My computer is not working again.... sigh... It just won't wake up from sleep mode.  I will let it rest for now.  Hopefully it will start working agian and then I will take it off of sleep mode.  I searched online for the problem and that seemed to be the solution. 

On to the deeper issue.  I had prayed that God would "heal" my computer and if He did I would right away back up everything.  I did upload all my photos to snapfish, so if I wouldn't lose those if anything happened to my computer.  But I never did back up my files.  God gives us many chances in life.  Something happens and we pray "Oh, I promise I'll never... " or "I promise I will...."  God gives us a second chance and do we follow through?  Maybe.  Sometimes.  Not usually.  At least, that's how I am.  Well, that's about as deep as my mind can go right now.  Just thought I'd give you guys some food for thought.... 

My computer works.  I turned it on this morning, and it turned on.  Yesterday it kinda buzzed and the screen would flicker then flash sleep mode.  I guess it just needed the day off. 

We had a good Thanksgiving.  I cooked for 9 adults and 9 kids and had leftovers enough to feed an army.  The day after Thanksgiving, I actually ventured out to Kohls to do some shopping.  I bought alot of stuff, and had such a good time, that we then went to Sears, Target and the maternity store.  We were supposed to get our tree, but hubby wasn't feeling well, so we went Saturday.  After went shopping we all went over to my SIL's house to visit hubby's half sister and husband.  They hadn't seen her in a few years and had never met here husband before.  We stayed until after 10 pm when I finally packed up everything and the children into the car and told my hubby goodbye.  Toddler B was just out of his mind crazy.  Crabby, fit throwing - just plain nuts.  And that was making me nuts.  We got home at 11 - it's a 45 min drive home. 

We cut our tree down on Saturday.  Boy was it cold.  When I upload the pictures, I'll post some.  We got such a large tree.  But it's pretty.  When we got home we realized we didn't have enough lights to cover it.  We barely had enough last year, and every year we lose some.  So hubby ran out and bought some medium size lights, but by that time it was time to eat and then after that I was sooooo tired, and Toddler B was once again out of his mind.  He had a late nap and was still tired from the day before.  So we decided that we would put the lights on and that was it.

Sunday, we went to church, came home, ate, put B to bed, and I made a seven layer salad for our homegroup that night.  D had play practice, but once he came home, we started putting on the ornaments.  Toddler B was out of his mind... are you seeing a pattern here?  So I begged my mom to please watch him while we went to homegroup.  I wanted to enjoy myself and not get stressed out trying to keep him in line.  Homegroup was great, we came home, I was once again tired - another pattern.... so I said, all the kids need their rest, lets finish the tree tomorrow. 

Today, we finished the tree.    Finally.  And yes, B was out of his mind crabby today as well.  And I was tired.  But not as tired.  We did some cleaning early on in the day.  It was a good thing, because we kinda had a showing.  Last month, we had a showing and the people just LOVED our house.  They wanted to move in by Thanksgiving.  But then they bought another house instead.  Today, that lady, showed up at our house.  She said they loved our house and are trying to get their boss to buy it and could he possibly come in and see it.  Um... ok?  I actually prefered it to getting a phone call and running around like a madman cleaning.  The lady kept going on and on about how she loved the way I had decorated the place and how organized I was.  Wow.  That is the first time I had ever been complimented on either of those traits.  It sure made me happy!  I'm not putting any hope in this guy.  He's a guy.  Guy's want garages.  We don't have one.  Plus, I am not moving before Christmas.  There is no way I am taking down the tree only to have to put it back up. 

Tonight I am going to work on pajama pants for the kids.  I made my first pair ever with some fabric my SIL got at the thrift store for 75 cents.  So I gave them to her son.  They are soooo cute.  I'll have to post a picture of that as well... soon....  Her daughter is wearing them because they are a bit long for her son. 

Anyway, that is what has been going on here.  Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving.  Hopefully I will have the time to visit your blogs soon to read about it.  Adios!

Sorry it took so long to get back to the story.  We've been baking cookies and cleaning and shopping.  Plus, I kinda didn't want to talk about it.  Sorry if this post is hard to follow, I'm tired and can't get my brain to work very well.  Well, everything that we can see is dry.  We did the best we can to dry everything.  We have the lights back working.  After the worry of the electical stuff being wet, the second biggest problem we had was the door wouldn't close.  The door frame had sucked in so much water, we couldn't get the door to close.  Today, 4 days later, we can finally close the door.  I am so relieved.  We are having Thanksgiving here this year.  It was total deja vu.  Last year I had wanted to have Thanksgiving, but couldn't because we didn't have a bathroom.  And then here we were this year, one week away from Thanksgiving, and I didn't think people would care to use the bathroom while holding the door closed.

Wednesday night, after the flood and the chaos that followed, poor Princess C couldn't sleep.  She kept crying in her sleep.  There is nothing worse than a crying-in-their-sleep-toddler.  They cannot tell you what's wrong.  I asked all the "does this hurt" questions and got all "no" answers.  And the simple "what's wrong" question is always answered with "I don't know".  Finally my mom suggested that maybe she was upset from everything that had happened.  I told my hubby he needed to have a talk with her to explain things so she wouldn't be upset.  By this time, about 3 hours had passed since I put her to bed.  Hubby talked to her, she was able to say that yes, certain things had scared her, and within seconds of the conversation ending, she was asleep.  It was crazy.  The poor thing.  Girls are just so sensitive!  Just when you think you have this parenting thing figured out, something new comes along. 

So, for now, our bathroom works.  The only lasting damage that we can see is where I poked a small hole in the drywall while I was drying everything (It was in an area that was already very weak - on the edge of our laundry shoot door).  That should be able to be puttied pretty easy.  I guess I could hold off on the ark... but then, would that be a wise decision?

Do you guys remember all the trouble I had a year ago with my bathroom?  Our sink plugged, we tried to unplug it, we found mold, we ripped up the bathroom, it took like 3 months to get a new one.  You remember??  Our nice, new, expensive bathroom is soaked.  Flooded.  From top to bottom.  It all started about, hmm.... two years ago.  Our upstairs bathroom has a whirlpool tub that I really enjoyed.  Well, because of our roof leaking (yes water), water got into the electricity and since the tub was not plugged into a GFI outlet, the motor shorted out.  We never fixed it.  Fast forward to about a month ago.  I told hubby that since I was pregnant, I would REALLY like to have a new motor so I can sit in my tub and relax my giant body.  He was great and got right on it.  He unhooked the motor, called the company, went to Home Depot and finally was able to order a new motor from them.  The problem, it would take 4-6 weeks for it to arrive.  He had went to all the trouble of unhooking the motor, he didn't want to rehook a bad motor only to have to unhook it to put on the new one.  The jets are now not connected to anything and if water got into them, they would spill all over the floor.  So we decided no one would take a bath upstairs and if we found out it was leaking from showers then we would have to do something about that.  That wasn't a problem so we just sat waiting for UPS to show up.  Ok, now we arrive at today.  D got it in his head that he wanted to take a shower before going to Royal Rangers.  I told him to go upstairs and take it (which is where he normally showers anyway.)  Me and hubby are talking when we hear a waterfall start.  Seriously.  It was hard, flowing water.  We run to the bathroom where we see water just pouring out of the ceiling light.  It was also coming out of the cracks in the doorframe.  It was unreal.  D had decided to plug the tub while he showered.  So the water came pouring out of the jets onto the floor surrounding the tub and down through the ceiling.  And it didn't stop when it came through our bathroom, either.  It kept right on going down to the basement.  Onto my laundry pile.  We turned off the electricity in the bathroom not wanting to start a fire on top of our flood.  We are not sure what to do now.  Hubby took down the light fixture and about two more gallons of water poured out everywhere.  I had to wash all the laundry so it didn't start stinking.  Thankfully, I wasn't way behind on laundry and there was only 4 loads to do.  I have some more to the story, but I'll finish later....

I'm back!  Yippeeee!!  For the last week, my computer couldn't access HSB.  I've been forced to blog at blogger because I was going through withdrawl.  I tried all sorts of things to get to HSB, to no avail.  Finally I wrote the tech support for my DSL and they wrote back and said I need to "powercycle" my connection.  I thought, "oooo, do I need to do some secret code in some secret booting up place" (yeah, I know alot of comuter tech words).  Um, no.  I simply needed to unplug everything.  I was very skeptical, but did it anyway, and IT WORKED!!  Man, I have to much to blog about.  So much to tell... where do I start?  I guess for now, I'll just say we had a showing today and they seemed to like it.  But, that doesn't mean anything.  I don't mind if we don't move.  I love my house.  Especially now with the new carpet and deck!    I am going to go for now, I am extreamely tired.  Hopefully I can catch you guys up tomorrow....

We put a bid on the 2 acre house and they accepted it.  Now all we have to do is sell our house.  HA!  Yeah, so simple. 

We couldn't decide between the two, and I told hubby that I really felt he needed to be the one to hear from God on this one.  I was biased, because of the price.  He was biased because of the land.  So, he said he wanted the one with 7 acres.  I said, ok.  That's fine.  It is a smaller house, but we will make it work.  So we emailed our real estate agent and told her we would bid on it.  The next day, hubby calls me up and says, "I don't think we should get that house".  Umm... ok.  So we decided to go re-see those two houses and one other one again.  Our reservation was storage.  Even though the seven acre house had 9 outbuildings, the entire house only had 3 closets.  3 bedrooms, 3 closets, one wasn't even in the bedroom.  And because it was high priced, it would be a while before we could add on.  So, we call our real estate lady and left a message and said we wanted to see those houses.  We asked our moms to come with us to help us make a decision and we arranged baby sitting for the older kids.  Not even an hour later, hubby says, "Let's just bid on the 2 acre house.  We don't need to see them again."  Ooookkkkaaayyyy.....  That actually made me relived and happy deep down inside which then made me realize that that was the house I really wanted.  It has 4 bedrooms, 6 closets, and a storage attic.  And it's cheaper.  Phew... So we once again call our real estate agent.  This time hubby talks to her.  He apologizes for us being crazy people, but she completely understands... so she says....  

So I am so excited and happy, because I love that house.  All I want to do is pack!  But, like I said, we have to sell this house first......

My hubby actually had a good analogy.  He said the 7 acres and the buildings were so nice and he wanted it sooo bad, he was trying to force us being able to live there.  We didn't quite fit, though.  And it never felt right.  He said it was just like sin.  You know it's not right, but it's just so tempting that you're willing to look over the bad to get the good. 

We had our showing, came home, put the kids to bed, got up and went to look at houses.  That lasted all day, got home, hubby took D to his tournament game, I put the other kids to bed, two hours later, they finally actually went to bed, we woke up staightened the house for another showing (YES!  Another!) and walked to the park.  I came home, put my cucumbers in ice water to prepare them for pickling, made zuccini bread and have been sitting here on the computer for about an hour.  Phew. 

I mentioned last week (or was it two weeks ago?) that I found a house we wanted.  We did put a bid on it, but the people didn't want to take a contigency.  So, we were back to looking for a house.  But before we went looking, the people who didn't want a contigency, changed their minds stating that they didn't realize what it meant.  They actually called our agent twice letting her know that they would look at our offer again.  Well, we wanted to see a house that was on 7 acres before we rebid on that house with only 2 acres.  So now we have a conundrum (sp???).   We like that one too.  There are pros and cons for both.  We will probably end up bidding on the 7 acre one.  Hubby really likes that one.  I was unsure because I had already pictured myself living in the 2 acre house.  But the more I think about it, the more ok I am about the 7 acre one.  It's just hard because both houses are smaller than what I am used to.  I wanted BIGGER.  I don't like people touching me.  I get irritated when I keep bumping into people.  I wanted to have room to moooooooove without tripping over children and animals and toys (yeah, yeah, yeah, there is plenty of moving space out in the 7 ACRES!).  Of course, if we don't sell this house, we don't have to worry about which house to move into.....

I was just about to tell all about the beautiful house we found with the great price tag, and my hubby tells me to keep looking on the internet.... grrr....  It is far away from family and as I can't blame him for wanting closer, THIS HOUSE IS GREAT!  Especially the price.  I won't give up too easy.....  but as to save myself from wasting my time and yours, I won't talk about until we put a bid on it.  (Notice I didn't say if.... )

I don't have time to be sitting here writing this, but I can't stop myself.  It's been too long.  On a whim, I decided to join my sil's garage sale for Thurs and Fri.  So Wednesday, I packed up two van loads of stuff and hauled it over there.  I made about $110, which is a world record for me.  Now, this afternoon, I have to go back and haul it all back.  I have some big baby items left so I think I might have a sale over at my house this coming weekend. 

So, Thursday, I was at her house all morning and afternoon.  When I got home, hubby was waiting and we all got back in the car and headed to Mendards to order a deck.  My FIL offered to help hubby build one.  We have sliding glass doors on our back porch, but a four foot drop off.  When we bought this house, I said I was refusing to move in until I had a deck out there.  Unfortunatly, I had no where to live, so I had to move in.  And, of course, we never got the deck.  (OOO!  someone is taking a house flyer.  I want to go out there and scream, "Buy the house!  PLEASE!!!)  So, anyway, I was gone all day Thurs.  Friday, I went back to my sil's for the morning, came home in time to find out that somebody wanted to see the house!!  And I had a half hour to clean!!!  AHHH!!!  We all ran around like crazy people throwing things in drawers and under beds.  The house looks awesome, but I am going to have trouble finding things....  My hubby was laughing at me because every drawer he opened he found some odd thing.  This morning, he couldn't find his hat and said, "Oh, I didn't look in the fridge, maybe it's in there."  haha.  After I cleaned the house, I packed up the kids and went back to my sil's to watch their kids while they went to their new house's inspection.  In case you are counting, that's 8 kids I watched.  8, 5, 5, 5, 3, 2, 1, and 1.  (The 6 yo was gone).  And dummy me took an hour to figure out why her baby wasn't falling asleep.  I gave him a bottle, made sure he had all his blankets because I didn't know which was his favorite, tried having the tv on, tried having it off, checked his diaper a few times and then it dawned on me.  His plug!!!  (binkey, nook, pacifer, which ever you call it).  DUH!  Well, my baby sucks his fingers, so I havn't had to worry about plugs for a few years.  But, I was embarrassed to call myself a mother of 4. 

Ok, gonna go now before I start talking about today..... What a day..... and it's not even noon....

As I wait for my coals to be ready to cook over, I figured I would sip some lemonade and fill you in on what is going on.  Hubby and the boys left this morning for a Royal Ranger pow-wow.  They (the boys, not hubby) were sooooo excited.  They were anxious to camp out, eat snacks and see the Power Team!  My mom, the two young ones, and I went  garage saling.  This is the first time I was able to go this year.  I found a shirt for Baby B that had a crab on it and said something about being crabby.  I couldn't pass that one up!!  I found some other clothes and a few books.  Probably the best thing I got was the book Tuesday by David Wiesner.  N loves that book.  It's the one where the frogs come to town over night flying on lilly pads.  The boys won't be home until Sunday.  Tomorrow we will be garage saling some more, and then going to a wedding shower for an old high school friend.  Hopefully soon I won't be the only one from my class with kids!! 

I am so exhausted from working in the garden.  (I would tell you what I did, but I'll save that for another post with pictures.  Hubby has the camera now.)  I don't even want dinner.  I want to walk to the local ice cream place and eat a chocolate cone.  That's a good dinner, right?  yummmmm....... 

Well, it doesn't look good for us.  With the house market being low, and nobody wanting to move into our neighborhood, it looks like we won't be getting squat for this house.  So our choices, sell cheap and therefor buy a house we can't afford, or stay and pray hard for protection. 

We found a house we liked and put a bid on it, but someone else also liked it and the owners took their offer over ours.  It was a beautiful house in a perfect location.  It was on 6 acres.  It was the only house on the road - a gravel road.  Everything I had been dreaming of.  The kitchen was beautiful - stainless steel appliances, granite countertops.... However, I am a bit realieved that we didn't get it.  The price was on the high side and I had already been stressing over such a high mortgage payment.  If we go looking again, we will be looking cheaper.  I don't like that stress.  But, like I said, it doesn't appear that we will move.  The few people who came really liked our house, but I guess not enought to bid. 

I am sitting here listening to the robins singing outside.  It is such a lovely sound.  A sound I haven't heard in months.  Cherrio-cherrium.  My windows are open and a nice breeze is flowing through.  And more importantly, the house is quiet.  The babys are in bed and the boys are at church.  I am so happy right now. 

Baby B has been getting into so much trouble lately.  He has hit his terrible twos.  Most of my kids don't hit that stage until age 3.  He is 15 months!!  He is actually whining in bed right now and I hear Princess C "shh, shhhhhhhh".  How funny.  Anyway, he won't take no for an answer.  If he wants something, the only way to keep him from it is to put it out of his reach.  And then he throws a fit.  He has anger issues already.  He throws things and knocks things over. 

Bummer, the robin stopped singing.

All the kids have been giving me trouble.  They have spring fever, I guess.  I have been letting them play outside as much as possible, but it only seems to make their behavior worse.  We are stopping school in May, so we only have a little over a month to go until we get at least a month off. 

I am trying to finish up the kids math.  N will be half way through Saxon 1 in a few lessons and D is trying to get to the end of 5/4.  We have also been working our way through all the half finished workbooks laying around.  I am in spring cleaning mode and everything has got to go!  My sil is having a garage sale in a couple of weeks and I am frantically grabbing anything and everything to throw in it.  I cleaned off our front porch today.  One room down... umm... I don't even want to count how many more to go. 

Yippee, the robin is singing again. 

I just wanted to post a little update since it has been awhile.  I am going to put some more things up on ebay.  Hopefully I will be able to check up on all of you tonight. 

Oh, and our bathroom has been approved by our village.  We are done!!! 

Well... practically.... There are a few little details that still need attending to, but I showered in there today!!!!!  Boy, was it great!  I must say, we did a great job coordinating the accessories. 

Boy, I wish you all could see it in person.  It is much better than these pictures can show.  Everyone is invited to my house for a bathroom warming party!!!  hehe....

We have a toilet!!!  That's the only thing that is usable in the bathroom, but that's all I need!  Tomorrow the rest of it goes in (hopefully).  As excited as I am, it is kinda weird using the toilet in there.  It feels.... wrong.  I think it's becauase it feels like a contruction zone still.  I'm off to bed.  It's been a long week... and it's only Tuesday.... yikes. 

I managed to get a lot of things done yesterday without taking much time.  First, I made yogurt this morning and let it sit in the oven all day.  It was timed perfectly so that by the time I needed the oven for dinner, the yogurt was done (that was pure luck).  For dinner, I made meatloaf.  I had 3 lbs of ground beef thawed and I only needed 1 1/2 for the meatloaf.  So I made stuffed green peppers for tomorrow with about half of what was left.  Since I needed tomato sauce for the stuffed green peppers, and I buy it in giant cans, I made spagetti sauce.  And I still had ground beef left, so I made taco meat.  That's 4 meals in one night.  And I didn't even have to over exert myself.  If I had more time (and the right ingredients) I would have made a batch of lasagna since I had the spagetti sauce out.  I love planning ahead and having meals ready made.  It makes dinner time so much easier.  I could have just thrown the extra ground beef back in the fridge or freezer, but why bother doing that?  I was already cooking and messing up the kitchen.  The easiest way to start freezer cooking is to double the casserole you are making and throw the extra one in the freezer for another day.  Once you try it, you will be hooked. 

Check out the other Works For Me Wednesdays over at Rocks In My Dryer. 

Poor Princess C and Baby B have fevers again.  Yesterday, C fell asleep at 5 pm and slept until 6 am.  Then she took a couple hour nap today and went to bed at 5:30.  Baby B slept a lot as well.  It was a nice easy day. 

Last I saw, we had two baby fish hiding under the treasure chest.  But that was two days ago.  I hope they are still around.  I did some research and we have a platy fish (I think, I've already forgotten).  These fish lay eggs inside of their own cavity.  The fish hatch and once the egg yolks are gone, the mother gives birth.  Once the female is "fertilized", she can have 7 or 8 broods.  So, that explains the baby fish when we only had one fish in the tank.  We bought her fertilized and didn't even know it.  It seems as if this isn't a rare occurence.  Fish like platies are easy to breed.  So I guess we don't have the first fish to reproduce without a male and we won't get a million dollars.  Oh well...

The plumber came out for our bathroom today.  We now have nice new copper pipes.  Our old drum trap is gone and in it's place a state of the art P trap.  The tub is in the bathroom, so technically, I can bathe down here if I want.  The electrician was out the other day.  I'm not sure what he did in there besides moving the wall switch four inches too high.  Imagine walking in the bathroom and trying to turn on the light at eye level.  Not sure what he was thinking, but the inspector is making him move it.  I'm glad.  With little kids, 4 inches is another 2 -3 years before they can turn the light on themselves.  The next step is our plumbing inspection.  I'm not counting on passing.  We never pass inspection.  People just don't care about doing a good job. 

We did some school today to make up for a week off.  But that meant that my laundry didn't get done.  The poor kids are running out of clothes.  Oh well, I'll just have to turn up the heat.... 

A few months ago, while I was browsing blogs, I can across someone's laundry solution.  At the time, I thought they were nuts.  (no offense if it was you)  This lady had put away all but 3 outfits for her kids.  She said it was the most wonderful thing in the world because it reduced her laundry dramatically.  I thought that would never work for us becuase I would have to make sure I did laundry often enough to make sure they didn't run around without clothes.  But the biggest problem was that I would get sick of the outfits.  How could I possibly look at them in the same three outfits day after day?

Fast forward to Christmas.  N has always had a problem keeping his clothes in his drawers.  When he pulled something out, if he wasn't going to wear it, he would put it in the laundry instead of putting it back in his drawer.  For Christmas, he received the Armor of God and some Hulk hands and feet.  He would run around changing himself into different people.  He would go from N, to the Hulk, to Edmund (from Narnia) and back to himself again.  After awhile it evolved into changing clothes as well.  I couldn't get him to stop throwing his clothes in the laundry after only wearing it for 30 seconds!  I had had enough.  I remembered what I read a few months prior and decided to give it a try.  But instead of going down to three outfits, I went down to 7.  I emptied his drawers and gave him one drawer for each day, with his Sunday clothes being in his closet.  In each drawer I put pjs, a shirt, pants, underwear, undershirt, and socks.  On each drawer I labeled the day.  On Monday's I wrote, "put Monday's pants in Tuesday's drawer."  And on Tuesday, I wrote, "Wear Monday's pants."  I did the same for Wednesday and Thursday.  If he stayed dry at night then I had him put his pjs back in his drawer to wear the next week.  My laundry has shrunk by at least half.  I cannot believe how much laundry this kid created!  I am so happy with this system.  And when I get sick of a shirt, I can just switch it with a different one.  So thank you, whoever you are, for this system! 

I recently learned that Walmart is now supporting homosexuals and their fight for gay marriage.  I have been really bothered by this.  Some people have decided not to shop there anymore.  That's fine and dandy, but what about what the other stores support?  I thought Target supported Planned Parenthood.  And Proctor and Gamble?  I thought they supported abortion somehow.  This world is full of evil, and there is no getting around it.  I would love to not support these companies, but I'm sure all companies support something that I oppose. 

Which leaves me with only one option.   Become totally self sufficient.  Hmmmm......  Well, I have a garden and am growing many things.  I have made my own pickles.  I will try jams and preserves in the fall, along with ketchup.  Someday I would like to own chickens, but in the not quite as distant future I would like to make my own flour.  I have recieved some back issues of New Harvest Homesteader (free gifts for renewing with TOS).  I read the introductory newsletter and I LOVE it.  The introductory issue is free, so stop by their website and request your copy.  They also have a blog.  I also get alot of good advise from Large Family Logistics.  Well, this wasn't suppose to be a commercial.  I just wanted to let you all know what is on my heart.  And homesteading is it.  It's funny how one decision leads to the next and the next...  My first garden consisted of only tomatoes.  And only two kinds.  Now, I have 5 different types of tomatoes, two types of cucumbers, corn, yellow beans, strawberries, cauliflower, brocolli, lettuce, radishes, gourds, banana peppers, (three failed peppers), lots of herbs, carrots, watermelon, squash, and sweet potatoes.  I have even bigger plans for next year.  My hubby keeps having to expand my garden.  This year, I planted some things just outside the garden and they have really spread way out into the grass.  Oh well, it was only the dog's yard, not the kid's. 

I cannot believe how busy this summer is.  Between VBS, baseball, trips to the library, swimming, gardening, garage saling, and the normal every day things, I havn't had time to blog.  I lay in bed at night thinking about what to blog about, and when I wake up, if I have time to sit at the computer, I can't think of a thing to say....

Baseball is almost over with.  Two more games.  That will free up ALOT of time.  I'll be glad for that. 

My son's is going to turn 8 in a week... wow.

Baby B is still keeping me up at night... grrr....

Princess C is starting to be disobedient.  I can't believe my princess needs discipline.  I thought she was going to be perfect... *sigh*

N only went one day to VBS last week.  He wouldn't stay again.  He was in tears everyday.  He's 4.  Any other 4 year olds out there with seperation anxiety?  Princess C won't go to the nursery at church.  That's normal.  She's 1.  But a 4 year old? 

I really want to move.  But I like my house.  I just don't like where it's at.  I don't know if we can afford to move. 

We need a bigger car.

I need to go grocery shopping.

I'm tired. 

I thought I was clever to use a plastic baggie to pipe the manicotti filling into the manicotti.  UNTIL I figured out that I could just cut the manicotti open, slap on some filling, close it back up, place it seam side down, and nobody would ever know the difference.  Makes it MUCH easier. 

Yesterday was spent searching the world (my world) for a patio swing.  I wanted a nice, big, cushy, swing with the option of it laying flat.  We found a three person swing, but it doesn't lay flat.  We found a cushy swing, but it wasn't big enough.  We looked on-line and found exactly what I wanted, but it is more than I am willing to spend.  ALL I WANT IS TO SWING IN MY YARD WHILE READING TO MY KIDS!!!  Is that too much to ask?  I suppose so.  Oh well....

I have picked the first fruits of my starwberry plants.  Boy, were they SOUR!  I hope the rest turn out good.  I was so dissapointed. 

I have a huge rabbit and squirrel problem.  The rabbits eat everything, and the squirrels dig everything up in search of their peanuts.  The lady across the street from us feeds the squirrels oodles and oodles of peanuts.  The only way I can keep them away is keeping the dog outside.  Which I actually like.  And if I see a squirrel in the front, I will let the dog out front, she will chase the squirrel and then come back.  I must look crazy.  But, oh well.  I have peanut plants coming up everywhere.  Last year, I left some to grow, but there were no peanuts when I pulled them up.   

If you want to read a HILARIOUS post about a lady with a not-so-green thumb, click here.  And if you don't want to, go visit her anyway.  I was laughing out loud! 

My hubby has been off all week and we have been working on what was supposed to be a quick project.  I decided that we needed to get wire shelving to put in the back porch closet where we had shelves.  I wanted to use the shelves in the basement for all of our games.  But, I'm getting ahead of myself.... I want to save the story for when I have the pictures to go with it.  But, I just wanted to let you all know how busy we have been. 

Tomorrow we are going to a graduation party for my best friend from highschool.  I lost touch with her after our first year off college.  Our lives went in different directions.  I became a mother, and then a wife, and then a mother a few more times.... She went to college, dropped out, then went back.  Now, she has graduated with her masters degree.  She has also been teaching at the college.  It's so strange how different she is now from high school.  I don't see myself as so drastically different.  I know I have changed, somewhat.  I am not AS shy.  I will talk if I HAVE too.  hehe.... 

My hubby is calling for my help.......

This evening, while we were eating dinner, we saw the neatest thing.  There was a female and male cardinal hopping around down the side of the house.  They would hop a little, then fly a little.  I told the boys they must be playing.  Then we noticed two little birds following along behind them.  The momma and pappa were teaching the babies how to fly!!  We were so excited.  They would fly a little, about 2 inches off the ground, then land.  It was just so neat to see.  They made their way down the side of the house and hopped into a bush.  They hopped around in there for awhile, from branch to branch.  I wasn't able to get a good shot of them from inside, so I snuck outside.  By the time I got out there, the babies had learned to fly.  Of course, I didn't really realize it.  I kept trying to zoom in on them in the bush.  All I could find was the mom and pop.  Then I realized that one of the little birds that kept flying back and forth, was one of the babies.  It was hard to tell them apart from the sparrows/wrens (whatever they were).  But I did get to see one fly from the neighbor's garage back to the bush.  I was so excited.  That has to be the coolest thing ever.  (for a city girl). 

Saturday was by BIL surprise b-day party.  Boy, was he surprised.  There were SOO many people there.  He is a very social person and has MANY friends.  I was a little overwhelmed by all the people, but I did talk to some of them (huge accomplishment for me).  I talked about birth stories and homeschooling.  Really, what else is there to talk about??  heheh....  I went upstairs to my MIL "house" when I had to nurse, where she was having a Perfect Strangers marathon.  Anyone used to watch that show?  I used to LOVE that show.  It's hilarious. 

I had planned on doing alot of cleaning today to catch up with the CHCHC.  I did nothing.  I woke up and right away changed three poopy diapers (and I only have two in diapers).  And then I had to give two baths because the diapers didn't work as well as they should have.  Then I went to Curves, and, by the way, I am NOT a morning work out person.  I was so dead tired after about 5 minutes, becuase I had not fully woken up yet!  And it was already after 11!!!  Anyway, after that, I had to feed all the kids, and then myself, and then I started planning the week's menu.  That took forever.  Then I made dinner, rushed out to do some grocery shopping, came home and ate dinner, video taped the birds, and then hopped on the computer.  Now I have to put the kids to bed, watch Prison Break and 24 (WOOHOO), fold some laundry and change my sheets.  Boy, it stinks to have such an unproductive day... heheheh..... 

We were thinking about moving these last few months because we heard rumors that they were going to build apartments a couple blocks down from us.  In this neighborhood, apartments mean your house value will be going dooooowwwwnnn.  We just found out that in no way will the village be putting up apartments.  YIPPEE!!  They might put up condos, specifically over 55 condos, or they might just make it a nice park.  The bike path will run right through that area.  Which is another good piece of news.  They are FINALLY working on the bike path.  I am so excited.  They had plans to do that when we moved here, 4 years ago. 

We have some businesses down the street from us.  They can get noisy, but the worst part about them, is the truck traffic.  The UPS truck comes by at least twice a day, if not more.  Then there are other trucks, also.  AND sometimes semitrucks.  We live on a dead end street, but get SO much traffic.  When we moved in, rumor had it that they were behind on their taxes and that the village would eventually tear down the buildings.  Well, we just found out that the villiage bought them on Tuesday, and that they have till the end of the month to get out of there.  YIPPEE!!  Then the buildings will be leveled!! 

And the best piece of news.  My raspberry and strawberry plants arrived today!  I can't wait to get fruit from them! 

After I dropped my mom off at the bus station on Wed, I ventured out to Tuesday Morning.  Eyecorn mentioned that she liked the store, so I decided to check it out.  The store was being fixed, or remodled or something... It looked awful.  But they sure do have a wide variety of things.  Dishes, books, toys, sheets, clothes, videos... you name, they have it.  Except, of course, the neat kits that Eyecorn wrote about.  I didn't find those.  But I did find some cheap scrapbooking paper and a Father's day gift, and a gift for my mom  (shhh... don't tell).  The kids were whining... well Princess C was whining, N was pulling her arm, and D kept asking for things, so I hurried out of there.  No, correction, I tried to hurry out of there.  I went to check out, and there was nobody there to check me out.  I waited, I looked, I sat, I fumed.  Finally, the construction guy got on the phone and called the lady up front because he had to go.  She came, signed his paper, wondered around, the whole time, I am staring at her.  She looks at me, blankly, and stares.  I stare back.  She says, "Are, oh, are you ready?"  Um, no, I just can't take my eyes off of you.  No, I didn't say that.  I just nodded.  I wanted to walk out, but the gift I found for my hubby is just so awesome.  So I stuck around.  When the lady gave me my receipt, she mumbled something about things being not how they are supposed to be.  After that, I went to Starbucks... mmm... carmel frapaccino......

Today I went to the Christian book store.  I had to pick up a gift for my BIL.  He is turning 40 later this month.  Have you guys heard of the new Archaeological  Study Bible?  It is sooo neat.  If you don't know what it is, check it out.  My BIL absolutely loves history.  His favorite channel is the History Channel.  He is always buying movies and books about history.  I am so excited to give this Bible to him.  I think he will love it.  I want one for myself.  I think it would make a great homeschool history resource.  After the Christian bookstore, I went to.... Starbucks... mmm... carmel frapaccino..... heheh......Today, it was just me and baby B.  But of course, he was fussy.  We went to Walmart and I had to carry him around and push the cart and shop.  But, it was better than doing all that with the kids too (they were at home with hubby). 

When I got home, the kids and hubby had been hard at work.  The house was all picked up.  (When I left I had mentioned how I had been trying to keep it clean but it looked like my house had thrown up on itself)  My hubby even cleaned the kitchen, wiped down all the counters!  So now, I have a head start with the CHCHC.  (Yes, I am behind....Still working on cleaning out the fridge) 

I am so behind on all my blogs!  This CHCHC is really taking up my time. 

I am trying to read as many as I can to catch up.  For those of you who post often, it is really hard.  I need to finish posting about my vacation, update my site... oh goodness, blogging takes alot of time.... 

On Sat, I went to a quilt show with my mom.  It was so fun!  I don't quilt, but would like to someday.  I enjoyed looking at all the different fabics and patterns.  But most of all, I enjoyed my time out of the house away from the kids.   I'm terrible!  I did have to bring baby B, though.  But he was good.  I didn't want to come home.  And for good reason.  When I got home, I discovered that my hubby and kids had played all day with legos that were everywhere, and hadn't done a single thing to the house.  Well, apparently, hubby "didn't have anything to do".  Grrrr..... So, I got home, started dinner, loaded the dishwasher, blah blah blah..... 

Today I need to get some laundry done, again.... We are all out of socks.  I am trying not to fall behind in my other cleaning areas, but it is pretty hard not to.  And it is going to be a beautiful day!  I want to go outside! 

Awhile ago, DandelionSeeds posted about scheduling.  I made out a rough schedule for how the school day should go.  That has helped alot.  Now I can see what needs to get down, and when.  I know when we are behind because he has been slow (which is all the time).  I can also see when we will be done.  It's good to have an end in sight. 

One of these days I need to do some freezer cooking.  It is nice to have some meals in the freezer that I can pull out on busy/lazy days. 

I need to get to the thrift store and get my boys some church pants.  Especially D.  His pants are all too short. 

My mom leaves for California on Wed.  I am so scared.  What am I going to do without her?  How will I function?  The kids are going to overtake me!! 

I will leave you with a word from baby B who has been sitting so nicely on my lap:

 vhbbjhjhv

Last night I thought, "Gee, I should go to church, I havn't been there in awhile."  That was my first mistake.  I should have thought, "Gee, I havn't been to church in awhile, because.....  "  I managed to get there only 20 min late.  My MIL took N to his class and held baby B for awhile.  I then took Princess C to the nursery.  Mistake #2.  She went hysterical.  Screaming and crying and snuffling and hiccuping.  But by this time, I hear Baby B out in the hallway fussing.  So I went and got him, got C, and went to the nursing mother's room and fed B with C on my lap.  I felt talented.  After B was all fed and C was calmed down, I took them both back into church.  D had went to sit with my SIL, I guess he was feeling lonely all by himself.  My MIL took B back, only to have him puke all over her.  B was fussy, and C was letting me know by saying "WAHWAHWAHWAH!"  So, I take them out to the narthex.  Apparently, that was mistake #3.  We have a guy who stands out there interpreting the sermon to spanish into a headset.  One of the ushers very nicely told me that the microphone on the headset picks up everything.  So, then I just left.  I wasn't mad at him, he was very nice, but really, where else am I supposed to go?  Should I sit (no stand, there are no chairs) in the bathroom?  What's the point of even going to church? 

Well I am off to start the CHCHC. 

It was 70 yesterday and today!  What glorious days!  Yesterday we all went out in the yard and did some gardening.  My mom did some digging, and I did some planting.  I planted lettuce and broccoli.  I am so excited!  I have a bigger garden this year and I can't wait to harvest all my veggies!  It was so nice that I wanted to barbeque, but we didn't have any charcoal.  So, I packed up the kids.... in the STROLLER!!!   We walked to our local store!  I have never done that.  It is about a mile away, so not too far, but far for me!  My mom has done it before, but I have always been pregnant, and can never get very far.  My hip joints were so sore after that.  

On the excercise note, I went to Curves Tues and Wed.  Thurs I went for a 2 mile walk.  I planned on going to go to Curves agian today, but after what I did today, I am exhausted! 

SO, what did I do today?  Glad you asked.  I finished our landscaping blocks!  We bought the blocks two summers ago when I was pregnant with Princess C.  We did one side of our steps and it was so hard that we waited to do the other side.  And waited, and waited.  Plus, I was pregnant two summers in a row!  That didn't help.  Anyway, I got the spring bug, and went out there and did it.  I just have to have my husband haul away the extra bricks.  Those things get heavy when you have to keep lifting them, over and over. 

So, here is a pick of the bricks we first did, and the lack of plants we have in them.....

Yes, those are snow shovels.  I didn't feel like moving them.  Did I mention I am beat?

Here  is what I did today:

If you look really close, you can see some green inside the bricks.  Those are my daffodils that poked up through a huge pile of dirt.  I was surprised to see them.  I already cut the flowers and brought them in the house. 

Off to change stinky Baby B. 

I received this as a forward in my email:

A  woman, renewing her driver's license at the County Clerk's office was
asked by the woman  recorder to state her occupation.
 
She  hesitated, uncertain how to classify herself. "What I mean is,"
explained the  recorder, "do you have a job or are you just a...?"
 
"Of  course I have a job," snapped the woman.
 
"I'm  a Mom."
 
"We  don't list 'Mom' as an occupation, "housewife covers it," said the
recorder  emphatically.
 
I  forgot all about her story until one day..I found myself in the same
situation,  this time at our own Town Hall. The Clerk was obviously a
career woman, poised,  efficient and possessed of a high sounding title
like, "Official
Interrogator"  or "Town Registrar." "What is your occupation?" she
 probed.
 
What  made me say it? I do not know. The words simply popped out.
 
*"I'm  a Research Associate in the field of Child Development and Human
Relations."*
 
The  clerk paused, ball-point pen frozen in midair and looked up as
though she had  not heard right. I repeated the title slowly emphasizing
the most significant  words. Then I stared with wonder as my pronouncement
was written in bold, black  ink on the official questionnaire.
 
"Might  I ask," said the clerk with new interest, "just what you do in
 your field?"
 
Coolly,  without any trace of fluster in my voice, I heard myself reply,
 "I have a  continuing program of research, (what mother doesn't) in the
laboratory
and in  the field, (normally I would have said indoors and out).
 
I'm  working for my Masters, (the whole darned family) and already have
four credits  (all daughters). Of course, the job is one of the most demanding
in the  humanities, (any mother care to disagree?) and I often work 14 hours
 a day, (24  is more like it). But the job is more challenging than most
run-of-the-mill  careers and the rewards are
More  of a satisfaction rather than just money."
 
 
There  was an increasing note of respect in the clerk's voice as she
completed the  form, stood up and personally ushered me to the door.
 
As  I drove into our driveway, buoyed up by my glamorous new career, I
 was greeted  by my lab assistants -- ages 13, 7, and 3. Upstairs I could
hear
our new  experimental model, (a 6 month old baby) in the child
development program, testing out a new vocal pattern. I felt I had scored
a beat on bureaucracy!  And  I had gone on the official records as
someone more distinguished and indispensable to mankind than
"just another Mom."
 
Motherhood!  What a glorious career! Especially when there's a title on
 the door.
 
Does  this make grandmothers  "Senior Research associates  in the field
 of Child Development and Human Relations" and great grandmothers
Executive Senior Research Associates"? I think so!!!
I also think it makes Aunts "Associate Research Assistants".

Mom 4 yo old is better (boy those kids sure do bounce back fast).  My mom is better, but so exhausted.  My sister got sick last night, so she is miserable now.  My husband was feeling sick this morning, but is fine now, so we shall see if this hits him.  My mom was down this morning helping me with the cleaning and kids and my day is running much smoother.  I realized that doing the bills with nobody around to keep the kids occupied is a really bad thing.  Kids going nuts, baby crying, the house a complete wreck, watching the money go bye bye.... what an awful day.  Baby B is crying right now, and I made coffee and have no creamer to drink it with, and I have some more bills to do, but the frontroom is clean, the laundry is going, the kitchen is clean, the floors are clean.... a MUCH better day. 

Today, me and my husband decided it was way past time to clean the basement.  I had the misconception that it would only take a few hours.  Boy was I wrong!  We worked on it all day, and we are not yet done.  I had no idea what a mess it was.  So many things had just got brought down there because we didn't know where to put them.  And when the kids grew out of their clothes, I would just stick them in a bag instead of putting them in the container they went in.  (I was pregnant at the time and really shouldn't have been moving all the containers around, so I did have a good excuse)  I am so exhausted and my lungs feel dusty from breathing it all in down there.  *cough, cough*  We did get a lot accomplished, and we found some missing baby items that I couldn't find for baby #3, but, woohoo, I have another chance to use them now. 

Amber, I took your quiz.  I got the first few questions right, and thought, "Boy, am I good."  Then I got the rest wrong...    Oh well. 

Hubby just got home with donuts, gotta go! YUM!

So, I was able to read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe yesterday.  That's how much I was nursing!  (coming up to the 6 week growth spurt)  Luckily I have had more time (with my arms) today.  I was able to fiddle around and give my blog a new look - I was really sick of the blue background and the pic of crayons.  That took a LONG time.  I was stuck on trying to get the picture the way I wanted it.  I couldn't get it big enough to fit the whole space, so instead I figured I would just center it, but couldn't figure that out.  Finally, after looking at other people's blogs, I got it.  (And then got up and did a little dance).  I was so excited.  I also decluttered a few things, cleaned the bathroom, and took some toys out of C's bedroom.  Thank's baby B for being good today!  (so far)

JenIg asked if we feel productive.  Goodness, no!  Today is an exception.  Usually, I feel like I have went through my day and done absolutly nothing.  I have to do lists in my head, and they are BIG things, and since they never get done, I feel like a failure.  I guess I need to look at the small things that get done (and the fact that I need to nurse every 2 hours) and just be happy with that, AND realize that the small things are important - such as feed my family and school my kids.  OR maybe I need to manage my time better... hmmm..... Yup, that's it.  My mom is helping with that.  She is helping me organize (I am organizationaly challenged).  She has made all sorts of lists and notebooks for me.  Thanks mom!  They really helped.  I now have fridge and freezer lists for upstairs and downstairs, and she is working on pantry lists.  I also have menu option lists.  This sure made making the menu and shopping lists a whole lot easier and faster.  Anyway, those are my thoughts for the day.