Where ,Oh Where ,Has My Little Child Gone?

It may be time to declutter? 

You know it's time to organize better when your child blends in with the furniture! 
I serioulsy walked by this 4 times before I realized Jeven was on the shelf.

This is our home school bookcase. To the right of it, would be Jayce's dresser.  Why is Jayce's dresser in the dining room?  Well, I moved it out there when I was painting the boys' room.  The room that is half painted as we speak.  The room I started approx. 2 months ago.  Sigh....

I hope to have it finished soon.

In the mean time, we will have fun finding new places to hide!

Too Old For Vacations?

As my fill-in author  wrote, we went on a little mini-vacation last week. 

I, my kids, my mother and grandmother stayed in a condo-unit at the beach.  Next door, my aunt and uncle and their 5 kids and one grandchild.  My uncle is from Alaska, we don't get to see him and his family enough.  To say this was a treat, would be an understatement.

My husband stayed behind to do his husbandly duty (well. one of.) and work.  I really needed him to be off work on Saturday and he only gets one day off a week, besides Sunday. So, staying behind was the only solution.  He doesn't like the beach anyways so...no biggie.  Although, I did miss him.  And his duties. (*wink wink*)

The beach was quite windy but luckily, the pool was quite warm.  And had just enough room that I could let the little boys put on their life jackets and let them swim pretty much on their own.  Of course, I got in the water with them and who doesn't love putting on a swim suit 50 4 times a day and trekking back and forth to and from the pool? 

We stayed for 2 nights, bringing us home Friday afternoon.  Bringing us home to a clean house (turns out, my husband isn't the slob that messes everything up. Who knew!) and my brother, visiting from Wyoming! 

I spent Friday evening picking on spending quality time with my brother, doing laundry and baking cupcakes. 

Saturday, we had my grandmother's 80th birthday party--hence all the out of town family. 
We set up, enjoyed ourselves and came home about 9ish Saturday night.

Sunday, more time with the brother, church and swimming in Grammie/Papa's pool.

Monday, said goodbye to brother.  Very hard this time. He's going through some tough crap right now.  TANGENT ALERT!!  I find it somewhat ironic,growing up, I picked on him horribly.  But, if someone else did the picking, I wanted to beat their butts.  It's pretty much the same way now. He's not perfect, I know that. He knows that.  But, yet, you mess with him?  I want to beat your butt. 
TANGENT OVER. 

Also, on Monday, we took a "family" day and went to a fish hatchery about an hour out of town.  For you city folk, a fish hatchery is just like it sounds.  A place where they hatch fish to be released into the wild.  This particular hatchery has a mini-golf course, several habitats with different birds and a museum with a large fish tank and exhibit of animals native to this area.  All for free.  So, we packed a lunch and headed down the road.

Tuesday, we did nothing*. 

Wednesday, nothing.

Which brings us to Thursday.  Where we have done nothing.

Is it crazy that I am still recovering from my "wild weekend"?  Isn't it a tad pathetic? 

I remember, not so many years ago, staying up until 2-3 in the morning, getting up 3 hours later, going to class, going to work and then out again at night.  Rinse and repeat all week long.
Now, a relaxing couple days at the beach, an old lady's birthday party and hanging out with family wipes me out! 

I hate to think that I'm too old to do vacations. I think, actually, that it is that I don't get enough of them and my body goes into shock.  Therefore, the fatigue that I'm feeling is actually my body saying "What the heck was THAT?  Fun?  I don't know how to handle that!  I'm shutting down now!". 

So, I must train my body to take a vacation every once in awhile.  Hawaii anyone?  I could kill two birds with one stone on that trip.  Some of you know what I'm talking about here (it goes with the beating butts that are picking on my brother).

*As a mom, the term "nothing" really doesn't mean NOTHING, does it?  I did feed the children and attempt to keep up with the house.  We did go to the playground.  We did STUFF, just nothing significant. 

That Snake Better Do His Own Laundry!

Jayce likes to go across the street, to the ditch/creek and collect snakes. He likes to bring them home but he's not allowed to bring them in the house. 
We have lizards and a cat right now.  We've had fish, hamsters, dogs, and various other animals.  But, I draw the line at snakes. And birds. 

But, boys will be boys and part of being a boy is playing with snakes?  So, he's allowed to bring them home, put them in some sort of container and then release them the next day or so.  All this takes place OUTSIDE.

The other night, my husband went to a friend's house and found a large gigantic snake in Wade's back yard.  He, being the ever thoughtful father, brought it home for Jayce. 

Jayce was super excited and would have been perfectly content sticking to our regularly scheduled "snake habitation" plan. But, being the ever thoughtful father, Judd thought we should put it in the empty aquarium in the garage.  Just for a day. Or two. 

Can you see where this is going? 

The next morning, I hear Jayce get up and go out to the garage.  I also hear him say "Daaadddd.  The snake is gone". 

I, being the ever patient and understanding mother, say "What the heck!!  What do you mean the snake is GONE!!  JUDD!!!" 

Judd goes out and sure enough, the snake is gone.  This is the following conversation:  (it was not nearly as calm as it will appear here)
Me:  Find that snake!!
Judd: It probably went out under the garage door.
Me:  PROBABLY?!? 
Judd:  It was only a little garter snake.
Me: I don't care what kind it was, any snake that hides in the garage is a bad snake.
Judd:  Like I said, he probably went out of the garage.
Me:  What makes you think he's not in the house?
Judd:  There's nothing he wants in the house.
Me: How does he KNOW until he gets in the HOUSE!!!? 

That night, I made my husband go out and look for the snake again.  Made him look under the laundry piled up on the floor, in the washer. Basically, anywhere I'd have to be in the garage. 

I was nervous all night. I couldn't sleep with my arm or leg hanging out over the bed, in fear of the vicious snake.  Because we all know how snakes can leap up off the ground and bite your whole leg off.

We have not seen any sign of the snake.  But, as I'm catching up on laundry, I am ever fearful that he will be hiding under a pair of dirty socks. Or in my jeans pocket. 

But, a snake hiding in the garage is as good excuse as any to NOT do laundry, I say!
Not that I've ever need an excuse before but.... this time it's valid.

Filling In

Hello this is Jayce, Jackie's son. She can't type now because she is packing for our 2 day vacation to the beach!!Its going to be a blast,we're going to stay in a hotel that is  big and with a huge swimming pool but my sister is coming too so.........

Hair Be Gone

Josie has had long hair since,well, since she's had hair.  She hasn't had hair cuts other than trims.

With the hot weather, all the swimming and an unexplainable rash that seemed to be caused by wet hair hanging over her shoulders, I finally convinced her dad to let me get it cut.

Josie really wanted to donate to Locks of Love but you need to have a minimum of 10 inches.

So, she went from hair down to her bottom to this:

I think it looks really cute!

Older but cute.  In a surprising twist of events, I cried as the lady cut it.  I was remembering when she was a bald baby and those first locks of hair started coming in.  When she had *just* enough to put a tiny bow on her head.

Now, she's growing up and making decisions on her own, about her hair and other things as well.

I'm so proud.

Center of Attention

Coming up this weekend, we are throwing my wonderful Grandmother her 80th birthday party.  We are doing it in the community she has lived for..well..a long time. It's where I graduated from high school (with a huge class of 20) and my parents live until about 7 years ago. 
It's out in the country and not fancy but we're hoping it will still be nice.

I am in charge of the centerpieces.  For 10 card tables covered in red-white gingham table cloths. 

You know when you visualize something in your head but then when you actually put it into action, you second guess yourself?  Especially after you make the mistake and ask your husband what he thinks and then he makes the mistake and tells you?

Yeah.

So,now I'm asking you, blog friends.  Am I crazy?  Do these work? 

A) White with red ribbon

B) Red with white ribbon

C) On the left, we have red and white candies.
OR
D) Mix it up and do some of each
OR
E) "Are you crazy! None of them you idiot!!

The Morning After

Ever have one of those nights that you do something maybe you shouldn't have?  Then, suddenly remember the next morning?  And can't believe you did what you think you did?

Well. That's me this morning. But, sorry, my "naughty" something isn't quite as "naughty" as you'd think.*

It took us forever weeks to break Jeven's habit of asking for and drinking milk in bed, during the night.  Being the 4th child, and me being deprived of sleep after 4 children, I would give in to him. He'd get a glass of milk before bed, brush his teeth. Then, about 2 a.m. he'd ask for more milk.  And, wanting my precious sleep, I'd give it to him.  

At some point, I realized that he wasn't going to stop this habit on his own.  He'd be a 40 yr. old married man, asking his wife for milk.  And, he'd have no teeth because they'd all milk rot away.

So, we finally broke the habit.  It seriously took probably 2 wks.  The boy is STUBBORN.  

We've been having some really high temps. here, these last few days. All we have for a/c is window a/c units.  They do fine but our house never really cools down during the night.

It was no real surprise when Jeven woke me in the middle of the night, asking for a drink of water.

"Mom, I thirsty. Can I have some water?"

"Ummm. Ok"

I stumble to the kitchen with Jeven hot on my heels (literally, hot) both of us half asleep and walking a little funny.

Now, my children have gotten a tad spoiled.  We have a Brita water pitcher.  We don't hardly use the tap water for drinking.  It's actually fine but...after you've had Brita, you'll never go back.  

But, the pitcher was waaaayyy back in the fridge. Behind the Costco bottle of ketchup. Behind the economy sized box of yogurt.  Behind the 2 liter of pineapple flavored soda.  And, the generic Crystal Light pitcher was empty.

So.  You'd THINK I'd just fill his cup with tap water. Right?

Nope.

I filled it with the pineapple flavored soda.

Usually, with the water, I put just enough to quench their thirst. The kids take a few sips then I dump the rest out.

Nope.

I FILLED that cup. With pineapple flavored soda. For my 4 yr. old. In the middle of the night.
Jeven chugged. About half way through, I recall having 2nd thoughts and trying to take it away from him but...he just kept chugging.

Back to bed he goes. 


My first thought upon waking this morning was "What have I done!!!?? Soda??? In the middle of the night?  To JEVEN?!!"

I fully expect him to wake tonight and come to my side of the bed, asking "Mom, I'm thirsty. Can I have some highly sugared flavored soda of some kind?" 

Talk about regrets......

*Call me a prude or goody-goody but I've only had one hangover my entire life.  And, it wasn't when I was 20 something. Or in my teens. But, it was actually 3-4 years ago.  I'm not much of a drinker. Boring, but true.  And, honestly it doesn't bother me.  Addiction runs in both my family and my husband's. So, not a bad idea to stay away from the stuff.  The benefits to my children will be worth it.

The Scale Never Lies

It does like to mess with me, though.

I've recently lost some weight. Not a ton (well, of course not a ton. You haven't seen me on TLC yet have you?  "One Ton Woman Only Has Time To Write Once A Week In Her Blog"  Not quite.)
But, enough that it's made a difference in how I feel.  About 20 lbs! 

At least I think it's about 20 lbs.  My stupid scale messes with my head.
I weigh in the same time everyday, wearing the same outfit--my birthday suit. 
I step on :  122 (Not real weight, of course. Did you think I'd actually write my real weight?)
I step off. Then immediately back on:  120
Awesome! I lost 2 pounds in 2 seconds!  This weight loss thing is a piece of cake! Wait, cake?
Step back off, then on again:  125.  Oh man!  I knew I shouldn't have thought of cake!!

I do this several times until I get  a number at least 3 out of 5 times.

I have been making small goals along the way.  I've had a certain number I've been trying to reach for about a week now.  I've been .3 pounds away from it for 3 days. So frustrating!! 

Today, I saw that number!  For about 3.2 seconds. 

Stupid scale is just teasing me. Forcing me to work harder so I can see that number for more than a split second or two.

I even got desperate enough to go out and buy a swim suit.  I did own one but it was a maternity suit left over from approximately 3 kids ago.  We won't even discuss how it still mostly fits.
But, I needed a new suit. 
After an entire day of shopping (in may have taken longer than necessary because Papa had all of my kids. To say I hurried would be an untruth.) I found an old lady style that tries to look fashionable.  You know, the kind with a skirt? Yeah. S-E-X-Y. 
But, I'm not trying to impress anyone.  My husband has seen me naked a few times.  So, no reason to look good, even if I could. 

This last week, I've made it a priority to get to the pool and swim laps. With the old people (good thing I had an appropriate old lady suit, eh?)

If anyone ever tells you you can't get hot and sweaty swimming, they are liars. 

But, it's exercise that I enjoy (did I just say that sentence out loud?).

My scale is challenging me but for once, I will win! 
Wish me luck!

Finally Fishing

When we were potty training Jeven, his father told him that if he had no accidents, he'd take him fishing.  And it worked!  I think after that bribe, we had maybe 2 accidents.

That was over a year ago. Time has just slipped away.

And do you think Jeven forgot about goin' fishin'?

Not. On. Your. Life.

Every time he went poop, he'd announce "I go poop. I want to go fishing!"

Poor kid. 

But, finally, it happened. The stars aligned. The schedule was cleared. The boat was launched.   As Jeven was getting dressed to go, I caught him doing a little "happy dance". Naked.  To say he was excited would be an understatement.

What makes this fishing trip extra special is that not only did he get to go with his dad, but with his Great Grandpa as well.

How many kids can say that?
All of my kids have been extremely fortunate to have gone fishing at least once with Grandpa.

And, they actually caught fish! 

Judd is wonderful about getting fish on and letting the younger kids reel them in.  On this trip, he managed to get Jeven's line caught. Now, 2 days later, Jeven still talks about how Dad "broke my fishing rod".

I was so happy to see my baby so happy.  Although, I do worry about the little ones being in the boat.  But, with Dad and Grandpa, I know they are in good hands.

And, everyone made it back safe and sound.