Life Looks Good This Way!

9-5

As a stay-at-home-mom I am always looking for ways to contribute to the family. I know I am here to cook and clean and change diapers. But I would like to feel like I contribute financially too. So I am always on the look-out for a good business opportunity.

I have tried the cosmetics and kitchenware. I just couldn't get into those and I felt like I was being too pushy. I am not good at selling something I don't believe in or don't love myself. I am hopeful that companies will eventually see the potential there is to make money and allow mothers the chance to stay home and take care of their children and work at the same time.

I do believe that day will come in the near future.

He called me mommy

Today were outside playing.

I was chasing the kids. An impromtu game of tag.

Our new son, age 5, yelled out, "You can't get me...." and then he hesitated. And then yelled out "You can't get me Mommmmmmy!"

And then he repeated it over and over and over as if he was learning how it sounded on his lips.

"Mommmy, Mommmmmmy, Mommy, Mommmmmmy, Mommmmmmy"

And I ran and giggled and chased him.

Traveling the Globe

One thing I want to do when our kids are a little older is travel. Travel to places I haven't been yet.

I have lived in many states and seen many places thanks to my parents but there are so many things I still would like to see.

My husband has had the chance to go to many places I have never been because of his work. And because we had small children each time he went I had to stay home. But now as they are getting older, I plan to get some mileage under me as well.

My first stop is going to be Flamingo Las Vegas. And I intend to drag my husband with me. He had a bad business trip experience in Vegas but I intend to fix that for him.

I have been to Reno but never Vegas. And I want to be able to say I have been there. And I want to see what everyone is always talking about.

Finally Friday

This week seemed to drag. But now it is ending. And I can sleep in tomorrow.

At least I can if all my kids don't get up at the butt crack of dawn.

Why did God give kids all the energy and leave us adults out?

This is one of the great mysteries of life.

More Landscaping

Tonight while at the store I grabbed three new Mum plants to put in my front yard. I bought 4 last year but only one came back. I was so disappointed since the Mums are fall flowers and they lasted until almost the first snow. They make so many flowers and are so colorful. So now I have some new ones to plant in their place. They almost make me wishful for fall to come. Almost....

But I am still lacking some accesories for our garden areas. I checked out Target and Walmart and even Menards options but everything was on clearance so the poor selection they normally have was even poorer tonight.

So I did some more searching online. And I found that a lot of internet sites also have their accesories on sale. But they have a better variety. And I even found a few things I might be comfortable with in my gardens. I looked at their large variety of Flags but I am not sure if those are for me. But these frogs are cute

and they are on sale as a part of the end-of-summer sale. So be careful next time you come visit. Don't step on my frogs. :)

Spending Money

Tonight I went to the store and stocked up on all those daily things that seem to run out quickly. And while I wasn't buying anything more than toothpaste, toilet paper, and dish soap I had fun.

I like shopping. Especially when it is something we need. I don't like shopping as much when it is for me. I put things back over and over and never really commit to anything.

I think it is partly because I feel better spending the money on my family and not myself and partly because I have such a hard time finding something I like. Especially clothes. For the last few years anytime I buy clothes without trying them on I bring them home and wash them and they end up at goodwill a week later. I have such a hard time picking out clothes. Especially since clothes designers have started making us all dress like Britney Spears. I don't like to show any skin either through the shirt or under it.

I am going to have to live in mumus for the next 10 years until designers realize Mothers do not want to dress like this.

Book Review

When I was young and in high school I believed I could do anything. ANYTHING I wanted to do. I could be a nurse, or astronaut, or doctor. There were no limits.

And then I went to college and I got older and I started realizing that life gets in the way of that potential. I started to think I wasn't smart enough, I didn't have enough money, I didn't have......

And recently I realized I had to settle for the fact that I would never have the potential to do ANYTHING I wanted. Which was incredibly disappointing.

And then I had the privilege to read a great book by Vickie Milazzo called "Inside Every Woman." This is a fabulous book! I cannot tell you how many times I was nodding my head or thinking THAT IS ME! as I read.

In the first chapter Vickie describes her own experience, "As a young woman I honestly believed I could do anything." "Any time I have hesitated to go for it, it was because I had stopped believing in myself the way I did in those glorious adolescent years. Today when an opportunity arises and I find myself hesitating, I remember, "I'm a woman. I can do anything.""

I realized after reading this that I too have hesitated on many opportunites. Or didn't take them at all because I have stopped believing in myself. For so long I have been a mother and a wife with so little else enriching me as a person. I need to stop hesitating and jump in. What do I have to lose? Nothing but unhappiness. It would feel so great to accomplish something fantastic and be praised for it.

It is time for me to find me and be able to do anything. Because I am a woman. And I can do anything!

Oh and if you would like a free bookmark (who doesn't like freebies?) you can email your request directly to Vickie@InsideEveryWoman.com.

It's Friday!!!!!

Well I know the date above this post says it is actually Thursday but for us it is Friday! Because of the 4 day school week, my kids are done with school for the week as of today. I could really get used to these 4 day weeks. :)

So to celebrate we are going to take the kids to Chuck-E-Cheese. So they can dance with their favorite mouse and I can spend too much money. But hey! It's Friday! ;)

Bungee Jumping

I am afraid of heights. Yes I am.

I have this silly irrational fear that I will fall off the edge of anything higher than I am tall.

So I highly doubt I will be taking up any high-risk activities that would require me to need high risk life insurance. But I find this fascinating anyway. I had never heard of this type of insurance until recently.

I always assumed that people who did crazy things like, oh.... jump out of an airplane, would be able to get life insurance but at a higher price. Apparently not. So someone invented this high risk insurance to fill the gaps for those crazy people. That was a smart move. Jumping out of a plane? Not so smart.

Although if you are crazy enough to jump out of a plane maybe you think insurance is for the the birds. :) I don't know. I am not that kind of crazy.

I'm NOT READY!

It can't be that time already!

It CAN'T!

Do you hear me? I SAID NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Please turn the heat back on?!

Pretty pretty please with sugar on top......

I am freezing.

And it is only August.

Ownership

It is funny but when we started adopting kids I thought once they were in my house and the legal papers said they were mine I would begin to feel like they were mine.

But life has a funny way of putting a kink in that plan.

When I talk to the social workers and they say things like
"You have HER other child..."
"When you adopted HER other girl..."
"How many of the kids are YOURS..."

It always catches me for a second when they say things like that. Because they are all mine. And she is my daughter now. And I have MY daughter. Not hers.

I know it probably shouldn't bug me. But it does. Maybe because I work so hard to make them a part of our family.

And now that we have the boys it seems to have intensified. I want to make them a part of our family. But people keep referring to them as someone else's kids. It is a long process to take ownership. Not just physically but emotionally too.

This Week is THE Week!

First of all, how did Monday get here so fast? I am glad in some ways and sad in others. The weekends just fly by too quickly.

But this week is the week I get to do our Christmas shopping! Yipppppeeeeeee!

I love going and buying things and anticipating the kids joy as they open each present on Christmas morning. This year I am trying to steer away from toys and get the kids some other things they will find more useful. After school I am going to have them make their lists.

But I won't be doing ALL of our shopping this week. I have to save some for Black Friday. I must admit I have already been checking black-friday.net to see if anyone has posted any suspected deals for the day after Thanksgiving. Of course if I just wait patiently I will get an email telling me when a deal has been listed. But I never said I was patient. Which also why I use black-friday.net. I can purchase the deals ONLINE so there is no getting up at 3 a.m. to meet my sister-in-law at the store which won't open until 6 a.m. to get the best deals. I can sit in my jammies sipping my hot cocoa and order everything I want online. It doesn't get any better than this!

Last year I couldn't find the site and did a search and let me just say porno wasn't on my list of things to buy. Thankfully last year I remembered to bookmark the site so I can go back and check it this year.

So once I have the kids list's in my hands, I will be off and shopping. Since 6 of my 7 kids are in school now (as of today) I will have plenty of time to get it all done right? Right? He he he. And what I don't find now I will get on Black Friday from their Target deals.

Free Clothes

One of our daughter's friend's parents just stopped by and dropped off 5 humongous garbage bags full of clothes their three daughters can't/won't wear anymore.

I spent almost 2 hours going through them.

Some of it was 80's retro yuck, some had holes or stains, and some was great but not our style.

In the end we sent 3 bags to goodwill and one to the garbage.

But each of my girls got a few new items to add to their winter wardrobe.

Who said hand-me-downs are bad? (Don't ask my Mom that okay?) ;)

Between a Rock and a grassy place

Since we bought our house 5 years ago I have been on a constant mission to improve the appearance of our yard.

When we moved in we had NO plants in the flower beds. Just rocks. 70's white marble chips filled every single plantable place. So we hauled them by wheelbarrow to the "driveway" and dumped them. They worked to keep the weeds from growing up in the area where we parked our cars and freed up valuable planting areas.

So I have planted for the last three years and I have to admit the yard is shaping up nicely. But it needs something. Accessories? Lighting? Colors? Rocks?

I cringed when my husband suggested rocks for decoration. Didn't I spend hours hauling rocks out of my flower beds? I didn't want to go and pay good money for MORE rocks. So I started researching online. And I discovered the landscaping websites that utilize large LARGE boulders for landscaping an area. And I liked the effect but was not about to haul 800 pound rocks to my yard.

And then I found the fake rocks from the Artificial Rocks Factory
They look like the real thing, hold up well to the weather, but are lightweight.

That is exactly what I need. And I will start with a few in my wildflower garden. It needs something to help break up the large masses of flowers. It will be beautiful. One more step to the yard I have envisioned in my head.

The End is Near

August is almost over.

I have done the school shopping...

The kids are in school all day and doing homework at night...

The weather is hinting at turning colder...

And life returns to its regularly scheduled pace.

I miss summer already. Only 9 more months until it comes back.

Whoa is me.

Shoe Shopping Times 7.

Growing

9 people in one family create quite a dilemma at dinner time.

As in, "Where do we sit all these people?????"

Our first set of dining room furniture was designed for a family of 4 to 6. And it suited us well until we moved to our current home. And I gave birth to a baby who grew and became a toddler who did not want to sit in a high chair anymore. So we needed more room.

Luck would have it that Billy's work was auctioning off some old furniture. Billy got a great big table (office type table) for 4 bucks. And I got onto target.com and ordered some pretty benches that comfortably seat 3 kids. So we had seating for 8! We had an extra empty seat!

And now we have added the boys. And we are short a seat again. We have a HUGE dining room so area is not an issue. We just need a longer table again. I guess in addition to van shopping I better start looking for a new dining room set.

Any suggestions?

Favorite Chore

Here I sit today with only 2 kids. And one is napping.

And in between sitting I am trying to get loads and loads of laundry done.

But I don't mind. Because I like to do laundry. I can take heaps of dirty unorganized clothes and turn them into clean, fresh-smelling folded piles. It is always satisfying to watch the dirty baskets empty and the clean ones fill up.

What is your favorite chore to do?

Meme

Sometimes I have a day or two when I can't think of anything to blog about. And other days I have 5 posts running through my head.

When I first started blogging I would go in search of something on the internet to spark an idea. Which is when I first discovered Meme's, polls, and other similar fill-in-the-blank posts. That was almost 4 years ago.

Since then websites have been popping up to fill this need for all bloggers. You can find sites with fun online quizzes, surveys, and polls. Many of them even allow you to make customized polls and quizzes to post on your blog.

I always have fun doing these and like to see what new things I can learn about me and my blog friends.

What are your favorite sites for quizzes and polls?

Corruption

No, I am not speaking of our president or our government....unless of course you would like me to list the millions reasons why I hate our current government.....oh wait! That is illegal....I can't tell you how much I hate the government.....so ignore this part and just scroll down to see the part about me corrupting my kids. That, at least is still legal.

The other day I was searching for some 80's music on You Tube. I love me some 80's hair bands. Guys with girls hair still makes me go rrrrrrr.

One of my brother's favorite songs was Cherry Pie by Warrant. I looked it up and pressed play. All my kids suddenly were surrounding the monitor. Since then Megan has turned the song on every chance she gets. And I must say I love this song too. So here you go, kill some brain cells along with us.

Warmth

When the weather starts getting cooler (which it should NOT be doing in August by the way) I start thinking of packing up and moving south.

Texas, Arizona, and Florida all sound good to me.

But since I won't be going anywhere but out in the freezing snow in a few months, I appease my desire for warmth by checking out houses on real estate pages on the internet. Thank goodness for the internet!

But someday I intend to move south. It might not be for 20 years but that doesn't stop me from dreaming or researching. And since I live up in the great white north it is going to be harder to find my haven down south. So I have been checking out the real estate companies online to see what they have to offer. There are several companies but this one for Orlando real estate looks like a good place to start.

I want to stick my feet in sand and feel the sun on my face. Until I can move south maybe global warming will help me out and throw some heat my way. Hey a girl can dream can't she?

Outings

We took all seven kids to the dentist Tuesday. Which is 1.5 hours away from our home. They did really well on the car ride to the dentist. We sat in the waiting room for about 30 minutes or so. Our new 1 year old seemed very interested in the other people in the waiting room but kept his distance (except the one lady who had a bag of stickers and he thought it was food so he kept going over to her.) Which is good since Marea would go to anyone and just sit on their lap when she was this age. Jozey, the older one, just sat on the floor and played with the toys. He was not interested in anyone around him. So I am very hopeful that these two don't have RAD. A few more months and I will know for sure.

After the dentist we took the kids to the mall. We had to get some shoe shopping done. All of the kids did really well and waited patiently (although not very quietly) until we were done.

Then we stopped at a car dealer to see about a bigger van. By this time it was 8 p.m. so they were all getting tired and cranky. But they played quietly with their happy meal toys while we talked with the salesguy.

And on the way home they all fell asleep and stayed that way as we carried them to bed.

I think these boys will fit right in after a few more weeks of being in our family. We have a few minor issues but I don't think it is going to be too bad. (Knock on wood)

Walk

With all the incurable diseases and disorders in the world today, any little thing we can do to help raise money for research is greatly welcome. Thankfully no one in my family has Alzheimer's but that doesn't mean I can't participate in the memory walk. I would like to think years down the road if I or one of my family members develops Alzheimer's that there would be a cure or at least a better treatment than we have now. Science is a great thing if they can get the money to do the research.

That is right! There is a nationwide walk gearing up and they need us. Here are all the details:

"The Alzheimer's Association Memory Walk is the nation's largest event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer care, support and research. Held annually in hundreds of communities across the country, this inspiring event calls on volunteers of all ages to become champions in the fight against Alzheimer's. Since 1989, Memory Walk has raised more than $225 million. Team captains are needed NOW! Team Captains need to sign up early to ensure they have enough time to recruit a team and raise funds for the cause."

They need people to sign up as team captains so they can get the fundraising going before the big event. If you are needing a reason to get off the couch, this is a good one. And I am sure all the friends and family members of someone with Alzheimer's will really appreciate the effort and time you put into the walk.

Murphy's Law?

Why does he poop in his diaper immediately after I change him?

Why?

Cavemen

Since we have gotten our new boys it is apparent my kids are not used to having a little baby around.


They have resorted to cavemen-like talk.


When Jack is doing something they don't want or like they yell one of the following words, "NO, GO, STOP, OW!"


One step down and we will be back to "UGH, URRR, and NAH!"


In response, I have said this a million times this week, "TELL him what you want him to do. Don't just bark orders at him."

To Heck With That

After the estimates for our new garage rolled in Billy and I rolled our eyes.

16,000 for the actual building. Not bad for a 28X28 space.

14,000 for the frickin concrete! NO FRICKIN WAY!

That my friends is twice what our house cost. TWICE!

And I am cannot stomach that. So we are exploring other options. Like perhaps giant steel buildings?

What is not to like? We could have a double or triple car garage with a shop and storage area all in one.

Our cars would be warm and snuggly all winter. And there would be no more sap or bird poo or frost on the windshield every morning.

Of course they don't exactly match our 100 year old farm house now do they?

But a warm, cozy, mud free car...... *sigh*

Free coupons

As part of being a Bzz agent I received coupons for 1.50 off the new Coppertone Spray sunscreen. I still have 6 of them and they expire at the end of this month.

I am not going to use them all so if you would like a coupon and will use it before the end of August, drop me an email with your address and I will send you a coupon.

The first six people will get them. Hurry!

They are off!

The oldest four kids hopped on the bus this morning and are off to school. And I forgot to take a picture. Oy. I will get one tomorrow.

Tomorrow my kindergartner goes and Monday my junior kindergartener goes. Then I will be left with one kid.

As my husband left this morning he says, "Now I expect the house to be spotless and you should be standing in the doorway with your lingerie on waiting for me at the end of the day."

We both laughed.

I said, "You know what I will be doing today. Absolutely NOTHING! Because I can."

(Although I will probably clean a little today. Because it is so cool when it actually stays that way for more than 10 minutes.)

Really Really Nice People

I have been given a new award by Jody.

“This award is for those bloggers who are nice people, good blog friends and those who inspire good feelings and inspiration. Also for those who are a positive influence in our blogging world. Once you’ve been awarded, please pass it on to 7 people who you feel are deserving.”

I am honored. And according to Jody, crazy too. Who am I to argue! :)

So I have to pass this on to seven of my blogging buddies. In no particular order, here are the people who I think are really really nice.

1. Perri~ Is there a sweeter Mom or Grandma anywhere? She is always putting her kids first, even the grown ones. She goes above and beyond what most people do for their church, including building cabinets. And she is so loving with her granddaughter. I wish she could adopt me. ;)

2. Jody~ She has a profound love for her husband and her kids and it shows in her posts. She has the family that everyone wants.

3. Michelle~ She has an amazing heart and an amazing daughter. I have a child with mental/psychological issues and it is hard. But no one can see my daughter's illness so we typically don't have to talk about it with strangers. Michelle talks openly about her daughter and her Down Syndrome but you can tell from her words that it is merely a part of who her daughter is not what she is. The love for her daughter is obvious. And I love that she is willing to educate and help the the world understand Down Syndrome.

4. Chris~ Despite the fact that she has three crazy boys and one police officer in her house somehow she maintains her sanity. I love that she tells about her wacky experiences with her kids. And the love for her family oozes from every post.

5. Andie~ She has a big heart and is really really nice. She loves spending time with her kids and hubby and occasionally tells us all about it. She is the lady in the neighborhood everyone wants to invite over.

6. Tee~ Is there any sweeter person? Nope. Tee is a mother and wife and daughter-in-law who graciously allowed her mother-in-law from another country live with her for years. Yes, years. I never would have made it a week with my mother-in-law. She qualifies for this award in the extreme.

7. Lori~ If we lived next door to each other, we would be those Mom's out on the porch everyday chatting. She is so friendly and welcoming that I can't imagine she would kill a fly if it landed in her soup.

And I am sorry I cannot do more, because there are many many more blogger friends that deserve this award. In fact everyone I read is nice. Otherwise I wouldn't read your blogs. LOL

Childhood Dreams

When I was a kid my siblings and I used to sit around the dining room table and play cards. Any game was played. War, crazy eights, rummy, slapjack, and go fish were popular choices. Of course my brother would throw in a few games of 52 card pickup which would make us all giggle.

And then we went and spent the summer with my Aunt. She taught us the "real" card games. Like blackjack and poker. It wasn't long before we were seasoned pros at the games. We were betting large numbers of raisins and peanuts with each hand.

We spent many many evenings sitting at the tables playing and enjoying each others company. It wasn't long before my brother declared that when he grew up he was going to be a dealer at poker tables in Las Vegas.

We all nodded and thought that would be the coolest job ever. And then we did all grow up and not one of us is anything close to a dealer. My brother runs his own construction company, I am a Mom (dealing in kids), my youngest sister is a Mom, and my oldest sister is a cosmetologist.

Looking back, I miss those days of fun with the cards. At any given evening at my house all you find is four kids sitting on four computers playing games or solitare. Bummer.

School

We are done with the registering and paperwork and tours as of tonight. School officially starts on Wednesday.

Well for Becca, Megan, Marea, and Cassie it does.

Billy starts on Thursday.

Jozey starts on Monday.

How am I ever going to keep this straight? Oy!

A new Pet

I found Mr. Bill his tiger.

And it won't cost me an arm and a leg to feed it.

Here he is: Isn't he cute and fluffy and adorable? And the best part is he won't grow, or eat, or need to go outside. He can live happily on Mr. Bill's bed and Mr. Bill can love him and pet him all he wants.

And if he changes his mind and wants a different pet in a week, I have no worries. Gund has a wide variety of adorable stuffed animals for kids. I might even have to add to the growing mound of stuffed animals we have here. Because they are soooo cute.

Irony

While we are busy celebrating the arrival of our new boys

a Mother somewhere is crying, mourning, and adjusting to life alone.

A Mother who for many reasons doesn't deserve what she has been given. But she is still their mother and no matter how many people love them and care for them they will always love her the most.

And that is how it should be. But it still hurts. Hurts that I will never be as good. I try to understand.

Tonight we had a visit by their Mother. They giggled and laughed. We all sat awkwardly at first slowly accepting that we all are here for the kids. She tried, maybe too hard. She hugged them and kissed them and an hour later walked back out the door. They didn't cry. They crawled into bed and said goodnight.

Those little hearts must be breaking. I wish I could make it all better. But no amount of kisses or bandaids can fix these owies. Only their Mother can.

And right now she can't.

I Flip For Free

Iowa Geek is having a contest where you can win this really cool flip flop mini photo album.

Go!

Enter!

But I wanna win it, K? ;)

Ding-Ding-Ding

A wonderful friend of mine from a message board had this to say about me, " I like your practical way of looking at life."

It was a lightbulb moment for me. I do have a "practical' way of seeing things. I know everything is not black and white but I do state it as I see it.

Thank you to everyone for all of your well wishes and prayers. It means a lot to me and my family that so many people are looking out for us and our new family.

80s Survey

(Stole this one from Rebekah)

Did you listen to New Kids on the Block?
Yes. And I loved their music.

Did you ever own a slap bracelet?
Several, in bright neon colors

The Babysitter's Club or Sweet Valley High?
Both

Salute Your Shorts or Hey Dude?
Oh, the t.v. shows.... I was confused there for a moment. I didn't watch either.

Kids Incorporated or The Mickey Mouse Club?
Kids Incorporated

Who was ALF?
The furry brown alien who lived with humans and kept trying to eat their cat.

Do you remember the show Dinosaurs?
Not the MAMA! Not the Mama! Yes. I saw it is on DVD now at Walmart.

Do/did you know the words to the Fresh Prince theme song?
Yes. Watched it everyday after school.

Kimmie Gibler or Urkel?
Gibler. Urkel came later.

Blossom or Clarissa Explains It All?
Clarissa.

Did you have a crush on JTT?
Who is JTT?

Bobby Brown or Tevin Campbell?
Bobby Brown

Step By Step or Full House?
Both.

Did you listen to Milli Vanilli?
Yes and I owned their cassette tape. I was really bummed when they got caught.

Mr. Rogers or Reading Rainbow?
Reading Rainbow. I was a teenager. As if I was going to watch Mr. Rogers.

Did you own a Glo Worm?
No.

Paula Abdul: better now or then?
Definitely THEN!

Wild 'n' Crazy Kids or Double Dare?
Double Dare

Remember Legends of the Hidden Temple?
No.

The Mighty Ducks or The Little Giants?
Neither.

Did you watch Saved By The Bell?
Yes. Regularly

Who was hotter: Zack or Slater?
Zack obviously.

Camp Nowhere or House Arrest?
Neither

Did you own a pair of Reebok Pumps?
No. My mom refused to spend THAT kind of money! Boo.

Carebears or Smurfs?
I loved both. My sister had a gazillion carebears but I loved watching the smurfs on t.v.

Rainbow Brite or Strawberry Shortcake?
Strawberry Shortcake.

Did you watch Miami Vice?
No.

Did you own a pair of Jelly Shoes?
Several. Complete with boxes of bandaids because they always rubbed on my foot no matter how many times I wore them.

Did you own a Trapper Keeper?
Yes.

Atari or Nintendo?
Both. Once we got a nintendo we ditched the atari.

Bling Shopping

I have been checking out rings online.

Specifically anniversary diamond rings.

We were going to use one for our anniversary/renewal ceremony next year. Now that we have the boys I don't know whether we will continue with these plans or not. I guess we will have to see where we are at by then.

But I still want the ring. I am a girl afterall. :)

I remember when Billy and I were first dating that we would watch QVC and they had their diamonique jewelery. I checked it out today online and was very impressed. Since not spending 4000 on a ring is okay with me, these would be an awesome alternative.

Do any of you have diamonique jewelery? I am wondering if it is as good of quality as they say it is. If you are telling everyone yours is a diamond and not a diamonique, comment anonymously and tell me anyway. :) Please.

Baby Shopping

Last night I had to run to town to get baby stuff (diapers).

And can I tell you how much I enjoyed oooohing and aaaaahing over pacifiers and sippy cups. And I got to buy a brand new diaper bag because I gave mine away about 2 years ago when Mr. Bill was done potty training. And I got to decide on cucumber tea baby wipes, sensitive skin baby wipes, or au natural wipes.

It was so much fun. And made my ovaries go ga-ga. I looked at baby clothes and baby blankets and baby bottles and baby furniture. If I was rich I would have come home with a whole carful of new baby items last night, whether we actually need them or not is another story.

I wouldn't mind having another baby. I really wouldn't.

Because I need stress like this

I got a nice magazine from our life insurance company the other day. And in it were "great" stories about men whose wives had died and how drastically important their life insurance was to them.

One was sad they had not purchased more because he found 100,000 did not even begin to cover the stuff his wife did. Like childcare.

And the other was sitting comfortably and so proud that he had planned well even though they never thought they would need it.

The article further expounded on the fact that term life insurance would have been useless in the case of the second man because they would have long ago lost their coverage. Because the whole life policies are so much better.

I must say I have term life insurance and for right now we are quite happy with it. The premiums are low and yet provide us some sense of security. When we are more financially stable (say....NOT feeding 7 kids 20 times a day for 365 days a year) then maybe we will roll our policies over to whole life for the days when we are retired and God-willing we live to be 110.

Stress only makes me ignore the issue and eat more chocolate. Which will not be good when I need to get the physical for our next policy. I am just saying.

A morning in the life....because a day is too long

Want to read all about the chaos I live? Well grab a cup of coffee and sit down. I will give you a glimpse into a morning in my life. Cause a day is too long and my camera battery died at noon.

7:00 Wake briefly as hubby kisses me goodbye. Brain turns on and remembers I don't have the girl I babysit today. Can sleep longer.

7:30 Wake up because I think I hear J crying. Nope. False alarm. Rest my head back on pillow.

7:35 Brain is not going to stop. So I get up and get in the shower.

7:45 J is crying. I can hear him in the monitor.

7:50 Greet screaming boy. Wish he would learn to say Good Morning.

8:00 Feed screaming boy breakfast. He is screaming because waiting to be fed, in his opinion, is highly overrated. Do dishes while he is eating.

8:01 Other kids start streaming down the stairs. Several grab the computers and the others play in the corner. I read email and blogs.

9:05 SIL calls. We chat for 39 minutes, according to the phone. I only was interrupted 10 times by kids who absolutely needed something RIGHT NOW and one tantruming boy because I walked out of the kitchen. And everyone knows that is where the food is.

10:00 Have cleaned up screaming breakfast boy, fed 5 other kids pancakes and juice. Yelled 50 times about the golden rule and "If you have nothing nice to say, SHUT-UP!"

10:05 Go in search of oldest child who refused to come down for breakfast. Find her. Hiding in her room.

10:20 Laundry. One load in the dryer and one in the washer. These are waiting to be folded. 10:30 Start barking orders for showers. Three girls downstairs. Three boys upstairs in the bath. I get J washed, dried, and dressed. Then it is Mr. Bill's turn. And then D's. Girls thankfully are capable and shower and dress themselves while I am tackling the boys.

10:32 "Mom, why are you taking our pictures?"
10:50 Haircuts. J really needs one, and it is his first. I had to have Megan hold his head while I cut since he wouldn't sit still. Mr. Bill is a seasoned pro at this and his was done in no time.

11:44 Chores. Everyone does something. 11:45 Everyone announces they are done with chores. Uh-huh. They really do think I am that stupid.

11:46 Re-do chores.

11:47 Feed J lunch. See waiting for food is highly overrated. And he will scream until someone brings him something that is meant to be eaten. Two hot dogs later and he is done. I am folding clothes and hoping I finish before he starts rubbing the ketchup in his hair. A bath after every meal is highly overrated too. 12:00 Battery dies. J goes down for his nap. The neighbor kids show up (two of them) so I get to spend the next two hours shushing them. And I would send them outside except yesterday I found them on top of my garage roof. Clearly they are in need of some parental attention. But mine is spread way to thin right now as it is.

12:45 I sit down to plunk out the first draft of this post. I will add the pictures later. When I can pry the laptop from my kids hands.

Shhhh! Don't tell.

I have been perusing websites for kitchen cabinets. A blog I read regularly mentioned IKEA so I went and checked that out. The prices were reasonable enough but they don't ship cabinets and the nearest IKEA is 5 hours away. That isn't going to happen.

And then I saw these:

Oooh, can you say pretty contemporary kitchen? I know I know, I have a 1908 farmhouse. Contemporary does not fit here. But it could. I would love to make each room in my house a different style because honestly there isn't a style I don't like. Traditional, modern, contemporary, eclectic, shabby chic....they are all good.

And these are aluminum cabinets! So they will hold up better than wooden ones. Which is a huge plus with five kids*. And they have several different colors to choose from. Although I am preferring this bright red color.

Just don't tell my husband since I am not allowed to start any new home improvement projects until he finishes the attic. *sigh*

*Clearly I am in denial here. I didn't even realize I typed five kids until now, almost 5 hours later as I was reading my post again. I am not going to change it now. I will just add mommybrain to the labels for this post. I really do have seven kids. I just need to keep repeating it like you do to someone's name when you have just met them. Seven, seven, seven, seven, seven, seven...

Hereby proving that he doesn't participate in household chores

Last night I asked my hubby to read my submission (below) for the PPP contest.

He hates to read. H.A.T.E.S.

But he read it anyway.

And his only comment?

"You can too fit 35 pieces of clothes in one load of laundry!"

Life According to Kids

We have five cats. And one dog. And seven kids. And one mushy mommy-brain.

But apparently that is not enough. Not according to Mr. Bill anyway.

The other day we received our National Geographic Kids Magazine in the mail. And in it were all kinds of exotic animals. Monkeys, tigers, rhinos, and giraffes.

To which he exclaimed, "I want a tiger! Mom! I need a tiger for a pet!"

My reply? "I can't afford a tiger! I would have to get a loan just to feed it."

To which he rolled his eyes and said, "Mooooooom, I would feed it. You don't have to do anything."

As if that is going to win the sale. Yea, right boy. I already have a homeowners loan and a secured loan for the roof. I don't think my credit can handle another one right now. Even for a pet tiger.

Because it should

I have 7 kids. Yes, seven miniature me's running around under my feet all day.

S-E-V-E-N!

And I love them all to death.

But the one thing I don't love is the sheer volumes of laundry they create. Do the math people. 7 shirts, 7 pants, 7 underwear (or panties depending on your gender, because boys DO NOT wear panties, just ask my brother), and 14 socks.

That my bloggy friends is 35 items that need to be washed EACH DAY. And that is assuming each kid remains clean long enough to not have to change outfits over the course of the day. Any of you with kids know that this almost never happens. Well unless you regularly cage your kids and refuse to feed them all day. Not that I have ever thought about doing this. Really. Remember, I love my kids.

Anyhoo, 35 items equals about 3 loads of laundry here at my house per day.
Which is manageable. If....
~the laundry actually makes it into the baskets, magically of course.
~the laundry gets switched immediately after the washing machine is done so they don't get that musty smell and require re-washing.
~the dryer actually dried a load of clothes in a reasonable time frame.
~none of the clothes have a stain which requires catching it before it gets thrown into the dryer so it can be washed again. With kids, this can be half the load of clothes.

But in reality, kids, or at least my seven kids require much nagging gentle coercing to get them to put their dirty clothes where the dirty clothes belong. (For any kids reading this, floor is the INCORRECT answer here.) And this greatly hinders my ability to get even 1 load of laundry done per day. Unless of course I follow them around barking, PICK UP YOUR CLOTHES! YOU SHOULD BE THANKFUL YOU HAVE CLOTHES! KIDS IN A THIRD WORLD COUNTRY WOULD BE HAPPY TO HAVE THESE CLOTHES YOU JUST THROW DOWN AND STOMP ALL OVER!

So my wish is for irobot, the company that makes that handy dandy roomba robotic vacuum (you know, the automatic vacuum), to make me a ilaundromat. I want a handy remote control device that will go from room to room picking up those errant pieces of clothing that did not magically poof themselves into the baskets. And while it would be beyond my wildest dreams for this ilaundromat to actually wash, dry, fold, and put away the clothes I realize technology is not quite that far advanced yet. So if they could just make it so it takes the clothes to a designated spot (such as the *gasp* LAUNDRY ROOM) and leave them in a pile I would be the first to camp out in front of my friendly discount store awaiting its arrival.

And once I got it home I would ever so politely ask my husband to build a ramp that would allow my new beloved ilaundromat to drive right up to the washing machine and dump its load.
Just think of the time I could save myself. I might actually be able to pee AND wipe in one bathroom visit.

On the Short List

It is amazing how quickly you realize what you are lacking when you add two new family members.

We are in need of
a crib, or portable one
cups, lots and lots of cups (Do you know how fast you go through cups when you use 7 at a time!? That is AT LEAST 21 cups per day!)
Sippy cups J is not so great with regular ones just yet.
Clothes, sizes 18 months and 5T. Don't get me started on this. Foster parents get money to buy this kind of thing monthly. They should have much better stuff than they do. MUCH!
2 Dressers
A Twin Mattress
School Supplies for D (preschool)
Food (Why didn't anyone tell me boys eat a ton!? You can tell Mr. Bill has been raised by girls!)
Diapers and Wipes, I forgot about the burden of buying these regularly. And potty training is at least a year off still.
Stroller, walking is not nearly as fun while carrying a toddler. Owie.....back....killing.....me......
Gates, J....he is mobile. Nuff said!


Anyone have any stuff they want to donate? Money is good too. ;)

It's Offical

Court was today.

The boys are ours. And we said yes.

We are now a family of 9.

Kiss-Worthy

J, the younger of our two boys, just came up to me while I was sitting here reading blogs and kissed my knee and then my leg. I smiled and said "Thanks!"

And he smiled and came back and kissed my leg some more.

Again I said "Thanks!"

And he did it again. Laughing and giggling the whole time.

Makes my heart go pitter patter.

Health-ful?

There are so many products on the market that promise lower cholesterol, better skin, better digestion, firmer abs, and better joints.

But how do we know which are true and which are not? In prior years products weren't allowed to make any claims about health benefits if they had not been approved by the F.D.A. But now they can merely put a disclaimer on the bottle and sell, sell, sell.

So when I see these new products on t.v. I am skeptical. After all if a pill or cream could truly fix the problem it claims too would anyone in the world still have the problem? I don't think so.

One of the products that really has peaked my curiosity are the products that claim they are good for a colon cleanse. I wonder what is in the product. If it is possible that they are putting things in the product you take that makes these "items" come out the other end.

As I can't decipher all the chemistry jargon on the labels, I may never know. And since the government has no interest in checking it out for me, I won't be jumping on the bandwagon anytime soon. I am a watch and wait kind of gal.

The Mental Ward

On my application to check me into a mental ward, according to my kids, you can just write the Kid/Cat Lady.

Since I collect kids and cats, I will not just be a crazy cat lady. Oh no. I will be the Kid-Kat Lady. (Like Kit Kat).

My kids thought this one up all by themselves. And laughed their butts off.

I never thought of it as "collecting" kids. A collection shouldn't be this time consuming.

Here's Your Sign

There have been many many many instances when I am driving that I wish I could say something to the drivers around me.

Like when the idiot in front of you is in the left lane with his blinker on indicating that he is going to turn left, into the ditch. And he keeps it on the entire 50 miles that he is on the road.

Or when someone passes you and flips you off because really what were you thinking going 75 in a 75 mph zone?

And when you pass someone who clearly forgot they had left their coffee cup on the roof of their car.

Any of these times I would have liked to have a sign to let them know what I think.

And now with these new Car Magnets I can. I just need to buy several with different all-purpose phrases on them. And when someone drives by me waving with his middle finger, I can slap on his sign.

Christmas In August

Last year for Christmas we set a budget. Only a set amount of money per kid and when it was gone it was gone.

So I started shopping in November. I would grab a present or two each time I was at the store. Until I had hit the limit for each kid.

But I only had so much money from each paycheck that I could spend. So I was banking on Billy's paycheck's every two weeks to buy more gifts.

His paycheck's have come on time and regularly for the last 12 years so I had no reason to worry.

Or did I?

For the first time ever there was a "computer glitch" according to accounting. And his paycheck that he was supposed to receive on the 22nd of Dec would not be deposited until the 26th. And we only found out when we called on payday to find out why his check hadn't been deposited. This totally and completely messed with my shopping plans. In fact I had to wrap a few I-O-U's to buy after Christmas because I didn't have all the presents yet. (The only solution his work had was to give him a cash advance.)

So this year to avoid such a nasty situation I am shopping in August. Yep. I will be doing all of my Christmas shopping this month. And I will store it all in the closet for almost 6 months until I can take it all out and wrap it in pretty Christmas paper.

I am so organized. *wink*

Hook, Line, and SINKer

We got brave and took all 7 of the kids out to Pizza Hut tonight.

They did incredibly well.

Our waiter, who shall remain nameless, was a younger college student who obviously was not used to dealing with a family of 9 coming in to eat. But he did well hiding it.

Fortunately we were the only ones in the place. So we got awesome service.

Until I went up to pay the bill and our waiter says, "You look great for having 7 kids!"

Ummmm. Yea. Okay.

Netflix

Okay, since you are all sick of hearing about our possible adoption of two new boys lets do a poll instead today.

Do any of you use Netflix? I have been considering signing up but can't decide. Right now we have access to movies for 3.99 each on our dish. So would it be worth it to sign up?

Tell me? Do you have it and if so what do you think? Is it worth the money? How many movies do you watch a month?

Just Hours Later...

The social worker finally returned our calls.

Billy's sister never checked herself into the rehab facility. Or if she did, social services cannot find her. Her home number has been disconnected and no one seems to know where she has gone too.

Her hearing is Monday. So the social worker wants us to keep the boys until after that to see what ruling the judge makes.

If the DSS gets what they want and we agree, we will get the boys permanently. Had she checked herself in they were considering giving her more time to try again. Since she didn't she has lost that chance.

So we are thinking hard. And we are talking to our kids. Please say a prayer or two for us. This is a tough situation.

Drowning in Kids

We are on day 10 of life with 7 kids.

Life is actually pretty good with 7 kids. We have made it through the first week where they don't know their place and are uncomfortable and have adjusted into a routine. The boys are really quite well behaved for the most part. I have been watching for any unusual signs/symptoms because I quite honestly cannot take on another child like Marea. She has enough issues for all of us.

I have seen a few moments where I went "Oh CRAP!" but for the most part the boys seem fairly normal and well adjusted. If it were just the younger one I would say yes in a heart beat. He is loving and cuddly (although too much with strangers which is a sign of RAD, but I am hopeful it is just because he is unsure of this "mom" thing since he has never really had a stable one).

D is doing well. I worry more about him adjusting to life with us. He is very competitive. I hear a lot of "I have more than you..., I can run faster than you..., I can do it better than you...." But I am pretty sure that is just his insecurities about being dumped into a family he doesn't even know.

We have taken all 7 kids to the library and the park. They enjoyed both. We stayed at the library for well over 2 hours and didn't have any problems until the very end. The boys went with us Tuesday to register the kids for school. We have even taken them all to Walmart and they stayed put (most of the time). In time, they would learn to behave like the rest of our kids. They are not too far from it now.

We haven't talked with the social worker since the first Tuesday we got the boys and that was just a quick call to see how things were going. I hope to get ahold of her today or tomorrow to find out what the plans are.

I just can't put my family through all of this if they are just intending to give the boys back to their mom. It is not fair to us or them. But we shall see. For now we are doing well.

And I must say it is easier to integrate kids into the house the second time around. With Marea it seemed so rocky. I will actually miss the boys when they leave. (Either Friday or Monday, we think.) I have enjoyed them.

Boy Games

When I was a teenager my Mom bought a nintendo. And we all played for hours and hours.

And then when Billy and I got married, we bought a super nintendo and spent many college nights up playing until the wee hours of the mornings.

And when we started buying computers, the games came with them. Most recently we have begun playing starcraft.

Now that our kids are older it is much easier for us to sit down and play for 3 or 4 hours. Although we usually try to do it after the kids have gone to bed.

But it makes for late nights and early mornings. And so today Billy was dragging at work. His co-workers (mostly college students) laughed and asked him which bar he was at. One of his co-workers that knows him well piped up, "Billy doesn't drink!" So then they all wanted to know what he was doing up so late. He told them that he and I were up playing starcraft.

To which they replied, "Your wife plays starcraft with you?" As if that is soooooo strange.

Yes, I do. I play starcraft. And I am waiting for starcraft 2 to come out soon. And I even know about a starcraft fansite (CreepColony.com). I can't be the only wife playing computer games.

I know, I am sooooo weird.

PPM

Today was a PPM (Proud Parenting Moment). You know one of those times that make you realize all of your modeling, teaching, and parenting has sunk in?

Mr. Bill came in from outside and wanted a snack. Having just bought three boxes of little debbie snack cakes I assumed he was after those. So I suggested he go get one.

His reply, "No. I want something good for me."

Finally all my nagging about eating good for you food has sunk in. He turned down the brownie for grapes and carrots with ranch.

Yippppeeeeeeee!

Spooooky

Apparently the world is gearing up for Halloween. I received a Lillian Vernon catalog in the mail yesterday with costumes. All costumes. Mr. Bill hasn't put the magazine down once. He is drooling.

And I have been thinking a lot about the town's Halloween party that we throw every year. Last year we had too many games and not enough adults. So it was unorganized and not as much fun as I wanted it to be. So I am busy trying to come up with games that we can do that are fun but do not require much intervention by an adult.

And then I log into PPP and see there is a new movie coming out: Halloween the movie.


Now I have expressed my dislike for movies but as I also said before, scary movies intrigue me. I like that I don't know what is going to happen. It is almost impossible to guess the plot. Almost, except when the girl splits off from the group and goes wandering around alone in the house or forest or wherever she is. You KNOW something is coming to get her.

My favorite scary movie would have to be The Children. It is about children who are on a bus and go through a cloud of something. It makes their fingernails turn black and whomever they touch they kill. In order to stop the kids they had to cut their hands off. I watched this as a kid and had nightmares for weeks. Of course now when I watch older scary movies like The Children it doesn't seem nearly as scary. Partly because I am older but partly because the special effects were soooo bad back then compared to what we have now. It is like when your teacher makes you watch an old video and while it may have a good lesson, you can't get past the hair and the clothes the actors are wearing.

The new Halloween movie is obviously going to be better not only because of the new technology and special effects the industry is able to create but also because Rob Zombie has thrown his hat into the ring. He is both the director and screen play writer for Halloween the movie. Given his track record I have no doubt that this movie will scare us all silly. I imagine there will be lots of incomprehensible moments that none of us could conjure up in even our scariest nightmares.

And we don't have to wait until October. This movie will be opening August 31st!

A Sign?

When we were in the process of getting Marea so we could adopt her we went to eat at a chinese restaurant for dinner. At the end of the meal we opened our fortune cookies. Mine said, "You will be successful in anything you adopt."

We got a good laugh and we took it as a sign that we were doing the right thing. I put the fortune in Marea's baby book so when she is older she can look back and see the chinese gods (or whatever they have) were with us on this one.

So about a week ago (the weekend before we got our nephews for this trial period) we took the family to a chinese restaurant. At the end of the meal Billy opened his fortune cookie. His said, "As long as you don't sign up for anything new, you'll do fine."

Eeeeeek. Not a good sign.

So I opened mine. It read, "As long as you don't sign up for anything new, you'll do fine."

Ummmmm. Okay. I am not a superstitious person by any means but Eeeeeeeek!

I don't think this one will make it in any baby book.

Helping Hand

As former foster parents, we have seen a lot of kids coming from a lot of different situations.

It is hard to watch innocent kids get ruined by their parents lifestyles. And yes, that is exactly what happens. Each child is born with the potential to be a wonderful person. But their life's experiences shape who they become. And those extremely negative experiences have extremely negative consequences.

It always warms my heart to see people and companies reaching out to help children who were broken or hurt and are badly in need of a loving caring family. Unfortunately, some of these kids continue to grow up without anyone intervening. And most of them end up in trouble with the law.

One of these companies is asking for people for Car Donations, boats donations, and house donations so they can fund a boy's home for at-risk kids. I think this is an ingenious way to get donations to help a very important cause. If I had known about it sooner I would have donated our last two vehicles that we opted not to trade in for the $500 bucks the dealership was so generously going to give to us.

I hope more companies start reaching out to help stop our kids from becoming a statistic.

Large Families

You know you have a large family when....


The local fast food restaurant sends you a nice letter thanking you for your LARGE purchase and enclosing some coupons for a free meal or two.

When or If?

WhenIf we ever get the attic finished (which better be soon after THIS INCIDENT--see post below this one) and insulated I want to put these on my front porch.

We have an old-fashioned farm house with an enclosed front porch. But right now it is storage central for all our remodeling supplies, including an attic sized pile of insulation.

Not a good first impression when you come to my house.

I have been dreaming of how I would decorate the room when it finally gets emptied. And that dream always includes a wicker furniture set. I have checked rummage sales and watched the sales at Walmart but either I don't have the money when they go on clearance or I think to myself, "I have no where to put these yet....." so I leave them at the store. And then I saw this set by Century furniture online. And they are droolicious. But I STILL have no where to put them. Hopefully when the roof gets done in September we can move that insulation and put it to better use than uglying up my porch.

Someday my front porch will be welcoming. Someday...

It's Friday!

There are not enough exclamation points to express my pleasure in seeing the end of the week. I have never been so happy to see a Friday in all of my life.

Kid count for the week:
Monday~8
Tuesday~8
Wednesday~8 + 2 neighbor kids all afternoon
Thursday~10
Friday~9 in the a.m., 7 the rest of the day

And as if 10 kids wasn't enough, last night at 2 a.m. we had a visitor.

A flying visitor.

A bloodsucking, flying visitor.

Yep, a bat.

Somehow one got in (we think through the attic/roof since the soffits are open until the roofers get here next month).

It was flying around above my head at 2 a.m. Only I didn't hear it. Billy woke up and turned the light on. The cats were having a great time jumping up and catching the thing in mid-air and then letting it go so Billy could attempt to catch it again. After some very hilarious dancing around in his boxers, he finally caught it in our garbage can and threw it outside.

So the agenda for this weekend? To build the walls at the top of the stairs to the attic.

Making Money

The other day Billy and I were talking. Mostly about money and how we always seem to need more than we have. Which is frustrating.

But Billy had the solution for us. If you have ever stayed up late at night, as my husband did the other night, you have no doubt seen the infomercials for getting rich quick.

The infomercial my husband happened to see promises you can get rich quick by buying investment property.

He reiterated the commercial for me and explained that you CAN make money without spending money.

To which I promptly replied, "And how do we make money without spending money if we are supposed to be buying properties?" Hmmm.....

It all goes back to "If it sounds too good to be true........"

How to look 10 years younger...

Last night my husband ever so graciously allowed me to take four of our kids and run away to get some shopping done while he watched the other three.

So as a treat the five of us stopped at Perkins for dinner.

The kids all sat down and we ordered and our food came pretty fast.

Shortly after we got our plates Mr. Bill told me he needed to go to the bathroom. I was nervous about taking him myself because then I had to leave Becca, Megan, and Cassie all sitting alone.

While I was deciding if I would risk taking him or send Becca with him, I noticed two older gals being moved from their current table to the one right across from us. I figured it must have been too cold or something at their other table.

So I decided to risk it and take Mr. Bill to the bathroom myself praying my kids would behave and the other people would leave them alone while I was gone.

I worried for naught because when we got back the kids were still eating peacefully.

We finished up our meals and then stood up to go. I heard someone behind me saying, "Maam?" I assumed someone was calling their waitress so I turned to make sure we weren't in the way. But it was one of the older gals talking to me.

She said to me, "My mother and I just wanted to tell you that these children are the best behaved children we have had the pleasure of sitting next to in a very very long time." I smiled as I usually do and said, "We think they are pretty good kids too."

Then she said, "Oh they are not your siblings?" I laughed and said that No they are my kids. She again complemented me and the girls. She said it was so rare to find such well behaved children.

But you are wondering about the ten years younger part right? Well usually when I take my husband out with us people think he is MY son. Because he looks 15 which automatically ages me about 10 years. I think it is the only conclusion people can come up with since he looks so much younger than me.

So from now on I am leaving him at home so I can be the young looking one again. :)

(((Oh, and my day with all 7 went pretty well. I didn't lose it and they seemed to enjoy being around. I even threw in 2 neighbor kids who have sort of adopted us as their family sucks. They were here most of the afternoon too. Billy is home today now so I can get a break. Although I am babysitting three more kids all day. What's 10 kids? )))

Get your kids published

Do your kids like to draw? How would you like to see their art on the cover of Dr. Martin Luther King's famous speeches. You have until August 15th to get your kids picture mailed to them so get out the crayons!


A Contest for Kids–
Create Cover Art for KING FOR KIDS Coming from Hachette Audio

Click here for all the details. http://www.hachettebookgroupusa.com/library/KingForKids.pdf

Book Review

While I have a few minutes to myself let me tell you about two news books I have just read.

The first one is Odd Mom Out by Jane Porter.

This book is amazing! It is one of those books that once you start reading you don't want to quit. I think I read it in two sittings (because I had to cook dinner you know). It is about a mother and daughter who have recently relocated and have found themselves mixed in with a bunch of upperclass neighbors and the Mother, Marta is absolutely NOT an upperclass type of gal. She owns a motorcycle and dresses to match. After her teenage daughter pushes and pushes she finally agrees to try a little harder to fit in with the other moms in her daughter, Eva's, school. There is also the side plot where Marta meets a guy who manages to break through her emotional walls and they find love.

The second book is Beyond the Mommy Years by Carin Rubenstein.

This book is a good read but not really geared towards my age group. It is a book about how to cope and deal when you are suddenly faced with the fact that your kids are all about to grow up and move out of your house. The author says that she found that most women are not in fact feeling an empty nest syndrome but rather are quite excited at the prospect of finding themselves again after giving so many of their years to being a mom. She talks about being ready for the kids to move out and finding life afterwards. She talks a lot about embracing the change and dealing with it rather than grieving.

Personally, I am excited for the time when my kids are old enough and mature enough to walk out of our house and live their own lives. Not because I am eager for them to go. I will miss them I am sure. But to see them being successful and happy is proof that all of the hard work I have put into them will have been worth it.