New baby and pottytraining

Congrats to Rachel and Josh, a new baby on the way and Samara will be a big sister! I honestly have wondered how I would feel when someone else that I'm close to gets pregnant again. Would I be sad knowing I will never experience that again? Well that answer is no :o)

I actually feel comfortable with what I have at this point in life. Elyssa is almost potty trained and it's a relief to know that diaper days are over. I've been buying diapers almost constantly for the past 10 years. I feel some sense of "freedom" now that she is a little more independent. I mean, I've been doing the baby thing for 19 years! I'm not trying to rush the next 3 years before Elyssa starts kindergarden, but I am also looking forward to possibly going to school or working part time once she is in school. I feel very blessed that I have been able to stay home with my kids while they're small. I wouldn't change that for anything, but I'm looking forward to the future also and seeing what life is like without a baby or toddler, cuz it's been a LONG time for me :o)

On the potty training front, Elyssa has only had one accident in the past 3 days. Yay!! She is doing great and it came so suddenly. She was totally against it and then changed overnight. I'm so proud of my lil sweet girl!!

Changes...

It's August 20th and school starts in 11 days. Summer is coming to an end, which really makes me sad. No more unscheduled lazy days, sleeping in, spending a day at the beach. It's back to the hectic mornings and after school activities.....I hate to see my kids go back every year, even though I admit I will NOT miss the bickering that steals my sanity some days. Ha, I love 'em!!

Brandon starts college in 3 days. College already!! That is pure craziness!! I hope he really enjoys it.

Our "other son" is leaving on the same day, for the marines boot camp. Brandon met Evan when they were in middle school and he has been around quite a bit. I am nervous for him and I hate to see him go but I wish him the absolute best. He's a great kid!

So, in the next 11 days, our house will change....It'll be quieter, less messy, less hectic, less exciting....and more empty :o(

On the up side, I do look forward to spending some extra time during the day with my little man Isaac, and my baby girl Elyssa. I'll work with Isaac more on his letters and numbers so he'll be ready for Kindergarden next year. Things won't be all bad, and there's always the weekends for the big fun :o)

12th Anniversary

Happy Anniversary to us!! Twelve years ago today we were getting married....It's funny to think that we got married in Las Vegas. That is so NOT my style normally. I think I was going through my short "wild oats" stage at that time :o) But it was fun and adventurous and I definitely do not regret doing it that way.

It was the 1st (and only) time I've ever been on a plane and the first "real" vacation I've ever been on. I loved it!!

So, here we are 12 years later.....Mike had to work all day so it wasn't too exciting, but we went to eat last night alone and he brought me a bouquet of daisies after work. We're aiming for year 15 to go back to Vegas for a few nights :o)

Hot, hot, hot!!!

Summer is in full swing and it's HOT!! Ninety four degrees today and no air conditioning. Thank God for the walmart pool.

Yesterday was the 4th of July. We spent the morning swimming, then went to Gramma's house for a few hours. Big family cookouts are one of my favorite things. The kids played on a blow-up water slide and even the babies went down it a couple of times.

The day before that we spent some time at the Burnett cookout. Between the blow up slide and Gary's pool slide, I think my scrawny Isaac probably wore his little legs out. He is ALL fun, ALL the time :o)

We took the kids to see fireworks last night and then came home to have a bonfire and roast hot dogs. Lots of fun....but I am ready for a few days of rest!

Perfection....

My last post got me thinking about something else....Leading a simple country life. Maybe I should have been born in Mayberry. I would've been happy there!

There are times that I feel like what I have isn't good enough in some people's opinions. We live in an older house, the lawn is not beautifully landscaped, the inside is not expensively decorated, we drive older vehicles...We even have a lopsided pool :o) Most would say we don't have much....and ya know what? I'm finally ok with that. In Fact, I prefer some of the little non-perfect things that we have.

I suppose everyone's idea of perfection is different but I have always LOVED old country houses. The ones that look like people are truely LIVING in them. They have charm and a story behind them. These pictures are beautiful to me:

Look at the one below. Most people would see a weathered house, not worthy of living in. I see two rocking chairs on the porch, where a "Granny" and "Papaw" sit and relax in the evening. They've probably lived there for many many years....And at one point I'll bet their home was filled with many small children - making messes, climbing trees, spilling things, laughing, fighting, playing, working....There's so much to see in this picture!

And even this one, which is the one that WE temporarily call HOME:

That is where my family plays and laughs and argues and catches lightening bugs. Thats the tree my kids climb, and behind that is the red wooden swing that we swing on in the evenings! That is where we make memories that will someday be very special to our children.

At some point in the future, maybe I'll have a different home - But for now we are happy. We aren't worried that a few of the pine tree branches were cut to make playhouses. We don't notice because we are too busy having fun together in the crooked pool - and quite honestly, I don't even mind the occasional mud puddles in our driveway because without them, my children wouldn't experience the joy of doing THIS:

And I could never live in the city again, because I would miss having THIS to look at from my back yard hammock:

I see my childhood home often. It's right down the road from us and I have already promised myself that I will find a way to buy it if I ever see a for sale sign. My Grandparents say it looks awful...and it does. But I want it. My Grandpa built it himself - How awesome would it be to raise your children in a house that their Great Grandpa built? One that their Mommy and Grandparents AND even Great Grandparents lived in!! That means so much more than the fixable imperfections that we see with our eyes.

I love the song below. So many times I've wondered how the owners would feel if I asked to walk around the yard, or even inside the house. Maybe they'd call the police and tell them a weirdo was on their doorstep :o) Like the song says, as we grow older we deal with hard things, we get hurt emotionally and we become different people because of those things. When I drive by the old house, I remember a carefree child whose biggest worry was whether to eat, swim or chase ducks off the back patio. So, when I heard this song, it immediately became a favorite. That house on route 83 is "The House that Built Me".

Summertime Fun!!

It's officially Summer and I'm loving it. I have never been a very scheduled person, so this is the best 3 months of the year for me. No alarm setting or getting up early, no having to rush home from somewhere because the kids will be getting off the bus, no Girl Scouts or other school events. It's just a beautiful thing :o)

With Mike working the hours that he does, I'm usually on my own with the kids or we meet up with other family/friends. So far we have been to the drive-in, the beach, the sprinkler park, various playgrounds....and spent many days lazing in our own swimming pool. In August Mike will take his week long vacation so we're trying to think of something fun to go and do with the kids. I'm sure we'll hit the zoo at some point also.

For me, it's the little things that I remember most from when I was a child.....Catching lightening bugs in a jar, swimming, playing with our cats or dogs, catching baby frogs, playing hide n seek, flying kites, making simple clubhouses. We used to play for hours on our swingset!! I have a strong desire to teach my children the same things. Fun doesn't have to be elaborate or expensive. Just appreciate what is around you in your own back yard.

About 3 weeks ago my kids were trying to make forts under the pine trees in our side yard. Of course I had to jump in and help :o) Before I knew it, Mike was out there with his chainsaw, removing a few pine branches to open up "doorways" to their houses. We then took the scrap branches and built a wall between the boy and girl areas. They took their camping chairs in there and a few toys. They even went into the farmers field and found rocks to make little pretend fire rings on each side.

One of my proud Mommy moments. I love to see them working and playing together!! I am looking forward to more Summer fun in the next 2 months!

Mothers Day

Tomorrow is Mothers Day and I feel blessed that God has aloud ME to be a Mommy - FIVE TIMES!! What greater blessing is there on this earth? Yes, they may drive me crazy someday, but I'll enjoy the ride anyways :o)

I lost a baby in 1998 and I remember at the time wondering why God would let that happen. Who knew I would end up with 4 more children after that? God gives and he takes away...and I never could have dreamed that he would GIVE so much in the future. People ask me how I can possibly handle having 5 children and I say "I really can't imagine life any other way".

As I type this, they are upstairs working on "something". I don't know what it is but Isaac has already whispered in my ear that they are giving me a gift tomorrow. They put so much effort into this day every year and it makes me smile to hear all of the whispering going on tonight :o)

Another year older....and wiser??

On April 16th I turned 35....THIRTY FIVE!! I remember being young and hearing people talk about how "time flies" when you get older. And now I know EXACTLY what they mean, especially after having children. I think back to my teenage years and it literally seems like it was about 5 years ago, not TWENTY years ago.

Turning 35 bothered me a little....Ok, alot. I couldn't quite put my finger on the reason until my Mike suggested that maybe it was because 35 rounds up to 40, not down to 30. Yep, thats it!! I am now on my way to 40. Blech!!

But finally I am realizing that time DOES fly by.....and alot of the reason it passes so quickly, is that we're always in a hurry. Rushing here and there, always worried about what to do next.

So here's another old saying "Take time to smell the roses". I need to listen to that and plan to do "nothing" more often :o)

Another Fall

Sometimes I truely wonder about myself. We ran into Kmart tonight just to get some sugar and Elyssa wanted to go in the back of the cart, instead of in the seat. I grabbed a ball from the ball cage and gave it to her and decided to let her sit in the back since it would only be for a few minutes. Of course, I turned my back for just a few seconds and when I turned around, she was standing/leaning over the side and before I could grab her, she hit the floor....with her head. That dreadful sickening THUD that I have come to hate after having 5 kids.

She cried and has a bump but her behavior was fine after that....Funny thing is, about 5 minutes later I hear a recorded voice over the Kmart speaker system saying "Please be sure to keep your children buckled into the carts and never leave them unattended". Not sure if that was a coincidence or if someone saw it on a security camera and decided to play that message. UGGGGH!!

I get the bad Mama award for 2010......already!!

Missing Leah

After a year of having our video camera, Mike finally sat down and figured out how to get the videos onto the computer. He showed me how to plug the tiny card into my laptop and view the movies. Pretty neat!

We were watching some clips from last year and he told me that our old dog Leah was in one of them. Cool!! But I wasn't expecting what happened when I clicked play. The very moment I saw Leah's face I felt a flood of emotions, started crying and closed the laptop. I told him I couldn't watch it, but of course I opened it again and finished watching....
The video was from Mike's brothers house and Leah was running in the yard with Rays dog....the same yard we buried her in about a month after that video was taped. All I could think while watching it was that she was running on her own grave :o(

I have never felt a strong attachment to any animal until we got her. As soon as I saw her at the pound, I knew she was "our dog". I remember her laying in the back seat that day when we went to get Brandon from school. We drove for probably 5 minutes before she popped her head up and Brandon noticed her. He loved her too! She was always great with the kids.

When she died our whole family cried, including my big strong husband AND his 2 brothers. We all took turns digging her grave and buried her with her toys and some pictures the kids made for her that morning. I remember calling my Aunt & Mom to tell them and I could barely get the words out because I was crying so hard. A few years ago, no one could have told me that I'd feel so strongly about a dog.

RIP Leah....We miss you still!!

Ghosts and Angels??

I'm not sure what I believe about SEEING angels or "lights" or beings....but something else happened today. Brandon woke up and came downstairs to tell me that he had seen a "ghost". He said he was at his girlfriends house visiting last night. She was playing a playstation game and he fell asleep. When he woke up, she had also fallen asleep and he saw a bright golden colored light by the TV and against the wall. He said he didn't feel afraid and it didn't look like it was coming from a window and it just kind of faded away after a few seconds. I immediately said "It was an angel Brandon!!" and then I thought wow, did that just come from my mouth? I have always been skeptical of things like that although there have been 2 people in my family who have seen things before. 

I told him how I have been praying for them and about the things happening with Trisha this week....He said "Wow! If you guys are going to pray for me one week, could you please warn me ahead of time?" :o)

3/24/2010

It's been almost a month since I've been here. I can't say that there is really anything exciting to say.

I have a horrible cold and I've been a whiney baby about it :o) Elyssa has it too, although she is almost over hers. We've been cuddled up in the recliner at night so that we can breathe and so Daddy can get some sleep too.

We've put carpet in the kids' rooms which somehow caused a HUGE argument between me and Mike but it's all worked out...for the moment. I got some things off my chest that have bothered me for YEARS and I think it has helped alot....But anyways, the carpet makes their rooms look so much nicer.

I've really had to take a look at myself lately and admit some flaws. Especially, the fact that my spiritual life is pretty pathetic. No ones fault but my own, of course. It's time to work on that! Some of the women in my family (Mom, Gramma, Aunts) have decided that we will fast from certain meals every Tuesday and take that day every week to really focus on specific people who need prayer. I know we'll see some great thing happening soon!

It's almost Easter. My kiddos are in a little church play this Sunday. I'm still searching for the perfect Easter dress for Elyssa. Mike things I'm going overboard with the search but Haylee won't let me dress her girly anymore so I want to get my chance in while Elyssa's too young to argue about it :o) I remember Easter Sunday always being so special when I was a kid. The clothes, the dresses, the white shoes and hats and purses....then the Easter plays and so many people at church and the egg hunts. Of course as an adult I know that Jesus is the most important thing, but it's still fun to have a reason to REALLY dress up the kids! And sooo, the dress hunt continues.....

Snow Day!

It's a snow day for most in Northeast Ohio. The newsman says the roads are treacherous.

And we are out of this:

Not a good combination....Looks like maybe we'll be visiting my Gramma today. It's great to live a mile away from her, so I can borrow toilet paper :o) I think I now owe her about 5 rolls.

With 6 people using the TP on a daily basis, I have decided I need THIS:

Head Shots

I did some yearbook headshots last week for 2 soon-to-be graduates....I'll be doing more senior pics for each one in the Spring when it's nicer out. Sometimes I forget how much I love photography until I do another shoot.

Happy Birthday!!

Two years ago I was pregnant with Elyssa and not yet knowing whether she was girl or a boy. I found out she was a girl in late March of that year. A little over a month later, my Aunt Rachel found out that at age 35, she was pregnant with her first baby. Since we had grown up in the same house and were very close, we hoped that she would also have a girl.

When I was 7 months pregnant, my cousin Janell found out that SHE too, was pregnant.

Three days before I had Elyssa, Rachel found out that she was indeed having a baby girl....and then about 2 months later, Janell found out that she would also be having a girl.

Elyssa was born in August of 2008, Samara was born that December, and Ava was born in February of 2009. They are the baby girl trio.

Today, the last of the trio had her 1st birthday party. Little Ava Nell - Named after her Great Gramma Nell who died unexpectedly 2 hours after her birth. It's so hard to believe that she is already one and Elyssa is heading for TWO!

We have been blessed with 3 healthy, beautiful, wonderfully perfect little girls.

Happy Birthday Ava Nell!!

This week...

Was not fun. Isaac and Elyssa were both sick and unhappy and Elyssa's "cold" turned out to be pneumonia. That meant breathing treatments every 3 hours, even throughout the night. Not so fun for someone who is very cranky when lacking sleep - I'm talking about me, not Elyssa :o) But we made it, and I am happy to see her returning to normal again. Saturday she was very sleepy, feverish and had hardly eaten anything for days, so it started to scare me. My Mom came over and we prayed for her and by evening, she was quickly getting her energy back and ate a few bites of popcorn and yogurt.

She went for a recheck today and the pediatrician said she sounds better but not completely, so we're doing a few more days of breathing treatments. She also lost a whole pound from not eating :o(

Because of the kids being sick, we spent our Valentines Day at home. Mike made us breakfast and gave each of us a box of candy. Unfortunately, I had spent several days at home taking care of Elyssa so I never got out to get him anything :o(

Snow, snow, snow

I feel the urge to sing a Christmas carol, except it's February! The kids could quite possibly get a snow day tomorrow. I am very ready for Spring!

Isaac & Elyssa are both sick - which means alot of coughing, whining, whimpering and a bit of insanity for Mama. The bright side of them being sick is that they are unusually snuggly :o)

Looks like between the sick kids and the snow storm, I'm stuck at home for a couple of days.

A Conversation with Isaac

ISAAC: When will my Nintendo DS come in the mail, Mom?

ME: In a few days

ISAAC: Will it be here before I'm 40?

ME: Yes, of course Isaac

ISAAC: (relieved) Oh, thank GOD!!

2/05/2010

Pretty boring this week. I took my van in to get a new bumper due to an accident back in November. Looks puuuurty now!!

I went to a coupon class Saturday so I've been working harder at that. Sheesh, it's like a part time job trying to figure out sales and clip coupons and print coupons, etc. But it pays off. Today I got $56 worth of groceries for $16! If I could do that every week I'd be very happy!

On a sad note, the elementary school that I went to is being demolished. It's been closed for many many years because of asbestos issues, but up until about 2 years ago, all of the old playground equipment was still there so we used to take the kids to play since it is literally a 30 second drive from our house. Alot of memories....It makes me feel old in some strange way. The bright side is that they moved some of the playground pieces to the park across the street. So, there's a small part of "Belden Elementary" there...at least for now. I am hoping to get there in the next few days to take some pictures before it is gone forever.

Maybe I'll do that tomorrow because ALL of my kids are gone. Wow, I can't remember the last time we had a night with NO kids. This is Elyssa's first time sleeping at my Moms house, which is bittersweet of course - I am thrilled to have a quiet night, yet I feel a little lost without her. I'll survive I'm sure ;o)

More boo-boos

Have I ever mentioned how ummm...."energetic" Isaac is? As soon as his eyes pop open in the morning, he is WIDE awake and ready to start the day. I am soooooo not a morning person!! He gets that from his Daddy!

Anyways, about 3 months ago, he thought he would help Elyssa down our 3 steps to the back door. I was in the basement getting laundry when I heard the dreaded thud, followed by screaming. This resulted in Elyssa's 1st emergency room visit and x-ray. The diagnosis? A broken collar bone! Ugggh!

So on to more recent boo-boos. We were out shopping on Friday and Elyssa was buckled safely in the shopping cart with Isaac walking next to it....You see where I'm going with this right? Just when I turned to pay for my items, the cashier put his hand to his mouth and said "Oh noooo" - Before I even saw what was happening, I again heard that very distinguishable THUD, followed by screaming. My very energetic Isaac had jumped onto the side rail (down by the wheels) of the cart and flipped it. Poor Elyssa now has a nasty bruise on her forehead but doesn't seem too traumatized...unlike her Mommy, who now has shopping cart-phobia.

The Dentist

Do they EVER have anything good to say?? I took Ethan and Isaac for appointments today and they both need alot of work done to their teeth. Good grief, Isaac is only FOUR! So, I'm having another bad Mommy day. They brush twice a day...I'll be honest and say that flossing doesn't get done. I feel pretty bad that they have to go through so much now. I am 34 and have NEVER had a cavity filled, but Mike has had almost all of his teeth "fixed" at some point. Is is hereditary?? Brandon is 18 and has never had a cavity filled or anything else besides a cleaning every year.

Arrgh, arrgh, arrgh!!

Party Time

Isaac's party is over and I am thrilled to say that I don't have to throw another birthday party until JUNE! I am definitely not one of those people who enjoys hosting parties, it makes me nervous and stressed and I'm always relieved when it's over.

The party was ok. Everything was a blur to me, but he played hard and had fun and that's all that matters. Another (larger) party came in so we kind of rushed things to get out of their way.

We brought his little cousin Joey (also 4) back home with us for a sleepover. They are both snoozin' already but I'm sure they'll have fun playing tomorrow.

Once again, happy birthday my sweet little guy.

Happy Birthday Isaac!!

We spent part of the day at Auntie Rachels house, just playing...then came home and had mac 'n cheese with sliced hot dogs for dinner. The birthday boy got a plate full of brownies to share with his siblings, and we gave him gifts from us. Sunday will be his real party at Burger King Playland.

Happy Birthday my chatty little man! We love you!!

The Day Before Tomorrow

Good morning! Long weekend and I spent most of it at home doing nothing of importance. Mike worked 24 hours of overtime last week, including 12 hours Saturday so I went to church Sunday and then spent the rest of the day watching movies, watching him play Lego Indiana Jones with the boys, and just relaxing with him. He's working hard to get us out of what I call the "after Christmas hole" LOL I feel bad that he is working so much but the overtime doesn't usually last for too long and it's a huge blessing for us right now.

So this morning its back to school after a 4 day weekend for Haylee and Ethan. Like a bad Mom, I fed Isaac and Elyssa some instant oatmeal and plopped them on the couch to watch some TV...Nothin' like a little mickey in the morning to grant Mommy a few minutes of peace. I can hear them both singing the "hot dog" song. Though Elyssa sounds more like "hotdough, hotdough".

Tomorrow my Isaac turns FOUR years old and I find myself wondering what I was doing on this day 4 years ago. It was a Thursday and I was packing my bag. I knew I was being induced the next morning but thats me, a procrastinator all the way! I remember packing up the soft blue crocheted blanket my Mom had made, the little blue knotted hats and tiny blue socks. I spent the day TRYING to enjoy those last kicks and punches inside my belly. He was going to be our last baby (haha) so I wanted to remember those moments....but all the trying in the world didn't help. I really just wanted him OUT!! I was so umcomfortable, my ribs hurts, it hurt to walk, and I was DONE! I wanted to meet my little Isaac.

The next day I found out why I so umcomfortable. My little boy was 9lbs 7oz and was born battered and bruised but healthy! To be honest, my first thought was "Wow, why does he look like that?" LOL His ears were smashed flat against his head and his little nose was terribly crooked.





The picture below makes me laugh everytime...Especially now because I noticed that I named this picture "YIKES". Oh my gosh, I am a HORRIBLE horrible Mother (said as I am still laughing). My poor child, but seriously, how can you not giggle a bit when you look at that!?



This one wasn't too bad....



And thankfully, after several hours, he turned into THIS beautiful little thing :o)

1/16/10

Haylee is off to Camp Timberlane with the Girl Scouts. I went there with the school when I was the same age as she is. Seems like it would be alot more fun if it weren't WINTER but whatever LOL....I love the Girl Scouts program. They still say their "promise" at every meeting, which is:

On my honor, I will try:
To serve God and my country,
To help people at all times,
And to live by the Girl Scout Law.

I will do my best to be
honest and fair,
friendly and helpful,
considerate and caring,
courageous and strong, and
responsible for what I say and do,
and to
respect myself and others,
respect authority,
use resources wisely,
make the world a better place, and
be a sister to every Girl Scout

How awesome is that? Pretty much sums up everything you need to be in life. We went with the troop to a nursing home for Christmas, they've cleaned up at the schools and planted flowers there, and many other things. I am really looking forward to April when we go to Cosi and stay overnight in a hotel. Haylee is all about girl time, which we don't get very often, so that will be a special time for us.

As for the house, I am keeping up! I got the downstairs mopped yesterday and worked on painting my kitchen trash can to match my 50's diner kitchen. It looks so cute now (the blue can was really clashing)....My plan was to do it black and red but being that we are BROKE from Christmas, I thought I'd wait a few more weeks before spending money on paint. While I was out yesterday, I thought I'd stop just to get an idea of what paint costs, and the nice boy at True Value said, "We have one color on clearance right now for $1.99 - I think it's RED". I love it when I'm reminded that God cares about even our smallest desires, not ONLY our needs - though that would be enough.

It's Snuggle Week

This is the week that Mike works 11pm to 7am....So, this is the week that my sweet snuggly girl sleeps with me all night. Ok honestly, she sleeps with US most nights anyways, but I do enjoy that one week a month that we have the bed to ourselves. Mike tosses and turns all night, gets up to go to the bathroom at least once, snores....You get the idea.

Anyways, I have been reading my Eclipse book every night since I got it for Christmas. So now Elyssa always brings her own book to bed and she always waits for me to pick up mine from under the bed. It's so cute, and she hardly "reads" for a minute before she starts wiggling over to me and before I know it, she's nestled under my arm and lost in dreamland.

Last night after she went to sleep, I snuck back in here...to the computer of course! I was reading someones blog and you know - one blogs leads to another. Somehow I found myself on the blog of a Mother who lost her baby girl, Maddie, at about the same age that Elyssa is now. I sat and read her blog for close to an hour. Google Maddie Spohr, this little girl had an amazing smile! As I went back to bed and looked at my sweet sleeping pink-cheeked girl, I was reminded once again that my children are gifts. I didn't deserve them, I am not worthy...maybe not even fully capable of the job God has given me. So many people are not so blessed, and yet we often take our kids for granted. Thank you God for reminding me what really matters in life!

As for my day, I finally got the computer room cleaned. It wasn't as bad as I expected and looks pretty darn good :o) Tomorrow, more laundry and some grocery shopping.

Oh, I also decided to get more serious with some preschool learning for Isaac. He is definitely my most difficult child to teach so I admit I tend to put things off due to my own lack of patience :o( But tonight he surprised me with what he already knows. He easily pointed out A, B, C, D and E but I stopped after E. Didn't want to push it :o) I wrote his name and he wrote it by himself underneath mine. He did mazes in the activity book and had no problem matching pictures to their "shadows" on the other side. My wee man might be mentally ready for this stuff now. LOL He will go to school late due to his birthday so he doesn't go until the Fall of 2011, but I might actually put him in a VERY part time preschool this coming Fall. I've never done the preschool thing, but I think for Isaac, it'll really help prepare him for Kindergarden...mainly the structured setting, sitting down, being quiet, listening, etc. I hope his Kindergarden teacher is ready for him! LOL

Speaking of my sleeping beauty....This is from today, napping with a build-a-bear panda, which is actually HAYLEE's but Elyssa stole it a couple of months ago and won't give it back LOL

Good enough

I dusted, I mopped....never got the computer room cleaned but I ended up washing some walls and ceiling fans so I'll save the computer room for tomorrow. I also did our first "10 minute room clean-up" with the kids. I set a timer for 10 minutes and then supervise (LOL) while they clean as much as possible in the 10 minutes. They actually went for it and did very well :o)

Tomorrows Plan:

Computer room
2 loads of laundry

1/11/10

Today's plan:

Computer room clean-up
Dusting
Mopping (since I never got to it Saturday)

I've been thinking about my last post, and I think I've had a revelation!! The two issues (feeling like I need to DO something AND the slacking with my kids) are completely related! The thing I've been missing and feeling like I should be doing, is enjoying my kids, loving on my kids, teaching my kids....and sadly, I've even gotten lazy with teaching them about Jesus. It's time to get back on track, and to see the wonderful opportunity God has given me. I used to feel that it was the most important thing in the world, raising these little humans :o) But those feelings got lost somewhere along the way.

Brandon, Haylee, Ethan, Isaac and Elyssa - They ARE my legacy!! Whatever they become as adults, is directly a result of how WE raise them. Wow!! How scary and exciting at the same time!! I'm up to the challenge! Bring it on!

Ummm....

I just re-read my last post...Is it possible that I'm having what they call a mid-life crisis, but maybe a bit early??....CRAP!!

A New Year

and I haven't posted since JUNE!?? Bad bad me!! Sometimes I wonder why I even bother coming back :o)

All is well for the most part here. Haylee and Ethan are getting straight A's in school, Isaac is getting ready to turn 4 on the 20th, Elyssa is causing toddler havoc around the house and Brandon is working at Toysrus.

Lately I've been feeling....I don't know...old? Sometimes it feels like life is moving so fast. When I think back to my teen years, it doesn't seem like so long ago, but technically I could say I was a teenager TWENTY years ago. That doesn't sit well with me and it gives me an uneasy feeling, but why? Thirty-four isn't what most people would consider to be old but for some reason, I can't get the thought out of my head that you only live once. You truely only get ONE chance to live your life, and then you're gone and life just goes on without you. And somewhere down the line it's as if you never even existed. Have I done anything truely memorable? Will I "leave a legacy" as the song says? I feel this urge to do SOMETHING lately, something of importance, but I can't pin point what that thing is. It bugs me on a daily basis lately and I need to start praying that God will show me what it is.

Many times lately I also feel like I am totally slacking with my kids. I think back to when I had Brandon and Haylee and Ethan was a baby. I had so many plans every day and I couldn't wait to just go for a walk with them, or to the library, or just to the park. I enjoyed my time with them and when I went to bed at night, I felt like I had done something important that day....something that mattered. Then Isaac came along and don't get me wrong, I love him always. It's not HIM...But with child number 4 I guess things started to get harder and more tiring. Then Elyssa came along too. Everything feels more like a chore now. Like "I really don't feel like going to the park but I will because a good parent would". I WANT to feel like I used to but don't know how to get back to that point....and I blame alot of that on my own lack of organization. I let things get behind, like laundry or the bathroom cleaning or whatever. Then I get stressed about those things and have to work harder to get them in order again. I procrastinate until I am stressed and late and angry with EVERYONE for not being ready, when really it was my own fault for not starting earlier. It's a vicious circle that leaves me stressed and worn out by the end of the day.

Well, thats all very depressing isn't it??

Anyway, it's a new year!! My New Years resolution is to get my house clean and keep it that way (as much as possible considering we have 5 kids!). That got me thinking about my blog and I thought maybe I could use it as sort of a "to do" list.

So for tomorrow, my plan is to get these things done:

2 loads of laundry, washed and put away

mop the downstairs

Clean the downstairs bathroom

PLAY WITH MY KIDS WITHOUT THINKING ABOUT WHAT ELSE NEEDS DONE!!

Sounds like a plan to me :o)