" than building relationships and memories.

Thanksgiving is the perfect time to thank God for all the wonderful blessings He has given. The turkey is wonderful, the pie delicious, visiting with family refreshing, but do we focus only on ourselves??? Or do we take this time to come before God with thanksgiving?

For me Thanksgiving kicks off the holiday season. I want to use this time to teach my children to give to others in the name of Christ. I want to make memories and build traditions that will last for generations. Not traditions for the sake of traditions but ways to pull our focus from ourselves to our Savior. Traditions that my great great grandchildren can carry on. Traditions that will point my family to Christ a long time after I am gone.

How neat it is to see God answer prayers. A dear friend gave me a Christmas journal and suggested I use it to write down the good memories from Christmas and then each Christmas my family could pull the journal out and read the past entries to be reminded of the goodness in past years and add new memories. Only a couple of days later I read the same idea in a magazine article. SO… this year we will start that tradition!

I have not fleshed out the idea, but I hope to take the children to a nursing home on Christmas day to visit with the residents. Some years we spend the holidays at home and others we go out of town, BUT there are nursing homes everywhere! The elderly will enjoy visiting with the children and the children will learn not to think only of themselves. Now to think of a small gift to take along???

For several years now I have wanted to learn and teach the children the names of Christ. This is the year!

I hope! I even have book. Somewhere….

Oct. 29, 2007 - Cute 2 year old!

While sitting here nursing Ally and the other children were having a snack, Katherine runs into the bathroom. She does not realize I can see her. She pulls her undies down, places her stool in front of the potty and proceeds to get on the stool. One problem--she is standing on the side of her undies. So she fixes that. Climbs up and arranges her undies just right, then sits. All the while saying, "I go tee,tee".

When I start clapping for her she looks up and has the sweetest smile. She is so very proud of herself and so am I! I should mention she had already had an accident, BUT the thought was there right!

April

Oct. 29, 2007 - Not really 43 weeks!

Sorry about the 43 weeks pg thing! Ally is now 5 weeks old and while I have a lot to blog about the only time (so it seems) that I get to sit in front of the computer is when I am nursing her! So I will get the counter taken off soon and hopefully make a real blog entry!

God Bless,

April

Oct. 3, 2007 - Allyson Marie Pierrotti

Allyson Marie Pierrotti has arrived!

She was born September 21, 2007 weighing 7lbs 5 oz.

Her brothers and sisters are very excited and loved her the moment they first saw her.

She has HAIR!!!! Enough hair to put a small clip in!!!! I actually prayed for hair. All the others had very little so I was hoping for one with hair. Isn't it awesome that God allows even the not very important desires of our heart come to pass?

Another pray God answered was allowing the nurse I have always had to be there again this time. With our first child she was the child birth educator and when he was in the NICU and not eating she came in to help me. All the other children she has helped deliver. She and dh work so very well together. They always spare back and forth and keep my mind off the pain or talk to me to help me focus.

While being admitted I asked the nurse if my nurse would be in today. Her response: Yes, she will. She is running late. Would you like her to be your nurse? OF COURSE. Later my nurse informs me it was her day off but the had called her around 5 a.m. to ask her to come in. I arrived at the hospital at 5:10 a.m. but did not ask until around 5:30! God went before me and provided the comfort I needed.

The Pierrotti Clan praises God for the safe delivery and the absolutely beautiful little princess He has blessed our family with!

Sep. 16, 2007 - Is Your Bathroom Floor Clean?!?

My bathroom floor is clean! If yours is not I could send my dd (6yrs old) to help! She could get in the shower, stop up the drain and take her shower. Then she could decide to clean the shower while she is in there. Very sweet! All the while with the drain plugged. Then when you walk in to tell her she has to get out sometime today you could step in a puddle of water that is trying to ruin your new laminate flooring in the bedroom. Then you could start yelling, "Turn off the water, Turn off the water! Get towels, Help me! Hurry!" All the children can then come running--bearing all the towels they can find. By the way it helps if you just washed most of said towels and put them away. While soaking up water and praying the bedroom floor will not be ruined you and children clean the floor! Remember though to leave a towel for the dd—things start looking comical if while soaking up water you hear, "I wonder how many people have to work naked?"

If you do not like this method then you could simply clean the floor with a mop!

And yes, I immediately sent her to get dressed after she dried off with a washcloth.

Sep. 11, 2007 - Only Three Weeks to Go!!!!

I am a BAD blogger. Sorry! Life takes over and so does laziness.

YEAH!!! Only three weeks to go until we have a little baby! She finally has a name....Allyson! No middle name yet, but I am okay with that. I think she will most likely be called Ally most of the time. When I told the oldest ds we were naming her Allyson he had a look of shock and disgust on his face! To his credit he did not say a word. When I ask him what was wrong he stated very mater-of-factly he HATED that name! I never knew he was so opinionated. So, I offered "Ally" and he was excited--thought that was a much nicer name than Allyson! Males and they think females are hard to figure out!

The doctor and my husband both think it is wisest to induce, so more than likely we will be inducing. That means less than three weeks. I get a little nervous when I think about it. I have a ton of stuff I "need" to do before she makes her appearance. Truthfully, though the world will not end if my list is not completed!

Two things that were very important have been taken care of! We named her and had a birthday party for two of the children. Our current baby turned 2 on the 7th and ds (3rd child) will turn 5 Oct. 17. Ds has been asking if it is turn to have a party since JUNE. I was afraid if I waited until after the baby was born to have his party I would not be up to it.

We are going to try to have one big party next year instead of 5 parties! We always invite the same people so why not! I just do not know how to deal with the gift issue. I refuse to ask families to bring 5 gifts--how crazy and expensive would that be! But if I say no gifts so are still going to bring them and those who do not will feel bad. Well, I have a year to figure it out. If anyone has any ideas please pass them along. I had thought about a family gift theme????

And to those who are worried about the children not having a special day of their own, please rest assured their actual will find them as the king or queen of the day! They get to pick the meals and have a cupcake with a candle ect...

Must run--the two year old just shed her clothing!

Aug. 5, 2007 - Life and silent SCREAMING

Why do I have such a hard time with blogging??? I just spent several minutes typing up an entry just to click the wrong thing and lose it all. That would be the reason I am silently screaming inside! I have other things that need my time and attention.

So I am going to make this super quick. Life is going full force around here. Last week I spent a day with a dear friend and several days with my sister-in-law and her children. The day we were all together we had 12 children here 8 years and under! It was lovely. God has blessed my with several friends/family who have more than two children so it is not unusual to have 8 to 12 children at a "playdate"! Soon I hope to post about my s.i.l. She has blessed my so very much lately, but for now that will have to wait.

I am starting TOG Monday morning although I do not have it altogether. I have been working on it. Reading, looking, praying, but do not seem to be making the headway I wanted to, so we will simply jump in!

Let me go finish my planning. My sweet husband called to ask if I had cooked already. I knew what that meant. He is bringing fried chicken home!!!!!!!! Wasn't that sweet to ask if I had already cooked? I thought so!

Smile

Jul. 31, 2007 - Tagged!

I have been tagged. What a neat way to get to know other bloggers, although I do not think I "know" eight blogger to pass this along to. We will see. Thanks House Full of Joy for the tag.

These are the rules I have to post before I get started:

1) The player starts with 8 random facts about herself.

2)The person who is tagged must post on her own blog her answers and she must post the rules first.

3) Then the player must pick 8 people and tag them. Then leave them a note so that they will know that they have been tagged.

Eight random things about ME!

1.) I love to cook and can not wait until my boys start eating like crazy.

2.) I love planning but do not always (ok, quite often) follow through.

3.) Once I start washing dishes (if I am not interrupted by little ones) I really do not mind washing them by hand. (SHHH! don't tell dh--he may think he wasted his money on the dishwasher.)

4.) As a mother of four young children interruptions are a part of my life! I am sure no one would have guessed that one!!!

5.) I love flowers and we plant them then I forget to water and weed. DH has to take care of that (it is his stress relief--so I do not feel to guilty) even though every year I have the best intentions!

6.) I love the internet, but I am not good the tech side of it (or anything technical for that matter). Like adding links to this post and the people I tag.

7.) Dark chocolate and VERY cold Dr. Pepper are my drugs of choice when I am having a busy/hard/stressful (you get the idea) day.

8.) After having a baby I always want a big burger (mushroom swiss from Chili's) and french fries w/ ranch dressing. I normally have a burger (I prefer ck) like that maybe one time a year.

I will tag later today. There seems to be a mutiny going on around here.

Smile

Jul. 19, 2007 - The Trash Bandit Has Been Caught!

Yesterday a friend who lives within a few miles of our home stopped by to drop off an invitation to his son's birthday party. While chatting with him I noticed his TRUCK! I had decided I would ask everyone we knew who had a truck if they were the ones who took our overflowing trash. Not knowing was really starting to bother me! This dear friend passes our house every day and is very kind and knows how much dh works so he was a likely suspect.

When I ask him he looked really puzzled and said, "No, was I supposed to take your trash? Did someone take all of you trash?" So I explained. Well, he thought it was weird, then he remembered!!!!!!

For the past two weeks the trash trucks have not made their rounds! (So it would not have mattered if I had remembered to take the trash to the road.) Because of all the complaints the trash truck made a round Friday before noon! I assume, since they could see the trash cans and we had no notice of them coming on Friday, they were kind enough to walk down the driveway and pick up the trash!

Mystery solved!

April

Jul. 16, 2007 - CHOAS

Today was one of those days. Lately we had fallen off the schedule boat therefore everything was falling behind. Isn't it amazing how one or two days of not staying on top of the housework things are crazy. The children have fallen into the habit of being very silly. I am happy they enjoy each other, but there are times when enough is enough. And of course I am approaching the point of being uncomfortable (or have made it there). I knew it was coming, but really did not want to face it! If you have been pg you know there is a point when your back hurts no matter what you do. Mine is not to the point of hurting all the time, but one morning when I woke up it was hurting already. NOTHING was done that day!

Lately, school has not happened like I would like and I was puzzled about what caused this (other than my disorganization). Well, today was a light bulb moment. I have allowed the children way to much freedom and have not curbed the silliness. Our schedule had slipped because I do not really like to live by a schedule!

I LOVE making a schedule! But being discplined enough to stick with a schedule is very hard! I know a schedule is of the utmost importance if I am going to guide my children and myself toward the goals we believe are God honoring for our family. So I am trying again (I am sure it will not be the last time I start over) to work on a schedule. Any prayer would be lovely.

Today was rough! I normally do not think about calling dh to come home and deal with situations, but today I was very tempted! The two oldest were not fighting, but they were being silly to the point of not listening to instructions and not completing their work. What I really wanted to say was please go play! But I prayed and prayed God would help me through today. And of course He did! Although I realize the rest of the week will be tough also. I know I have to consistently discipline for silliness and not listening.

Good Night,

April

Jul. 15, 2007 - Trash Bandit!

At our house we sometime forget to take the trash to the road. Then by the second week the trash is overflowing. This was the case this week. I do not know why I can not remember to take the trash to the road. DH almost always remembers, but he to forgets on occasion. We live in rural area and burning is not a big deal, so Saturday we were going to burn the paper boxes that would not fit in the trash cans. EXCEPT….. The trash was gone!

Friday when ds took the trash out there was no room. When dh came home in the wee hours of the morning Saturday he made a mental note to burn the boxes that would not fit after he had a little sleep. Saturday afternoon there was NO TRASH. It was all gone! Not only the trash cans we take to the road but an old can that was filled with stuff from cleaning out the shed and picking up the yard. That trash was not in a bag. The cans are still here and right where we normally keep them.

The real kicker is: We were HOME when the trash bandit struck!

While I am very happy the trash is gone it is a little scary to know someone was outside long enough to empty three trash cans and leave and I never knew it! Our children do not play outside by themselves but sometimes they do run in and out for me. I hate the fact I did not hear someone in the driveway. Now, I will think twice about having them take out the trash or run something to the truck.

I realize some people will think I am being overly protective, but in our rural parish there are more than 70 registered s*x offenders (can not remember the exact number) and in my dh’s line of work he sees just how fast "bad stuff" can happen.

On a positive note! Our new or soon to be new neighbor mowed the front our property on Saturday! DH has been working a lot and it has been raining cats and dogs here in SW LA, so the front section by the road was looking scraggly. Dh used the first opportunity he had to mow the area we use. Now, I suspected the neighbor was mowing around the road because I could hear him when we were in the pool. But alas, he was gone before I could thank him. DH still needs to mow around the trees and flowers but we are thankful for the mowing the neighbor did. This little tidbit leads me to believe he may have also came and picked up the trash, BUT it would have had to happen much earlier in the day!

Okay, enough rambling…. I am supposed to be planning menus and a mega-cooking session.

April

Jul. 11, 2007 - My Desk is Clean!

This may not seem like a lot to some but it is a great relief to me. This past weekend I simply did not walk away until my desk was clean! I would always start then wander off. There were soooo many papers to file. My desk has a bookshelf along the top (it is a corner desk) which was a jumble of books in no order. Yesterday I moved most of those to my new bookshelves in the living room. Now I will only keep journals, homeschool resources and reference materials ect.. up there. Oh! I will also keep books I have borrowed from dear friends up there so I will not lose them and find them months after they are needed by the original owner (sorry Jennifer)!

Speaking of bookshelves. When dh started building them he did not want them loaded down with books. He wanted them to be decorated (they are on either side of the fireplace and the first thing you see when entering our home) and only have a few books. I was not very happy about this! BUT GOD IS STILL WORKING ON ME! It has taken a long time for the shelves to be completed as he (dh) had a lot of other projects to do and he did not want me to help paint! I am NOT a perfectionist so he was a little scared of what it would look like!

The working on me part is: I did not nag him! At first I was not happy about his decision and complained. Then over the months it took him to finsh God changed my heart. I no longer resented the idea of the shelves being decorative. I really could not think of a lot to decorate them with but.... So yesterday I ask dh what he wanted on the shelves. He wants BOOKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My not resenting and dh's change of mind was/is not our greatness but God's. So often I stand in awe of how HE works in our lives. Our marriage is changing. It was never "horrible" but we have had a few difficult spots. But right now in the mist of a couple of trials and a pregnancy and lots of overtime at work and 4 other children and still working on the house our marriage is just becoming sweeter!

I really do not know how I came from "my desk is clean" to "my marriage is wonderful" but there you go--I'm rambling!

May God Bless You,

April

Jul. 8, 2007 - Bosch Mixer

My dear sweet wonderful husband gave me a Bosch mixer/blender for my birthday!!!! He knew I wanted one--that I was trying to save for one and was not getting very far--and if I had one I could get rid of 3 other appliances. I think that is why he suggested it!

My goal for a while now has been to make all the bread my family eats. We had purchased a grain mill, but I could not get my whole wheat bread to rise very high. (I tried lots of different things) My bread was always crumbly and very dense.

I could make a lovely loaf with "white" flour until my stand mixer bowl started coming unseated during the kneading process. After that a friend gave me a bread machine to mix my dough. It would make at most two loaves and dh did not want bread with "white" flour and I did not need it! So we were still purchasing whole wheat bread from the bread store. And then of course when we were there one of the children would ask for the "really not good for you" Lite bread.

Husband is happy because on the very first try I made 100% whole wheat bread from freshly milled grain. It rose wonderfully and tasted delicious!

My other appliances are going to good use. A friend needed a new blender (hers broke a few days before I called and offered her mine) and she needed a stand mixer! My sweet SIL wanted a bread machine!

Check out Marmeedear even if you do not need a new mixer. She has a lovely cookbook of breads she wrote. In the last two days I have used two of her recipes and they are both excellent. Her first recipe is a basic whole wheat bread and she gives step by step instructions. It is like she is in the kitchen with you!

Recently, the same friend who gave me the bread machine found a Presto bread slicer guide at a thrift store for $3.00!!! So now I can slice the bread perfectly for the daughter who loves toast and Marmee from www.Marmeedear.com has a wonderful bread recipe for "white" bread that includes some whole wheat. Now mother and daughter are happy!

I am thanking God my goal/dream of making all of our bread if becoming a reality.

April

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Jul. 7, 2007 - Fretting

Fretting is not something God wants His children to do. I know this and I say I will not fret, but then I do. Early this week an issue came up that in years past I have fretted over. I told myself I would not fret this time. I would simply give it to God. Well, I would pray and think, "now I will not fret." Then I would find myself thinking on the problem again trying to find the right solution or make sense of it all.

I prayed God would help me not fret. The very next morning for my devotion time I picked up my copy of Oswald Chambers' __My Utmost for His Highest__. God has used Mr. Chambers' work to minister to me on several very trying occassions. This time was no different. So often the Scripture the devotion is based on, although short, will cut right to the problem. Even when I do not realize there is a problem! God's Word is powerful. Then as Mr. Chambers expounds on the verse I see it in a way I never have before.

The verse for the morning of July 4th was Psalm 37:8. "Fret not thyself, it tendeth only to evil doing." It did not say "fret not if you can help it." Mr. Chambers goes on to say, "We imagine that a little anxiety and worry are an indication of how really wise we are; it is much more an indication of how really wicked we are. Fretting springs from a determination to get our own way."

Oh, my! Those two sentences sum me up. (I really would not have called myself wick though!!! Even though I am) Fretting is my choice. Just like "pray without ceasing" and "be joyful always" are my choice. I can not do any of these things without the strenght of God, but I have to choose to do what is right and He has promised the strength. "I can do everything through Him who gives me strength." Philippians 4:13

Isn't God AWESOME,

April

Jul. 4, 2007 - Hopefully I am back!

Well, I think it has been almost a month and a half since I blogged! Life has been crazy around here. Family in for a week (very fun), preparing for VBS, VBS, stomach virsus (not fun at all), try to catch up week/prepare for birthday party, birthday party, out of town for a wedding in the family, home again to collapse! Then of course there is the normal day to day stuff.

I am starting to get a little scared about the approaching birth of this baby. I am not prepared at all. There are so many projects I had wanted to get done that will not happen. I am trying to clean out as much stuff as possible (that is very hard to do!) to make room in our 1500 sq feet for another little one (5 children in one small bedroom when new baby is not nursing). I know many people do it with less space. Right now we have enough space and I am determined to be content!

I want to knit baby girl (still has no name) a blanket. I have started it but have not gotten very far!

I am currently working on menus. So I can do a really big cooking session and stock my freezer for when little girl arrives

Trying to teach oldest three how to do new chores or old chores better.

Attempting to clean off my desk and go through all the papers. Why I write notes on little pieces of paper I have no clue.?!

There are several other places to clean out in the house. I simply want to streamline our home so I can spend more time with the children and less time looking for stuff! When my SIL was here in June we sat down and organized my loose recipes. Little hand had dumped them out in the past. 2 weeks after we organized them, while I was unloading the truck same little hands dumped them out again! I guess I will have to find a better spot and HIDE them if they ever get reorganized!

Want to purchase new material for school and organize it sometime in July.

I am rambling now, so I'll go check on my lovely family. Hope everyone is having a great 4th of July!

April

May. 26, 2007 - Anger and Unforgiveness and God's Grace

The past week and a half I have been dealing with a great deal of anger. Because of all this anger I realized I was harboring a lot of unforgiveness. It is easy to say, "I forgive so and so for so and so", but it is not so easy to do that. I did not even realize the unforgiveness was there until now.

When you are a child of God, and you truly want to seek His ways He will not leave to blind to your glaring sins. If I were in God's position, I would have long ago written me off. He is merciful.

Last night and this morning I realized I have not reacted in a Godly manner when issues arise. I allow anger to take over--it consumes me. This morning I read the verse "pray without ceasing." And it was like God just turned the light on! I had been searching for away to remove these angry thoughts from my head and find away to forgive. How can I be angry if I am praying? How can I not forgive someone I am praying for?

Do I think it is wrong to address issues that arise?? No! Do I think it is wrong to judge a situation--1 Thess. 5:21-22 says "Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil." But to hold on to the hurt and anger is sin. 1Thess. 5: 16 and 17 says, "Be joyful always. Pray without ceasing." How can I obey this if I do not forgive and move on.

As I sat reading and thinking and praying I realized I react with anger and unforgiveness when I am hurt. Not only is it so very wrong--it is destructive to my relationship to God (I am not talking about my salvation)--it is destructive physically and a waste of precious time.

So my game plan is to write "pray without ceasing" on my window above my kitchen sink. If I am seeking after God then I will not be wasting my time with anger and unforgiveness. God's grace is awesome.

May. 21, 2007 - Goals for this Week

Good afternoon!

It is a pregnant day! You know one of those days you want to blame everything on the pregnancy. School is struggling. Our plans for the week were scratched. I was/am so very tired I can hardly keep my eyes open. I attempted to lay down. Baby who normally sleeps at this time would not sleep. I had locked all the doors and sent the other children to watch their science dvd. I worry about napping when the children are awake, but today I simply could stop falling asleep even if I was standing. I sent baby to watch the dvd and set my alarm for 30 minutes. Guess what! Baby thought it was funny to bring Mama lots of stuff. Lay on my head. Kiss me. Lots of cute stuff. I did not need to worry about her hurting herself! After giving up on the nap, we did math and I dozed between problems! How sad is that?

I need to regroupl So, I thought I would post my list of goals for the week. Maybe knowing others are looking will spur me on.

1. Clean off my desk.

2. Clean entire house: Living room--dust, floors, clean furniture, add non-slip to bottom of furniture, clean fan, wash windows . Kitchen--clean out frig, meds shelf, wipe down outside of cabinets, wash windows, clean oven, top of frig. Laundry room and half bath--clean windows, door and top of upright, declutter under bathroom sink, replace door handle (taken off to open locked door--parts were missing), normal bathroom cleaning. Other baths --normal cleaning. Master bedroom--dust, clean fan, assemble new-to-us bedframe (really dh will do that), clean floors, straighten closet that also acts as extra food/small appliance storage. Children room--pick up, vaccum, wash all bedding, remove game table, organize new bookshelves, box up more clothing, clean window, dust. Office--declutter, lable shelves and arrange books, clean window, dust and vaccum.

3. Post schedule around the house (I am going to give my dh a copy and have him call me throughout the day to see if I am on track.)

4. I hope to rise at 6 (I would like 5, but do not think it is possible right now) and wake the children by 7.

5. Enforce 9 p.m. bedtime (I can not send them to bed before dark--that is just to sad)

6. Make a list of items that need to be purchased for house and hs.

7. Begin using and modifying my household binder.

8. Type out menus, shopping list, to go list ect...

9. Start knitted blanket for baby on the way.

10. Plant cucmbers, stack tomatoes, weed, plant sunflower seeds, teach children how to water plants.

11. Refocus our learning enviroment--I know that is vague, but I will post updates.

12. Kitchen day--I will see what needs to be done and post later.

Have a blessed day!

May. 21, 2007 - Funny Things Children Do!

Good Morning!!!

My children brighten my day in so many ways. Sunday we had our first piano recital. The two oldest children (7 and 6) take piano lessons. My husband and I sat in the back, because the youngest (20 months) is not quiet. Toward the end, while I am attempting to take pics (standing behind the last row of chairs) she is running around. I glance back to check on her and what do I see???? Baby running merrily back and forth with her diaper in her HAND!!!

I really need to potty train this child since last week she comes to me with her diaper in her hand and tells me "potty, potty--c'mon".

I do not think anyone else saw her as they were watching their children get awards!

Then we get home and the oldest two change and run outside to enjoy the last bit of day. Shortly Caroline (6) comes into the house crying. She has a big red spot--a little swollen--on her forehead. You will never believe what she did!

She hit herself in the head with the bat!

I questioned her several times to make sure I heard her correctly, because her brother would have been in serious trouble if he had hit her. After clarifying the issue, I was having a really hard time not laughing. It was obvoius she was okay--hurting but not in need of medical attention. She was having a hard time keeping up the tears. Then my husband made some comment like "that is different" or "okayyy" with a little humor in his voice and I just could not help it. I burst into laughter. She even laughed and then got herself a bag of ice. Of course she had to check out her head in the mirror.

The joys of motherhood.

This morning we have sick children. One had a sick tummy a little while ago. Mommy has a really hard time with that! So, I cleaned him and everything else up. Settled him, fed the others and decided to post as a reward for making it through! I know--I am a wimp!

Smile