My Toddler B is no longer a toddler.  Today he is 3.  I went into his room this morning and asked him where my 2 year old was.  He said, "In sissy's room."  So then I asked him who he was and he said, "I'm an angel!" 

He is really excited to be 3.  But he is really digging the whole present thing.  On Friday, my mil, sil, and sil's 5 kids came over to celebrate B's and N's birthday (which is the 24th).  So B got to open presents then.  He keeps asking if they are coming back over today to give him more.  He talked to Hubby on the phone last night and Hubby said he would be coming home for his birthday and B asked, "Are you going to bring me a present?" 

Happy Birthday my baby boy!!  I hope 3 is a good year for you!

On another birthday note.  My blog just turned 3.  Happy birthday to me! 

I hate days where the clock moves extra quickly and the kids move extra slowly.  It drives me BONKERS.  Today we didn't start school until 11 AM.  And by that time I am so out of my mind mad at the kids that I don't want to do school with them.  But I make myself, because if I don't, they win.  They will not be watching tv today or playing any games.  They have not earned it.  What they have earned is extra work.  You wanna waste my time?  Fine, I'll waste yours.  No problem.  Let's double your school work.  Have some extra chores.    ARG. 

So now I need some help.  I would like to NOT get to this stage.  Here is what is supposed to happen in the morning.  Boys are to be up and dressed and have their upstairs chores done and be down stairs at 8 AM.  D usually has no problem with that.  N usually doesn't have anything done.  He rarely does what he is supposed to.  Then when they come downstairs they are to do their downstais chores, eat and get out their school work.  Everyday, I have to remind them.  Every.  Single.  Day.  I used to have a rule that if you didn't eat by 9 then you didn't eat.  I guess I should reinstate that rule.  N always has to be proded to do his chores.  I have to be with him every step of the way or he gets lost somewhere.  And he is a ticking time bomb.  Anything can set him off and then we have a whole other problem to deal with.  And now Princess C has to be told over and over to get dressed.  She also needs me with her every step.  But, in case you haven't noticed, there's only one me.  (Thankfully, D changes Toddler B every morning.  I can't stomach the stench, so he was forced into that duty.)  D moves very slowly.  He is either sticking his nose were it doesn't belong, bossing someone around, or just plain jabbering.  And so with four kids running in four different directions, by the time we clean up from breakfast, it's lunch time!  And I'm frustrated!!!  Today, the boys were trying to swap chores with each other.  So that's what was taking some of the time.  I think we really need to bring N's bedroom downstairs by us but we really can't figure out how to do that.  Princess C needs to be by us (she wakes up every night) and so does Toddler B.  (If I don't hear him yelling for me in the morning, I'll never wake up).  That makes three kids stuffed into one room.  So any suggestions on how to make my morning run smoother? 

There really isn't much to report about.  The weather is still beautiful.  We havn't had a frost yet, so we are still eating out of the garden.  Also, we havn't had to turn the heat on.  I just got my gas and electric bill and they both were very low.  It's usually one or the other.  Thanks ComEd for the rate relief!  (It's about time....)  Of course we live in crook...err... cook county and they want to raise taxes on gas and electric and phone and internet and cable and cell phones... and a whole bunch of other things.  Stroger needs a raise ya know.  And he needs to hire some more family. 

Wow.  That's how boring my life is right now.  I lay in bed with my eyes closed and my hubby has on the news and I guess it all soaks in my brain. 

Oh, I know.  We are dog sitting this week.  A little dog.  I think my dog and cats think it's another cat.  I like the dog.  Don't ask me why.  She peed on my brand new carpet.  I don't like dogs.  But, I feel bad for her because she looks like she needs some doggie anti-depressants.  The boys are taking care of her, and they seem to really like the responsibility.  They have to walk her outside because she is so small she can squeeze under the fence, but they think it's cool.  She sleeps with them, and they really get a kick out of that. 

I guess I better go.  Toddler B is yelling from his high chair and starting to take his clothes off. 

She brings you this:

  Ok, she doesn't actually sleep with us.  When she wakes up at 5 AM we let her stay because it's too close to morning to put her back to bed without waking up Toddler B.  I defend myself because I swore I would never let a child sleep with me.  Yeah, that was before mutiple kids....  I said alot of stuff back then...

Here is another picture of proof we are spoiling our children:

This picture was taken around midnight.  This was hubby's fault.  B was crying and so he let him play for a few hours while he played a video game!!  I didn't mind because for one, I was sleeping and that was all that mattered at the time... and for two, well, nothing beats number one.    And as for the older two?  We don't spoil them at all... they are our slaves!  hehe.... j/k 

My oldest, D, turned 9 today.  He got a basketball hoop and basketball, which really excited him.  (and me!)  He is getting so old!  He is such a big help around here.  *Usually* I can ask him to do anything and he will without complaining.  I am so grateful I have him.  

It took us four days to drive to Ca, and then we stayed at my brother's house for about a week and a half.  Alot of time was spent playing in his yard:

(N and my niece, Baby A)

(Princess C)

(Niece, Baby A)

And other time was spent wishing we could play outside:

Poor Baby B.  This is actually a really cool picture.  If you look out the window you can see D's reflection in the garage door window.  That is what D spent most of his time doing - practicing his pitching. 

All other time was spent reading books:

Yes, N is brushing his hair.  Why?  No clue. 

N had his first t-ball game on Sat.  He was so cute.  When he played soccer, he was the kid who ran around in circles playing no where near the ball.  We would have to keep yelling, "N, go kick the ball!"  In t-ball practice, likes to goof around.  He wants to play, in theory, but once out there, he couldn't care less.  Before the game, the were practicing, and, in N fashion, he just stood there and watched the balls go by.  Until my hubby said, "Ya know, when the ball goes by, you should go get it and throw it to first."  And that's all it took.  After that, he was chasing practically every ball.  It was so neat to see.  He even made an  awesome fluke most talented play.  He backhanded a ball and threw it to first and got the kid out (although he really wasn't out because at this age there are no outs). 

Here he is ready for a ball.  This stance he must have gotten from watching D, because nobody showed him it.  Maybe he does have a touch of athlete in him after all.....

And here he is looking cute:

And to be fair, here is D batting:

I am really angry about his coach and that whole situation, but I don't want to talk about it right now because I am currently not angry and don't want to upset myself right now.  Maybe someday when I come home from a game I will blog my thoughts about that coach...... 

My poor little babies are sick.  Princess C woke up crying around 8:30 last night.  She had thrown up in bed.  I put her in the tub and got her all cleaned up and then sat on the recliner with her.  It wasn't too long before she started acting funny, so I jumped up and leaned her over me so I wouldn't get yucky, then I decided I didn't want the carpet yucky, so I thrusted her out over the dining room floor.  Meanwhile, my hubby jumps up and starts flinging an empty bin my way, but it was too late for that.  I was trying to keep her over the wood floor while kicking back the blankets that were on the floor and holding back her freshly washed hair.    Poor C was all upset because her feet got yucky.  After that mess got cleaned up, we set her up on the front room floor, explained to her what to do with the garbage can, and then I got ready for bed.  Just as I climbed into bed, Baby B starts a weird sort of whine.  The kind of whine that says, "What just happened?"  Sure enough, he was next.  This time, I didn't bother bathing him.  I just wiped him and changed him, cuddled him, and put him back down.  He was lucky and didn't wake up again until 5.  Princess C was not so lucky.  She was up about 4 times during the night.  This  morning, Baby B felt so awful, he just laid there.  No whining, crying, sucking his fingers, nothing.  Just laid.  And after awhile, he got up and took a few steps and then laid back down.  I spent most of my day cuddling the two of them.  They are better enough to eat, but now they have fevers.  I hope the rest of us don't get this.  It did not look fun.  I am so tired. 

D and N spent a good amount of time outside today.  It was nice enough and it kept them away from the germs. 

Last week we got to visit my hubby's father and stepmother in their new home in the country.  We had a great time!  We can't wait to have a home of our own with room to roam. 

The kids really like the wheel barrel:

This is what they get to look at every evening:

Grandpa grilled hamburgers, hotdogs, and brats.  YUM!  Grammy played yatzee with D.  I got so tired of chasing Baby B (and he was getting tired too), I put him in his carseat and turned on the DVD player hoping he would fall asleep.  It worked, but I killed the battery in the car.  Oops.  Nothing a little jump can't fix...

On Thursday, we got a real treat.  My hubby's Uncle and Aunt took our family and my SIL's family to the Shedd aquarium.  (That's 5 adults and 9 kids).  AND, They bought us memberships so we can go back all year!  The kids had a blast! 

Here is a good picture of Uncle with all the "walkers" (there are four more kids in the strollers).  The green shirts are the cousins and the orange and yellow shirts are mine. 

Here is a picture of Princess C with her favorite animals in the world, penguins:

Baby B was amazed at the fish in the ceiling.  (You can also see Princess C looking up.):

The goof ball "triplets"( my SIL's twins and N are only 3 mo apart):

The family with the Sears Tower in the background:

THANKS FOR THE GREAT DAY, AUNT AND UNCLE!!! 

(Late)

My mom's b-day was the 7th.  My Grandma's was the 6th and my nephew's was the 8th.  If my other grandma was alive, her's was also the 7th.  I had planned on taking my mom out to lunch, but she ended up getting called in to sub.  So we just ordered pizza and let her choose whatever toppings she wanted (mushrooms, black olives, and sausage).  Yesterday we went to Joanne's to pick up some fabric and when we got home, my hubby kicked us out of the house.  He thought we were going out to eat, so him and the kids had started "cleaning".  His fist step in cleaning is making a HUGE pile of all the junk that doesn't belong in the places it is at.  That is where they were at when we walked in.  A 3 ft x 2 ft pile in the middle of the living room.  So he said I could make them lunch and then I should leave (he didn't want me to clean).  So, out to Olive Garden we went.  Anyway, hop on by my mom's blog and wish her a happy late b-day.  Being the bad daughter that I am, I didn't do this on Weds.....

Here is our dog supporting the Bears.  (sniff... sniff... )  Doesn't she look like a "home-dog".  hehhe....

Here are some pics of our big snowfall.  Princess C LOVES the snow.  Although, she kept getting stuck.

She laid down to make a snow angel just like her big brother. 

The dog enjoyed the snow.  We kept catching her with her head buried in it.

Here are two of my sickies:

Late Wednesday night, I got the flu and have been down for the count ever since.  Thursday I did manage to do some school in between naps.  But on Friday, Hubby took the day off, so I just laid on the couch and let them wait on me.  It was great.  I felt miserable, but I enjoyed every second of it.  I can't even remember ever having the flu before.  Man, is it awful.  I still feel bad today, although my muscle aches are pretty much gone.  Today was the last day to sign the kids up for baseball, so I had to drag myself out the door.  Ugh.  I am going to go lay down again.  Please pray that no one else in my family gets this. 

I saw this at Dy's.   The question is, "What do you look like in this season of your life?"  I started looking for a picture that would best describe me.  Then, I just figured I would settle for a picture OF me.  I had to go back to Nov, but his picture pretty  much fits how I feel.  Even when I don't have all the kids hanging on me, I feel like I do...   

These are a little late coming, but, oh well.  Here is the boys on their top bunks.  As they are laying there trying to fall asleep, Hubby says to everyone, if N falls out of bed, somebody wake me up.  N replies, "Don't worry dad, I'll wake you up... from the loud bang!"  That got the whole cabin laughing.

 Here is D playing hockey.  He wanted to spend most of his time in the Gym.

Here are the boys when they were sledding. 

(The song they sing in the movie, White Christmas).  First things first.  I have been having so much trouble with my internet and/or my computer.  Usually, I know it's my internet that's having problems, but yesterday and today, my mom's computer was working fine through our internet, but my computer wasn't able to bring up a web page.  Oh, I wish I knew more about computers.... I just needed to vent that.

Today was the first big snowfall we have had this winter.  To see pictures, click here.  I'm not sure how much snow we got, but it was at least a few inches.  Doesn't sound like much, but the roads were a MESS.  My hubby is a State Trooper and he was forced to work unitl 6pm (he normally gets off at three) and the 3 o'clock guys were called out early - around 12 I think. Unfortunatly, my hubby was working on a 9 car accident starting around 1 and was only on his way to the hospital to deliever paper work at 6.  So he still had to deliver papers and whatever else he does there (not to sure about that one) and then make his way home.  He was about an 1 1/2 to 2 hours away in good weather.... So, he's not home yet, and I don't expect him home any time soon. 

N is always a problem when my hubby is late.  I don't know if he relies on routine, or he just misses his dad, but around 3:30, he starts losing it.  And the worst is dinner.  I cannot get him to set the table if hubby is not here!  I have tried everything, but it's the same thing everytime.  Also, N (and the other kids) act like monkeys at the dinner table.  They do things they would NEVER try with hubby around.  Bed time used to be a problem as well.  In fact, one time, hubby had to take time off of work to come home, just to get N to bed.  Thankfully, he will go to bed now.  These kids have no respect for me.  And it's not like I let them do whatever they want!    Oh well...  Gotta go get them in bed now.  Adios! 

I just got half of my Christmas New Years cards sent out today.  I wasn't going to send out cards this year, but I started feeling guilty about it.  I just didn't feel like taking the time and energy to get all the kids dressed nice and then all still smiling.  Sundays are the worst days.  Trying to get all the kids looking nice and and then still looking nice when we walk out the door, is near impossible.  I had tried getting a few shots of them on Sundays and on Thanksgiving when they were all dressed nice, but I couldn't get one picture of them all looking not goofy.  Forget all smiling, I was going to settle for showing that my kids weren't big dorks.  Baby B would be squirming in D's arms, or N would have a goof ball look.  Princess C went through a "I will not smile for the camera" stage over the holidays.  Here are a few examples:

So, since there wasn't one good picture of them, I decided on a collage:

I think it was a good idea.  I shows more of the kids personalities.  And maybe one day, I'll have enough kids to fill each box with one....

(Except Baby B)  The boys have all gone to Royal Rangers Winter Camp.  D and Hubby went last year and had a blast.  This year, N got to go.  They were so excited.  Our pastor called yesterday to see if they wanted to ride up together.  I joked with my hubby that he must have been in big trouble to have to ride three hours with the pastor.   

The house is so quiet and I don't know what to do with myself.  As soon as they pulled away, I missed them.  Last year, I was excited to have some quiet and more importantly, the bed all to myself!  But this year, I am going to be lonely. 

Here is a pic of N in his used new Royal Rangers shirt.  He is tickled pink.  Well, he's pink from running around...

I say used because, well, it's used.  But I can't complain because I am shocked he even has one.  When D was in Ranger Kids, it took him until he was almost out of it to get his shirt.  They kept forgeting.  You can just call us The Invisibles...

I am so aggrevated with my camera.  The flash is crazy.  It will either ultra flash and everyone will be bright white, or it will barely flash and the picture is dark... grrrrr.... We have the worst luck with cameras.  We have been married for 6 years and have gone through 5 cameras and 3 video cameras. 

So many pictures how can I choose which ones to post?  Let's start with Baby B and Queen B:

Of all the hundreds of pictures we have been taking, this in the ONLY one with the both of them looking at the camera AND actually smiling! 

Here is the two of them sharing their troubles over Kix and water:

Here is Princess C and Queen B.  They had matching pjs for Christmas morning.  Neither one wake up very happy...

Here is Baby B's b-day pictures:

And Baby B and Queen Beepers:

Off to the races:

We are having so much fun!  It is so neat to see another baby's personality.  It's especially fun to see the difference between a boy and a girl!  Queen Beepers is so much more... umm... set in her ways...

She is so cute!  She loves to sign baby.  She will sign baby and sing-song say it, as well.  Gotta go have more fun!

Tomorrow my brother, sister-in-law, and niece fly in from California!  I can't wait!!!!  I have only seen my niece twice and she is now a year old.  Her and baby B are only 3 weeks apart.  We are going to have so much fun!!!!!  Last year it was funny having two cying babies in the house, now they will be crawling all over the place and making trouble together!  Ahhh... I can't wait....

Today was spent shopping, cleaning, and hiding things organizing.  Gotta make room for three more people!  Our freezer is stuffed to the gills.  My mom made two loafs of bread.  I still need to make yogurt and set up the porta-crib and move mattresses and clean sheets.  Not to mention wrap presents!  But that's ok, because I am so excited! 

I don't know how much I will be blogging in the next couple weeks.  But I imagine most people are going to take a break with Christmas coming.  I will try to post lots of pictues, at least. 

Lay-tah!

Baby B turned one today.  I guess I can't call him Baby B anymore.    Although, he isn't walking yet, so he isn't a toddler. 

I made him a carrot cake and he LOVED it.  He really didn't get messy.  I would post pictures, but my hubby took the camera to the basement to photograph him and the boys painting the floor down there, and left it down there.  I'll post those also when I get a chance. 

Happy Birthday Baby B!  I love you!

Some days I wake up, and I have it all together.  Most days, I don't.  Today was a good day.  D pushed his sister this morning.  He is having a hard time being nice to his siblings lately.  All the kids are constantly fighting and I never know what to do about it.  Today I came up with the perfect solution.    Since D wasn't showing his sister love, he had to be a servant to her so that he could show her he loves her.  He had to make her bed, put her dirty clothes in the laundry, and put the plastic dishes in the dishwasher away for her (her chores).  She was too little to really feel the love, but he got the idea.  And from now on, if my kids aren't showing love toward each other, they will be forced to show acts of love!   (hey!  all the cool faces are gone!)

And that wasn't the only good idea I had today.  The boys were supposed to be setting the table, but instead were fooling around, thus resulting in spilled water.    So, after lunch, they both had to scrub my floor. 

If only everyday could be like today....

My sil's town got severe flooding yesterday.  Some homes collapsed and others were flooded.  My sil's finished basement was flooded with 6-8 in of water.  The good news is, the furnace, washer, and a dresser was spared.  The bad news is, everything else was not.  She had a lot of stuff down there.  Two kids had bedrooms down there, she had ebay stuff, her laundry room with piles of clothes, books, collections, a bathroom, a living room with all the furninshing, and of course, lots of stuff.  My hubby went over there after work to help out, took the day off today and went back over there.  Luckily, the church likes them and will help them out.  A bunch of guys went over last night, and more will come tonight.  I'm sure the church will give them money, too.  They are popular amongst the church.  But it is really hard on them.  They have so many things jammed into other rooms, things that were high up in dressers and on bookshelves.  The house is crazy.  They have 7 kids living there. 

With so many things ruined it is so easy to get depressed and angry.  But when something like this happens, we need to remember that these are all just earthly posessions. (Of course, I just had a fit yesterday because someone pulled my curtain rod out of the wall.)   I have been trying to reduce the amount of stuff in my home so that we can appreciate what we have.  The kids and I always want want want.  I get mad at the kids for this, but I am more guilty then they.  I always want the better one, or a nicer one.  Hopefully, I can get better.  I gotta go head over there now.

September 11 is coming up soon.  Five years.  Wow.  Five years ago I was sitting on the couch, 6 months pregnant.  I was waiting to hear the news of the birth of my nephews.  My sil was in the hospital, waiting for her c-section.  Usually, D would wake me up and I would go to the family room and put on the tv for him.  But for some reason, I decided to put on the news that day.  It wasn't long before they were covering the airplane that hit the World Trade Center.  The news was saying it must have been an accident, but I knew, there was no way an airplane accidently runs into a building.  I was watching it when the second plane hit.  I heard the lady on the tv yelling that another plane was coming, and I saw it hit.  I sat and I watched.  I saw the towers fall.  I was on the phone with my mil when they started collapsing.  We were stunned.  My sil was in her hospital bed, waiting for her doctor, watching the news.  A few hours later, she had her twins - the day the Twin Towers fell.  We will always remember how many years it has been.  And we will always be thankful that our babies still have their daddies. 

My Princess turned 2 on the 24th.  It seems like yesterday when I heard my mom saying, "It's a girl!  Is it a girl?  It's a girl!"  My first girl!  I was on cloud nine for months.  I held her all the time.  I dressed her up.  I got her ears pierced.  And now she is two.  She is such a good girl.  She loves to help out with chores.  She loves her brothers.  Her vocabulary (words and signs) is growing by leaps and bounds.  She is saying things much clearer and can speak in sentences.  She knows at least a hundred signs, if not more.  She can count to 6 and say, " a b c d e f g elelelelelelelele p "  And best of all, she is just about potty trained!  Right before she turned two, she started using the potty.  She rarely has an accident, but she has trouble with number two.  She just doesn't like to do that on the potty.  But I'm happy with what I have!  My boys were 3 before they used the potty! 

Here is one of her first smiles:

A favorite hairdo and my favorite dress:

Her first birthday cake:

And here she is signing corn:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PRINCESS!  MOMMA LOVES YOU!

My mom comes home today!  Yippee!  Just in time for a fun-filled week of cleaning.  Princess C is turning 2 on Thursday.  Saturday is her party, and Sunday is her party, take 2.  Every time I have a party, there is some sort of controversy.  Somebody can't come, I picked the wrong day, there are other parties going on... I can never please everybody.  Which I understand is quite impossible, but why is it every, single, time I try to have a party.  Why can't one party go without a hitch.  And I can't not have a party, because then people will get mad.  I can't have a small party, because people not invited get hurt that they weren't invited.  So anyway, this time, one of the relatives is getting a surprise party this Sat.  Normally, it wouldn't be a problem because this relative and the relatives close to her don't come to my parties.  BUT in the last few months, this relative has decided that family IS important and will now be spending more time with them.  SO she firmly told her (live in, father of her children) boyfriend/fiance that instead of going to her friends party (her suprise party) they would be coming to our party.  Of course that cannot happen, so she was told that the dates were wrong and the party is Sunday.  So now, I get to have a big shin dig on Sat, stay up late with guests, THEN clean it all up and do it again on Sun.  I could keep going, but I don't want to offend anybody in the off chance that somebody will read this.  I have the whole "please people" attitude down pat, I just have to work on being happy about it.  My SIL says that I am such a wonderful person, always trying to keep the peace.  She says she admires me so much.  What she doesn't hear is me ranting and raving to my hubby.  God doesn't give me credit for something if my heart isn't right.  Really, I am happy that she is putting family first.  She has also been reading her Bible lately, rumor has it.  So, I can't be too upset.  If God is working in her life, who am I to stand in the way?  Plus, I get to see her new baby twins! 

OLD POOL:

At the beginning of the summer, I was toying with the idea of buying a new pool because we were outgrowing this one.  It was 10 ft by 2 ft, just perfect for the boys when they were smaller.  They still fit good in it, but if you added anymore people, it got crowded.  We had used it two years and only paid $50 for it, so we definitly got our money's worth.  But in the end, I decided that we would use it one more year and I would look for a new one at the end of summer.  Of course that was before I knew the top ring leaked and I would have to fill it up everyday.  But I still told myself we didn't need a new one because it was still good enough and besides, we already filled it up with water.  Then the filter broke.  Well, I will just have to do a lot of vacuuming.  Then we had to duct tape one of the hoses because it broke.  Who cares, the filter is already broke, right?  I came home from somewhere (can't remember, but the point is, I came home), walked through the gate, looked at my pool and saw that it was half empty. The other hose got a rip and half of the water drained out.  And it was right at the beginning of the big heat wave.  So I said, that's it!  I am going to get a new pool now!  Of course having 4 kids and one being a baby, I couldn't exactly go "now" but I did go out the next day which was as close to "now" as I could get.  I only wanted one a little bit bigger, so I settled on 15 ft x 36 in.  15 ft, that's only 5 ft bigger than mine, right?  Wrong!  We were lying the thing on the ground and it was gi-normous!

As you can see, we had to move the poor swing set.   The pool boasts set up in 15 minutes.  HA!  That's not including taking apart and moving the swing set, digging up some plants and filling in holes with dirt.  But, it was worth it.  We LOVE it!  It is a perfect size!  We got the tarp, pool, filter, skimmer, floating skimmer, ladder, cover, solar cover, and vacuum for $200.  It was so worth it!  We were out there everyday in the heat.  And the solar cover?  Works wonders!!  In two days the water was like bath water.  Which was kinda warm in 100 degree heat.  My hubby even joined in the fun, and he hates pools!

And just for bearing with me on this long post and because I want to post Baby B in the pool, you get your first look at my face.....

Sigh... I'm no longer a mystery....

My wonderful princess has a little mouth on her.  It's really not her fault.  She says some of her words backwards.  It started with the word "chip".  Now, it wouldn't be so bad, but not only does she say it backwards, but her "p" sounds like a "b".  So, if you're standing there holding a chip, she will come running up to you, screaming obscenities.  It's rather funny, but one of those things that you hope never happens in public.  It's starting to get on my hubby's nerves, now.  He is used to being able to control the kids.  How can you control a toddler who can't speak correctly?  You can't reason with her, you can't yell at her.  All you can do is patiently try and teach her how to say it correctly.  Ha!  Patience with a child.  I love watching God work on him.... heheh

  For a couple of weeks I have been thinking about going tv free for a week, but I knew my hubby would never go for it.  So then I thought the kids and I would just do it, but I never said anything out loud.  It was still a thought in my head.  A couple days ago, my hubby came home and told me that Nancy Leigh DeMoss has put out a 30-day challenge.  No tv for the month of August.  I was so excited!  I start babbling about how I was wanting to do it and such, and I see the look on his face.  He is very worried and he thinks I am a nut.  So I said, "Let's try it for a week."  HE AGREED!  So starting today - no tv!  Anyone going to join us?  I DARE you!  hehehehehe.....

Nine years ago, I never wanted children.  I didn't like them.  Then, oops.... Along came D.  The second I had him, literally, I was saying, "I want to do this again!  This was awesome!"  I know that is not the usual response.  Most people say, "Never again will I go through that pain!"  I was in love.  I saw my beautiful baby boy appear and I was never the same.  I got married 2 years later to my hubby who loves my son like his own and we had three more children.  Call me crazy, but I still want more.  (My hubby, however, is not so sure). 

Every year I order my kids not to get a year older, and every year, they disobey me.  This year, D remember and he was already telling me he was going to turn a year older and I couldn't stop him.  So, I tried to convice D that July wasn't happening this year.  I said every few years, the government has to eliminate a month to catch the calendar up with time.  This year, it's July.  I had him going for a while because he was getting upset.... but he said that couldn't be true since July was on the Calendar.  So, despite my best efforts, my oldest is now 8. 

This week my kids are in VBS.  Scratch that, my oldest, D, is in VBS.  My 4 yo, N, would not stay.  Oh well, maybe tomorrow.  He really wants to go, but he was just to scared to stay.  I really didn't know what to do.  I tried just leaving him and hoping he wouldn't have a total melt down, but he wouldn't let me.  He kept running after me.  I didn't expect him to act like that.  He was in preschool and he goes to Sunday school.  He used to be scared, but I thought he had gotten over that.  AND his cousin's were at VBS.  Oh well, I'm rambling.  Adios.

My kids have gotten way out of hand.  They are constantly disobeying us.  I am really sick and tired of it.  I am putting my foot down and they will now be disaplined for each and every little offense.  Hopefully I will stay strong and be a good, mean mom.  Awhile ago, Janne posted the rules of her house.  They were good rules with scriptures to back them up.  I printed out 10 Ways to Test Your Obedience.  I have already read it to my kids, and I have to keep reminding them about it.  If only raising kids was easy.....

I hope everyone had a good Mother's Day.  I did.  We (except my hubby who was working) went over to my grandmother's house.  We brought her flowers, she bought us dinner.  She was tickled to see the great-grandchildren.  My mom visits her every week, but we don't get over there very often.  My grandma is hilarious.  She was complaining for about 20 min about the fact that we didn't call her and let her know we were coming, but then spent the rest of the visit letting us know the different things she had picked up for the kids for when they came over.  Obviously she knew we were coming, or she wouldn't have picked up a gallon of milk.  Too funny. 

Two days ago my 7 yo found a box of school books upstairs that I had forgotten that we owned.  He was so excited.  My mom hears him from the other room, "Oh cool!  Neat!  Sweet!"  And then he spent the day working on a science experiment from one of the books he found.  I guess that's the trick.  Hide his school books so he can stumble upon them, and then pretend like you have other things for him to do, and he will stall by working on his newly found books.  Hmmm.... I think I have this homeschool thing finally figured out... hehe... 

I suppose I should get upstairs today and clean the toy room.  It's pretty bad that we lost a big sterlite container in the middle of the room for months.  I still have to post the dining room before and after pics.  Now that I have gotten so behind on this CHCHC, my will power to clean has pretty much vanished.  I keep telling myself to get rid of most of the "twaddle" books we own, sell them at the garage sale, thus making more money to buy, well, MORE BOOKS! 

Last Sunday was my hubby's birthday.  He turned the big 3-0.  We threw him a surprise party on Sat.  Just the week before, my SISIL had given her hubby a surprise party, and my hubby was feeling a little bummed that we had nothing planned.  His mom was going to take him out to eat (not really) and she wanted to know the best day to take him.  So I told him to decide since it was his birthday and all.  He didn't want to.  He told me to call his mom and figure it out.  So I moaned and groaned and said I didn't want to (because I hate making phone calls).  All through out the week I kept saying little things like, "when you go out with your mom, fill up the gas tank", or "no fair, I want to see a movie".  On Sat, our town was having their annual parade.  My hubby was upset that he had to miss it because he was working.  He said he would rush home, change and meet us there.  The parade started at 2, everyone was supposed to be at my house at 2:30, and my hubby would be home shortly after 3.  He calls 5 after 2 and asks where we were sitting.  I run outside to get some background noise on the phone and I told him that the parade was running late (since there were no sirens blaring) and we were in the usual spot.  At 3 he calls again.  I decide not to answer the phone since the parade was so loud I couldn't hear the phone ringing... hehehe.....  So he calls his mom and tells her that he is going to be late (he thought she was at our house waiting for him, which she was).  A semi broke down and he had to wait with it until the tow truck came.  He might be an hour.  Oh no!  I have all these people here waiting!  He tried calling my cell phone again and this time I answered it.  I told him the parade was over and we were on our way home.  (I can't believe I was thinking so fast).  He ended up coming home in less than in hour and he was very surprised.  But also a little frightened by how well I lied.... 

Feeling down?  Need some encouragement?  Do all of your days run together into one big blur?  Do you wonder why you are doing this?  Dy, from Classic Adventures has written an awesome post.  I encourage you to click here and read it. 

Baby B finally got his heavy head off the ground and officially rolled over! 

I hope everyone had a happy Easter!  We went to my SisIL house.  I brought polish sausage and pierogies.  My MIL cooked ham, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, rolls, and deviled eggs.  I think that's everything. Boy, I have never eaten so much sausage in all my life.  But I had been wanting it for a while now.  I went to the meat market to buy it, which was hard for me because I hate doing new things.  The meat market is different than a regular grocery store.  You walk in and take a number and the room is like one giant deli - which I hate ordering from a deli because you have to talk to people.  But I was driven by my Polish blood.  heheh....  So, I bought it, put it in my clean fridge, and everytime I opened the fridge, I smelled it.  Boy it smelled good.  My MIL thought I was nuts, enjoying the smell of raw meat.  Yesterday I put it in the oven, and my whole house smelled good!  Me and my sister were going nuts!  I can't wait to eat the polish sausage!!!!   So anyway, that's why I pigged out.  hehehe..... 

Today I have alot of clean up to do.  We were rushing around yesterday getting ready for church, and then fitting in baskets and eggs before going to my SisIL house.  And the when we got to church, it was 100 degrees in there, so I ran home and changed, so I have clothes strewn about everywhere.  I also need to read the CHCHC devotional, not to mention finish last weeks challenge...  so... asta la vista baby! 

Well, my husband was trying to fix our leaky faucet, but all he did was lose a piece of it.  So I ran out to the store yesterday, bought a new one, and installed it myself.  I had replaced faucets before, I just didn't want to do it since it is so hard sticking my hands in tight places.  It gets really frustrating.  But this one went in pretty easy.  If you don't count the shard of metal I had to tweeze out of my eye.... 

My oldest son D was throwing up all day yesterday.  I'm kinda glad since I woke up one morning sick and was kinda worried, if ya know what I mean.  I'm relieved to know it is a bug.  (Although I would like another girl eventually)  My daughter was also sick on the last day coming home from vacation, but I thought it was car sickness.  So we are hoping the rest of the family does not get sick.  I think we all just need to go back on vacation.  We are vacation-sick. 

I got back to Curves today.  Boy, did I not want to go.  I just wanted to sit at home and eat browies, and Girl Scout cookies, and the Twix bar that my husband brought home being "thoughtful". 

I am working on Day #2 of vacation for you guys.  Hopefully I can get some time to finish it up today.  Baby B is cranky.  I think he might not be feeling good.  Also, I cleaned the counters off really good today, but didn't get to the appliances.  *Sigh*  There are just not enough hours in the day......

Gotta go, Baby B is calling!

Here is a pic of my new nephew.  He is 8 lbs 11 oz, 20 in.  He was born 3-8. 

Everyone is shocked by all the hair!  Her other children had dark hair and a good amount, but nothing like this! 

My mom is so great.  Her dream was to be a wife and mother.  She lived that dream for 20 (21?) years.  Her dream was shattered when my dad left us. I was 12 and my two brothers were 18 & 6 and my sister was 4.  She fought so hard to try to keep our family together, but my dad had his mind set on another woman.  My mom went back to school to get her teaching degree, all the while cleaning houses to keep us kids in Christian school.  She took us to church every Sunday morning, evening, and Wednesday evening.  We went on special occasions and when they started Friday night services.  I saw her pray and read the Bible.  She would pray with us everynight before bed.  My mom supported us in whatever we wanted to do.  I was on the basketball and volleyball teams.  I would go to games and tournaments and she never said I coudn't go because we didn't have the money.  She was always there to watch me.   She would tell me how smart and talented and beautiful I was.  She would make  sure we went on vacation every year.  We bought a tent, packed up our tiny Tempo, and camped different places around the midwest.  One year, we made it down to Fl.  Another year, we went across to Maine.  When I needed to move back home from college because I was pregnant, she never was judgemental.  She supported me and my son.  And now she stll supports me.  She is constantly telling me what a great mother I am.  She is living with me, now, and helping me out with everything.  Cleaning, doing laundry, helping with schoolwork, finishing dinner when I have to stop to nurse.  My mom is so great. 

Mom, I hope your new dreams will come true.  I hope you get to travel to a different country.  I hope you get to travel around this country!  I pray that you would be happy and blessed for the rest of your life ( and not get to sick of my kids!).  I love you!!!

I spent Sunday over at my grandma's house.  We looked at old photo albums.  I got to see her wedding album.  She was so beautiful and looked so happy.  I found out that my grandpa had a gap in his front teeth.  I only knew him with false teeth.  My grandpa had five brothers, and they were all so handsome.  My younger brother, T, doesn't resemble the rest of us kids too much, and I always wondered where he got his looks from.  Now  I know.  He looks SOO much like my grandpa.  The exact same eyes and lips.  Very strange.  My grandpa's father left his family when the boys were still young.  His mother had to raise 6 boys alone.  She owned a restarant and used to feed hobos that came off the nearby trains.  There were old pictures of my grandpa's basketball and baseball teams.  He was the tallest by far.  A whole head taller than the others.  I looked at his old report cards.  He was only an average student.  His best subject seemed to be history.  That reflected in his passion for geneology.  He spent the last several years of his life researching his family and my grandma's family.  He wasn't too good at english, however, and now we are paying for that.  The notes he took for the geneology stuff are not greatly organized.  He would write on any scrap of paper that was lying around.  There were so many pictures of people, that we weren't sure who they were.  I need to go through my albums and label EVERYBODY.  Right now, it seems so obvious, and I think how could we forget them?  But, you never know.  And some of the people I may know, but my kids don't.  I also need to go through my memory boxes and get all my papers and report cards and things together in a scrapbook.  I found it so neat to go through my grandpa's things.  My grandma doesn't have many things from her childhood because when her parents died, her brother came and took everything from the house just for spite. 

I found out that my uncle knew his wife since they were little kids.  I thought that was so cute.  It's too bad they are divorced now.  I don't think they were married for long.  I can't even remember my her.  I bet they split up before I was born.  They could have had such a neat story to tell.  Oh well. 

My 7 yo son, D, has had bad ecxema for quite a few years now.  We tried a lot of different creams, none of them making a difference.  The doctor finally decided it was also a skin infection and gave him antibiotics and a cream.  That cleared it up almost completely.  It was so amazing to see his skin looking so nice.  A few days later, it started coming back. We are now using Desonide Cream  .05% and that is keeping it mild.  When we see spots, we put the cream on, and the spots will go away in about a week of treatment.  But when I read the warnings on this cream, I didn't want to give him it at all!  They sounded terrible.  But what could I do?  His skin was just awful!  We took him off of milk, and that didn't make a difference.  So this week, I decided it was time to take him off of wheat and see if that helps.  It is soooo hard to remember not to give him anything with wheat in it.  Wheat is in EVERYTHING!  Anyone out there with wheat allergies?  I would love to hear how it affects you, and how creative you get with your meals.  I bought wheat free bread, spagetti, and waffles. 

I was reading Amy's post about being pregnant with their seventh child, and decided to post my answers to her questions.  I am very glad she directed me to her post, because I have been wondering about other people's views on birth control.  I thought about posting about it, but was to chicken.  I didn't want to cause a controversy .  So here are my responses to her questions. 

So, those are my answers, I would love to hear your comments!

My friend recently found out she was pregnant with number 3.  She has a 4 1/2 yo and a 6 mo old.  She was not planning this, but it happened.  She has been getting alot of grief from her family.  They are saying the things that I'm sure you all have heard before.  How are you going to afford it, they are too close in age, what were you thinking... (yeah, I know you know those questions all too well).  She is having an even harder time with this because her mother passed away a year and a half ago, unexpectedly.  She is still trying to deal with that.  She is scared that she won't be able to handle two babies.  There are so many people in this world who have the wrong out look on kids.  They think of them as burdens.  I pray that I would love my kids and look at them daily as the blessings that they are.  (I also pray that I would never make a rude comment to someone with more kids than me). 

I had posted a couple of weeks ago about how I was hurt by my church.  If you would like to read that, click here.  Last week (or so), my pastor and his wife finally got around to visiting us.  They walked in the door full of apologies.  They were sorry they hadn't visited yet, they were sorry only one person had given us a meal.  They said they dropped the ball.  Well, they were so nice, and they came bearing gifts, I immediatly forgave them  Besides, I wasn't mad at them, persay, it was the church as a whole I was upset with.  The pastor's wife said someone was supposed to be in charge of calling people to ask them to make us meals.  I had planned on telling them not to worry about us getting meals being that it had been 7 weeks already, but she asked, "Would you be blessed if meals were brought to you?"  Now, what can you say to that?  So we have been getting meals this week, and I think we will next week too.  These cooks have been going all out!  We have soooo much food!  And the deserts!  Oh my goodness!  We have LOTS of cookies and brownies and yummy - chocolate - peanutbutter - rice crispy bars, cake, jello....  So much for the blubber contest!  *sigh*

Here is a picture of the gift the boys gave their daddy on Valentine's day:

I didn't get an opportunity to get C's picture taken yet.

Here are some pictures from the auto show:

And here is one of Princess C, since she isn't in any (she likes cleaning):

If you have received the Old Schoolhouse Magazine, you have read JenIg's article on Givers, Takers, and Gakers.  If not, you should.  It's a great article.  She talks about how very few people there are who are true Givers.  We are either Takers, or Gakers (somewhere in between a Giver and Taker).  Well, I would like to take the time to tell you that I know TWO, yes, count them, TWO Givers. 

The first one is my sister-in-law, Y.  She was born in the Ukraine, so she doesn't have the American, I deserve everything, attitude.  She is thankful for every little thing that she gets.  But the biggest thing that I notice about her, is her attitude as a wife.  She would do anything for my brother.  She serves him without complaint.  She supports him.  She never makes a decision without consulting him first.  She is happy, when he is happy.  When they visit us, we like to play games.  Two of the games we have played are Scene It and Cranium.  Being from the Ukraine, she didn't grow up watching the tv we saw, or listening to the music we heard.  But she never said she didn't want to play those games, or even suggested we find a game she might be good at.  She knew my brother, B, wanted to play those games, so she sat right by his side, held his hand, encouraged him, and enjoyed it!  It didn't matter to her that she was no good at it.  There may be some of us who would do something their husband wanted to do, but how many of us would have so great a heart?  Would you be completely happy just knowing your husband was happy?  I know I would have been thinking how stupid I looked, and why we couldn't play something else, and even be mad because he played and knew I was no good at it. 

The other Giver I know is my mom.  She is truely happy when she is helping out.  She moved in here two months ago and has been doing dishes, laundry and all sorts of cleaning, and helping out with homeschooling.  She has been making a notebook for my house and organizing everything.  If I need her help, she gladly helps.  She never sighs, or makes a face.  Mothers are supposed to be that great, though, right?  But, am I?  Are you?   I hope that I can someday become as selfless as these two Givers I know. 

Here is a pic I took of my kids a couple of months ago.  They all climbed into a box together. 

We made it to church for the first time since baby B was born.  I hadn't wanted to go partly because of how hard it would have been to get all the kids ready, and how hard it would be in church with fussy B.  But I mostly did not want to go because I was upset with the church.  When someone in the church has a baby, they are supposed to receive meals for two weeks.  I received one meal, about three weeks after he was born.  No one called - not even the pastor.  No one sent flowers.  It took three weeks for them to put the announcement of his birth in the bulletin.  I was so upset, I was thinking about changing churches.  But then I thought of the hassle it would be going to different churches trying to find the right one.  I didn't know what to do.  My husband didn't seem as offended as me, but he's a guy, they aren't easily offended.  Today I decided just to go back to the church for now.  I shouldn't be keeping the kids out of church.  I need to think of them, and do what is best for them - Taking them to church so they can go to Sunday school and play with their friends. 

My two boys were fighting today.  D, who is 7, loves to boss around N, who is 4.  He yells and lectures him.  So N has his fill and traps D by putting his arms around him and holding onto the gate that is on the other side of D.  D gets mad and pushes him off, throwing N against the cabinet.  N falls down crying, gets up and goes to attack D.  That's when my mom stepped in.  I was pretty clueless as to what to do.  I thought my mom handled it well.  What do you do when your kids fight?  Or how do you keep them from fighting? 

N has been such a beastly little thing lately.  Running around bottomless, locking doors, being defiant.  I had come to terms with having a "lively" child.  I figured, my first one is good, my third is my little princess.... I'll just learn to live with N.  Well today he took it too far - He dragged my sweet princess into his schemes.  C had been walking around with an unopened Pringles container.  I didn't worry about it, because she is too little to pull the foil off the top.  A while later, I realized that her and N were extremely quiet.  I sent D to investigate (as I was sitting on the couch nursing as always).  N had opened up the chips and they were sitting in a corner eating them together.  But how can I be mad at him when they were "having a picinic".  He comes up with the cutest things. 

My poor son D has a fever... agian.  He was better, now he is sick again.  Him and M went away for the weekend for a Royal Rangers winter camp.  While they were out sledding, D's ear started to hurt him bad.  But that whole weekend is another blog.  

I watch "Trading Spouses, Meet Your New Mommy" ( or was it "Wife Swap"?) the other night.  Anyone see it?  The Florida mom switched with a country farm mom.  The Florida mom was so stuck on herself.  Her husband was very shy and quiet and she did not appreciate him at all.  She never spent time with him.  She was always out dancing and doing things with her single friends.  Usually by the end of the shows, the wives realize the bad things they have done and change, but this time, the Florida mom was soooo blind and clueless, she did not change.  I felt so bad for her husband.  I hope I am never that disregarding of my husband's feelings.  I have a hard time showing emotion (in that I never do), so I know my husband never knows what I am thinking or how I am feeling.  But hopefully, he knows, deep down, that I do love him and appreciate him, even if I don't say it very often.  AND hopefully I don't come across like the Florida woman did... UGH!

This house has been passing around colds since the new year.  I am getting really tired of all these germs.  We are taking our vitamins, and our extra vitamins, even our cod liver oil.  We are drinking our orange juice and eating our fruits.  My mom even took Airborn.  We just keep passing it around.  Even poor baby B is sick.  I, now, have a horrible cold and that, on top of nursing around the clock, has really wiped me out.  If anyone has any suggestions for us, I would really appreciate them!  Thanks.

My Grandpa has not been eating, and his blood pressure is dropping.  So, it's not looking good.  My mom is visiting with him today, but he rarely acknowledges anyone.  He can't eat or drink, he is on pain medication, he is bleeding internally.  It's sad. 

For the first blog on my grandpa, click here.

My sister just complained that I never write about her.  So, here is "An Ode to K".  Right now she is jabbering about shoes.  Boots to be exact.  Boots that you tuck your pants into.  Sounds uncool to me, but what do I know.  K is actually a hilarious girl.  When she tells stories, she uses her whole body.  She waves her arms, walks around, and talks funny.  She is the social, outgoing one of the bunch.  Whenever she is around, my mood improves greatly.  I find myself jumping around and singing.  I guess she brings out the best in me.  K recently moved back up here from Ga to live with me and help me out.  She has been so helpful with the baby.  So far, he seems to like her the best.  When he is crying and nothing, and no one seems to be able to help him, she will hold him and he will go to sleep.  I'm actually a bit jealous, but even more grateful, so I won't complain.  I would be running out the door screaming if it weren't for her.