Boogers And Such

Boogers. What a gross thing. Boogers are especially gross when picked out of the nose of one child and then eaten by another child. That's what happened here...I never thought I'd hear myself utter "Please give your brother back his booger"--followed by " I can't, I ate it". (from child that stole booger) So, even though I thought it was already an unspoken rule, I had to mark it down in the Family Rule Book that there is no booger eating, especially eating the boogers of a sibling. Is it not bad enough they feast on their own boogers?

Okay, enough about mucus...

I am trying to come up with my list of resolutions for the new year. I don't know why I bother doing that because I don't think I have ever kept any of the resolutions I have made in the past. I may have made it to January 15th or so, but no longer than that. I have the usual and customary resolutions, you know, the ones where I swear off sweets and vow to lose 15 pounds a month until I am beautifully thin, the one where I vow to never lose my temper with my kids and... on and on.

I do have a list this year too. Not a long and exhaustive list, but a list none-the-less. Here it is in no particular order:

I will lose weight. (uh huh)
I will exercise. (yeah right)
I will not explode at my kids in anger. (this one I am really attempting)
I will try to keep the house cleaner and more organized. (not an easy feat with 5 impossibly messy kids)
I will attempt to do something each day to show my hubby that I respect him. (gonna be tough...not that I don't respect him, but I fail to show it most of the time)

There it is...in writing.

Well, I am going to sign off now as I have a list 2 miles long of things to accomplish today. The sun is already down and I worked an 8 hour shift today, so I may need to cut my list short. I can smell the baby from 2 floors down, so I think I'll move diaper change to the top of the list.

Until next time...

Stick Me With A Fork, I'm DONE!

So, yesterday was our annual cookie baking day. We made chocolate dipped pretzel rods, Ritz crackers spread with peanut butter and sandwiched together-then dipped in chocolate (one can't have too much chocolate in my book) and pumpkin cookies with caramel frosting. All of this mess-making, dough tasting, finger-licking (yes the kids were there) was done so we could have a variety of goodies to take to a cookie exchange. Now, we have a million and one cookies and sweet things sitting on the counter...and I have no desire to eat them! (that's a first!)

The day was actually pretty embarrassing for me....my Mom came over to bake with me and the kids. The kids were, well, kids. And if you've ever seen my kids in action, it's not always pretty. After finishing up the baking and spraying down the kitchen to remove the flour, melted chocolate and sprinkles from every crevice, I made the suggestion that we go out to eat. (um, okay, WHAT was I thinking?) I was too tired to make lunch and mess up the kitchen again. So, we drove off to a near by Wendy's. Before we got out of the car to go in, I gave my normal warning to the kids about not throwing food and not humiliating us in public. (it never works, but I still do it..I guess just to make myself feel better) All seven of us sat at three different tables. Everyone wanted to sit by Nana, so I had to make the decision to let Gracie sit with her, because I know that she can scream the loudest when she gets offended...and I knew we'd all hear from her that "Only boys sit with boys, and girls sit with girls". Once we got our food and 'got settled', things weren't too bad. Except for the fact that Gracie spilled three-quarters of her chocolate milk all over the table,and she ripped off the plug on the bottom of the salt shaker and dumped mountains of salt all over. And of course, she only licked her hamburger and then proceeded to tell Nana she was 'full', so could she have her frosty now?

After we finished lunch and ushered everyone back into the van, we headed over to the cookie exchange. As soon as we arrived there, the kids (all of them) shot upstairs and they were actually pretty good...except for the occasional toy being launched over the railing and into the living room. Mom and I had a nice time eating, talking and going around and around the cookie table until all the cookies were gone. When it was time to go, I went up to the toy room to survey the damage...it was pretty bad. I cleaned up the best as I could, muttered my sincerest apologies to the hostess,and loaded everyone back up in the van for the trudge home. Sam refused to put his coat on yelling "Me NO wanna coat on"! even though it was only 19* outside. So, he cried all the way home about how cold he was.

I sure hope my Mom is still speaking to me after all of this! (love you Mom :)

Remembering My Angel

My beloved brother Paul, would have been 36 years old today. It's been nearly 4 years since he was killed in a tragic and senseless accident...his life cut short by the actions of a drunken teenager driving a pick-up truck.

My eyes still well with tears, and the back of my throat still burns from holding back sobs of grief....oh, how I miss him!

My Mom, Step-Dad, Eli, Caleb and I celebrated Paul's life last night at a little place called Shangri-La. It's where Mom had taken him on his 32nd birthday, just weeks before he died. He LOVED Chinese food, and Mom told of the grin that he had on his face while eating there. It's become tradition to go there for his birthday. We set out our favorite photo of him and talk about what we remember about him. We don't cry and grieve while we are there...we are just happy to celebrate who Paul was and what he meant to all of us.

I still remember an argument that Paul and I used to have when we were kids. I always thought that I would someday be older than him...that somehow I would catch up to him. He would just laugh and say that I would never pass him up in age...that he would always be older. When I turned 32, it was hard for me...33 even harder. His smile stopped shining at 32.

I have faith in the belief that I will one day see Paul again, sitting at the Father's feet, when I enter the gates of heaven.

Happy birthday to you, my precious brother....I miss you and love you always.

A Free Day

Yup, the kids got a free day today. Although I still can't figure out why school was actually cancelled...we didn't get that much snow. I suppose the powers that be had a good reason for it.

We made it through the day without too many negative incidents. Josh did get whacked in the face pretty darn hard with a snowball though. Too bad the "snowball" was mostly ICE! The poor kid cried his little heart out and he now has a lump directly under his right eye. I had to tell him that was the price he payed for having a snowball fight with some neighborhood kids much older than him. (he's 7, they were 12 and 16... I wanted to give them a piece of my mind and ask what in the world were they thinking throwing rock hard snowballs at such a little guy!!!) But, he learned a lesson and stayed in the house the rest of the day. He learned that maybe it's better to play with kids closer to his own size.

I am working tomorrow from 7:30-4:00, so I've been busy getting things lined up for the morning madness. Luckily, it'll be Roy drowning in the madness and not me, as I have to leave by 6:45am. I was nice though, and packed lunches, put out outfits for each kid and got tomorrow nights taco soup ready to go into the crock pot. Sheesh, I must be related to superwoman somehow :)

I think I'll make it short and sweet tonight. I already popped my sleeping pills so I can (hopefully) guarantee myself a somewhat restful nights sleep. Although, come to think of it, the pills didn't work so good for me last night....

Anyway, here's to hoping!

The Calm Before The Storm

At least that's what the weather man is saying anyway... When I hear that a storm is brewing and could dump inches of the white stuff, I get excited and panicked all at the same time. Excited because like I said, I love to watch falling snow, and panicked because that snow could mean school is cancelled for the day and I'd be stuck at home with 5 kids wound up from the excitement of no school. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my kids and I LOVE being a Mom, but seriously, jetting the kids off to school each morning and getting that breather, makes me a better Mom. < I don't know how I (or they) survived our three years of home schooling! >


On a different note, I gave the nursing agency my 32 hours of availability for this week and I just knew that I would be called to work not only today, but all week. So, in anticipation, (and also to help R out so he wouldn't be a basket-case) I packed all the kids lunches for school, set aside outfits and lined up backpacks...so he he would just have to feed them and make sure no one had bed-head. I laid in bed this morning watching the clock turn from 5am (when I usually get a call to work) to 6:17, when I finally gave up and got out of bed. No call. No work. No pay. Today anyway.
I still wonder what the Lord is doing....? I do know that I have a shift on Wednesday for sure, but I was hoping that I would be needed for the entire 32 hours this week. On one hand I am upset about not getting a shift (you know, no shift, no pay) but on the other hand, I am secretly glad that I get to stay home.

I suppose I should stop the worrying...it seems God always provides. But, when I know that the mortgage is due, the car payment is due, and the credit cards (which are nearly maxed out) are due as well, the worry comes naturally. I am confident though, in the fact that our troubles are only for a season, and we will come out mostly unscathed in the end. This confidence is not from myself, it's from God...as all good things are.

Blessed is the man who believes in, trusts in, and relies on the Lord, and whose hope and confidence the Lord is. Jeremiah 17:7

Bring On Christmas

It really hasn't felt like Christmas is just around the corner, until today. It's snowing...finally! The above average temperatures that we've had made if feel like early Fall, not like December. I love to watch the delicate and dainty flakes dance in the air until they fall gently and silently to the ground.
Of course, with the chilly temperatures, the kids don't want to trudge outside to play, so the chaos is aplenty! Can't say as I blame them though...it is blustery outside. I also don't mind not having to hang up 10 little mittens to drip dry,cleaning 5 pairs of boots covered in muddy snow, and finding a place for 5 jackets drenched with the remains of a snowball fight.

Snow puts me in the mood to decorate...the boys pulled out the boxes full of garland and lights, and now the house looks like Christmas blew up in the living room. We now have stockings, ornaments, strands of icicle lights, and wrapping paper strewn all over the place. Somehow, that's not the kind of decorating I had in mind. Ah, Christmas... I can't wait until it's time to bake. I think though, I'll do that while the kids are in school :)

I want the kids to be excited about the Christmas season. I love to see the look of wonder and awe on their faces when we light up the decorated Christmas tree for the first time. I love hearing the anticipation in their voices about visiting Santa Claus. But, most of all, I love being able to remind them about the true meaning of Christmas and receiving the best gift of all!