Just Testing It Out

Okay, some stories are just to good to keep to myself. So let me make your day a little bit better.

The other day my husband had to run to Lowe's to buy a new seal for our bathroom sink. He decided to take Hoss and K. with him to give me a little quiet time. After he found the seal he needed he was getting ready to leave and turned to get K. who had just been right next to him the entire time. Naturally she wasn't there so he looked down the aisle a little further and saw her. She was sitting as proud as can be on one of the toilet displays. Not only that, her shorts were down around her ankles. So he runs down to get her and gets her pants back up and thankfully notices that no one was around. And in case your wondering no she hadn't "gone potty" yet. Thinking that she must desperately need to go to the bathroom he asks her if she needs to go and what on earth was she doing on the toilet display? K. simply looks like him like he is dumber than dirt and says "Daddy, I was just testing it out". How can you argue with logic like that. And since dad is dad and not a mom, he left that store as fast as he possibly could before getting the rest of the things he needed.

Summer Soap Celebration

Nan over at Life is Like a Lunchbox is hosting a Summer Soap Celebration so head on over to check it all out.

Last days of summer

I've been MIA the last few days since I really wanted to spend a few more moments in the sun with my kids. So after a few days at the pool, hitting the batting cages, reading and just doing alot of fun family time the school year officially began today. Z. was very excited to be seeing his friends today and rode off with the neighbor boys on bikes a little earlier than was truly necessary. But that's okay, as long as he is excited about school than I am happy.

You would think that by our early start to the day I would have made it to my nine o'clock appointment on time. But that was not to happen (this is me after all). After getting the three remaining kids fed, dressed and buckled we started off already twenty minutes late. Toss in the Dallas traffic and the fact that I'd never been to this office before and you can tack on another twenty minutes. But not to be outdone, Hoss got carsick and so I was then stuck wondering where I can exit if his nausea actually gets the best of him. We finally arrived at my meeting (that sounds so official but it was really wasn't) and I am frazzled. Thank goodness that it was a for a study of scripture and Pope John Paul II encyclicals so it was well worth the struggles of getting there. So once again I am reminded of God's love for us. So no matter how frustrating my day may start off I can always redeem it by a few minutes spent in prayer and quiet reflection.

Now on to another topic altogether, I just finished reading an excellent book by Kim Edwards called "The Memory Keeper's Daughter". It's about a Dr. who delivers his own twins in the 1960's and discovers that one of them has Down Syndrome. He chooses to tell his wife that the baby died at birth and send her off to a home. However the nurse who was supposed to deliver the baby to the home can't do it and ends up raising her instead. This book just grabbed me and I had a hard time putting it down. It's not an easy topic but still well worth the heartache that it may cause you to feel at moments.

Conflicting emotions

My son Z. had this to say in the car this afternoon. It pretty much sums up my feelings as well as his.

Z- Hurry up school and begin. Slow down summer so I can still enjoy you.

When I asked him why he felt this way he just replied that he missed school and was ready to get back to it. Also, he was a bit bored and wanted to see his friends. But he isn't quite ready to give up all that summer means for him (i.e. swimming, hanging out with his neighborhood friends, staying up way to late, lots of extra video game time).

I am with him, I am ready for school to begin so I can get back into a routine of sorts but I'm really going to miss having him around all the time. He really is a neat kid and I have really enjoyed all the extra time I have with him during the summer. So it looks like we both have conflicting emotions, like so many other families this time of year.

I'm in love

I'm in love. (In a totally fictional sort of way) My husband is aware of this and is quite understanding about it. You see he can completely understand why. I totally love Jason Bourne. He rocks. (Jason that is, although my husband rocks to) If I had to be chased by super bad evil people who wouldn't hesitate to shoot me, then I want him to be my friend. He is after all the best at what he does and that's what I like. And contrary to what you may think, Matt Damon is just the pretty package that Jason comes in. Don't get me wrong, I love pretty packages and he is definitely one, but it is still Jason that I adore.

As you can tell, I'm still pretty excited days after seeing the new movie. If you get the chance to go see this movie in the theater then please do it. We went out for a night without kids and the place was packed. So packed that there were no seats left in the theater except for the very front row. And since we were out on a kid free date I celebrated by spilling my drink all over my husband. Apparently I can't handle a movie without at least one mess. But anyway the action was almost immediate and I loved the way they combined the info from the Bourne Supremacy to the new movie. And I really want Julia Stiles hair in this movie, I have completely given my self up to highlight envy. I wonder how much it would cost me to have hair like hers. But back to the movie, it was great and definitely left me wanting more. So unless your still confused, go see this movie as soon as you can. It is well worth the price of a ticket. Just don't get so excited about seeing Jason that you spill your drink on your partner. That may take away from the moment and then you will end up missing some of it.

Movies, Movies and more movies

As I mentioned the other day, I went crazy at the video store the other day. Both my husband and I love to watch movies. Since we still have young children we don't get to the movie theaters like we used to. Sadly we don't even get to the video rental store that often anymore. This is due to fact that the kids are up later than they used to be. We are at different activities in the evenings and by the time we get the kids to bed we are to tired to start a two hour movie. Our children are also not great at letting us watch a movie with them awake since they are entirely to noisy for us to hear anything else going on.

So back to the other day when I was at Blockbuster's, somehow I walked out of there with I think eight movies. At least half of them were for the kids so I don't count them. Even though I should since I watch them a million times it feels like. But that left four movies for us to watch after the kids went to bed. So here are my official movie reviews, for what they are worth. We both liked Music and Lyrics okay, it wasn't great and it was very predictable but just seeing Hugh Grant doing an eighties pop video and singing was riot. The Good Year with Russell Crowe was a sloooowwww movie. Again I thought it was okay and would probably watch it again if nothing else was on. My husband said he would watch it again without sticking a needle in his eye only if it was up against Under the Tuscan Sun (one of my favorites which he just doesn't understand). We both agreed that the best one so far was last's nights showing of The Devil Wears Prada. Glenn Close is great in this role and we both liked it alot. She is such a good "mean" character. Even though it dealt with fashion, and my husband is a fashionless kind of guy he still enjoyed it and would watch it again. That leaves us with one more movie Miss Congeniality 2, which is an old one but we still haven't seen it. I'll have to wait to watch this one this weekend so can't tell you what I think of it yet. But I have heard it's good so we will see.

But since we have been on a movie kick this week, we are going to top it off by going to see the new Bourne Ultimatum movie. We have the kids signed up for a Kids Fun night at a church. Then we will go see a current movie, in a real movie theater with stadium seating. We will have real movie popcorn with real greasy movie popcorn butter and drink lots of coke. I can hardly wait. I just love Matt Damon and his Jason Bourne character. And the fact that it's the second date in a week with just my husband and I is totally cool. Almost as cool as Matt Damon.

Random Things

It's been a crazy week so far, full of out of the ordinary things. We have had the pleasure of watching my neighbors two boys for a few days the last week or so. The oldest is my son Z.'s BFF (if boys at least admit to having a best friend forever). The younger son is closer to Hoss's age so they usually have a good time. Now this younger son was affectionately called BAM BAM as a baby and toddler. And although he is now six I think it is still provokes the appropriate reaction in regards to his behaviour. I'm surprised that my four children have not done or thought up what BAM BAM has been able to come up with in five short hours. But thankfully everything has been restored to order until his next visit, I can only hope that my supply of patience is restored as well. And my poor dog (never thought I'd ever actually utter that phrase) can go back to being a dog instead of being treated as a means of transportation. Granted she is as big as a horse but I don't think she likes being ridden like one.

We have also had two of our close neighbors move out of their houses. One I am sorry to see go but really didn't get a chance to say bye to properly. The other is more of my husband's buddy but is great friend to me and the kids as well. I know we will still be hearing from him and seeing him on a regular basis despite his moving out of state. He is actually renting his house to my neighbor's mom for a while so we at least already know one of the new neighbors.

Z. is in full football mode. He received his jersey yesterday and I must admit that seeing his name on the back of it is way cool. Must still be some of that old high school girl in me yet. I had a lot of friends and boy friends that were football players in my youth so it brought back lots of fun memories for me. When I asked my husband his thoughts on it, his response was "Never thought I would see my last name on a football jersey in a million years." Spoken like the true band geek that he was. How the two of us ever ended up together, I still wonder. I have repeatedly told him it was a good thing we never met in high school or I would never had dated you. He takes it good naturedly and just says he would never had dated me either. Anyways, Z. is loving it and that is all that matters. That and I get to go to football games again.

And to top of our out of the ordinary week, we have rented a lot of videos to watch. Which we never do since we never get to watch TV that much, and have been staying up way to late watching them. So that being said I am off to watch a new one.

Defending the Caveman

Have any of you seen this one man show called Defending the Caveman? It's been a hit running on Broadway for years. Anyway, my husband surprised me by getting tickets and arranging to go out with some friends. Totally surprised me. Normally I have to talk him into to doing these things so I was completely physched. As for the show itself, it goes into details about the difference between men and woman and how we communicate. It was amazing how accurate it was on so many different levels. But for us it was nothing but hysterical, we laughed for almost the entire two hours. I had heard of this show before but didn't really think much of it but if you ever get the chance to see it, then jump on it. Afterwards we went out to eat at a restaurant without any kids menu and ate our food while it was still hot. So for us it was a great afternoon of fun with friends and laughter. I just love it when we get grown up time alone or with our friends.

Look at me!

Hey mom...look at me! This is a phrase that I hear hundreds of times during the day. It may come in different variations of hey look what I did, look what I can do or just a simple hey check this out. But for all four of my kids it's a cry for some of my attention and validation for whatever new achievement they have accomplished. I hear this so many times in a day that some days I just really want to tell them that I am just to tired of looking at every little thing.

When we went to Six Flags last week I heard this exclaimed over and over again. But along with the normal cry for attention they were also begging me to "Take a picture". Something that I readily did as long as it didn't involve me actually being on a roller coaster ride with them.

Anyways here are a few of my favorite "Look at me moments".

Here is Hoss driving the bumper cars and feeling quite proud to have just knocked into somebody only to have the favor returned.


Not to be outdone, A. really enjoyed the carousal ride where she held on all by herself and laughed anytime she went up. All the kids enjoyed it since it was one of the few rides running during the rain storm at the time but A. really liked it the most.

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In between all the roller coasters he kept going on, Z. would humor the younger ones by going on some of the "easy" rides. He really is such a camera ham.


This one was a favorite of both K. and Hoss. I guess it takes a child to find the fun and enjoyment in being bounced around by a giant cowboy boot in a circle. But since it was close to a big roller coaster, they got to ride this a few times while Z. went on whatever scary ride he talked his dad into that day.


If I had to pick a favorite it would definitely be the old fashioned car drive. I really like being driven around by the kids for a change. But on this day I missed out on my ride and dad took it instead. He seemed to enjoy it just as much as I normally do and Hoss was nothing but sheer concentration when it came to him being a chauffeur.


It was just a fun day for everyone involved and we are already looking forward to the next time we go back.

Hot Summer Days

We have officially entered into what I truly consider the dog days of summer. The only time we really get outside to play is in the morning or late afternoon when it starts to cool down. Unless we are sitting by a pool we tend to be indoor during the heat of the day. But even though we are not out in the worst of it, the heat still slows down the kids a bit. At which point they beg me for their favorite cool down treat. Popsicles.

Depending on what kind of Popsicle they are having they can end up with any where from one big Popsicle or even three or four small ones just for the sake of keeping cool. It's really funny how they can all enter their own special zone while enjoying their Popsicle. And you better not talk to them or get them to participate in anything major during the consumption of said Popsicle because your just wasting your time.

Z. had a certain focus while enjoying his Popsicle. His main objective is to try and get it as pointy as possible without it breaking off. He is quite adept at making a shank out of a Popsicle that any inmate in any prison would be proud of.





Hoss is my true popsicle connoisseur. He will gladly turn down ice cream in favor of these any day. Times like this I really wonder if he is of my own flesh and blood since I adore ice cream. For him it's all about Popsicle's and the quiet serentity that they bring to him.



A. loves hers as well but I think it's because she is finally big girl enough to eat it on her own without mom having to help.




Which now leaves me to examine how K. slurps her Popsicle. I really don't know how much she enjoys it since she always seems to be in a catatonic state while she is eating them, but I have never known her to refuse one yet. So I guess she likes them, since they help her get to her happy place.



Now how do I enjoy my Popsicle your wondering. I like to do a little of all of the above depending on my mood. But whichever way I choose I am always the first one done so obviously I don't savor my Popsicle in the same manner as my children. Something I guess I should work on.

The Jesus One

Nicole at 4andcounting tagged me for the Jesus meme. I'm supposed to list 5 things I love about Jesus and then tag 5 people.

1. Jesus is loving. Regardless of all the bad or negative things we have done, He still loves us.

2. Jesus is compassionate. He never runs out of compassion and love for his children. Even towards the weakest and those considered unworthy by others, He always showed compassion to his children.

3. Jesus knows your heart. He knows what we are feeling in our most innermost thoughts. And He accepts us and loves us regardless.

4. Jesus was a teacher and example. He showed us how to live our daily lives in a way that would guarantee our entrance into His Kingdom. He did this by the way He lived his life and the words He left for us in scripture.

5. Jesus died for me (and you and you and you and so on). Seems obvious, but I know I don't think about it often enough. He died just for me. He died for each individual. 4andcounting actually came up with this answer, but I think it's definitely worth repeating.

Okay, I tag anyone who feels like doing this meme. Just play along and let me know so I can go read your comments.

42 inches

Did you know that 42 inches is the most important measurement that can be found for my children today. This is because yesterday we took our four children to Six Flags with some friends. And the height requirement for a lot of the scary roller coasters that I refuse to get on, is 42 inches. Now just because Hoss and K. were tall enough to go on the loop de loop Shockwave didn't mean that I wanted them to. But they soon realized that dad was the complete opposite and would let them go on any scary ride with him (and our friends). So for them it was run as fast as you can to the measuring sign, line up and then whoop for joy when they passed the height requirement. K. wasn't always tall enough to get onto all the rides but she was a good sport and stayed with me and Baby A. until everyone else was done.

The lines weren't even that bad but after we had a small thunderstorm move through it improved even more. By the time the park was back at full operation there weren't any people left. You could get on a ride and not even exit it to go again, you just sat there and waited to see if anyone else would come and if not away you went again. So by the end of our very long day I think there were only two big rides which my oldest son Z. wasn't able to ride. Which in a park that big is pretty cool. As for me, the sole person of the day who truly doesn't like roller coaster rides, I had a blast as well. I was able take the kids on some of the smaller rides and even Baby A. got to get on a few rides.

The extra bonus of this very long day, all my children were so worn out they slept past 9am. Something completely unheard of in our house.

Grandma town

We have obviously been out of town a lot lately. And this is just one of the funny things Hoss asked me about while we were at my parents driving in the car.

Hoss: Mom are we in grandma town?

Me: What are you talking about?

Hoss: Well mom look in all the cars the only people driving are grandma's.

Me: Looking all around at all the cars around us at the light and laughing since every car is being driven by a senior citizen. No Hoss, they have kids in Lubbock to we just can't see them driving.

Home Again..Hooray

I am home again. And to make it even better dad is home again also. The doctors still haven't fixed his heart yet but they wanted him to regain his strength first before they go any further. So my dad is now twenty pounds lighter after a twelve day stay at the hospital and much weaker. They have given him a walker and oxygen along with a lot of home health care. It really stinks to see how frail he looks but the simple fact is that many people don't make it back from the point where he was. Something the nurses and doctors kept reminding us about. So thank you for all the continued prayers they have worked miracles, and I am so thankful for all of them.

Progress

We are moving in the right direction. Dad is hopefully going to be weaned from the ventilator today. His pneumonia seems to be getting better as well. Once he is stable they can then go on to work on correcting the blockage in his heart. Thanks for your prayers. I will go back to my parents in a few days but would still appreciate any prayers you can give us for my family and the doctors that are treating him. I am just so thankful he is heading in the right direction now. God is truly with us at this time and is showing his love for us in so many ways.

Long week for the family

I've had a very long week. I won't go into alot of details but my dad was put into the hospital on Monday. Originally we thought he would be there about a week and a half while they stabilized his heart rate and then would probably be putting in stints. It hasn't been that easy though. He is still unstable and now on a breathing tube. I will be gone alot the next few weeks since we have now been told that he won't be leaving the hospital for at least three to four weeks. So if you will just keep my dad in your prayers and the rest of family I would really appreciate it.

Missing Socks

Why is it that I know I put two socks that match into the dryer but never have pair when it comes time to fold. It's a problem that is shared by millions of people worldwide. So why do I continue to hang onto these mateless socks for eternity in hopes that one day they will be reunited. All I end up with is one more pile of things that I eventually have to sort through and then toss.

It's not only socks that I am expected to find. For whatever reason my family thinks that I am the only person in the house that can find things. Granted this is due to the fact that I am anal and usually can find the missing item as long as I have seen it. I have my own little mental imaging game I do in my head until I can picture where I have seen the lost item.

But this weekend really was to much for me. I was expected to know what happened to two of my sons best Pokemon cards. Not only was I expected to know what happened to them but I had to know after he had a sleepover during which they had taken out the missing cards to play with. This really was to much for me and I really should have had more patience with my son since they are important to him. Add this to the fact that the same son had already gotten mad that I forget his goggles at his friends house where he was swimming and I didn't know where he had left his flip flops (over at another friends house). I decided that from now on he just has to learn how to keep up with his own things.

Will this keep the rest of the family coming to me to find their missing items. I sincerely doubt it. But I truly feel that he is old enough to keep up with his own things without blaming me if he can't find them. And who knows maybe it will give me just a few more minutes to search for those missing socks.

My John Deere Boy

Hoss loves him a tractor. (There did I say that country enough) What I mean is that Hoss really loves tractors. Of any kind, but he really loves the green John Deere ones the best. He will spend hours playing with cars and tractors.

Well when we went to Missouri we reminded him that his Uncle Bill had a tractor. Imagine his joy when he realized that he would get to ride on the tractor again. That was all he could talk about. And naturally the first morning we were there he was up with the cows. (Yes they do own cows as well) He then went off in search of Uncle Bill to "help" him. This was after he put on his green tractor shirt. He wanted to be sure and be dressed for the part. Now since I am a good mom, I stayed inside with all the rest of the sleeping children to keep an eye on them (at least that's the story I'm sticking with). But my husband went out to watch Hoss with his uncle. It was then that I heard the tractor start up. So off I ran to get the camera and get it to my husband so he could grab some pictures of Hoss in his blissful state. Hoss was driving the tractor around, with his Uncle only there in case he needed help.



Then they decided that some hay that was waiting to be moved needed to be moved just at that moment. So Hoss moved the hay into the barn. After all the hard work they decided to just drive around a bit and check things out.




I can honestly say that this was probably the best part of the entire trip for Hoss. Who cares about playing with cousins, visiting with grandma or going to a dumb ol' wedding. It's all about tractors for Hoss.

Swimmers Ear

My son Z. has swimmers ear. He is so heartbroken and embarrassingly enough so a I. He can't swim with his head underwater for at least a week. This means that we can't go hang out at the pool every afternoon like we have been doing. I really counted on this two hour excursion every day. It kept all the kids happy and content. It also had the extra benefit of wearing them out so that they would all go to bed just a bit easier. I love being at the pool so it's relaxing for me to. There always seems to be someone there to visit with. So now we are on a pool hiatus and everyone is stir crazy. I'm doing different indoor activities that we would normally do during swim time but it's alot harder on me and doesn't wear them out like swimming does. Guess it will just be a long week for all of us without swimming.

But onto good news, blogger is finally letting me post titles, comments and posts again. Yay for small things.

How I know my children aren't from the country.

A conversation as we were driving from Texas to Missouri.

Z. - Hey Mom, look at the really tall grass.
Me- No Z., that's not grass, it's corn.

A Few Observations from this morning:

1. The kids all woke up early and are happily and QUIETLY getting along.

2. Baby A. can find any nightlight in the house and bring them all to me in a matter of seconds.

3. It seems like the only time my children have to go to the bathroom is if I am eating, or if they can synchronize their systems to all go at the same time.

4. I am enjoying my second cup of hot (not lukewarm) coffee. A small pleasure in itself.

5. My kids are already asking if it's time to go swimming since we have gone everyday for the last week. Unfortunately they don't realize how much laundry there is.

6. My title bar in my posts is not working again for the third day in a row. Sigh!

7. I am spending way to much time surfing around blogland this morning and need to get busy with real life.

Titles

For some frustrating reason I am unable to get my title to appear on my posts lately. The cursor just won't go up to it. So now my posts look pretty cheesy until I can figure out what is going on. Any suggestions on how to fix it?

The Wedding Cake

As you know we just came back from my niece's wedding. It was a small wedding from the start but the bad weather made it even more so. Which we tried to make into a good thing by saying there was more wedding cake for us to eat.

As you can see it was a pretty cake. Nothing huge or extravagant but pretty.



And my children were itching to get a piece (or two) of the wedding cake. So once the cake was finally cut they were excited.

I have to admit that I love wedding cakes because they are so much heavier than a normal cake. The filling and frosting is always different to and to me that just makes it all the better. There is one place here locally that I can order a cake that is just like a wedding cake but since they aren't cheap I don't do it that often. But anyways back to the wedding cake.

My son Z. was one of the first to get a piece of cake and I noticed he wasn't really eating it. So I asked him how it was, my nine year old boy who loves cake said "it's okay". So I decided to try a bite of his and I have to agree. It was okay. Nothing like what I was expecting. But we didn't say anything to anyone and just continued on visiting. I later found out that the lady who owned the reception hall included the cake in the package and that she makes them. So now I understood why it didn't taste like a wedding cake. But then she approached my son Z. and asked if he was enjoying the cake. Z. being nine (and not knowing she made it) said he didn't like it that much. She looked shocked. So I quickly tried to cover for him and said it was because the frosting was to rich for us. Z. agreed since he really didn't know why he didn't like it but was going to go along with anything I said. So the lady looked quite happy after that and continued on.

So crisis averted. At least the cake still looked pretty in the pictures and unless you know different (which you now do) you would think it would be delicious also. So moral of the story...never ask a child what he thinks of the cake because they will always tell the truth. Even if it's just okay.

Here are some pictures of the kids enjoying themselves on the Fourth. They normally don't get to do fireworks so they felt like they had won the lottery.



K. really enjoyed being a "big" girl and holding it all by herself.





After watching all the dancing around that Z. did with his sparklers I am thinking of signing him up for ballet. I swear all he was missing was the pink tights. But he had fun so that's all that matters.



And Hoss, well he thought they were really cool. That is until he tried to hold it to close to the sparks and it burned his thumb. After that he was pretty happy just to sit back and watch the others. But all in all they enjoyed themselves and we still have lots of snappers leftover.

Kid exchange

We have new neighbors and they have two girls that are close in age to mine. So my son Z.has been visiting them alot lately. They have cool video games and a bunch of new toys he hasn't played with before. So today after days of my son living at their house it is finally our turn to have the party here. They have been keeping all my kids entertained which is not an easy thing to do. The noise level isn't any worse since my kids are so noisy. It's just been alot of fun for me to see the way they all include each other. Even baby A. has been included in the fun. And for the new neighbor girls, it's fun playing with toys that aren't their own. They also get to practice being with little kids and babies something they are very excited to be doing. Maybe later they will tire of the novelty it offers but for now I will enjoy it while I can.

One of those mornings

It's one of those mornings. You know the one's. The kids were up way to late watching fireworks (and so was mom). The kids woke up way to early (which meant so did mom). Everybody is cranky and in a bad mood (including mom). So much so that when dad finally did wake up two hours later than everyone else (he is on vacation after all) that he just packed up all the kids and left me in my glorious solitude that I am in right now. So what should I do...I'm thinking I'll just do nothing and enjoy the quiet while it last and drink another cup of hot coffee.

Joining the modern era

We have officially joined the modern era today. We conceded that it was time to buy a laptop. After all the time limits we have to put on the kids games and the surfing that me and my husband like to do, one computer was not enough. After lots of research (not) and looking at lots of sale ads we found the one my husband thought would do us just fine. Wish I could tell you all about it, but as of yet I haven't seen it except for at the store. Sooner or later I will get a turn checking it out. But for now I am still on our old computer and not minding a bit. I am looking forward to being able to take the laptop into other rooms when I need to. So cheers to us for joining the laptop age.

Storm Chaser Wannabe

I always thought the storm chasers that intentionally went into a tornado were absolutely crazy. Now I know for a fact that yes they are. The reason I know this for a fact is because my family and I inadvertently became a storm chaser of sorts. Something I promise to never do again.

We went to my nieces wedding in Missouri this past weekend. As the time of the wedding approached we decided to just follow the rest of the family to the wedding chapel since we had no clue where it was and didn't have directions to get to it. I am standing there putting K. in her car seat when I hear the Weather Service announce on the radio that there is a tornado warning for Webster Co. and if you are in Marshfield to seek shelter immediately. I tell my husband I think that's where we are going, so he goes off to tell the others about it. The response was yes that's where we are going but by the time we get there it should be past us. So my husband packs us up and off we go.

Everything is fine even though we struggled to keep up with the speeding driver that my BIL is. (He was raised on the curvy two lane highways and thinks nothing of driving on them at 90 mph) Then as expected, it starts to rain and it just gets worse. About the time we can no longer see them in front of us, due to the rain, we decide to go back home and just drive back later on. Only we can't since we can't see where to turn around and we are completely lost on these back country highways. So we inch along and I start praying the only thing I can remember which was Hail Mary's over and over. Finally we see our BIL stopped up ahead waiting for us, but since our cell phone had no signal, we couldn't call him to beg him to stop and seek shelter. Instead BIL keeps on driving through this mess but at least he slowed down.

Obviously we did make it to the wedding chapel but we were one of only about twenty other people that did. The rest of the people attending actually had half a brain and didn't get out in it. So it was a very small, small wedding with lots of cake for everyone.

About mid way through the reception we heard that a tornado did touch down somewhere near my in laws house so we were curious to see if any damage had happened out there. From what we could tell it landed in primarily farm land. So, no one was injured, including us, the morons who drove out into the country during the tornado warning with out a map or any clue of getting home. I guess the old saying is true, God looks out for fools and children. He protected my children and the fools in this instance were my husband and myself.

So just in case your wondering if I really do want to be a storm chaser the answer is without a doubt..NO! I will let all those other people who enjoy doing keep their jobs and instead just appreciate them all the more.

Procrastination

I'm the worst at procrastination. And today it has finally reared it's ugly head at me. You see we leave for Missouri early (and I do mean early) in the morning for my niece's wedding. And early is never a good thing with me. So today that leaves me with finding out if the vet can board our dog at the last minute( it can). Taking the dog to the vet this afternoon. Buying new clothes for the boys for the wedding. Getting the boys haircuts. Trying to wash a load of clothes we will need for the trip and then packing. I also need to squeeze the time in there to buy the girls some new dressy shoes that fit. It doesn't help that the kids are in the worst and most whiny moods and really don't want to cooperate with anything that needs to be done.

Yes, procrastination is definitely laughing at me today. But no worries, the things that must be done will get done and those that don't have to..well they just won't get done. I really can't stress to much over it since it's to late for that anyway. I'm off to spend a very hectic weekend at the in-laws and intend to enjoy it as much as possible.

How Addicted to Blogging Am I?

Thought this was a fun little quiz. Apparently I am a bit more into blogging than I originally thought.

53%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?

Mingle² - Online Dating

A Fun Meme

Saw this meme over at 4andcounting and thought I join in the fun.


Were you named after anyone? No my parents just liked the name.

When was the last time you cried? Oh gosh, during any sad movie or sappy commercial I'll end up in tears in no time.

Do you like your handwriting? It's not so bad. But not nearly as pretty as my friend Anne.

What is your favorite lunch meat? Turkey

Do you have kids? Yes, four of them.

If you were another person, would you be friends with yourself? Yes

Do you use sarcasm a lot? I try not to since I hate it when people are sarcastic to me.

Do you still have your tonsils? Yep.

Would you bungee jump? I like to think I would. But it would have to be something really incredible to actually get me to do it.

What is your favorite cereal? Honey Nut Shredded Wheat

Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? I'm afraid I'm to lazy to untie them until I need to put them back on again.

What is your favorite ice cream? Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla

What do you notice first about people? Their body language.

Red or pink? I'm more of a red girl.

What is your least favorite thing about yourself? All the extra weight I am carrying around these days. But I am working on that now. Just need a little more self discipline.

What is the last thing you ate? Turkey and cheese sandwich

What color pant and shoes are you wearing? Denim shorts

What are you listening to right now? My younger son say he broke one of his bones and do I want to feel it.

What are your favorite smells? Baking of any type, apples, and gardenia.

Who was the last person you talked to on the phone? My neighbor

What are your favorite sports to watch? my son's baseball team.

What is your hair color? Brown

What is your eye color? Hazel

Do you wear contacts? No

Scary movie or happy ending? Happy endings. Scary movies give me nightmares so I never watch them.

What is your favorite food? I have so many favorites that I really can't pick one. Lame I know.

What was the last movie you saw? Shrek the Third

What color shirt are you wearing? Peach shirt

Summer or winter? Summer.

Hugs or kisses? I guess kisses. I'm always giving and getting kisses from the kids and husband. From the family it's always a hug and kiss on the cheek.

What is your favorite dessert? Again, I don't think I can pick just one. But I do love strawbery shortcake and anything with chocolate is bound to be a close second.

What are you reading? Right now I am reading "A Bend in the Road" by Nicholas Sparks. Pretty good so far.

What is on your mouse pad? Don't use a mouse pad.

What did you watch on TV last night? The Prince and Me. The kids were watching it and I really like Julia Stiles so it wasn't hard to get into it.

Rolling Stones or The Beatles? Stones

What is the farthest you've been from home? Lived in Oulu, Finland for a while with my husbands job.

Where were you born? El Paso, Tx

I'm not tagging anyone, if you want to play along let me know so I can go check out your answers.

Are you kidding me?

Okay, I don't normally go off into these murky waters but really today I just can't resist.

Paris Hilton was released from jail last night and apparently she is a changed woman. She decided to walk out of jail in the same way that every other person who comes out does. Naturally she was bombarded by the paparazzi. It's a good thing she changed into some new designer clothes first. Poor thing had to sit there and endure all those photographers for at least five minutes before her SUV could drive off out of the mess. Guess there is something to be said about being just like the rest of us. All I can hope for is that yes Paris did learn something in her time there and that now she will be a better role model for all these girls that actually look up to her.

All I know is that I am tired of hearing all about her every night on the news.
So for those of you who love Paris, I'm happy that she is now out of jail. I don't know her and really can't walk a mile in her heels but I do wish the best for her in the future. I just hope I don't have to hear about every little detail of it.

Random Things

1. My parents who were in town for K.'s birthday left this morning. This means that my children are exceptionally whinny and testing all the limits.

2. My house and laundry are once again out of control and I really should be focusing on them today. But I'm not. Instead I'm doing a million of other little things.

3. We are supposed to leave town at the end of the week for my niece's wedding. I really can't say that I'm all that excited about the trip. It's a nine hour drive and we will only really be there for a day and a half. Hopefully we will get a hotel this time instead of trying to camp out in the house. They have enough going on without adding our noisy bunch.

4. Swim lessons are going great for the kids. Hoss is able to go into our community pool now without floaties since he can touch and loves diving for toys. K. is doing super also. It's been fun to watch how much they are improving. Z. is loving his advanced class and so it's been a win win for everyone.

5. We only have a couple of more baseball games left for Z. to play. It's always fun when he makes the All Stars but it really drags the season out a long time. With the heat we have had, I'm ready to be done.

6. I'm hoping to get everything I need done before tomorrow so that I will have a few days to relax before being stuck in a car for along time. Guess that means I better get started on it.

Another busy weekend

We have another busy birthday weekend planned here. Add that to the swim lessons and baseball games and out of town company. I really should be cleaning or shopping but I'm not. Nope instead I am sitting around on my hiney reading a book and loving every second of it. Gotta love it when I just give up and decide to claim a few minutes for myself. It's either that or clean the bathrooms and we all know what any sane person would do.

Shopping for Girls

Shopping for girls is so much different than for boys. Boys have the basic style and you really don't have much to accessorize with. You can keep your boys always looking cute and not spend the entire bank balance in the process. But girls, boy they can break the bank in no time. Now since I have two girls who just happen to be younger than my niece I haven't gone broke just yet. But I am sure my time is coming. It is sheer will power that keeps me from buying cute clothes for them constantly. I mean who can resist when they have all these pretty spring colors. But since I have drawers of clothes for my girls and lots of hand me downs I always feel like there isn't a need to spend a lot of money on new clothes for them. Accessories and shoes on the other hand I will splurge on. I think they are to cute when the shoes match. Sadly my daughters don't agree and K. insist on wearing her pink flip flops with everything. Now my girls are finally at ages where I can even buy matching outfits for them. I know, I know, I swore to never do that sort of thing. But that was before I realized how cute it would look in pictures. What is a mom to do? I can't exactly go out and buy these cute outfits in my size and not look like some loony lady who has lost her mind. So instead of developing a nervous tick of some sort I have decided that next time I see a cute pair of matching outfits that I will buy them for the girls. Then maybe, I will be over this latest compulsion of mine to have them matching.

Rained Out Again

It's been another wet weekend for us and my poor kids are feeling it. They were so excited to start their swim lessons this morning but we had such bad storms during the night I wasn't sure if we would have them. I called and they said so far we are still having them. So I pack up my posse of kids and got them all ready to go swimming. When we get there it was cancelled since it had just started to thunder and lightning. Three very disappointed faces looked at me as if I could possibly do anything about it. But since I couldn't we all had to come home, even the promise of baseball tonight couldn't cheer them up. Once we got home and I managed to get the kids back into a good mood the phone rings and of course it's our baseball coach. The games been cancelled because the fields are to wet. Sigh, here we go again. Hopefully they won't be as grumpy after they find out about this (since I still haven't told them yet). Truly we have had so many rainy days this spring even I am getting bored of with it. How can I expect my kids not to be the same way. All I can hope for is that it will dry out soon and that they can go swimming and play baseball tomorrow.

Raspberry Days

Raspberries are one of my favorite berries. I love the way they taste and even the little seedy things they have don't bother me much. They aren't cheap to buy at the store so I don't buy them as often as I would a bunch of grapes but I do buy them regularly. This afternoon as I was washing the new bunch of berries we had just bought my oldest son Z. came in and popped some in his mouth. He just went "ummm, I love these". So I asked him if he remembered the first time he ate raspberries. Naturally he couldn't so I told him.

We were living overseas in Finland and didn't have a car. We relied on walking, public transportation and our bikes for getting from one place to another. Z. was only two at the time so he had a chair on the back of my bike that he rode in. Since it was summer at the time I was taking Z. out to the beach to play in the sand.

It was about a three mile ride through forested areas on a bike path. I kept noticing these bushes that people would be at with buckets, but never stopped to see what they were picking until that day. So that afternoon on the way home we finally stopped to see what was growing. It was raspberries and they were everywhere. So we started to pick some. My son just ate as many as he could straight from the bushes and so did I. They were delicious. We picked a few and put them into a bucket and rode on home. Z. just held the bucket of berries in his hands while I rode and ate some more. That was the first of many trips we took to go out raspberry picking.

To this day it is one of my favorite memories I have of being in Finland. Things just moved at a slower pace for us in Finland and we actually took the time to enjoy things. If we would have had a car I never would have noticed the bushes and found the raspberries. So as I eat my raspberries today, I am also remembering the raspberries I ate before which just makes them taste that much better.

Dirty Jobs

Have you ever watched the show Dirty Jobs on Discovery channel? It's one that my husband and I will watch on occasion usually with me completely grossed out about something or another. My husband meanwhile is fascinated by this type of programming.

Apparently my oldest son is alot like my husband. He has discovered the nastiness of Dirty Jobs and is only to thrilled to come and tell me all about what cool new things they can do with manure. Something to do with the testorone coursing through his veins I guess.

This morning he has gone back and forth between watching Dirty Jobs and Myth Busters. (Another of hubby's favorites) Only this time he was excited because they were going to be doing something with a chicken and a cannon. Huh? What was that? When I finally asked him to please go enlighten his brain and read something, my oldest son replies. "C'mom mom this manure stuff is educational and I always wanted to learn about canons and chickens. What would you rather me do watch cartoons, play gameboy or watch educational tv." Yeah right, nice try, whatever. I know it's all about the manure isn't it.

Maybe I can educate him some more with some hands on experience and send him out to the backyard to do manure control out there.

Time to Recover

Well after our very busy weekend here I am trying to recover. The laundry is piled up and the house is a mess. Baby A, is not feeling well and is on medicine so hopefully she will be doing better soon. Grandmama and Pappy left this morning so all the kids are bored and missing them already.

I have yet to tell them that we are supposed to be meeting an old dear friend from high school tomorrow. I haven't seen her in over a year and we have both had babies since then. There is always a big bunch of us that meet up when she comes into town and since we all have children we tend to meet in child friendly places. We have decided to brave the tubes of death at Chuck E Cheese since most of the kids are big enough to enjoy them without needing mom right next to them. Hopefully they will be on their best behaviour and let us mom's catch up with each other.

Where did nine years go?

Nine years ago you entered my life. To my unknowledgable eyes, you appeared beautiful and perfect. You soon proved me to be right. One of my most vivid memories of you as a baby is of you nursing and me just holding your small baby hand and wondering what you would be like at different ages.

You smiled early on and you haven't stopped yet. You are always so affectionate and loving and even though it' no longer cool, you still are. I remember holding those small tiny hands as you slept and now when I look at them, they are already scarred up and constantly throwing a ball of some sort. You have never been a quiet child, I always knew that as long as I could hear you, everything was fine. Your still not a quiet child but the noise has now changed. Some days I really miss all those crazy car chases across the rug with your toy cars. Now when your driving cars around it is usually a game that your playing with your friends.

I remember when we lived in Finland how I would hold your hand as we crossed the street to walk to the grocery store, and how you would help me carry our bag of groceries home. You were such a good little helper. I don't have to hold your hand anymore when we cross the street but sometimes you grab it just because and it always makes me catch my breath and smile. I remember the first time you rode a bike and the first day you took off your training wheels, I was so proud of you.

I also remember the first time you cried because someone had said something mean to you. It broke my heart probably more than it did yours. And to this day I still hold a grudge against that child for being mean to my baby. Mainly because that was when you realized that I couldn't protect you from everything all the time.

I am so proud of the boy you have become, so sweet and honest and caring. You were my first child and yet you never showed any resentment or jealousy of the other children that would follow you. Instead you just ask when we are going to have another baby for you to hold. I look at you now and some of my question has been answered. I know what you have been like at the different ages these past nine years and I have enjoyed every moment of them. I still look at you today and wonder how your going to change as you get older. I know I will enjoy each of those moments with you especially since time seems to be moving so fast.

Happy Birthday son and thank you for blessing my life in ways that I never imagined nine years ago.

I love you, Mom.

Busy Weekend

We have a very busy weekend going on around here. My son celebrated his ninth birthday with his friends last night. They went and saw Shrek the Third and loved it. I didn't think it was as bad as I heard it was going to be. So was pleasantly surprised. Tonight him and dad are going off to see the Indy Races at Texas Motor Speedway. He is really excited about it. My family is in town this weekend so naturally we are cooking or eating or cleaning the kitchen. Way to much food is in our home right now. Monday is my son's actual birthday, so we will have a small family party for him. Talk about making a birthday last all weekend. That boy is milking it for everything it's worth. Gotta love being a kid and it being your birthday.

Appreciating my Children

I don't think I as a mom fully appreciate my children enough. That is until you are suddenly surrounded by a bunch of other children that you sometimes just can't help but compare. My children are not perfect by any means. They are loud and very active. My two year old is definitely acting her age right now, but still they are my children. I am used to how they react to things and know how to handle those situations. They listen to me (most of the time) and know what they can absolutely not get away with. My children like to participate in everything. If there is something going on then they want to be in the middle of it having fun.

What brought on this sudden appreciation for my children? I am working at Vacation Bible School this week. I am helping with the games area. This should be a fun area for everyone and you wouldn't think there would be a problem. But there are always going to be some children who will do whatever they can to not be a part of the group. It's very frustrating for me and the other volunteers. We all agree that we are doing the best we can and that we can only encourage the children to participate and not get hurt feelings or become upset. But they are children after all and that is bound to happen.

Regardless, this week has brought a much greater appreciation for my children's teachers and all that they deal with throughout the year. It has also made me appreciate my children a bit more.

Free Books

Joyful Days is giving away some free books this week. Click here for the details.

Our Red Wagon

I was reminded of something the other day. Do you remember growing up having a wagon? Well I remember playing with ours, pulling it up the big hill and then racing down it with my brother and our next door neighbor, Joe. Sometimes we stopped and sometimes we flipped over or crashed. But we always had a blast doing it.

Our kids have a wagon very similar to the one I had growing up. It has been pulled around by everyone and attached to Big Wheels and bikes alike to make a trailer. Since they don't have a hill to drag it up and race down they have had to come up with their own ways to make it race around at break neck speed risking bodily injury. The other day the little kids actually talked some of the big kids into giving them a little taste of a speeding wagon. The big kids would just run as hard as they could and then when the wagon would finally outpace their running they would let it go and crash into someones yard. No one was injured and from the looks of it, everyone had a blast.




I had completely forgotten about some of the dangerous things we did with our wagon growing up until I saw the kids out playing. I can only imagine what they will come up with next and I can only hope to have a camera and first aid kit close by.

A New Look

As you can see, I have a new look and blog name. Nan over at Life is Like a Lunchbox made me this great new banner. Thanks, Nan!! You Rock!!

The reason I chose Enjoying Life One Juice Box at a time.. is simply because I am trying to slow down and enjoy my children and life more. The way my kids love juice bags will not last forever so I need to grab it while I can. The banner has a picture of each of my kiddos doing one of the things they like most, inhaling a Juice Box (or bag whatever the case may be). Even Baby A gets in on the action with the bags that get set down somewhere she can reach. So hopefully you will see a bit more of my personality in this banner and a lot of Nan's hard work.

Let me know what you think...just don't say my kiddos are ugly are anything like that because I won't believe you.

Two cart experience

My shopping habits are definitely different during the summer than they are during the school year. Besides the obvious fact that I will take my four children with me to the store instead of my youngest two there are other differences as well.

The most noticeable one is the fact that I buy a lot more "junk". And by that I mean all those pre-packaged snack items. I do have to admit that it's not just my children eating them though. We seem to have one of those houses where children meet up and the snacks are brought out. So essentially I am feeding the entire neighborhood "junk". I also buy a ton more Popsicles and ice cream for obvious reasons. They play outside so much it's a quick cool down for them and if I buy the right kind I can limit the sugar. We do buy more fruit in the summer since it's in season and my kids do actually eat it and enjoy it so at least there is one healthy thing tossed in there. But the thing I notice the most that we go through literally by the gallons is juice bags. I can buy a big package of forty drinks at Sam's and they will maybe last a week. Again thanks to my children's hospitality to any breathing soul within a five mile radius at our house.

I went to the store this morning and had all my children with me. We bought our usual items and then some, since each kid (except Baby A) begged for one item. Our cart was overflowing. So at the checkout line I realize there is no way that all those items in my cart will be able to fit in my cart once they have been bagged. So I had to ask my son, Z to go and get another cart just so I wouldn't have to fight with the bags to make them all fit without falling off.

So it's official, I have had to use two carts at the grocery store. I wonder if I am going to need more carts as the children get older. You know kind of like those people you see on TV that go shopping with two vehicles just so they can fit all the family and their groceries in at the same time. I mean let me be honest, I really don't want to be the lady that everyone stares at in the grocery store because of the obscene amount of food I am needing to buy. Hopefully it won't actually progress to that though. But if you should ever happen across a lady with four kids in a grocery store with two full carts...it's not me..no really, it isn't.

I scare Mr. Greg

Mr. Greg is our next door neighbor. He's a big guy and a policeman to boot. He has a great heart and his boys are about as tight with our sons as they can be. Apparently I scare Mr. Greg and he is afraid of me.

This is nothing new to me. He has always said this to me and about me so it's really no secret. But why would a big guy with a gun who is trained on how to use it be afraid of me. I guess it's in my genes. You see I have a bit of Greek and Mexican blood in me from my mom, along with all the whiteness that my poor dad could give me. So when he first met me he thought I was just another white girl moving into the block.

That was until he first heard my oldest son, Big Z,who was four at the time, sass me with a bit of back talk. I just handled it the way I always did by taking him inside to talk to him and put him in time out. But for whatever reason he decided that from that day on he would be afraid of me.

So yes, the policeman next door is afraid of me, in a general sort of way. Although he always tells me it's really not fear he has it's just a healthy respect for me and from where I come from. I'm not really sure how to take that one, since really I'm not a ghetto child or anything. I come from El Paso and a nice middle class neighborhood. I always got good grades and was in the drill team. I never got into any trouble, well except for the one time the cops brought me home in the middle of the night. But that's another story.

But even though he claims to be afraid of me I know that deep down he really like me. He is a great friend to me and to my husband. And maybe one day, just to get a reaction from him, I'll even tell him how yep, I do know how to shoot a gun.

Something to Ponder

No one is to be called an enemy, all are your benefactors, and no one does you harm. You have no enemy except yourselves.

~Saint Francis of Assisi

It's an Apronpalooza contest

Nan over at Like a Lunchbox is hosting a cute contests for aprons. Go check it out if your interested. I know my kids always get excited when my apron comes out since it usually means I am baking something yummy.

Sweeping in the Rain

Hoss is just like his dad. He must be outside regardless of the weather. If he stays inside for extended periods of time without being able to go outdoors he becomes a bit challenging. Yes, that's what we will call it challenging. Normally it's not a big deal since he can go out in the backyard to play whenever he wants. But this spring has been very wet for us here in our part of Texas. We have had so much rain and then more rain and then just a bit more rain to top it all off. Well when dad is out in the garage working I send Hoss out to him. After all they are carbon copies of each other, so it's only fair. It was raining yesterday, and Hoss being a boy, couldn't resist being in the rain. So when I went out to check on Hoss this is what I found.




A soaking wet little boy who was having the time of his life. He and his friend E, (who is just like Hoss when it comes to being outside) were trying to help the water down the drain. So they grabbed their dad's brooms and set to work. I think that they literally spent two hours out playing in the rain. And being the mom that I am, I just let him. After all, he wasn't hurting anything and he was happy and safe since dad was watching.

It turned what for him would have been another boring day cooped up inside the house into an adventure. And I for one say let him have his fun while he can. He'll grow up soon enough and then he won't want to be out playing or in his case sweeping in the rain.

Gigi..my dumb dog

Gigi is our dumb dog. She is a boxer and really like any other boxer has way to much energy and enthusiasm. I don't know what on earth my husband (because I blame him completely) was thinking when he decided that a boxer would be a good fit for our family. He wanted a dog, I didn't. He wanted a big dog, if I had to have a dog it would have to be small. I didn't want any dog hair shedding any where in the house and never can a dog be allowed on my furniture. Well, this dumb dog does both. Above all we both agreed that if we had a dog it would have to be great with kids, which is true in our case.




Gigi is great with the kids. She is always willing to play rough with the boys but is very gentle with the girls, especially Baby A. But if you aren't a member of her pack, then she is very protective and has a very big bark to go along with her. So when I got my new camera I thought what better subject to practice on then my dumb dog Gigi. After all she wouldn't pose like a goof ball and beg to instantly see the image on the camera like my children would. And she cooperated initially. She just lied there on the couch she wasn't supposed to be on and let me take her picture.

But when we went outside, it really became to much for my dumb dog. The fact that I was kneeling down was much to appealing for her and she came running towards me thinking she was going to get to play. And ding bat that I am, thinks to myself, cool I can try out the action feature of the camera and see how the action feature works on the camera. Only that dumb dog didn't stop, she kept on running at full speed and knocked me and by brand new camera right over. Then she has the gall to actually look like she is having fun. The dumb dog.



Tell me again why we have you here. Oh yeah I remember now, it's because I'm a ninny and can't say no to my husband and kids when they begged and pleaded for a dog. And then upon agreeing on a dog, I get one that is completely opposite of everything I envisioned. Your huge and you shed a lot, you snore and you drool real bad on top of it all. Yet still I can't get rid of you, because as the kids say, Gigi is family. Dumb Dog.

The Royal Spa Treatment

I have been to a spa today and received the royal spa treatment. The proprietors of this spa are in my immediate family so I got the works for free. The oldest owner (8 years old) decided that mom needed a special day. Off he went in search of his massage tools. After enduring all that I could take of his gentle shoulder massage I begged for a moment to just to savor how relaxed I could be. It's amazing how much more relaxing it was after he stopped.

Not to be out down the other proprietors (ages 4 and 2) decided that I needed to have my hair done. Off they went to find the brush and comb. I was then brushed and combed until my hair was hanging as limp and straight as it could possibly be. I'm sure that my two year old remembered the times that I encountered tangles while brushing her hair so decided to give a little bit of payback.

Sadly I was unable to stay for the manicure and pedicure since it really was getting late, but maybe next time. All I know is that after such a relaxing day provided courtesy of my children I feel the need to make an appointment for a real massage, but I think I'll have to try a more established spa to frequent. I just won't mention it to my children.

I love flowers

I haven't always been into gardening. It just grabbed hold of me in the last few years. Since then I have tried many different flowers. Some I like and others I pulled out and planted something new the next year. But these are some of my favorite perennial flowers and I love the the way their colors can brighten anything up. This is my hydrangea. It only has two blooms so far but this is only it's second year and is still very small.




I also love the bright color my pinks have. They are such a small flower but pack a big punch, I think.




And of course I can't forget to mention by bright yellow day lilies. I must confess that this was one of the first flowers that really got me more into the gardening thing. It's one of the first to bloom every spring and I always look forward to it's arrival.



I have a lot more flowers that I have just planted and once they mature a bit and fill in then I will take some more pictures. In the meantime I hope you enjoy these as much as I have.

My request

Today is the last day of school for my son. He is already claiming to miss his teacher and is so sad. So now that he is home for the summer, what can I expect? Lots of requests. My oldest son is full of them from everything to special breakfast requests to the playing with friends and anything else that may catch his eye. He sees something on TV and he wants it, he sees it at the store and wants it, he hears about something and he wants it.

So what is a poor mom to do. I get very tired of saying no all the time. With four kids, when one of them makes a request it is inevitable that the rest will soon follow with their own. So for today, I have a special request to make. I request the creativity needed to keep four children and a mom happy and sane over the summer. Notice I am not requesting patience, just creativity and new ways to deal with things. I am sure that my one single request will be lost among the garble of my children's many requests through out the day. Then again, maybe my one request will be heard by others and I will be granted the creativity that I desire.

My Shade Garden

I love gardening. It is always welcomed by me every spring. I like to see the old plants that are back for another year and look forward to the new annuals that will brighten up an area. For me it provides instant gratification. It's easy to deal with the sunny locations of the yard but my favorite spot is in the backyard. I have one flower bed in my backyard that gets very little sun. It is on the north side of the house and has a large oak tree protecting it as well. I have found several plants that do very well there and really love it. But without fail, every year I am required to go and replant all my favorites. This is because I have a very large, dumb dog that refuses to learn and is always digging up my flower bed. So today I have once again planted my Hostas, a new fern and some very colorful Caladiums. Once they have grown some, they will look beautiful along with the pinks, Gladiolas and Hydrangea that I have growing there. I am even tempted to replace the Coral Bells since I really love that plant, but it tends to cover up one of my darn dogs favorite spots so maybe I will just give it a break this year. In the meantime I am excited to once again have my shaded area back in order. All I can do now is try to keep that dumb dog out of my beds.

What my children see

I went shopping for a swim suit today and it was quite the adventure. I sorted through all the racks of swimsuits that I thought were cute that I thought might look good on me. After I had approximately eighty swimsuits in hand, we went off in search of the dressing room. I barely missed out on the handicapped stall since a lady with her one child in the stroller zipped in before me and my two kids along with the baby in the stroller could get there. No worries no hard feelings to you and your single child in that enormous dressing room. I will just cram all four of us in the small dressing room and proceed to try on my eighty swim suits with absolutely no room to turn around in. You and your one child enjoy the big dressing room.

You see I came prepared to entertain my kids with a small snack while I changed. Unfortunately they were far more interested in laughing at mom every time they saw my underwear. What in the world made them find this so funny I do not know but they did and they were laughing hysterically at me as I tried on swimsuit after swimsuit. I really was beginning to develop a complex, I mean if my kids are laughing at me in my swimsuit what will the people at the pool think. Once I finally get it narrowed down to about three suits I ask the kids what they think. It's then that I realize what my child sees when they look at me in a swimsuit versus what I see. All that they see is the big bright flowers and colors and none of the rolls and cellulite. To them the more loud the swimsuit the prettier I was. I just wanted to hug them there on the spot, but unfortunately we were still crammed in that small dressing room and I didn't have enough room to do it. So I picked out what was to them the ugliest suit of all since it didn't have enough colors in it and I somehow managed to maneuver back out of the dressing room. I gave them a quick hug and rushed to the closest check out before I could change my mind.

So I kept telling myself that the important thing to remember is that it will be so much fun for the kids to be at the pool this summer and that is what they will remember most. Not what I am wearing. So today all I have for my children is love, since they have shown me so much of that in the dressing room, well except for the laughing at my underwear bit.

Blessed by the Kindness of Others

I have been blessed today by the kindness of others. So much that it has brought me to tears more than once. You see this morning is my son M. (aka Hoss) last day of pre school. So it's a fun day with pizza and bounce houses and snow cones. You get the idea. He has been looking forward to this for weeks. This morning I went to drive him to school and couldn't get out of the garage. Our spring had broken and we were stuck. I couldn't call my husband since he was in Finland. I checked to see if any neighbors were home who could help me get him to his school. But no one was around. So my very excited little boy took off his backpack and went back inside. He was so upset he asked me if he could go and kick the garage door. My poor baby, little did he know, I really wanted to kick the door also.

So I called the repairman who promised to be here in two hours. Then I called the school to see when the festivities began. When the director realized my situation she offered to come and pick him up for me so he wouldn't miss any of the fun. Which she promptly did, leaving all the activities to be managed by the other women there. She also offered to bring him home if I am unable to get him. Later, one of my neighbors did get home and realized my situation, he brought me his car keys so I wouldn't be home without a vehicle while I waited for the repairman. He then left in his truck for the rest of the day. Truly today, on a day when I needed it, I have been blessed by the kindness of others.

A Week Without Dad

I woke up this morning thinking it was going to be just like any other day. I made it until about 9 a.m. before I realized otherwise. It was at this time that my husband called and asked me to pack him a suitcase. They needed to put him on the plane to Finland before the end of the day. When I asked the dreaded question of how long I was given the answer "just until Thursday". It wasn't until I was counting socks that I realized that meant he would be gone a week. Man is he lucky the laundry is caught up. I explained it to my youngest kids and they immediately went to work making a map for daddy to take in case he gets lost. My oldest son Z, will not be happy to hear about this when he gets home from school. But he is always such a big help when dad is gone that I know I can count on him.

So for the next week it's just mom. I get to deal with all the regular stuff I do everyday, without the hope of relief in the evenings. It's always a struggle at first but somehow God gets me through these times with more patience then I realized that I possess. These trips make me realize how much I do depend on my husband and how much I do depend on God. As they say, God will never give me more than I can handle.

My life of addiction

I have addiction in my life. First thing in the morning if I don't get my coffee then you better watch out. I just don't function without it. I am trying to cut it down. I have gone from 4-5 cups to about 2 or 3. My poor children really know that mommy is nicer after her first cup has been consumed. This is a recent addition that has only been acquired within the last 6 years or so. I'm not the only one with this addiction. I know many other moms who suffer in silence along with me.

My other addictive vice is caffeine free Diet Cokes or diet Dr Pepper. I dream about these drinks. The sweet flavor they have and how if they are so much better when they are ice cold. I refuse to dilute the flavor of these drinks by adding ice cubes. Give it to me plain in a glass where I can watch the bubbles float up. Gosh, how sad do I sound. Yes I know I have a problem. I have shared this addictive problem with my husband only he is not the purist I am and will still add ice to his drinks.

I have also inadvertently shared my addiction with my almost three year old daughter, K. Now please don't think I am one of those mom's who put coke in their baby's bottles because I don't, at least not technically. But for K, she is just like her mama. She sees the way I watch my drink as I pour it and she does the same. Her lips literally quiver in excitement as she ask if she can have some. And bad mom that I am, I give her a sip so that she will go away and leave me and my coke alone. It has gotten so bad that I now have to hide in another room or turn on the faucet, just to open a coke and pour it in a glass without K. hearing it.

I guess the responsible thing for a mom to do would be to stop letting her drink it. And I know if will be agony for both her and I if she sees that I am getting what she so desperately wants. So it looks like now I will have to give up my caffeine free diet drinks along with cutting back on coffee.

Sigh...what else can I do. I truly am sad about this. How sad is that?

Momumentous task

I have tackled a momumentous task this weekend. I have finally gotten every snap shot that has been taken for the last five years into albums. Well most of them anyway, the good ones. I was finally pushed into doing this when my son's pre school requested a baby picture. I couldn't find one and had to dig into a huge tub where all the photos had been placed by my husband. I finally located one for his school. But in the process came across all these other photos of all the kids that really were cute but were hidden away. So now instead of only having baby pictures of my oldest son in an album, we now have all four of the kids from their first pictures to now. Granted some of them may be a bit out of order here and there, but for the most part they aren't to bad and they are labeled. As for the kids, they are excitedly looking at all these neat pictures of themselves from when they were babies and are thrilled.

And it came at a great time for me since I received a new digital camera and am desperately trying to figure it out. Then I can get more pictures to put in the albums. But the one thing I noticed when putting the albums together, I'm hardly ever in any pictures. I am always the one taking the pictures. And of course I feel silly telling my husband to take a picture of me, please. I guess I really should since the kids will one day want to see the pictures with me in them. Then again, maybe I will just start using the timer on my new camera and then I can be in all the pictures. Anyways, I am just so relieved to have finally gotten them all organized and put into albums. That's a huge thing for me.

A time to read.

I see a book,
I think I'll like it,
I pick it up and then I buy it.

I take it home and sit down to read,
What comes next, my babies done the deed.
So off I go to change a diaper.
I sit down, then daughter calls for me to wipe her.
Flush the toilet, close the door then I go and try once more.

At last I think, I can finally read.
Then in comes my son at full speed,
Mom, come quick you gotta see.

First one thing and then another.
By the time I done with this book,
I'll be a grandmother.

My brother's humor

I have a wonderful relationship with my brother. We have always gotten along, even as children. He is four years older than me and has had his share of struggles. But through it all he has had the funniest sense of humor. Some may call it a dry wit. I love his sense of twisted humor and know that when he is joking around he never means it in a mean way.

He had me rolling on the floor this morning when I spoke with him. He had been talking with my mom who is trying to keep my Uncle Soupy to stay with them at least through the weekend. My uncle can get a bit cranky at times, like any 82 year old can. And with the surgery and being gone from home for so long he is a little bit extra cranky. Uncle Soupy has been wanting to go home now and wants Sister to drive him home today. He also wants her to go to the Dairy Queen and drop him off to visit with his cronies. She doesn't need to stay since all the women do is gossip. Now my brother hearing about this got Uncle Soupy on the phone. He said that he wouldn't be able to leave just yet, and if he tried that my mom was instructed to hide his walker so he couldn't make it to the car. Then my brother asked him what was going on at the Dairy Queen to make him want to go. Uncle Soupy just laughed and said he needed to visit with his friends. It was then that my brother said "Uncle Soupy, let me get this straight. The women at Dairy Queen just sit around and gossip. But you men don't gossip right, your just fellowshippin'. Do I have it right?" Poor old Uncle Soupy laughed so hard he made his chest hurt. He said my brother was right of course but he'd never thought of it that way before. And after all the threats of taking and hiding his walker, he thought he would cut Aunt Sister a break and stay a while longer at my parents house.

Leave it to my brother to make idle threats about walker stealing and comments about fellowship. Truly I do love his sense of humor. Does that make me a warped person also?

Spiderman 3

After weeks of anticipation by my oldest son, Spiderman 3 finally came out this past weekend. He has been begging for me to take him to see it since he knows mom likes these types of movies better than dad. Well scheduling finally permitted us to go and see it last night and he was so excited. What he failed to tell me was that his friends had already filled him in on all the cool things that happen in the movie. So for him it was not as much of a surprise as it was for me. It was still a great movie and he absolutely loved it. I thought it wasn't so bad either but really don't go for all the creepiness that seemed to be in this one. I think I will wait until my four year old gets bigger before letting him see it since it would probably give him bad dreams. For me it was just fun to get out and do something with just my oldest son, at his request. As he gets older, mom is always second fiddle to dad in his one on one time. But when it comes to movies, he knows he can talk me into them easier. That's okay, I'll take it.

Thankful Thursday

Since I really don't have much to say today I thought I would just do a Thankful Thursday post.

1. I am so thankful that my uncle has improved and was released from the hospital. Hopefully he will make a full recovery and be back to his old self in no time.

2. I am thankful that as this Mother's Day approaches this weekend that I still have my mother to celebrate it with. As well as my husband's mother. I have so many friends who have lost their mom's so I appreciate them more.

3. I am so thankful for my faith sharing group. It has truly taught me a lot more about my faith as well as brought me closer to a wonderful bunch of Catholic women.

4. I am thankful of my children and how they force me to slow down and do the simple things like paint together. It's messy but it reminds me that they need me in so many different ways.

5. And a silly one, I am thankful that I did finally find that lost book I was looking for. Now if I can find some quiet time to read it.

Trade you

Do you remember the days of trading? When you and your friends were convinced that you were getting the best end of the deal by trading that favorite marble or baseball card or maybe just your lunch. Some days you got lucky and ended up with the best rookie card ever and some days you just ended up with the team mascot. As you get older you stop trading these prized possessions. Instead they end up in a shoe box in the back of your closet waiting for you to find them again. Maybe if your lucky you will have a son or daughter that will want your collection that you saved for all these years. Then the process will begin again only this time it's your child and their best friend. Then the debates over the value of each card start anew. Such is the life cycle of trading. And I wouldn't trade watching my son trade baseball cards for anything.

Bad Memory

Where did my memory go? I seem to have lost it somewhere along the way. I can't remember any of the important things anymore as well as the not so important. I have been trying to remember where I put a book that I know I bought. I can't find it anywhere. And when I tried to enlist the kids help in finding the book I couldn't remember the title of the book or what it even looks like. I just know I bought two books at the store that day and I have only read one of them. Good gosh, how sad is that? Maybe once I get my memory back I will find my book. Sad thing is this isn't the first time this has happened to me with books. I always seem to find them months down the road and it's always such a thrill to me. So if I don't remember who you are and what your name is, don't feel bad it's just my memory has gone bad.