Five Time Mom

Kids are so funny....

2008-06-10T17:55:00.002-04:00

Megan is in first grade (soon to be second). You would never guess it though. Her and her little girl friends are always on the phone planning sleep overs and play dates. They act like miniature teenagers. The cutest thing to hear is when one of her friends leave a message. It is always about five minutes long, they rarely say who they are calling for and they do not identify themselves. Last weekend we were very busy and we were hardly home at all. One of Megans friends kept trying to call her. She left about five messages asking Megan to please call her back. Well I guess when Megan didn't call back the little girl figured she had the wrong number because her last message said this;

"Hey Megan I am trying to call you. I don't know if this is the right number. If its not please call me and tell me the right one so you can come over my house"

Guess what this is...

2008-06-10T17:36:00.003-04:00

Take a guess at what this is. Unless your a doctor or nurse you probably will never figure it out. It is Debra's appendix! Don't ask me why the doctor thought we would want a picture of this but apparently when you have something removed these days you get a picture of it. EWWWW GROSS!

Poor Debra. She started having stomach pains on Sunday. By Monday morning her stomach hurt so badly that she could hardly walk. I took her to the emergency room and within hours they were wheeling her off to have emergency surgery. They said she would have to stay in the hospital overnight but she would be fine in a few days.

Now anybody who knows Debra knows what a little scared head she is. Before surgery she was very worried, but she wasn't worried about the surgery. She was worried that her Father and I were going to make her spend the night in the hospital alone! That girl is so silly. Her Dad stayed with her and he took really good care of her. Almost too good care of her. Can you believe that he spoon fed her? I understand her stomach hurt after surgery, but as far as I know her hands were just fine.

Debra is home now and she is doing fine. She is going to be a sad little thing when Dale goes back to work though, because I am not going to give her the care her Dad has....

Just a little side story;

When Ashley was five she had to have her appendix removed. Her stomach started hurting on the same day that I had volunteered to go on a field trip with her kindergarten class. I gave her some pepto bismol and figured she would forget all about her tummy ache once we got to the museum. Well long story short, I drug her around Washington D.C. all day long and the next morning I had to rush her to the ER to have surgery....

2008-05-27T09:42:00.002-04:00

Dear Mom,

Nightmares and monsters, they won't go away. The last few weeks have been very sleep deprived. Ever since you passed Megan has been having nightmares. At first it was a few times a week and now she ends up in our bed almost every night. I too have been having terrible dreams. I usually dream that I need to walk but my legs won't move. Sometimes I don't remember the dreams but I wake up terrified. I know someone has died but I can't remember who. After a couple of seconds I remember it is you who has died. What a terrible moment to relive over and over again. I know when Megan comes to our bed I should put her back in her own. I should teach her that while dreams are scary they are not real. I should let her know she is safe in our home and she has nothing to fear. But how can I teach her that when I don't feel it. I wake up terrified and I have to go check on everyone. I double and triple check that the doors are locked. It seems like we are not going forward only backwards.

Poor Jessica is having a terrible time of it too. She is normally the bravest girl in the house. She has never been afraid of the dark and she has never minded being alone. Now she sleeps with her light on and she makes sure someone will be home whenever she is.

Now don't get me wrong. We don't walk around with a bat in our hands, terrified of everything. Most of the time we are OK. We are just having a little trouble adjusting. And when I say a little I mean a lot. I know that the kids feel my pain and my stress. I am trying my best to keep my head up and let them see that we will all be OK, and I do believe that we will be OK. Maybe I am going about this wrong, but I can't figure out how to do it right.

This week is not going to make things better. Grandparents day is the thirtieth and we all need to get through that. You always came to Grandparents day, and it meant so much to me and the girls. We will be missing you so much on that day.

On a more positive note, Booga was over this weekend. He seems to be getting along just fine. He slept in the living room and I can tell you his ass didn't have any nightmares. I was thinking about playing some scary music to induce a nightmare. I mean why should he sleep peacefully? LOL

Dad is getting his feet back under him. Every weekend he asks us kids to come help pack up your things and then every weekend we do no packing. I am starting to think his asking us to help pack up is just a ploy to make sure we visit.

I miss you more each day and I love you so, so much...

So very gracious...

2008-05-22T08:37:00.002-04:00

Gracious; 1.having or showing kindness, courtesy, charm etc. 2.compassionate 3.polite to supposed inferiors

Yesterday Jessicas sixth grade class celebrated the end of testing with a trip to the local park. I went along and I am extremely glad that I did. I saw something yesterday that really awed me. It was a simple gesture made out of pure selflessness and words can not express how proud I am of my daughter.

As everyone knows sixth grade girls can be brutal. One day the girls are friends. The next day they back stab, spread rumors and treat each other with utter disrespect. Then the day after that they are friends again. It is an especially hard time for Jessica who is super sensitive to the thoughts and feelings of others. Well this year has been particularly hard on Jessica. She has this friend/enemy who has gone out of her way to make Jessica miserable. After months of friendship and abuse Jessica finally decided that she was no longer going to deal with this girl. Jessica was not going to be this girls friend or enemy any longer. Jessica was determined to detach herself from the situation. Of course this frienemy did not like that. The girl spread rumors, told lies and was just plain mean. It really hurt Jessica, but she ignored it.

Yesterday we were at the picnic. Everyone was sitting at the picnic tables eating lunch. Jessica's frienemy ended up all alone. She was standing by the swing set looking pretty miserable. I thought it was her just desserts. Maybe next time this girl would think twice before she was mean to someone. After a few minutes Jessica noticed the girl. I don't know what I expected Jessica to do, but her actions definitely surprised me. Jessica said nobody should feel left out and alone and she invited the girl to sit at our table.

I think that must of been the most gracious gesture I have ever seen. I would love to say I taught her that, but we all know I would of left miss frienemy standing there. I am so proud of Jessica. She honestly has the sweetest spirit in this world.

2008-05-17T15:37:00.003-04:00

Have you ever noticed that when a family has a baby they all start using words that no one has ever heard before? Our baby Faith is two and a half. She is a very verbal baby and I thought I would translate just a few of our new family words...

food or eat = yummies (when ever she is hungry she asks for yummies).

Love = lub

blip blops = flip flops (even my Dad says blip blops now)

ga-raw = straw (it took forever to figure that one out)

ninny = pacifier

jecca = jessica

gum- gum = gum

t-bee = t.v.

kissies = kisses

So if you come to our house we will immediatly ask you to take your blip-blops off. Jecca will offer you some yummies and a drink with a ga-raw in it. We will probably need you to help us find the ninny. After that we will all sit down chew some gum-gum and watch t-bee. At the end of the night we will give you kissies good bye and tell you how much we lub you.

Poor Daddy....

2008-05-16T09:12:00.003-04:00

The other day Dale was walking through the living room when out of nowhere a little baby voice said; "I lub you Daddy!" His chest just puffed up. He was so happy. He replied; "I love you baby!" Then she said "I lub Mommy more!"

Too young to be that smart....

2008-05-16T09:06:00.003-04:00

The other day Megan came home from school with an eraser. I asked her where she got the eraser and she told me Conner gave it to her. I asked why Conner gave her the eraser and she just calmly replied "because I told him to and boys always do what I tell them to."

I made her return the eraser....

Its true...

2008-05-16T08:26:00.002-04:00

A few months ago my eleven year old daughter shouted "The only way to get attention in this house is if your bad"! I immediatly denied her words and even gave her a lecture on being a little selfish and self absorbed.

As time went on that little sentence would not leave my mind. I told myself not to let it get to me. She was just being dramatic. I am a good parent. I always praise my children. I spend time with them. I take them places. I teach them things. God knows I have read a hundred parenting books to keep on top of things. What she said could not possibly be true. Then why was it bugging me so much?

I have five children. Ashley (18) was (and still is) pure hell as a teenager. We went through so much with her. Debra (13) is your typical teenage girl. She'll do it if she can. I just have to make sure she can't. Jessica (the 11 year old we are talking about) has always been the sweetest thing in the world. She does the right thing because she can't stand for someone to get mad at her. Megan (7) is the mouthiest child I have ever met. She is strongwilled and single minded. If she sets her mind to something; then consider it done. Then we have Faith (2). She is our spoiled, funny handful of a baby.

Now just in writing that parpgaraph I have proven Jessicas point. With so many strong agressive personalities swirling around her Jessica is often left out. Now don't get me wrong; I don't forget to feed her or anything. I just sometimes forget that just because she is not screaming for attention she still needs and deserves it.

It is such a hurtful feeling as a parent to know that you have been treating your child unfairly. I am glad (and sad) she finally got mad enough to say something. I know there is nothing I can do to change the past and sitting around feeling guilty is not going to fix anything. I will take this experience and learn from it. I will make sure to spend a little time each day talking to and appreciating her.

From now on I will make sure that being good gets atleast as much attention as being bad....

2008-05-08T18:40:00.002-04:00

Dear Mom,

Happy Birthday!

Today would have been birthday fifty-six. Not such a high number, and not nearly long enough to suit me, but it was the time you were given and I thank God for it.

It has not yet been a month since you died. Your not being here has only gotten harder. The shock that seemed like it would never wear off has gone and such a huge sadness has taken its place. Its so hard to accept that I will never see or talk to you again. Every once in a while something happens and in the back of my mind I think of your reaction when I tell you about it, but as quickly as that thought comes I remember I won’t be able to tell you and it makes me so sad.
I took Ashley for her sonogram a few weeks ago. It’s a boy! Finally us Dyers get our hands on a male baby…. During the sonogram I realized I would not be able to share the news with you and I almost started crying. I must of counted (in my head) to a hundred about twenty times trying to keep myself together. I just kept thinking how horrible it would be if I were to ruin her first sonogram by crying my head off. I managed to get through it (with a smile I might add). It was a happy day, but so very sad.

The craziest thing happened. One night at bedtime Dale told me he had been having dreams of you. He said they weren’t anything crazy, just dreams of you sitting at the kitchen table drinking your coffee. A few days later Jessica told me that she was having dreams about you. When I asked her what the dreams were about she said that she just kept seeing you sitting at the kitchen table drinking your cup of coffee…. Isn’t that funny that they were both having the same dream of you? I now imagine that where ever you are there is a kitchen table and a pot of coffee. I know that as long as you have those two things you are in heaven!!!

Dad has been doing good. He is back to work and he is socializing. Can you believe it? He went to the twins baseball game. Then he came to my house, yes my house, for a cook out. He said he doesn’t want us to think he is trying to replace you but you always loved coming to these things and now that you are gone he feels he should do it for you. He said it would make you happy and I know that it would. It also makes everyone else happy to see him getting out and making such earnest efforts to keep the family together. I think his biggest fear is that us kids will forget him now that you are gone. Of course there is no way that would happen. We were all raised better than that.

This weekend is Mothers Day. We have all decided to have a cook out in your honor. Aunt Mary suggested we make it for Aunt Patti and Aunt Millie too. She said she still has trouble believing that she has lost three sisters, but she is determined to keep you guys in our hearts and memories and I think that is great… I think I will be making a new dip for the cook out. I know you are laughing to think about me whipping up something new in the kitchen, but I’m telling you; one day I will find my specialty and then everyone will want me to make it for them…..

I miss you and I love you…

So ridiculous....

2008-04-26T16:22:00.003-04:00

Debra loves and I do mean loves, loves, loves big hoop ear rings. This is a pair that she got for Easter. She wears them all the time. She can take this ear ring off and it will fit completely up her arm. Mom and I always laugh at her because her big hoop ear rings are so ridiculous. While Debra is very happy with these ear rings she is on the look out for a bigger pair......

caterpillars

2008-04-26T13:54:00.002-04:00

Summer is almost here. At our house we can tell the season from the bugs that are outside (and a lot of times inside). Spring brings lady bugs, summer brings caterpillars and fall brings gnats because we live by a bean field. Its really gross.

We were outside yesterday and the kids were of course playing with the caterpillars. We all remembered the funniest caterpillar story ever and I thought I would share it with you guys.

When Debra was seven and Jessica was five they found a caterpillar. It was a very hot day and they decided to cool the caterpillar off. They got a squirt bottle filled with water and sprayed the caterpillar. Well they accidentally killed the poor thing by spraying too much water. They were both so upset that they cried all day. They both kept saying "Caterpillar why did you have to die?"

Look at the baby...

2008-04-26T12:35:00.004-04:00

Oh my goodness you guys! I am going to be a grandma! I have of course known it for a long time but seeing the sonogram makes it so real.

The above picture is a 3D sonogram photo. All around the baby is the placenta. I think its cute. Dale said its the creepiest thing he ever saw and he wants a copy of the old sonogram pictures (you know the black and white ones).

I hadn't been sure what I wanted the baby to call me. I like the name Maw-Maw but a baby doesn't need two Granny's named Maw-Maw. Now that Mom is gone I think I will go ahead and have the baby call me Maw-Maw.

Ashley has decided to name the baby Joshua Dale. At first she liked Joshua Anthony (Dales middle name is Anthony) but Booga suggested she go with Joshua Dale instead. I think it is so nice that she wants to name the baby after Dale. I did notice however, when she was thinking of girl names, she never once thought of the name Lisa Christine...... Hmmmm....

2008-04-23T14:12:00.001-04:00

Dear Mom

2008-04-23T08:52:00.001-04:00

On April 14th, 2008 my mother passed away. She had been ill for such a long time that while her passing was not a total shock it was definitely unexpected. Many of you who read this blog will already know the circumstances of her passing. Those of you who don’t know can still follow along.

I have decided to start a new daily post titled “Dear Mom”. This post will be written whenever I feel the need to “update” Mom on things or just whenever I feel like chatting.

One of Moms best qualities was her ability to listen. She never tried to press her point of view. As a matter of fact she hardly ever gave one. Nine times out of ten she would know exactly how to handle any problem I had, but she would never tell me how. She would instead let me talk it out. Nine times out of ten I would come up with the wrong solution and she would let me go with it. When I questioned her later as to why she didn’t tell me the right answer she said it wasn’t her place to tell me how to do things. She said I had to learn on my own and her only job was to be there to listen. And she did a really good job of that.

Dear Mom,

It has been eight days since you left us. Most of the time it doesn’t even seem real. Sadly we had gotten so used to you not being home, that it doesn’t feel weird that you are not there. Not yet anyway.

I told the girls of your passing. It was really hard to do. They all love you so much. Jessica cried and cried and she wrote you a letter on her my space. I don’t think Megan really understands death. She keeps leaving you comments on you’re my space page asking you to come back home. Ashley and Debbie seem to be in just as much shock as I am. Ashley put a poem for you on her my space. I will be making sure to keep an eye on all the girls, especially Debbie. You know how that child worries obsessively about everything!

Dad is doing as well as can be expected. He cries a lot, but he turns to
us kids for support. We are all so grateful for that. We were afraid he would shut us out. He visits your grave twice a day (just like he visited you in the hospital). He, Butchie and Mary are going to try to stay at the trailer. They are not sure if they can afford it but they are going to do their best. If they can’t make it Rob, Jo and I have offered them places to live.

You should be feeling pretty proud of all of your children. We stuck together, took care of Dad, planned and had your funeral without a single fight or argument. Aunt Mary and Sandy were such a great help. Without those two we probably would have just carried you back to the trailer and told no one of your passing….

Your funeral had such a great turn out. I had no idea you even knew that many people. If I could wish for you to see just one more thing on this earth it would be to see the number of people who paid their respects. You touched many lives and you generated so much love. People drove all day just to say good bye to you. You passing has been felt and your life and love will be missed by many, many people.

Mothers Day and your birthday are coming next month. Those will probably be the days we all finally fall to pieces. Aunt Mary is having a Mothers Day cook out in your honor. Again she is making things easier for us. Being with the family on that day will help us to honor your life and not grieve your death.

I am going to miss you so much Mom, but I will never forget you or the love you gave me.

Meganisms

2008-04-22T19:42:00.003-04:00

When I told Megan about Maw-Maws passing. She said:

"Well from now on when I pray I am just going to pray straight to Maw-Maw"

I cried....

2008-04-21T08:47:00.001-04:00

Poor broken hearted Debbie....

2008-04-08T10:32:00.003-04:00

This is my Debbie. She is fourteen and in the eighth grade. Debbie is normally a joy to be around. She is just so funny. The jokes she makes are usually about herself and no matter how bad your mood is you just have to laugh when you are around Debbie.

Back in September she started going out with a boy named Anthony. Now understand when I say going out I mean they saw each other at school and school functions. They also talked on the phone and contacted each other on the computer.

They dated for about four or five months. Which is a huge amount of time to teenagers. Then one day, out of the blue Anthony dumped her. To say Debbie was devastated would be a complete understatement. The child cried, and I mean out loud moaning, groaning crying for days and days. She (and these are her words) could not believe that her "first true love" was over.

It was a very over dramatic next couple of weeks. Things would be fine then they wouldn't be. She would be happy and then she wouldn't be. I tried and I mean really tried to be understanding and supportive. But finally enough was enough. I told Debbie it was just time to suck it up and move on. She said o.k. and she did....

Her and Anthony are now friends and Debra said she will "always care about him".

Good grief!?!

Meganisms....

2008-04-08T10:17:00.003-04:00

The other day Megan came to me "Mom" she said "Daddy is being really unfair to us kids!" I asked how Daddy could possibly be being unfair to everyone. She proceeded to tell me that Daddy said if anyone came home with bad grades on their report cards they were going to get in a lot of trouble. He said he would not accept any excuses. I questioned Megan as to how that was unfair and her answer was:

"Us kids don't grade those papers! How can we help it if the teacher gives us bad grades?"

Happy Anniversary!

2008-04-08T09:02:00.003-04:00

Today is my thirteenth wedding anniversary. Some days I feel that number should be much lower and other days I feel its not high enough. I was twenty three the day I got married. I always laugh when I think about it. I don't laugh at our wedding. Both the wedding and reception went beautifully. I laugh at myself. I remember me at twenty-three. I thought I was so smart. I mean truly there could not of been a smarter person than me. I knew everything about everything. I definitely understood the complexities of marriage and family. I knew exactly what married life would be like and I didn't need advice, counseling or anything else. My husband and I would be just fine as long as we did everything exactly as I said we should. Now I still feel thats true today. Lucky for us I know a lot more now than I did back then. Here is what I know.

1. I do not know everything and every once in a while Dale might know a little more than I do.

2. My parents are not dumb and when I shut up long enough to listen to them they are a wonderful resource.

3. Loving someone does not always fix things, but it definitely makes them better.

4. Trying hard when you don't really feel like it makes feeling like it easier.

5. Saying nothing and nagging have exactly the same effects.

6. The most important thing I know is that my husband loves me more than I have ever seen any other man love any other woman.

I am such a better and happier person now, then on the day I got married. I would not go back for all the money in the world. I have learned that nothing makes a person happier or smarter than experience. If I keep going like this when I reach my one hundredth anniversary I really might be the smartest person in the world.

Invisible Mothers

2008-04-02T19:55:00.003-04:00

This is something that has been being forwarded in emails. I found it very touching and oh so true. So I decided to post it for all you Moms out there to read....

Invisible Mothers...

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way on of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?' Obviously not; no one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisibke. The invisible Mom.

Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this?
Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is the Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Right around 5:30, please.'
I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going, she's going, she's gone!

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England . Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.' It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe . I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription:

'To Charlotte , with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.'
In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work: No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.

A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.' And the workman replied, 'Because God sees.'

I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.'

At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride.

I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.

When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, 'You're gonna love it there.'

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.

Great Job, MOM!

Thursday Thirteen

2008-04-02T10:39:00.004-04:00

Thirteen Things that none of my four older kids did but my baby Faith does...


1.Sucks a pacifier.  We call it a ninny and boy is this baby addicted to it.

2. She has a security item.  She is so in love with a stuffed bunny we call Bunny Foo Foo.  We can not go anywhere or do anything without Bunny Foo Foo being involved.

3. She is afraid of "scaries".  Each night I have to spray each window of her room with our speacial scary spray (water) and say "go away scaries" or she won't go to sleep.

4. She loves t.v.!  When my older girls were babies I always wished they would sit and watch t.v. like other babies, but they wouldn't.  They would watch for a minute and then wander off.  Faith loves t.v. and will watch it all day if I let her.  Sounds good right?  Wrong.  I am so sick of kid shows.  I swear I can repeat every episode of Dora The Explorer by heart.  Plus if I turn the t.v. channel she gets really mad....

5. She really is a Daddys girl.  Most times it is really a cute thing to see, but sometimes a grown man should be strong.

6. She is two years old and can work the computer. I am not kidding. She can control the mouse and not only go to games but she can play them as well.  It is incredible...

7. She walks on my treadmill.  Seriously, she uses that thing more than I do.

8. She has temper tantrums. Yes, all two year olds do, but do they copy the dramatics of their teenage sisters? heres an example;

Mommy: Faith, stop pouting and come talk to mommy.
Faith: NEVER!
Mommy: Faith, We can't have a fit, we need to use our words.
Faith: NEVER, I WILL NEVER, EVER TALK TO YOU!

and if I feed into it we can go like that for hours.

9. No matter how hard I try I can not get her on an eating schedule.  Don't get me wrong she eats at every meal.  She also eats about five more times in between.  If I don't give her food.  She will get it herself.

10. She loves to read books.  And like with the t.v her attention span is long.  She can get any one of about twenty books and tell you what they are about.

11. Loves to swing high.  We have a tire swing in our yard. Faith loves it.  But if we don't push her as high as that swing will possibly go (which is too high for her) she will cry.  While she is swinging so high she likes to let go of the swing and wave.

12. This one is gross and I always said my kids would never do it. She carries her potty around the house.  It is not suprising to walk in the living room and see a potty full of doo... Yuck... Once I opened the microwave and her littl potty bowel was in it.  Thankfully it was empty, but I don't use that microwave anymore.

13. She does not like to be in her stroller.  My older girls would sit for hours if I pushed them.  Not Faith, she can not stand the stroller for more than ten or fifteen minutes.

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Wow!?!

2008-04-02T09:29:00.003-04:00

It seems unbelievable that a year has passed since I last posted. I would love to say the reason I haven't posted is because I was busy traveling the world or learning exciting new things. But alas, I have just been lazy.

But just because I am lazy does not mean there haven't been a lot of changes. I will do a quick recap of my year. Each highlight will have its own post later.

*The worst thing that happened last year is that my mother became very ill. She has spent the last three or four months in the hospital and has had some pretty close calls. She is now in a nursing home until she gets well enough to go home.

*The girls have of course aged another year. Their ages and grades are now as follows; Ashley is eighteen (nineteen in July). She dropped out of school but I am constantly nagging her about getting her GED. Debra is 14 and in eighth grade. Jessica is 11 and in sixth grade. Megan is 7 and in first grade and our baby Faith is two. I of course stopped aging this year and do not plan on ever starting back up again.

*Ashley no longer lives at home. That is definitely a post all on its own.

*Debra had her first broken heart (a very sad but funny story that will be coming soon).

*Sadly so very sadly Jessica is becoming like every other tween aged girl and I am seriously mourning my lost little girl.

*Megan is still Megan. She is still the smart mouthed, tell it like it is, guaranteed to make you feel like an idiot little girl we all know and love.

*Faith is growing by leaps and bounds. Every day she amazed me with the things she shouldn't know but does.

*Dale is still Dale. He spoils us all rotten and then gets mad because we are all so spoiled....

*And last but not least I who have admittedly been lazy have still managed to alienate several members of my family. I have been kicked out of several homes and cussed out by an incredibly lot of people. This is another sad but oh so funny story.....

So a year has passed and much has changed. However some things haven't changed. Like how I am on a diet (again) and how I am going to start keeping a cleaner more organized house. How I am putting my foot down and these kids are going to start listening. Also unchanged is how very much I love my husband and children and how lucky I am to have them....

Debra, Debra, Debra....

2007-03-13T11:43:00.000-04:00

Oh this child of mine, or should I say this parent of mine, or should I say this scaredy cat baby of mine? Debra will be thirteen years old on Friday (march 16th), but some times I swear she is turning thirty and other times I think she must be turning three !

The times I think she is turning thirty are the times she acts like it is her job to keep her father and I in line. She will ask us what we are doing and why. She will get on us if she thinks we should not be doing something. If we buy something she will ask if we think we have enough money for that? No matter how often I get on her about "parenting us" she will not stop.

Debra has to have the last word in every convesation. If I am getting on her she will of course talk back. A typical disagreement always ends like this:

"Debra do not say another word"
"O.k. Mom".
"Debra do not say another word means no words should be comming out of your lips"
"Alright, I'm not talking"
"Debra saying alright and o.k. is still talking. DO NOT SPEAK AGAIN"
"I said alright Mom"
and on and on and on....

If her Father and I go out to dinner without the kids (which happens a whopping once and a while) Debra will say
"Oh great, yall get to go out and have the good food while we get to stay home and eat the crappy stuff"

When Debra asks me to buy her something that she knows she is not going to get, before I even get a chance to answer her she will say
"Oh of course I can't have that. I forgot we're broke"!

I have tried everything I can to get this child to stop running her mouth and checking up on her Father and I. So far nothing has worked and I fear I am stuck with a smart mouthed child/parent forever.

On the other hand Debra is such a scaredy head. Here is a list of things Debra will not do.

1. She will not sleep with all the lights out.
2. She will not go upstairs alone.
3. Although she is in seventh grade, she will not go to the bus stop by herself. I still have to walk her out.
4. She will not go outside alone.
5. She will not stay home alone, and she forever worries that I will not be home when she gets out of school.

I really don't know how one girl can be so grown and so scared at the same time. She is such a contradiction and I honestly couldn't love her more.....

Megans Dream....

2007-03-05T12:31:00.000-05:00

Megans Dream....

This is such a cute story you guys. In school Megan (grade K) has been learning about George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. She is so very interested in this topic and has talked nonstop about ole' George and Honest Abe for weeks. About a week ago she came to me and said "Do you know what my dream is?" I thought she meant a dream she had while sleeping, but no she meant a dream she wanted to have come true. I told her I did not know what her dream was, but I would love to hear about it. She then told me her dream was to see that statue of honest Abe sitting in his huge chair. She also wanted to see that Giant pencil people made for George Washington and to top it off she wanted to see the White House.

Lucky for me we live in the D.C. area. So this weekend I was able to do what is oft times too hard for parents to accomplish; I made my little girls dream come true. We went to D.C. and saw Abe in his huge chair, and we were able to view the White House from the top of that Giant pencil people made for George Washington.

It was a really great day and Megan was so excited to share her pictures with her classmates.

Unbelievable...

2006-11-10T10:47:00.000-05:00

Yesterday Inetrims were issued at the high school. My (17) year old daughter Ashley brought home the above paper. At first glance you are probably thinking "wow, shes doing pretty good!" and that would be a fair assumption, but look closer. Do you notice anything wrong with this interim? For instance where is the School letter head? Where are the teachers names or the conduct grades? On this interim there is no place for comments and no place for a parent signature. For goodness sakes, health is spelled wrong! I can not believe she actually had the nerve to bring this sad excuse for a pretend interim home. Today she should be bringing home her real grades and for some reason I don't think those grades are going to be as good as the ones above.... I will keep you posted.

Just a little side note: She had to bring home good grades in order to attend the school dance.

Meganisms

2006-11-10T10:45:00.000-05:00

By now everyone knows that my (recently turned six year old) Megan has a knack for saying the truest, rudest, funniest things in the world. She says these things at the most stressful, embarassing times and she never backs down from her words. No one and I mean No one is immune from Megans thoughts and feelings. She says what she thinks and she thinks what she says.

For years I have tried to curb Megans wayward mouth. I've done everything I could to fix this "behavioral problem". But I have come to realize that this is not a problem of behavior it is a faucet of her personality. So while I will still try to get her to say things in a nicer way I realize that I will never be able to stop her from saying what she thinks when she thinks it. So knowing this I have decided to call her bursts of rude, funny truths: Meganisms. They are all Megan, all the time. I could probably write a best selling book filled with Meganisms, but for now I will just put it on my blog.

The latest Meganism happend the other day. The weather had turned unseasonably warm and I was telling my oldest daughter that it felt like shorts wearing weather. Megan said (in a very irritated voice)

"Well I would wear shorts today, but somebody won't let me shave my legs!"

2006-10-27T16:02:00.000-04:00

Every tuesday for the last month I have volunteered at Miss Megans school. I go in the mornings and I usually stay for about an hour. The first time I went Megan cried and cried when it was time for me to go. The second time I went Megan was mad and had an attitude because she knew I would be leaving. The third time I went things were fine. I walked into the class room and Megan hollered out a cheerful "Hi Lisa"! I answered with an equally cheerful hello (acting as if I am always called Lisa and not Mom) and my volunteering started. At one time Megan needed some help and I said "here let Mom help you". Megan whispered out of the side of her mouth "You mean let Lisa help you." She seemed to be embarassed so I didn't say anything else. I finished volunteering and left the class room with a kiss and a "Good bye Lisa."

When Megan got home that day I told her I was very proud of her for not crying or getting mad when I left her class. Then I asked her why she kept calling me Lisa. She said "Duh, because we are at school", and she walked away.

Now I don't know why I am Mom at home and Lisa at school, but it is obviously very important in her little kindergarden mind, so as long as she is happy I will be happy too....

Thanks a lot Debra....

2006-10-27T14:28:00.000-04:00

About two weeks ago I had a busier than normal week. By that I mean on top of all the other things I normally do as a stay at home Mother of five I, on this paticular week had been doing a lot of errands and volunteering that took me out of the house for most of the day time hours. On Thursday night of this very busy week I commented to the children that I was super tired because I had been so busy.
"Yeah Mom, you have been busy this week". Debra said in a suprised voice. I then said that I think I am busy every week. Debra replied "Oh I know your usually busy its just that this week you are actually going places and doing things instead of just sitting around the house all day"
"Thank you Debra" I said
" Your welcome" she answered.

Look at my terrific bargin...

2006-10-27T14:11:00.000-04:00

The other day in the middle of cleaning, cooking, helping with homework and doing laundry I smelled something burning. I of course thought it must be dinner, but no; it was the wash machine. The poor thing had been on its last leg for some time now and I wasn't very surprised to see it had finally given out. Now I don't know how much laundry you guys out there do, but in my house I wash at least one load of laundry a day. If I don't do at least one load of laundry a day my laundry basket quickly over flows with dirty clothes.

So knowing I didn't have any time to delay I quickly did a caculation of the bills (by quick caculation I mean I decided what bills I would not pay this week) and I went off to the store. Before heading to the store I had already determined (or rather my bills had determined) that I had three hundred bucks to spend on a new washer. Now I know three hundred dollars isn't going to buy anything spectacular, but thats o.k. I just need a plain old jane washer.

Look what I found on clearance for (you are never going to believe it) three hundred dollars!!!

This washer is normally eleven hundred dollars. It is a Maytag Neptune. It can wash a king size comforter and the sheets that go with it in one load. The control panel is electronic, it has nine wash modes (including one called hand wash). I can set this machine to do an extra rinse, spin or wash and it plays a musical song when the load is done. It was on clearance because it had been retuned. The sales guy wasn't sure why it was returned, but he knew it had been in the repair shop and had been given the o.k. for resale. He gave us a thirty day warranty. We figured it was such a good deal that it was worth a try. I have washed everything in the house (even if it wasn't dirty). I have used every wash cycle and water combination you can imagine and it works wonderfully. For three hundred bucks I am in absolute laundry heaven (yes, with this washer there is a laundry heaven). It was a great deal, the washer works beautifully and I am very happy....

So pretty, and I made it....

2006-10-27T14:01:00.001-04:00

Isn't it pretty? This is my first completed crocheting project. It took me about six hours to do. It was so much fun making and I am really proud of the finished product. I made it for a friend who is of course having a baby...

In the Army now....

2006-10-06T08:41:00.000-04:00

Anyone who knows this family (or who has been following this blog) knows how up and down Ashley has been the passed few years. My husband and I have really had our hands full with this child. She has done everything you can possible imagine a teenager doing, plus more. It has taken her seventeen years to learn it, but I think she finally gets the fact that she is only hurting herself. Yes, her Dad and I are very upset and disappointed by her antics, but she is the one who suffers the consequences. Now don't go thinking that she has magically transformed into this perfectly behaved child, who never does anything wrong (that would be too much to ask for). But she has started taking steps (without being prompted) to better herself. For instance: It was her decision to go back to school instead of getting a GED. She is arranging to be tutored in classes that she is having trouble with, and just recently and most shocking Miss Ashley has signed up for the Army Reserves. The recruiter was here last night and we filled out all the paper work. Ashley will go next week to Fort Lee in Petersburg, VA for her testing and physical. If all goes well she will attend boot camp in the summer, but be back home in time to finish her senior year of high school. During her senior year of high school she will work her designated weekends with the army (and be paid of course) after she completes high school she will then decide to go active in the army or stay in the reserves and go to school, which of course the army provides for all her schooling. She has decided to go into human resources, which is a great career choice. I am really happy with Ashleys decision to join the army. As we all know a military life is not for everyone, but I think Ashley will benefit from the discipline and routine of the army. I think she will also gain a self confidence and independence that she is now lacking. She is very excited about it, and I am very excited for her.

Just a little side note: Ashley going into the army is a bit of a family conflict, since her cousin is in the marines. We are joking that at the family Christmas gathering we are going to have an Army - Marines show down.....Go Army......

Wordless Wednesday

2006-10-04T10:01:00.000-04:00

Tackle it Tuesday

2006-10-03T10:20:00.000-04:00

This is my first Tackle it Tuesday. I choose a big one. This is a little cubby space in my bedroom that is called Moms area. I have my scrapbook table, my computer desk and my paper work table (bills, school forms etc.). This area is always a mess and nothing is ever taken care of here. But today that will change....

Here is before...

and after

One month down, nine to go....

2006-10-03T07:31:00.000-04:00

I am sure once Christmas is here I will not be able to believe how quickly time went by. Right now though, it seems that the first month of school has just barely passed in a crawl. I keep waiting for the smooth flow of school routine to kick in, but it hasn't. It seems every morning is finding us as tired and cranky as the first day of school, only without the new school excitement. No matter how early or late we go to bed, no matter how prepared we are for the day, no matter how patient I am, it just hasn't kicked in yet. Or maybe, it hasn't been able to kick in because my kids won't let it.

Every morning Megan (grade K) wakes up with a new excuse as to why she isn't going to go to school today. She has faked sick, pretended to be asleep, hid behind a bush and just stood in one spot at the bus stop and refused to move. After two weeks of this I figured out the problem. His name is Joshua. He follows Megan every where at school, he scribbles on her papers. At nap time he will squish his mat by hers even tough she told him not to and the worst thing of all; he won't stop touching her hair. It sounds to me like little Joshua is in love, but it didn't feel like love to Megan it made her miserable. After a talk with the teacher little Joshua is no longer stalking Megan. Although Megan is still the grouchiest little thing in the mornings and she has to go to time out almost every day she no longer tries to get out of school.

Debra (7th grade, first year in middle school) has already been assigned after school detention. Her math class had a sub and it seems that Miss Debra took that as a cue to talk and talk and talk. The sub asked her repeatedly to stop talking, but obviously Debra didn't listen. Now normally getting an after school detention for talking would of resulted in loss of phone privileges for a week. I figure if shes talking so much in school then she has no need for the phone because she already told her friends all they need to know, but Miss mouth Debra could not help but try to lie her way out of punishment. She told me that the only reason she was talking was to make some boy leave her alone. She said whenever the teacher was not looking the boy would bother her and when she would tell him to stop the teacher caught her. Now I don't know about you guys but that sounded pretty lame to me and a quick call to the school revealed that Debra was in fact lying. So now she has lost every privilege known to teens for a week.

Now on to Ashley (11th grade), who has returned to public school for the first time in three years. I took her out of public school because she refused to do well. She honestly thought school was there for her pleasure, to do what she wanted when she wanted. She would not straighten up, so I pulled her out. This year we decided to let her return to public school with the strict conditions that she must behave and do her best on class work. Well her behavior has been excellent. We went to back to school night and all her teachers said she was very respectful and cooperative (I honestly almost passed out when I heard that). I was really proud of her and let her know that. Last week interims came out. Most of her grades were really good. I knew she had been struggling in Algebra and I was curious to see what grade she would bring home. Well it turns out she didn't bring a grade home. She kept coming up with all these stories of why her Algebra teacher hadn't been able to send out interims. So being the patient, loving parent that I am, I gave her all the rope she needed to hang herself. I waited one week and then her Dad and I searched her things. Not only did we find her failing Algebra interim, we found my signature on it. Also there was a note on the interim (from me) asking about tutoring. The teacher said she would loook into it and let me know. Now I have heard of some crazy things before, but a student getting tutoring behind her parents back? Now that is a new one. Needless to say Ashley is on restriction for the foreseeable future.

Last but not least we have Jessica(fifth grade). Jessica is being really good and having no problems at school, but she can't seem to get it together at home. She has no problem waking up for school but I have to constantly keep reminding her to get ready. She will start to get ready and then stop. I will remind her and she will start getting ready again. This goes on for about 30 minutes and then finally she is dressed. She has forgotten her lunch atleast once a week and every day after school she gets in trouble for not putting her book bag and shoes away. We now have a new rule with Jessica; if I have to tell her to put her things away, she gets an early bed time. So rest assured she is getting plenty of sleep because she is always in bed early.

All of the girls are required to find an extra cirricular activity. It can be a sport or club, but they have to be in something. This year Jessica has choosen soccer and Megan is in the girl scouts. She is a little daisy. Ashley and Debra have not signed up for anything. I have given them until tomorrow to sign up for something or I will find something for them. Since neither of them have come to me with an idea I don't imagine they have found an activity. So this afternoon I am calling the school and I am going to find some volunteer programs for my two baddies and from now until spring sport and club sign ups they can help others, since they refuse to help themselves....

Now I could look at the start of our school year in two ways. One: I could look at this start as an omen of things to come. Which means I could have a very long and trying year ahead of me. Or two: I could look at this as a sign of how on top of things I am. While the girls have been bad, they have not gotten away with it. They were caught and caught early. And they will continue to get caught each time they are bad. Also the fun stuff has just started. For instance today is my first day (this year) volunteering at the Elementary school. Being involved with the girls school makes us all happier. Girl Scouts just started last week and soccer will begin soon. We also have some family fun trips coming up (Six Flags this weekend, a birthday party for faith and Megan, and the pumpkin farm). So hopefully throwing some fun into the mix will help lighten the mood. I also plan on vounteering at the middle and high school. Although that does not make the older girls as happy as it makes the younger ones.

We are off to a rocky start, but hey, atleast we were able to get started.....

So glad Dad checked on her...

2006-10-03T07:04:00.000-04:00

Every night we put baby Faith (our one year old) to bed around 7:00 p.m. We lay her down with a pacifier and two blankets. One blanket to cover up with and one to cuddle. Sometimes she goes right to sleep, but normally she fusses for about 15 or 20 minutes. We usually let her fuss for a while and then we go in, lay her back down and cuddle her up with her blankets again. Last night after a bit of fussing Daddy went in to check on the baby. I am so glad he did. Faith had taken her diaper off, which wouldn't of been so bad if she hadn't had a bowel movement. Now that by itself would of been gross, but Faith didn't stop there. She spread poo all over herself, in her hair on her belly, her face and even on her feet. Her sheet, blankets pacifier and almost every bar of her crib had poo on it. The room just reeked of poo and since Daddy found it, he had to clean it.... Poor Faith and Daddy, but lucky Mommy...

I love this show....

2006-09-30T16:28:00.000-04:00

Survivor is one of my all time favorite shows. I watch it every year. Each year the show tries to come up with a unique way to divide the tribes. They have divided by gender. They have divided by age and this year they divided the tribes into groups based on race. I like many others thought this was in bad taste. Why bring focus and competition to an already very competitive and sensitive topic? But since I really love survivor, I watched anyway. And I was pleasantly surprised to see that while the tribes were divided by race, it wasn't a racial issue. It is still the same survivor I've always known and loved. I am now glad that survivor did this. It is important for people to see that while you should be proud of your heritage, the color of your skin does not matter. Now having said that, back to the game....

Can you believe that silly Aitu tribe? How could they be dumb enough to purposely loose already? What were they thinking? That was one of the dumbest moves I have ever seen on survivor. I could understand if they lost to get rid of a threat but to get rid of someone they knew they all could beat... I honestly can't believe they did it. The only thing dumber than that was when Billy said he and Candice had a love connection... How embarrassed is he going to be when he realizes only he fell in love? What a goof ball... (I feel kind of bad for him)

It is too soon in the game for me to choose a winner. I will wait until the two tribes merge into one. I have never choosen the winner, but hey, this could be my year....

The best part of fall is...

2006-09-19T08:40:00.000-04:00

Writing Collaboration Number 8:
The best part of Fall is...

There are so many wonderful things about fall. The weather is great, the trees are beautiful the air smells crisp and clean, but the thing I think is best about Fall has nothing to do with the weather. The best part of fall for me is the return of routine. You see I am a perpetual procrastinator. I don't want to be one but I am. All summer long I am able to indulge in my procrastination, because in the summer there is never anything to do later, so I might as well put things off until then. In the fall I have so many things that must be done: four kids to see off to school, volunteer work, all the childrens extra-curricular activites and maybe this year a part time job. My procrastination can not (no matter how hard I try) work in the fall. Things must be done and they must be done now. I absolutely love the feeling of having a smooth running home. I love being so empowered by being so prepared, but if I am not forced to take charge then I will procrastinate. I am just that way. So for me the best part about fall is the return of routine and the end of my procrastination.

Wordless Wednesday

2006-09-13T11:04:00.000-04:00

2006-09-09T15:14:00.000-04:00

What is your back to school tradition?
Writing prompt from The crazy hip blog mamas

We have so many things we do every year at back to school time, but I am not sure any of them would be considered a tradition. Of course we go school shopping. We always go to orientation to meet the teachers. We get back on a regular bedtime schedule. But these are just things we do because we have to. I do not consider these things to be traditions. So with no inspiration what so ever for this topic I called on the experts. I asked the children what they considered to be our back to school tradition, and with no problem they gave me one… Dinner and Shoe Shopping.

We have five daughters. Four of which need to go shopping for school clothes. To make things easier on us all I always divide the shopping into (at least) two trips. I do this for cost reasons as well as sanity issues. First we shop for shoes and then we go for clothes.

Before shoe shopping we always go to dinner at Lone Star. Going to dinner is not something unusual for us but this dinner is special. It is always relaxed and fun. The anticipation of getting new shoes has everyone in a good mood (well everyone except Dad). We talk about what we are going to buy and laugh about previous school shopping trips. We discuss the upcoming school year and tease each other about the boys at school.

Getting shoes for four girls is a huge undertaking and it always takes several hours. It is never a secret as to what will happen on this shoe shopping trip. Ashley (the oldest at 17) will want shoes that are over her budget (which this year is $80). Debra (age 12) will want the shoes everyone else is wearing regardless of how the shoe fits or looks on her. Jessica(10) is never any trouble and usually gets the standard pair of reeboks and Megan (5) will drag us from store to store looking for the “prettiest shoes ever”.

On this shopping trip we will go to every shoe store in the mall (some stores twice). We will get irritated and argue. We will laugh with and at each other and someone always ends up crying (sometimes me). This is the only time of year that all the girls get to buy shoes at the same time and this shopping trip is the reason for that. It is such a hectic shopping trip that each year after shoe shopping I promise myself to never again bring four girls shoe shopping at once. All through the fall, winter spring and most of summer I keep that promise. But when school time rolls around I break the promise and we all pile in the van for dinner and shoe shopping…..

New School Year....

2006-08-30T19:47:00.000-04:00

School starts Tuesday. This year I have a kindergardner (Megan), a fifth grader (Jessica), and a seventh grader (Debra). The beginning of a new school year is always exciting. It is fun to see the children go through all the excitement and pre-school jitters. This year is especially fun because Debra is starting Middle School and Megan will begin her first full day of Elementary School.

Debra received her schedule in the mail and tomorrow we will visit her classes. Last year Debra basically hung out with three really good friends and she was saddened when her schedule revealed that she only had one class with one of those close friends. She handled it well though. She looked at the bright side and said this would give her an opportunity to make new friends and learn new things.

Miss Megan has already been to pre-school and head start. School is not new to her, but riding the bus with Jessica and attending a full day is something she has not done before. This year is also the first year shes had to bring her own school supplies and she is very excited about that. She is the most nervous of all the girls, and she divides her time by barely being able to wait for school to start and then insisting that she is not going.....

Jessica is anxoiusly waiting for news of her fifth grade teacher. She has her little heart set on getting Miss Grey, but in all her school years she has only once gotten the teacher she wanted. I am really not worried about what teacher she gets as long as she is not in the same class with a student, who we will call mean face. Last year mean face made Jessicas school year miserable. She called Jessica names, wrote stuff about Jessica on the bathroom wall and even sent my little Jessica home with a black eye! I already requested that mean face and Jessica be seperated and I am sure the school will acccomodate me on this, because they know how awful mean face is.

So in a houseful of girls with school less than a week away, and school shopping less than half done, we are all a bundle of nervous excitement and our giggling and shopping are driving dear old Dad crazy......

Home

2006-08-24T09:33:00.000-04:00

The Crazy Hip Blogg Mamas blogging topic for this week is "Home". Sounds simple enough right? Wrong. Home is so many things to me. Love, happiness, hopes dreams..... Home is where I can wear slippers and boxers all day. Home is where the kids don't have to wear matching clothes and they can fix their own hair. Home is where we share our lives, home is where we sometimes make new lives. Home is safe and happy. Home is, home is, home is. I could make a list of one hundred things, and still not feel like I have accurately described what home is. As I was struggling with a way to verbalize what home is to me I recieved this email. It was written by a friend named Sherri and subject line was Parent to Parent thought;

Well, the first day of school was today for my kids and how trying it is each year preparing for such a thing. I took five days off to spend time with the kids before they returned to school. Travis heading to first grade and Sara to seventh grade. We had a few days of fun and a few days of work to prepare for the start of yet another busy year. Things went off quite smoothly as the kid's picked out thier new clothes they wanted to wear for the first day, took thier baths, and we prepped everything the night before to avoid the mad dash out the door like most of us experience every school morning. Whether it is walking to the bus in our jammies and shoving them aboard or slapping on a quick make up job so to run to work once the kiddies are settled into school, it truly shows the glory of being a parent.

All went well and my Mom met me at the house this evening to enjoy the first day of school news with us from Sara and Travis. I watched my Mom as Travis and Sara went on and on about the day and threw papers at me and Mike left and right to sign or read. It is funny as my Dad came to mind quite often this evening and I without asking my Mom, could tell she inhaled all the joy the children were bringing to me and Mike at that moment.

Whether your children are in school or due to go in a few years, sink yourself into the grace of having the opportunity to be a parent. As I looked at my Mom tonight, I know that with all the stress that comes with being a Mom or a Dad, that in the end it is all worth it. That what you accomplish being a parent is more important then what you accomplish as an adult. I am proud my Mom and Dad spent thier quality time parenting.

I hope everyone has a wonderful school and/or parenting year. Remember, that being a parent is the greatest job you will EVER hold. Putting that job before any other will help you too look across a table at your daughter or son and grandkids one day and think to yourself "That is a job well done" as I feel my Mom was thinking tonight and know Dad was looking down and thinking the same thing. TTYL Sherry

In this letter I especially liked the paragraph in which Mom, Dad and Grandma all made sharing the childrens day a priority. Imagine how special those children must of felt knowing that the three most important people in their lives cared enough to not only be there, but to listen to what had happened durring their day.

Upon reading this letter, I was able to verbalize what home is to me. Home is quite simply the place where others care about your day.... Thanks Sherri....

Thursday Thirteen

2006-08-17T09:39:00.000-04:00

Thirteen Silly Things I love....


1. Markers, I am an avid scrapbooker but even I must admit, no one needs over 100 markers.

2. Notebooks.  If I see a cute notebook or journal, I must have it.

3. Hearts, I always have one room decorated in hearts.

4. Oldies, much to my childrens dismay if  I hear motown I must sing...And now that I have mentioned it, I can't stop singing "Aint no mountian high enough"...

5. My swing.  Whenever I am outside, thats where you will find me.

6. Knitting show on

DIY network

.  I don't know how to knit, but I love to watch that show.

7. Dr. Phil, now hes not so silly, but I must admit I really love that man...

8. John Travolta, again hes not so silly, but in our house hes called "Mommy's boyfriend".

9. The Demalotion Derby.  I don't care about cars or racing, but I can't pass up the demolation derby.

10. Court T.V., my favorite is the court t.v channel that shows real court room action, but I must admit I gobble up all the  cheesy ones too.

11. My body pillow.  If I had a choice of a bed without a body pillow or a floor with a body pillow, I  would choose the floor.

12. Soduku, once again not so silly unless you take into account that I can not pass up a soduku magazine.  I have enough that I could do puzzles for the rest of my life, and I'm sure I will buy more.

13. The silliest thing that I love is my family.  A day in our house would fill you up with enough silliness to last a lifetime....

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The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Wordless Wednesday

2006-08-16T09:53:00.000-04:00

Baby Photos....

2006-08-14T13:18:00.000-04:00

Janice and Susan, over at Five Minutes for Mom came up with this photo sharing idea. The idea is for everyone to post a favorite baby photo and describe what it is about the photo that makes it so special. So here is one of my favorite baby photos:

As a photographer I could critique this photo to death. It is not centered, the lighting is bad and the background sucks. But I don't care. Whenever I look at this photo (and it is framed in my living room) I smile. In this photo I managed to catch little faith looking straight at the camera, with a look of pure happiness on her face and that is why I love, love, love this photo....

Victimitis Virus

2006-08-12T10:41:00.000-04:00

Don't go around saying the world owes you a living.
The world owes you nothing. It was here first.
Mark Twain

Do you know someone who feels as though they are owed something simply for being here? Do they often blame others, get angry easily, whine and never take responsibility for their actions? No, I am not describing a child I am describing a person infected with the Victimitis Virus. It is a real mental disorder. Victimitis Virus people are highly reactive and never proactive. They feel as though the world is out to get them and nothing you say or do can get them to change their minds. People with this virus do need therapy. Having said that and completely understanding that this is no laughing matter, I have compiled a list of things said by people with this virus.

1. I was riding in a car that was being driven by a female driver. She was cut off by a truck. We did not know nor had we ever seen the person driving this truck. She said "He only pulled out like that because he knew I was driving."

2. At a resteraunt with an adult male. We did not know any of the workers and they did not know us. Adult male says "We are not getting good service because that waitress does not like me."

3. I know a guy who was fired from work. He had been told several times that if he did not straighten up he would loose his job. He did not straighten up. He got fired. He said "Thanks to them people I can't pay my rent."

4. There is this girl. She misses more work than she makes. She always complains that she doesn't make enough money and can't figure out why her work won't give her a raise.

The next few are about my children. I do believe all children suffer from victimistis virus....

1. My oldest daughter was going to go to a concert which featured several of her favorite artists. She was put on restriction for sneaking out and was unable to go to the concert. A few weeks later she was watching videos and one of the artists from the concert was on t.v. She started moaning that she could of seen that person in concert. I asked whos fault was it that she didn't get to go to the concert. She said it was my fault because I put her on restriction.

2. My five year old was carrying an armful of books. She dropped them on her foot. She started crying. I asked if she was alright and she said she was not alright thanks to me. I asked what I had done and she said if I had just carried the books for her she would not of gotten hurt.

3. We have tivo. My twelve year old has a nine thirty bedtime. One of her favorite shows comes on at ten o'clock. She forgot to record it and got mad at me about it. I asked what she was mad at me for and she said she was mad because I make her go to bed too early and thats why she missed her show.

I must admit that while Victimitis Virus is serious I find myself laughing at the things on this list. I also find myself laughing at people who feel this way. However, I can not stress enough that this is a serious illness that needs serious treatment. So in all seriousness I would like to give Victimitis Virus Sufferers a prescription:

Take several doses of responsiblilty mix it with some reality and some feeling sorry for yourself killer, and do not call me in the morning.....

Silly me...

2006-08-11T12:09:00.000-04:00

I am so silly. After all this time I just realized I could fix my settings so that anyone could leave a comment not just fellow blogger members. So for all you guys (I am mainly talking to you mom) who never left a comment because you didn't want to sign up for a blog, go ahead and comment away....

Disturbing Thought....

2006-08-11T09:20:00.000-04:00

When my children were younger (all under the age of ten) I could not get enough of them. I loved having them, I loved raising them and most of all I loved spending time with them. Then puberty struck. All of a sudden my sweet, happy wonderful children became moody, selfish and ungrateful. Its not that I no longer wish to spend time with them, they all of a sudden don't have time for me, and when they do have time for me it is always for an alterior motive. I tried to perk myself up about this teenage girl stuff by remembering that they are only teenagers for a short (although it feels long) time. And then I realized that my childrens ages are spaced so that for the next nineteen years I will be raising a teenage girl...... Somebody shoot me!!!!!

2006-08-10T13:50:00.000-04:00

 
Thirteen Opposite Things about Me and my honey...

1.I absolutely love to read.  He hardly even reads the newpaper.

2. He loves football, I can't see what is so great about it.

3. I am a person who says what I think, and thinks what I say.  Getting an opinion from him is like pulling teeth.

4. He loves home cooking.  I love fast food.

5. I love to do crafts.  He tries to act interested.

6. I need to know every detail of everything, he doesn't want his time wasted with useless information.

7. I love the computer and blogging.  He loves that I love it, but has no great effection for it himself.

8. He loves roller coasters, you can't pay me to get on them.

9. He loves motor cycles. I am terrified of them.

10. He likes haunted houses and all things scary.  I am too scared to go.

11. I love to dance.  He says he loves to watch me but he won't join in.

12. I get offended and upset easily, he could care less what others say or do.

13. I know for a fact that I love him more than he loves me, but he swears he loves me more than I love him....
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What I love about blogging.....

2006-08-04T18:25:00.000-04:00

Hello ladies! Welcome to my very first blog entry for blogging chicks. This weeks theme is "What I love about blogging."

I am fairly new to blogging and like a lot of you bloggers out there I started a blog to keep family members updated on things that were happening with my children, my husband and myself. It was originally meant to be seen by relatives only, but that quickly changed when I saw just what a big community the blogging world is. I love doing memes, namely Thursday Thirteen, Wordless Wednesday, and Works for me Wednesday. There are a few other photo memes out there which as a photographer I am thinking I should join.

The thing I love most about blogging though is not updating family or doing memes. It is the therapeutic benefit I get from simply communicating. As a stay at home Mom I can sometimes go days and days without ever having an adult conversation. Blogging helps me keep my sanity. It helps me focus my thoughts and gives voice to my feelings and emotions. It gives me an outlet that I didn't have before. An outlet that I am so very grateful for.

Blogging also gives me another invaluable outlet. It allows me to look into the lives of other people. It lets me see how other people think and feel. Blogging shows me their options and choices and lets me see how they handle certain situations. In short blogging lets me know that I am not alone. We all struggle with the same burdens.

So while blogging is new to me now, I am sure it will grow to be a very old and very dear friend.

Happy Birthday Jessica!

2006-08-03T21:37:00.000-04:00

Today my little girl turns ten. Jessica is my third child. When she was a baby she had colic and for the first four months of her life she cried and cried. Nothing we did ever helped to calm her. My husband and I spent hour upon hour walking the floors and singing lullabyes. Mercifully the colic passed, but the crying stayed. She has always been super sensitive and the least little things can make her cry. The other girls used to ask "Why is she crying?" and I would always answer "because she is Jessica."

When Jessica was three she wanted to draw a heart. She tried and tried but just could not do it. Her little eyes filled up with tears as she asked me to please show her how to do it one more time. I suggested she take a break, that her fingers were just too little to make a heart, but she refused to quit. She just kept crying and drawing until finally, she drew a heart.

That heart incident set a precedence for Jessica. She loves life and she loves to do new things. To this day she can not stand to fail. Once she has decided to learn something she will drive herself to tears until she masters it.

Jessica is by far the most sensitive person in our home. That sensitivity is both a blessing and a curse. She is easily hurt, but she so easily loves. She is always giving compliments and helping out. And unlike her colic days when were unable to satisfy her, she is now so easily pleased by the simplest things.

Jessica is my sweet, wonderful (not so) little girl and I am truly thankful and so very humbled by the wonderful blessing that is her....

2006-08-01T12:54:00.000-04:00

I need a break

I came across this picture in an old program I have and it really just suits me to a tee… I sometimes feel like all I do is cook, clean and take care of kids. Don’t get me wrong, I love doing it, but sometimes I feel overworked and overwhelmed. I feel like I am running on auto-pilot and rather then enjoying the time I have with my family I am just going through the motions. It is unfair to them and it is also unfair to me.

I was invited to a crop party this past weekend. I went and had a great time. I didn’t get much work done. I was too busy socializing. We all joked about how I couldn’t get a page done without a child sitting on my lap. It was then I realized that this was the first time in almost two years that I had been somewhere without my children or husband with me. Can you believe that? Two years of being only a wife and Mother. Two years without once taking time for myself. No wonder I am feeling so burned out. I used to always take classes and go to crops. I used to have hobbies and a life that didn’t involve my family. I used to do new things and go new places. Between my family and my outside activities I had such a full life. Where did that fun loving, fulfilled woman go? And why did she just leave this shell of a person behind?

We all know that in order to be a good parent you must first take care of yourself. But is all too easy to just put our own wants and desires on hold. Sometimes--no most--no all times as parents we must take care of our home and family before we are able to do things for ourselves, but we should never forget how much we need time to do things that are just for us.

This post is a promise to myself to get out and do more things without my husband and children. Not so that I can be away from them, but so that I can be more appreciative of the time I spend with them. Also I will have stories to contribute to the conversations we have that are always about everybody else, because I have nothing to tell. I am making a commitment to be more than just a mother and wife, to do more than just cook, clean and take care of family, to contribute more to my family by being nicer to myself.

Birthday Party....

2006-08-01T08:55:00.000-04:00

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These are some of the pictures from Ashleys birthday party. We all had such a great time. It was just one of those nights when everyone got along perfectly. For all you guys who missed it, too bad for you because you missed a wonderful night....

Megan Strikes Again...

2006-07-30T09:25:00.000-04:00

We went to dinner at OutBack Friday night. Usually they give us a booth, but this time we were seated at one of the round tables that can seat eight to ten people. Dinner was great and we all had a good time. As we were leaving Megan says "Mom, did you see how big and wide that table was?" I said "Oh yes! That was a great table". "Well, thats how big your head is" she told me....

2006-07-27T11:06:00.000-04:00

 
Thirteen Things about My Daughters

1. UP until I  had Faith the kids were named in alphbetical order; Ashley, Debra, Jessica and Megan.  I didn't even know it until a friend pointed it out.

2. Every other one of my children is afraid of the dark (Ashleys not, Debra is, Jessicas not, Megan is, Faith is too little to tell).

4. Also every other one has cried when they started school.  (Ashley did not etc...)

5. Debra, Jessica and Megan have all had nightmares about the movie The Ring.  Which their Father let them watch when I wasn't home.

6. Barney was a new show when Ashley was around three or four, and all of my kids have loved him.  I have now suffered through about 14 years of Barney).

7. None of my children like pork chops.

8. All of the girls have had a pink room at one time or another.  Which means we have never had  a time when there wasn't a pink room in our house.

9. Debra and Jessica both fell and got stiches in their forheads at the age of two.

10. None of the girls (or me)have ever broken a bone.

11. All of my girls struggle with math.

12. none of my girls like nuts on their ice cream sundaes, but they all love cherries.

13. All of my children are absolutely spoiled rotten.....
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The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday.  Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged!  If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments.  It’s easy, and fun!  Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well!  I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Thursday Thirteen

2006-07-20T14:00:00.000-04:00

Thirteen Silly Things I do...


1.I am a compulsive rhymer.  It makes my younger kids laugh and it embarasses my older ones (my favorites are silly billy, crazy baizy, honey bunny)

2. I call all my kids sweetie bugs.

3. I sing very loud, but I always sing the wrong words so everyone knows when I mess up (and we all laugh and laugh).

4. Instead of saying Wal-Mart I call it Wally-Mar and a soda is a sody.

5. Our baby sucks a pacifier and I call it a ninny.

6. I drink tons of water and I always ask someone else to make it for me, but I don''t ask for a cup of water, I ask for a freshie...

7. I am very forgetful.  I have come up with several ways to help myself remember, but then I forget to do them.

8. I can't sleep with socs on, but when I am running around the house my feet must be covered.

9. I am afraid to go under water without holding my nose.

10.  I have never in my life dived head first into water.

11.  I can not sleep without my body pillow.  My husband claims he hates it, but sometimes I catch him trying to use it.

12. If I know someone has a secret I can't stand them not telling me.

13. My five year old and I have secret names for eachother that no one else knows.  And instead of a cool hand shake we have a cool kiss we do at bedtime (we hold hands, kiss eachother on each cheek, then one kiss on the lips, then hug and then three quick kisses on the lips).

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Wordless Wednesday

2006-07-19T10:45:00.000-04:00

Works for Me Wednesday

2006-07-19T09:56:00.000-04:00

Dishes, Dishes, Dishes....

Atleast three times a day my kitchen sink is filled with cups. It seems every time one of the children get another drink they use another cup. What my sink is not full of though, is silverware. Every few weeks I find myself buying more forks and spoons. The best I can figure is when the children clean their plates they are accidentally throwing the silverware away. After years of washing too many cups and not enought silverware I finally came up with an idea. I went to Wal-Mart and bought each child their own plate, bowl, cup, fork and spoon. Each child has a different color (the younger ones have strawberry shortcake and care bears). Each child is responsible for and only allowed to use their own dishes. If they lose their forks or spoons they have to wait until I go back to the store to get a new one. I've been doing this for years and I've never had to buy new silverware more than once and my sink is never full of cups.....This idea has saved me lots of frustration and money....It works for me....

Wow its hot....

2006-07-18T13:56:00.000-04:00

My goodness, today is another scorcher! It's been one of those weeks where you either go swimming or you just stay inside. Staying inside doesn't sound too bad. There are plenty of chores to catch up on; clean carpets, scrub down walls, catch up on paper work etc, etc.... The only problem with stayng inside is that the kids are in here too.. Its only been a few hours but they've already gottnen in trouble for rough housing, jumping on my bed, arguing and giving eachother wedgies, yes thats right my precious little ladies are giving eachother wedgies..... Forget the chores, forget the air conditioning it looks like we are heading for the pool.....

2006-07-15T20:28:00.000-04:00

Books I've read and really liked over the past two weeks....

Setting Limits with your Strong Willed Child by Robert J. MacKenzie:This book was ofcourse bought and read because I have the worlds strongest willed child, otherwise known as Megan. I really enjoyed this book. I found it to very very informative and I was able to relate to and use the tips in this book. On a five star scale, I give it five stars.

Hollywood Wives The New Generation by Jackie Collins: I always enjoy her books. They are like getting with a good friend and gossiping the day away. This book is ofcourse about the new generation of Hollywood wives. There was love and betrayal amidst lots of money and sex.... Loved, loved, loved it. I give it four stars.

Motion to Supress by Perri O'Shaughnessy: This is the first of three books about Nina Reilly. This recently divorced and newly single mother finds herself representing the defendant of a high profile murder case. I liked this book right up until the end. I didn't find the ending (the solving of the case) to be believable. It seemed a bit far fetched. I will however check out the next book in this series. I give this book four stars too.

The Backwoods by Edward Lee: This was the most sexually violent book I have read in a very long time. I must say Mr. Lee is not at all afraid to let his imagination run wild. This book is not for those with weak stomachs. It is about a woman who returns to her backwoods home for her brother in laws funeral. His gruesome murder is the first of many.... I give this book four and half stars.

I definitely reccomend everyone of these books. I will be sure to get more books by these authors in the very near future.

How to have 15 Extra Days a Year

2006-07-15T18:40:00.000-04:00

If you always feel harried and harassed to get everything done in your life, think about getting up just one hour earlier every day for a year, you will add 15 entire days to your life to get things done, according to Leif Hokanson of Personal Best Consulting.

Just a thought

2006-07-15T08:04:00.000-04:00

Do you ever feel like you just give and give and give? You give of yourself and of your time. You give selflessly and tirelessly. You do this time and time again and absolutely nobody appreciates it?

The definition of instanity is to do the same thing over and over again expecting to recieve a different result. So I ask you:

Do you ever feel like you just give and give and give? You give of yourself and of your time. You give selflessly and tirelessly. You do this time and time again and absolutely nobody appreciates it?

The definition of insantiy is to do the same thing over and over again expecting to recieve a different result. So I ask you:

Do you ever....

2006-07-14T15:49:00.000-04:00

These are pictures of us on the fourth of July. Booga invited us to his house for swimming, cook out and fire works. We had a great time. Thanks Booga!

I'm Mobile...

2006-07-14T11:06:00.000-04:00

Oh my goodness everyone! After almost 10 months our baby Faith is finally mobile. We didn't think she would ever crawl. As a matter of fact we didn't think she would ever do anything. With four older sisters, she would just look at something and cry until somebody brought it to her. Now seemingly overnight she crawls, pulls herself into a standing position, waves bye bye, says look (she actually says gook), baby and ba-ba. She also gives hugs and kisses, and for some crazy reason whenever shes trying to do something she sticks her little tongue out. She fell off the step the other day and got her first boo-boo. Her little nose is scratched. We have been trying to get her to blow kisses but she won't do it.. She has also started sleeping through the night. yippeee! She weighs 21 pounds and is 23 inches long (shes quite the little porker). She is the absolute joy of everyone in our house and never not ever has there been a more spoiled baby!

Belly Dancing

2006-07-12T08:27:00.000-04:00

Anyone out there familiar with Shakira? She is a belly dancing bombshell from Columbia, made famous by her song such as "hips dont lie". In her "hips don't lie" video she is wearing next to nothing and dancing so provocatively I am amazed the television does not catch on fire. The picture shown here does not do Shakira justice. The woman reeks of sexual innuendo and she is absolutely georgous. I am not talking about Shakira because I am a huge fan, I am talking about her because my children are huge fans, especially my oldest daughter Ashley (shes 17).

Immediatly after seeing the "hips don't lie" video Ashley was determined to learn to belly dance. I was equally determined that she would not learn to belly dance. I told her belly dancing seemed a little too provocative for a young lady and I was against it. Ashley was furious. She honestly didn't understand my point. She said I was being unfair and narrow minded about belly dancing. She pointed out that she was allowed to take hip-hop dance classes and they were as provacative as belly dancing. I of course said "no more hip-hop classes".

I have been a Mother for seventeen years now. I have five beautiful daughters. In raising them I have learned that giving them knowledge is power. Not just for them but for me. If they know the reasoning behind my decisions they are less likely to argue about them. If they know that the points I am making are valid they are more accepting of my decisions. The times I have trouble geting the girls to take no for an answer are normally the times that I didn't explain my reasons for saying no, or the times that my reasons were not very reasonable. Just because I wouldn't choose it or I wouldn't do it, doesn't mean its wrong. Just because I don't like it, doesn't mean its bad. So when Ashley kept on and on about belly dancing I tried to think of the best way to explain to her why it was not a good idea. I figured if she could just understand my reasons she would stop fighting me about this.

So I thought about what I didn't like about belly dancing. I decided to weigh the pros and cons. In the con list I had Shakira and her video. I also had hmmmm..... well nothing. I remember the old time movies of ladies belly dancing, but they didn't seem so bad. Then of course theres I dream of Jeannie, I believe she belly danced at times, but can you consider I dream of Jeannie bad? I didn't think so. I tried to think of any stories on the news in which a teenager learns to belly dance and some terrible crime happens to them, but I couldn't recall any such story. It seemed I was having trouble convincing myself that belly dancing was bad, no wonder Ashley didn't understand.

Could it be that I was being unfair and narrow minded about belly dancing? Did I see one aspect of a situation and immediatly jump to a conclusion? Did I take one look at Shakira and decide that if Ashley took belly dancing she would turn into a sexy bomb shell from Columbia? Well it seems that I did.

I decided to do a little more research on belly dancing and I found this wonderful site. Did you know that belly dancing was originally a dance performed by and for woman only? They did it to help pass the time. I also watched a belly dancing class. It was a small class with woman of all ages. And while some of them were pretty good, none of them will ever be Shakira.

Ashleys birthday was July 2nd. The gift we gave her was belly dancing classes. She is very excited about it. I still feel a little worried. I have visions of her swinging her hips around the next family cook out, or worse, at the next teen party! But like all things in life, we give our children all the knowledge we have and hope they use it properly.

2006-07-06T11:00:00.000-04:00

Thirteen people that really make me mad...


1. People who are only out for themselves.  You know the ones; they act nice and sweet right up until they get what they want.

2. Greedy people. Hey, if you do for me, I won't do for you.

3. Mean people.  People who honestly don't have a sympathetic bone in their worthless bodies.

4. Gossips.  The ones who act so friendly and caring, and then as soon as they get hold of any personal information they drag your name trough the mud.

5. Smart ass people.  The ones who think they are so much smarter, therefore so much better than others.

6. Moochers.  People who always expect something for nothing.

7. Liars.

8. Advantage takers.  People who will find a way to get something even if they don't need it, with no regard for the person they are taking from.

9. People who take advantage of their children.  Example: people who make their kids pay bills that are not the kids responsibilities.

10. Rude people.

11. Haters.  People who hate to see someone else do well and will do whatever they can to ruin it.

12. Jealous people.

13. Ugly people and I don't mean looks. I mean the peson who is everything on this list, and knows it.

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Summer Reading Challenge

2006-07-02T10:12:00.000-04:00

Happy fourth of July weekend everyone.....
I did get some reading done this week.
I finally got some books worth reading and
thanks to Roys hospitality the kids and I had
lots of hours at the pool this week.

Today I am tired.

2006-06-29T20:23:00.000-04:00

Today I am tired. The kids are cranky and tired. The husband is crankier. The house is a mess the laundry needs to be done. I have a million calls that I should of made days ago. Bills need to be paid, and on and on and on.... I will have to just do it all tomorrow, because today I am just too tired. When I wake up tomorrow I will be the person I should of been today, and I will do all the things I should of done days ago....

2006-06-29T13:01:00.000-04:00

 
Thirteen Rude Things  Megan said

Megan is my five year old.  Recently her five year old cousin Butchie spent the night.  Whenever Butchie comes over Megan thinks she is his boss.  And let me tell ya, Megan is a very rude boss.  Below are 13 rude things she said the last time he came over;

1. After Megan had bossed Butchie around for an hour I asked her if she wanted Butchie to go home and tell people that Megan was nice to him, or did she want Butchie to go home and tell people that Megan was mean to him?  Megan said "I just want him to go home!"

2.  We were going to the store.  Butchie was wearing a t-shirt and jeans.  The jeans had a tear in the knee, but they looked fine.  Megan found Butchie another outfit and said "Here Butchie, go change.  You are not going to the store with me, looking like that!"

3. At the store we were buying a new teething toy for the baby. Butchie asked could he buy something, before I could answer Megan said "Butchie, we only buy toys for babies.  Are you a baby? Cuz you don't look like a baby to me!"

4. Butchie was throwing a ball in the living room.  Megan said "Butchie we don't throw balls in our house. Do you see all this nice stuff around you?  Do you want to pay for it?  I don't think you do, so put the ball away!"

5. It was bathtime.  Butchie was very excited. He was jumping up and down saying "Yaaa, Me and Megan are going to  take a bath together!"  Megan looked right at him and said "Excuse me Butchie, I don't take baths with naked boys. Your privates are gross!"

6. We were all playing a board game.  Butchie was getting a little bored and said he didn't want to play. Megan says "So your a quitter Butchie, we don't like quitters around here!"

7. We were having lasagna for dinner. Butchie said he didn't like lasagna Megan said "Well I guess you have to starve then!"

8. It was bedtime Butchie said he did not want to go to bed.  Megan said "Well, why don't you walk home then?"

9. It was breakfast time. The kids were eating fruit Loops.  Butchie and Megan were sitting across the table from eachother.  Megan said "Butchie, I can hear you smacking your lips all the way over here. Please chew with your mouth closed?"

10. The kids were playing I Spy.  It was Butchies turn.  Megan said "Make sure you don't choose something stupid Butchie!"

11. Megans asked Butchie if he wanted to go outside. Butchie said no.  Megan said "Fine, be that way punk!"

12. Buthcie was pushing the babies walker around the house. Megan said "Butchie, if you break that with your big butt you have to buy it."

13. I told the girls that next week we would be going to a new park I found.  I told them if they were super good I would allow each of them to bring one friend.  Megan got the biggest smile on her face and said "I know which friend I'm bringing; I'm going to bring my best friend Butchie!"  and they both hugged....

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The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday.  Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged!  If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments.  It’s easy, and fun!  Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well!  I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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2006-06-25T15:49:00.000-04:00

This is my first official Works-for-me-Wedsnesday.

Timers work for me. I use them to time everything. If the kids need to clean thieir room, I access the mess and set the appropriate time. The children then have no time to fight with me they need to race the timer. In the mornings kids love to take forever to eat breakfast, set the timer. I usually allow ten minutes. Park trips, time outs, bedtime routines, reading times.... All made hassle free with a timer. Everyone is allowed one hour a day on the computer. Set the timer and go... No fighting and no trying to remember how much time left.... For less than three bucks at Wal-mart these timers are a life saver at my house.

So nice....

2006-06-25T14:57:00.000-04:00

When Debra was in kindergarten the school did this book publishing thing and all the kids would write a story and it was turned into a book. It was a cute program. Anyway Debra wrote a book called "The Snowman got lost". I'm sure you can guess what it was about. She dedicated the book to Me......Take a look.

Reading Challenge....

2006-06-25T11:04:00.000-04:00

My goodness the weeks are just flying by....... I want the time to slow down so I can have a long lazy summer. It looks like that won't happen though. Anywho, what ya been reading?

Sweet Seventeen...

2006-06-24T14:24:00.000-04:00

Boy the time does fly. I can remember the day she was born. She weighed only five pounds thirteen ounces. She was the tiniest sweetest baby in the world. Now she's turning seventeen. Yikes! She has been quite a teenage handful. Since she became a teenager shes been on restriction more often than not. But she's been on her best behavior lately, and she has honestly earned a great Birthday party. The question is; how great is great?

At first she was just going to have a small cook out at the house. But we didn't want to deal with the heat. So we decided to rent a small hall. We would bring out own music and any adults who wished to have alcohol could bring their own. Well the only hall available is huge, it would be way to cheesy to bring our own radio plus it probably wouldn't be loud enough (I don't want to have to say "everyone be quiet I'm trying to dance"). So were looking into a DJ. We think we might be able to get someone local for around a hundred dollars. At this hall your not allowed to bring alcohol, but they do provide a cash bar. I'm glad about the bar though, it will help keep an eye on any sneaky teen who tries to drink. The price of the hall is great. Its ninety-five dollars for the whole day. We will have access to a kitchen and there are pool tables. The hall is on the base so your name has to be on the list in order to get in. The guest list has gone from immediate family and close friends to anybody she can think of inviting. Her cake which we are getting from cakes galore is seventy-five dollars. We have decided to serve meatballs. They don't cost too much and most people like them. She is responsible for purchasing the supplies and decorating the hall, and if the DJ is more than a hundred bucks shes paying the difference.
I already know what I am giving her as a gift (as if the party isn't enough). Its not really expensive and she is going to love it. She is of course walking on cloud nine right now. She has gone from always being in trouble to having the best party ever. Shes really loving the guest list. Shes already teasing people that shes not putting them on the list. Shes even tried to kick me off the list, but then she realized I was paying for the party so she put me back on.

The party is July twenty-second. We're going to have it in the evening. I am really happy for her to have such a nice party, but I will admit it seems a bit much. With all this stuff for turning seventeen, what will she do for a weddding?

Whos in charge here?

2006-06-22T09:10:00.000-04:00

Before I had children I, like everyone else, would look down my nose at some poor parents misbehaving child and say; "my kids will never do that". And for the first three children, I was right. Sure they went through the terrible twos and there were many trying days, but for the most part I was raising respectful, well behaved children. They didn't talk back. They did what I said, when I said . They were so good in fact, I decided to have another one.

On October 12, 2000 we welcomed Megan Nicole into our lives. From the very moment of her birth she did the unexpected. You see, we were expecting a boy. We had been told we were having a boy. We had a blue nursery. We had all blue clothes. We already had three daughters. We were expecting a boy....

I've never been one to sleep with an infant. Not that I think its wrong. I'm just too nervous. All the other girls were just fine sleeping in their bassinets. Not Megan. Not only did she have to sleep with me. She had to sleep on me. For the first two months of her life, every night, she and I were like one. Like one sweaty, uncomfortable blob....

Now I must be honest. Megan was a good baby. She ate really well, and with the exception of the first two months, she was fine to be left alone. She was happy and playful. She learned quickly and slept on a good schedule. She did this for years. Then she turned two.....

Now I am not a person who curses on a regular basis. But even when I do curse there are certian words I don't say, and certianly words I would never say around my girls. So imagine my suprise when little Megan turned into a potty mouth. It all started at lunch one day. We were sitting together eating sandwiches, having a great time. All of a sudden Megan looks me right in the eye and says b****! I was sure I had heard her wrong so I asked her to say it agian. B**** she said plain as day. I immediatly let her know that was bad and never to say it again. Well not only did she say it again, she said it often. Every time she got mad she would scream b****. She said it at home, at the mall, in restaraunts. The looks people would give us when she said that were just awful. They looked at us as if we had taught her that. They would shake their heads and I know they were saying "my kids will never act like that". We tried everything to make her stop, and I do mean everything. Finally, she stopped saying it, when we ignored her. But it seemed for every bad habit we broke, she found a new one. For the next three years we dealt with; hitting, biting, screaming fits and the one I thought was worst of all; spitting....

Now Megan is five soon to be six. She is the most stubborn person I have ever met in my life. She still has a really bad temper, and if the child thinks it, the child says it. Its not so much that she says things, its the way she says them. She says it like she is the boss and everybody better listen. We have always called her princess and I think she honestly believes she is one. Now she has come a long way. She no longer cusses or spits. She seldom hits. She loves to cuddle and read books. Her worst days are when her sisters are able to do things that she just can't phsically do right now (like crochet or type). I've also realized that the more we feed into her temper tantrums, the more she has them. Which I know seems like common sence but believe me when I tell you how hard it is to ignore her.

I would like to point out that megan has gone to school for two years now. She has never once been bad in class. Her teachers adore her and her class mates love her. Her teachers have said she is a leader among the students (always making sure everyone is where they should be, when they should be). Her last teacher said she is going to grow up to be a dictator. I believe it.

Nine months ago, we had another baby girl; Faith Christine. We were all curious as to how Megan would react to her. She has done wonderfully. It turns out that whatever is mine Megan thinks should be hers too. So Faith is not just Mommys baby, she is Mommys and Megans baby. I have an area that holds my desk, scrapbook table etc. Its called Moms area. Well megan got a desk for her last birthday. She put it in my area, now its our area...... Any nursery song that says mom, she changes to mom and megan. If the baby starts fussing Megan will ask "Whos making my baby fuss?" And please whatever you do, don't let Megan see you doing something with the baby, she thinks you shouldn't do. You will get the biggest lecture in the world. The lecture will start with "Are you crazy? Why are you doing that to my baby?" and she will go on and on and on.....

I don't want to leave you with the impression that Megans all bad. Shes not. Shes funny, smart and playful. There have been a few days of peace and quiet. Its just that Megan thinks she is the boss. I think I am the boss. With both of us thinking this it just begs the question; Who's in charge here?

2006-06-22T07:53:00.000-04:00

Thirteen reasons I am glad school is out;


1. No more early mornings.

2. No more last minute shoe searches.

3. No more fights about wearing matching clothes.

4. No more staightening curly hair each morning (all my girls have some curl and they all want straight hair).

5. No more mad dashes to the bus stop.

6. No more packing lunches that get left behind.

7. No more taking forgotten items to the school.

8. Plenty of time to spend with my girls.

9. Plenty of trips to the pool and park.

10. Plenty of time to do projects we want to do.

11. Plenty of hours to read books together.

12. Plenty of hugs and kisses through out the day.

13. Plenty more sleep.

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lasydaisy

Fated hearts

KT Cat

Darla

Jackie

mysteriouslady

Janice

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Summer Goals...

2006-06-18T13:50:00.000-04:00

Summer is here. I am so happy school is out. Don't get me wrong, I definitly enjoy the break school provides, but I feel like life is easier durring the summer. We don't have to worry about early mornings, matching clothes, rushing each evening to get everything done. Summer means moving at our own pace and doing what we want to do. Or maybe it means doing what I want to do. I have already set several goals for everyone this summer. First and foremost everyone is going to learn how to type properly. I bought a typing program and each person is required to type twenty minutes a day. Second everyone will learn the location of each state. I have printed out a blank map and every few days we will add a new state. Our third goal is to learn the alphabet in sign language. This summer I also plan on teaching Megan (5year old) how to read. We have already started and she is doing great. Of course the children will still have to study and read for thirty minutes a day just like durring the school year. Now those are our serious goals. Our fun goals are learning to sew, I thought it would be neat if we all made a quilt together. Chrochet, I have a book full of beginner projects. Also each child will choose a goal for herself and we will individually work on that.

My own personal goals for the summer are: To strengthen my individual relationships with each child. Having five kids makes you tend to clump everyone together and do things as a group. With all the extra summer hours I am going to set time aside for each child to have her own special time. My second goal is to get back to scrapbooking. I love to do it, but I just haven't made the time. My third goal is the same goal I have every summer and New years; loose weight and exercise. I am pretty good at losing weight, and I'm even better at gaining it back. This summer I will hit the treadmill and ab scissor machine with a gusto and come fall, I will again be a hot mama!

So these are my summer goals. I will post each Sunday on our progress. If you have any tips or suggestions, or would just like to share your own summer goals I would love to hear them.

Summer Reading Challenge

2006-06-17T20:42:00.000-04:00

O.K my two reading buddies.
Time to check in with your reading.
I think we should put in parenthesis
the total number of books we have
read so far. That way it will be easier
to see how bad I am beating yall...lol..

Going too far...

2006-06-15T21:56:00.000-04:00

I know a lot of people out there have pets. I know that in many homes the pet is not just a pet but a vital member of the family. Some people even call their pets their children. I've seen people who buy clothes for their pets. People who let their pets eat dinner with them. I personally used to take our dog to the baby sitters with the children because she cried if we left her home alone. Some times I think people go a little too far and sometimes I don't think they go far enough.

This Blog is about Mr. Roy who has definitely gone just a little too far. As told in the previous blog Roy just got a new puppy. The puppy is named jack. The puppy like all puppies needs to be house trained and taught what it should and should not chew. So everytime the dog does something he should not do Roy uses his "mad" voice to get the dog to listen. Well it seems little Jack is hard headed, because not only does Jack continue his bad behavior, he doesn't even turn his head to acknowledge Roy has spoken. Now rather than Roy just admit his dog is completely ignoring him. Roy calls and says he thinks his dog has a hearing problem! I told him he has truly become a parent since he is now making excuses for his baby Jacks behavoir.....

Oh bye the way, Roy said Jack has no problem hearing his toy that rattles.

New Arrivals....

2006-06-15T17:02:00.000-04:00

I don't know whats going on lately, but it seems our family is being over run by animals named after t.v. characters. Used to be you named a dog for his looks or his temprement. You might have a big fuzzy dog named bear or a cute little dog named cuddles. Now we have a dog named Flash. Another dog named Jack and a gerbal named Grace. You may not be fimilar with these t.v. characters, but not to worry I will fill you in.

First came flash, shes a little mixed dog who is mostly beagle. She is named after the dog belonging to everyones favorite sherrif; Roscoe P. Coltrane..... Unlike the dog on The Dukes Of Hazzard this dog is full of energy. She jumps, she chews she chases and runs. She has made visiting Maw-Maws house a very exciting time.

Next came Roys new pride and joy; Jack. He is the softest little cutest bundle of puppy I've ever seen. I believe little Jack is a lhasa apso and poodle mix. He is a real life ankle biter, he also bites toes,and fingers and cheeks. He loves to cuddle. His favorite place to sit is right on your shoulder cuddled up to your neck. He is a spoiled little puppy named after our favorite gay guy; Jack from Will and Grace. Roy said if he had gotten a girl he would definitly have named her Karen.

Last but not least comes Grace. She is Ashleys new hampster. Leave it to Ashley to buy the only hampster I've ever seen who has turned her spinning ball into a bed. She took her bedding and her food and put it in the spinning ball. Ashley tried taking it out, but Grace just put it back. Little Grace sleeps all day and night in her little spinning ball. She is a bit Kookie just like her name sake from Will and Grace. Ashley said she is going to get a boy hampster and name him Will.

So if you want to know what a person is watching on t.v., just ask them what their pets names are...

2006-06-15T08:01:00.000-04:00

Thirteen Things about Why I love my honey

1. because he works long hard hours so that I dont have to.

2. because he thinks I am beautiful, and tells me so.

3. because he always gets out of bed to hand me the remote when I leave it on the dresser at bedtime.

4. because he laughs at all my corny jokes.

5. because he takes care of the kids and house on his day off so that I can have a break.

6. because he spoils me.

7. because he is always leaving me little notes that say how much he loves me.

8. because when I get really stressed and act stupid, he always acts like I didn't.

9. because he does things to purposely make me laugh.

10. because he washes the laundry.

11. because all summer long he will cook dinner on the grill.

12. because he takes me and the girls shopping (and hardly compains).

13. because he really, really loves me.

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Why do they do that?

2006-06-14T18:36:00.000-04:00

Last week I finally broke down and decided to get internet satelite. I'd been using dial up forever and really never had any reason to change. Blogging changed my mind. I was having a lot of trouble uploading photos and getting blog features to work properly. It turns out my dial up was taking too long to transport information and the connections were timing out. So after dragging my feet forever, I finally made the switch.

I am so happy! I love how fast things happen and I have had no trouble blogging. The only trouble I've had is the cost. I feel completely ripped off. You see I made my order with one company, it was installed with a second company and my service is provided by yet a third company. It was way too expensive to buy the equipment up front so I got on a payment plan; one hundred dollars a month for the first fifteen months (fifty dollars a month to buy the equipment and fifty for the service) Once the equipment is paid off I'll just pay for service. Sounds good right? NOT! I asked how much installation was, they said free. I ended up paying the intallation company one hundred twenty five bucks. They said it was a standard cost for all in ground installations. Then I checked my bank account and saw that I was not charged one hundered dollars for the first month but two hundred dollars. I called and they said it was a one time activation fee. I explained that was not the agreement I made. I said that I was very unhappy with all these extra costs. I signed on to pay one hundred dollars and I've ended up paying over three hundred. They told me that if I could remember the sales rep. I spoke to and get them to put in writing the agreement we made, then they would be happy to investigate the matter. Now isn't that so gernerous of them? I am mad as a hornet, and make no mistakes; I have been using my high speed internet service to very quickly send some very angry emails!

Wordless Wednesday

2006-06-14T13:51:00.000-04:00

Why don't they dress up anymore?

2006-06-12T10:14:00.000-04:00

Last week Megan finished Head Start. They of course had a ceremony to celebrate the occasion. They didn't call it a graduation, it was called a Stepping Up Ceremony. It was absolutely adorable. The children sang songs and they did recieve a diploma. I was a little suprised though. Besides Megan only one other little girl was dressed up. When I was a kid I remember any graduation, whether it was kindergarten, middle or high school, was an occasion to dress, not just nicely, but dress up. The other kids were wearing regular school clothes, nothing shabby, but certinly not fancy.

This week Debra will be graduating from Elementary School. She informed me she was going to wear jeans and a nice shirt. She said that was what her teacher told her to wear. She and I fought for days. I told her she was going to wear a skirt or dress, or she wasn't going to the graduation. Finally, she had her teacher write me a letter informing me that they have in fact, asked the students to wear regular school clothes. Can you believe that? Isn't this a special day? Shouldn't we always wear special clothes on special days?

Summer Reading Challenge....

2006-06-11T17:38:00.000-04:00

Just a few weeks into the challenge and I am loving it. I see Mr. Roy is trying to read more books than me, so I will have to pick up the pace. Please review the comments to see what everyone is reading.

Finally...

2006-06-10T10:58:00.000-04:00

Can you believe Ashley is finally off restriction? I am not kidding when I tell you it is the first time she has been off restriction this year!

We have been attending a family workshop that focuses on communication. Its a weekly class and it has done wonders for our relationship. Some of the information they gave us is so good I plan on posting it on this blog very soon.

Anywho, so she's off restriction, and I don't like it. I want her to be back on restriction so I know where she is and who she is with at all times. I am now trying to think of reasons to punish her. Do you think it would be wrong if I put her on restriction for talking too loud? Because I know without a doubt she will talk loudly before the night is out. Maybe I could ground her for gulping down her soda, she does drink her sodas way too fast, or possibly I could restrict her for not smiling pleasantly when talking to her sisters...

I don't know, these ideas may not work. Its looking like I might have to let her go out and have a life, unless you guys have an idea....

2006-06-10T10:43:00.000-04:00

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!
I've decided to write thirteen things I do, that my children hate.

1. They hate when I sing to the music of the song instead of the words (you know like make the sound of the guitar instead of say the words to the song).

2. They hate when I come up with "Great ideas". Although I mean well, things usually don't turn out so great.

3. They hate when I give lectures. I honestly don't consider them lectures. I call it loving advice.

4. They hate when I make them smile and say "I love you", when they are feeling mad about some "loving advice" I just gave them.

5. They hate when I take them shopping. Don't be confused; they love to get clothes, they just don't love getting my approval for them.

6. They hate it when they have their friends over and I start singing and dancing.

7. They hate when we go to a family function and I tell everbody all of their business (but isn't it my business too?).

8. They hate my family motto. It is "One family United." When you say it you have to smile and make the shape of a heart in the air, using both pointer fingers. That makes the family motto mean; one family united in love. I think its inspirational, they think its crap.

9. They hate when I "tell Daddy" on them.

10. They hate when I tell them how lucky they are to have such a beautiful, wonderful mother like me.

11. They hate when I'm right, which is all the time.

12. They hate when I cook. To be honest I hate it too. I really am not a good cook.

13. They hate when I say what they hate.

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Snake, Snake...

2006-06-10T10:35:00.000-04:00

So scary and so disgusting! The other day Megan came running from the kitchen screaming "A snake, a snake in the kitchen!" So, I being the brave woman I am, tip-toed gingerly through the dining room and slowly poked my head around the kitchen door. Sure enough, there was a snake in the kitchen. I did what any other brave person would do; I took off running, screaming "Snake, snake in the kitchen!'
I immediately called Dale. He was only at work in D.C., so surely he could drop everything and make it home (to King George, VA ) in plenty of time to catch the snake. Don't you think the the welfare of his wife and children should be his number one priority? For goodness sake there was a killer snake in the kitchen (please see picture number one)! After Dale refused to come home (giving a lame excuse about how the snake would be gone before he could even get here) I decided to take care of it on my own. I found a box, got the broom (the snake had crawled under the lip of the counter and would need to be swept out) and called Jessica down stairs to catch the snake.
Jessica said she would catch the snake, but it was impossible for her to hold the box (so she could put it on top of the snake) sweep the snake from under the counter, and jump up and down screaming all at one time. So I swept the snake out (while jumping up and down and screaming) and Jessica threw the box on him--but wait-- I should get a picture! So we took the box off the snake and snapped a picture.
We had no sooner finished congratulating ourselves for catching the snake when I noticed he was escaping (see picture 2)! So amidst more screaming and jumping around, we caught our snake again. This time we put books all around so he couldn't escape (see picture 3). After several hours Dale finally got around to getting home, and he scooped the snake up and put him outside (see picture 4)!
Now every time we go in the kitchen; we first peek around the door to make sure there is not a snake in there!

Play Ball....

2006-06-10T10:30:00.000-04:00

This past weekend the girls and I went to watch Butchie, Jake and Austin play ball. It was a new experience for us girls, we normally don't care too much about ball games. But I must admit we all had a really good time.

Little Butchie plays tee ball. Big Butchie is his coach. They don't keep score and they don't care about outs. The kids tend to get distracted in the outfield, and you are more likely to see someone playing in the dirt than catching a fly ball, but hey, its just for fun. And we had a lot of fun watching....

Jake and Austin, now their game is the real deal. All rules apply when you play little league ball for the Orioles. Most of you know that Rob is the coach for their team, and he does really well. Those boys hustle on the field. I could not believe the arms on those little guys. The Orioles, of course; won the game, and Austin even scored a home run.

All in all it was a great time. I am really proud of the boys (and their Dads) for games well played.

Ashley..

2006-06-09T18:10:00.000-04:00

This is really too much. I've only recently began posting on this site, but already Ashley is driving me up a wall to make a post about her. So here it is:
Ashley is my oldest daughter. She will be seventeen next month. She is always saying how unbelievable it is that in just one little year she will be eighteen and forever free of me. I constantly remind her; that in just one little year, she will be eighteen and I will be free of her. We constantly tease each other about how great our lives will be and how only good things will happen once we are finally free of each other. But in reality in just one teeny, tiny little year my little girl will be legally grown. I will no longer have the right to know where she is, who she is with and what she is up to. Putting my foot down on issues that I do not agree with will no longer be an option. All things important will be out of my control. It will be then, that my success or failure as a parent shows. So in just one little year, I will say good bye to my rebellious teen and hello to my adult friend. I have no doubt she will do great things, the only question is: how long will it take her?

2006-06-08T09:46:00.000-04:00

The cutest baby ever....

2006-06-07T10:42:00.000-04:00