With all of the toys, books and school stuff filling our home, it tends to looks as if it is void of any order. In reality we are very systematic in the way our main parts (each family member) are connected, so as to form one whole unit (our family), thus creating "organized chaos". http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/youngmommy/ en-us Homeschool Blogger Fri, 25 Apr 2008 16:51:00 -0500 Fri, 25 Apr 2008 16:51:00 -0500 Looking for a special gift for your MOM???? Check out my Mother's Day Gift Guide... You're sure to find the perfect gift! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/youngmommy/522863/ Fri, 25 Apr 2008 16:51:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/youngmommy/522863/ My precious Baby Noah had quite a little accident today... He burned both of his hands very badly on the glass covering our fireplace. Boy, doesn't it look like it hurts? Fortunately his left hand does not look nearly as bad as his right. We are supposed to keep a close eye on his hands, cover them if necessary, but not let him on the floor, as the blisters may pop allowing for infection. I feel so bad for the little guy, and there is nothing I can do to alleviate the pain. A horrible feeling as a mom who wants to just make it better! Even with badly burned hands he is still all smiles... As long as I am close by, of course! cross posted on From Dates to Diapers http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/youngmommy/522862/ Mon, 21 Apr 2008 16:49:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/youngmommy/522862/ Josh loves robots these days, and was excited about his robot themed birthday party. Well, I found on the GoodyBlog some fun robot cupcakes, and couldn't wait to make them. I have had such a ball creating edible masterpieces for each of my kiddos special days, and these were no exception. Mine were a bit different than the cupcakes featured on the GoodyBlog and Parents magazine, but they were a big hit. Here's how I made them. I decorated graham cracker halves, quarters, and sticks with brightly colored frosting and sprinkles. A half for the head, quarters for the legs, and sticks for the body. I took two large cupcakes, frosted them, and placed them together, to create the body. I then decorated them with dumdums, fruit loops, m&ms, and black decorating frosting. Here they are: cross posted on From Dates to Diapers http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/youngmommy/522861/ Sat, 19 Apr 2008 16:47:01 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/youngmommy/522861/ Yes, we were on national television! If you haven't read my post on how this all came about, go ahead and do that now.... I'll wait. We had the camera crew here on Tuesday filming our family for the show... They got shots of the kiddos having pillow fights, wrestling with Daddy, eating lunch, and even loading up in our Yukon XL. They also interviewed me and fed me some sound bites. Ugh, that was my least favorite part. I hope you didn't laugh when you saw the pre-taped interview segment, and if you didn't see it - good! It was a trip, however, to think about how much milk, eggs, and cheese we consume every month. I guess I had never really added it all up before - I just knew how much to buy whenever we went grocery shopping. But, wow! I didn't have much time after the crew left to get things ready for the kids night at Mimi and Poppy's, let alone figure out what to wear, and pack myself and Noah. The car arrived much earlier than I would have hoped and we left him waiting for 20 minutes before we were ready to head to the airport. I guess that's what happens when you give a family of 8 less than 24 hours notice. After a grueling night of travel, with an 8 month old, we arrived at the studio bright and early yesterday morning. We had to change in the bathroom, but managed just fine. Thank God for the hair and makeup team... They made us look good, if I do say so myself. They would have changed their minds about having us on the show if we had to appear on TV looking like we did when we arrived! Mike and Juliet, their crew, and Sanyika were all wonderful! They couldn't have made us feel more comfortable. I truly forgot that I was being watched by thousands of people on national TV! I was watched by thousands of people!! If you haven't already checked it out, go watch. While I thought that I had some pretty good tips, of my own, on how to cut food costs when shopping for a large family, I was excited to hear from Sanyika. Here is what she suggested: Create a plan Draft up a menu and take it with you on your shopping trip. This is very helpful in avoiding coming home with a random assortment of items and not knowing how to make them transform in to a meal. Stretch your food and your dollar Purchase whole chicken versus parts, and use every piece of it, from the skin to the gizzards, to prepare different meals. Make your milk stretch by adding 1/3 cup water to every 1 cup of milk. You'll get 3 cups more milk by doing this and the kids will never know. (Unless, of course, it's broadcasted as a suggestion to your parents on national television - My kids have not stopped asking if we water down the milk!) Begin the habit of portioning small quantities of snacks for the kiddos in to small ziploc baggies. Doing this will also help teach healthy eating habits. Grow your own garden Now, this is something that my kids are super-excited about. They can't wait to help till the ground, plant the seeds, and tend a garden full of tomatoes, watermelon and herbs. We're thinking about a few fruit trees, too. Thank you for all of the great tips, Sanyika! You can check out Sanyika's Smart Money Blog, where she enjoys sharing her financial expertise. She is such a beautiful person, both inside and out. Don't you just love her name? Now, for some quick shots from the Green Room at the Fox News studio. Ray and myself, with Juliet and her youngest admirer, Noah. Financial Fitness Coach, Sanyika, and me. cross posted at From Dates to Diapers http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/youngmommy/522857/ Thu, 17 Apr 2008 16:44:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/youngmommy/522857/ The last two days have been unusually warm... Revitalizing sunshine and an occasional breeze. Beautiful! If it stayed like this all through the summer I would be happy! It did start to get hot, though, with the mercury hitting 93 this afternoon. The kiddos begged Daddy to take them swimming like we did yesterday, but I was out with my sisters and Mom, so he didn't relent. (I can't blame him. Try watching six kiddos, 7 and under, with three that can't swim, by yourself... No thanks!) Yesterday, however, they all had a ball. Even Noah loved playing and splashing in the water! I see many afternoons at the pool in our future! "What were you doing without your family on this delightful Sunday?"</span> you ask. Well, since my sister, Rachel, is a bit overwhelmed at all that must be done in the next six months to plan her wedding, and just didn't know where to start, we decided to attend a fantastic wedding show locally, which included a limo ride and wine tasting. There were vendors galore, wonderful wine, and some very helpful classes. Rachel even received a very detailed wedding planning binder, complete with a disk full of excel spreadsheets to help with everything from the budget to the guest list. I am glad that I was able to accompany her and hope that I can continue to be very involved in the planning of this special day! cross posted at From Dates to Diapers http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/youngmommy/522855/ Sun, 13 Apr 2008 16:41:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/youngmommy/522855/