Spring Cleaning

I have the spring cleaning bug today. Must be from being at my sister's house where it was over 70F one day and always above 40. Because it is well below zero today with the high only getting to 10F. Blah.

But my house is getting clean. I dusted and scrubbed and de-cluttered.

I have a new technique for cleaning up the clutter. I take EVERYTHING that is not where it belongs that I have collected from the entire house and put it all on the dining room table. The kids then are responsible for clearing it all off. Whatever they leave behind I throw away. So far they have not left anything on the table. :)

And the house looks so much better. Now I just need to work on organization. We need some places to put things.

Thursday in Bullet Points

• The days are starting to separate from each other now. The last week felt like a big blur of days. LOL
  
• The kids are off to school today so I am going to sneak into town and have lunch with my husband.
  
• I also get to go and register our new car today. That is going to be a hefty check to write. I am thankful we have the money though to do it with.
  
• We brought my Mom's kitten home. It is having a hard time adjusting to life with four other cats. So far it hasn't come out of hiding. The poor thing.
  
• I also need to go to the store. We are out of just about everything here. Not sure how that happened when we weren't even home. Shopping is good therapy though. :)

Stress

As you can imagine right now life for me is very stressful. As I got up the morning of my Mom's funeral to get in the shower, I noticed my face in the mirror. Suddenly, at the age of 33, I had a new crop of pimples. Ugh!

I have always had pretty severe acne. Thankfully as I get older it seems to be getting better. But stress is always a trigger for me, it seems. I am so grateful to the companies who make acne treatment products. When I was a teenager they still thought chocolate caused pimples.

How times have changed. Now I wish my skin would follow suit. ;)

We're Home

We got home late last night. I am having a hard time going back to life as usual. Partly because of my sadness and partly because of the break we had while at my sister's house.

The dumbest things make me cry. I was listening to an onstar commercial on the radio and I started crying again last night.

Then we came home and found our front door wide open and all the lights on. Apparently the neighbor girl we hired to feed the cats came over and "forgot" to shut the door. She also forgot to feed the cats. She came in and played on the laptop and left it appears. I can only imagine the amount of propane we went through with the front door wide open in this 15F weather.

I am overwhelmed and exhausted right now so I will likely be missing yet for a day or two. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers.

Christmas Wishes

Every year as we get closer and closer to Christmas I try to think of cool presents my kids can make for our family.

The last few years we had made some kind of photo project. Then after Christmas this year I found out about these custom printed calendars. They are a perfect gift for grandparents or any relative who likes to see your family year round. :)

I think we will give them a try this year and see how they look. The kids will think it is so cool to have their picture on a calender.

Update

I have a few minutes so I thought I would pop in and say thank you to all of you for your thoughts and prayers and to answer a few questions.

My mom was not sick. This was totally and completely unexpected. We don't know at this time what she died from. She died almost 5 days before my sister and stepdad had someone break into her house. When I got the call they had just gone in and found her.

They are doing an autopsy but we won't have the results for at least 6-8 weeks.

I am doing okay. I didn't have the greatest relationship with my mom but she is my mom and I love her. I am sad mostly about the way she left the earth and that no one was there with her.

Her funeral is Monday at 2 p.m. so I should be returning home on Tuesday.

My sisters and I have spent the last two days preparing for the funeral and cleaning out my mom's house. That was not a fun job for a lot of reasons. Some are too gruesome to share but let me just say I never want to have to do that again. Thankfully my sister's and I got along beautifully and we handled the situation with great maturity. That is not something many families can say. Death in the family usually brings out the ugly in people. Thankfully it didn't in ours.

I will try to post more later but most likely it won't be until I get home. I thank you so much for your continued prayers. As I read the comments I cried again. That you all are thinking of me means so much.

I got a call at 3:00 this afternoon that my mom has passed away.

I am leaving to go to my hometown right now.

Really People!

Yesterday two kids had a stomache ache. Today another one is home throwing up.

We can really stop acquiring germs any day now.

Really!

Good News, Bad News

It is Monday. I am here. I survived the weekend. Barely...

I got the Tamiflu on Friday about 6 and took the first pill immediately. At that point I was taking two aleve twice a day and it was not making my body aches and head aches even SLIGHTLY better. I was ready to curl up and give in. Then sometime during the night that little pill must have started working its magic. The headache and body aches ended and just that made me feel 100% better. Today I am still coughing and have a sore throat but for the most part I feel okay. That prescription was worth its weight in gold, or the 80 bucks it cost, despite what my husband may tell you. (We haven't met our deductible for the year yet.) Just wait until he gets the flu and then I will laugh as he whines at me. Muhahahahahahahahaha!

A very good blogging friend, Thrice Blessed Momma, has unexpectedly passed away this week. Some of you may have seen the comment her cousin left on my blog. Here is part of the email she has sent me:
Helena, left us on Thursday, February 21st. But now she is with peace and her husband Andrew. She had told us that the people she had met blogging were like a family to her. Please keep Madison, Zoe, and Jonathan in your thoughts and prayers.
Doctors are unsure as to what the cause of death was at this point. They think possibly an aneurysm. Helena's husband also died a few years back and so she was raising her triplets by herself. They are five years old. I cannot imagine the pain they must be in after losing their dad and now their mom in just a few short years of each other. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers. ***Update: There is more info about Helena on The Dairy Wife's Blog.***

We went to the movies yesterday (with all 7 kids) to see The Spiderwick Chronicles. It is a good movie. I really enjoyed it. The ending is a bit scary for the younger kids (half of mine had their hands over their eyes) but it was well worth going to see. I do think this is a movie we will be purchasing. I always can tell when it is a winner when the kids spend the next week or two quoting lines from the movie.

My sister is coming to visit us this weekend. I think the kids are going to burst out of their skins waiting. I get to cuddle my niece and nephew too. It makes the week ahead a little easier to face. Of course I will spend the week scrubbing the house down. Well, if I ever get off the computer that is. :)

Holy Smokes!

We were watching one of those design shows on HGTV this weekend and they had the coolest t.v. console. The t.v. slides down at the touch of a button INTO the cabinet. On the design show they had this in their bedroom. "What an awesome way to hide a t.v. in the bedroom!" I thought. So after some research online I found a page full of tv lift cabinets.

I am so totally in love with this one. A t.v. cabinet and fireplace in one! And while they are spendy, if you compare the price of a fireplace and lift cabinet alone they aren't bad. And shipping is free, which is even better.

Quiz Time

After doing some shopping this past week, I am curious as to how many of you are brand-specific when shopping.

I mentioned quite awhile ago that I almost never buy brand name anything. But note I said almost.

There are some things I am particular about. Like Kraft Ranch Dressing. It is the only one I like (well that and the one they use at Perkins but they won't tell me what that is). And I used to only buy Cascade but lately I have been buying the Walmart or Target brands with similar results. And I always buy Aquafresh toothpaste for sensitive teeth (same ingredients as sensodyne but about 2 bucks cheaper).

So it got me to thinking. What brands do you buy of the following products?

Toothpaste:
Macaroni and Cheese:
Bread:
Shampoo:
Diapers (if you buy em):
Soup:
Cereal:
Peanut Butter:
Toilet Paper:
Dishsoap/Dishwasher detergent:
Frozen vegetables:
Yogurt:
Anything else you buy a specific brand of:

To-do more

I have fallen off the exercise wagon for the last several months. I had finally gotten my motivation back when the flu hit. I would like to get back to Denise Austin in the mornings but now she only has one show on and it is on at the exact time I need to get up and get moving in the morning. So then started dreaming of an exercise room in our basement. Only our basement is icky. It would involve a lot of work to make it an exercise room. And the only exercise equipment we have is a treadmill right now. My husband dreams of the day we can buy weight benches and free weights to use.

I guess we will just have to add an exercise room on our list of things to do to the house. I don't think that list ever gets shorter. It just keeps changing as time goes on.

Spring cometh?

Today it was 45F here! It was sooooo nice. We took the kids to the park to play. While it was wet and mushy it was glorious to get out of the house, feel the sunshine, and watch the kids play and run.

While we were there we heard sirens and pretty soon the ambulance pulled up across the street from the park. The kids thought that was rather exciting until they realized nothing happens after the ambulance parks outside someone's house. :)

Thankfully

Still sick today. Thankfully I was able to get Tamiflu through my doctor. I was rather skeptical but I took it anyway. I took the first one last night about 6. Sometime during the night my body aches and headache subsided. Then this morning I took another one. I seem to be slowly getting better or at least I am not getting worse. Yesterday morning I felt icky but nothing too bad but by bedtime I was really really sick.

Hopefully by Monday I will be feeling "normal". And hopefully I will be able to eat more than soup and juice. That is probably the only good thing about having the flu. I have no need for weight loss pills. I am on the Influenza Diet. ;)

Flu Friday

It is Friday. Which means all my kids are home thanks to the 4 day week at school. Which means we could be playing games, going to town, going shopping, or any number of other FUN things.

But instead I woke up with the flu. I swear a truck came through my room last night and ran me over.

And here I was just thinking yesterday how I must have avoided this particular strain because the kids all had it for the last three weeks. They are all better now.

Never say never.

F-f-freezing

It is almost noon and I still haven't gotten in the shower.

Not because I am being lazy but because our water heater is on our power company's energy control program. That means they can shut if off whenever they need want to.

And lately they have been shutting it off from about 6:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Which isn't retarded. Not all all. Afterall who wants to shower before going to work or school?

Sure we could call and take our water heater off their program. But that would be like trying a credit card telemarketer that you DON'T want their insurance for 50.00 a month.

So instead we are going to install tankless water heaters in the bathrooms. So we get hot water when we need it. Like in the morning, when we are showering.

Help Please!

I need a good book that explains all the things a tweenage girl needs to know about her body, boys, and the birds and the bees.

We have had the discussion many times now but I would like for the girls to have a sort of "reference" book to look back at as they get older. I think it is all too much to take in in one sitting.

Any ideas?

You Make My Day!

The rules for the "You Make My Day" award, are to re-present it to 10 people whose blogs bring you happiness and inspiration and make you feel happy about blogland. Let them know through an email or posting to their blog so they can pass it on. You may get the award more than once, so if you do, consider yourself very loved! So pass it on!!!

Here are ten bloggers who I love reading because of their positive-ness!:)

1. Perri

2. Jody

3. Alison

4. Merritt

5. Dawn

6. Zoey

7. Swistle

8. Tee

9. Nicki

10. Lori

MaKe My Day

Yesterday we took the kids out to dinner. We chose a chinese buffet place.

I was so nervous about going because Jack had been having a really bad day. He spent a good 2 hours total in his room screaming his head off. Gotta love those days.

But about halfway through our meal a lady who was sitting at a nearby table came over and told us we had the best behaved kids she had ever seen. (I imagine seeing 7 of them sitting nicely and eating was kind of shocking.)

That made me feel really good because we used to get those compliments before we got the boys.

It was good proof that we are making progress with the boys. And it sure made the rest of my kids feel good too.

Scream

A few of you have asked how Jack is doing.

Jack is doing....okay?.....

Since the other day when he actually laid down without screaming we have had 3 other times of actually laying down without screaming.

The rest of the time he screams. And yesterday he started kicking the wall or the side of his crib in addition to screaming his head off.

I am not sure you would call this progress. But at least we have had three good days.

Of course he is still screaming during the day. Especially on days when he feels entitled to get what ever he wants when he wants it. We are still working on that too.

Monday in pictures

Just Checking in on you...
Nuff said...

Put 'em up...

Eval

Holy smokes Billy's work needs to get this for their employee's performance reviews. This year he was due for his evaluation in June. He finished the paper work and handed it in by July 1st, as requested.

But he didn't have his actual evaluation meeting until DECEMBER! 6 months is way too long to keep an employee hanging.

Pretty Princesses

One goal at a time

Right now I am totally immersed in getting ourselves debt free. It seems to consume most of my energy. I would like to lose weight too but I don't seem to have enough brain power to do both at the same time.

For now I am content to watch our debt go down. As that gets easier and starts to flow I will start working more on the weight issue. One goal at a time...

Wooohoooo!

We are now the proud new owners of the GMC YUKON!


Yeeeeehaw! It is a beautiful beast of a car. We all fit in comfortably and with room for all our stuff.

Too bad the gas mileage isn't a little better.

God's timing couldn't have been better though as my van bit the dust on Wednesday night. It is going to cost 900 to fix.

Cuppa Joe

When I go to the grocery store, my favorite aisle to walk through is the coffee and bread aisle. It always smells so good. I just don't understand why coffee doesn't taste as good as it smells.

Not that it stops me from trying it over and over. After all if it smells like irish creme it should taste like irish creme right? But it never does.

I have been looking at the new coffee makers online and some of them are really nice and would look so pretty on my counter. I just need one that make hot chocolate I guess. :)

Can it be!?

Jack layed down for the first time EVER at naptime and hasn't made a sound. Usually we have 45 minutes of screaming before he falls asleep.

Although I have the little girl I babysit here today longer than usual so I layed her down for a nap and it was sooooooo funny because Jack was eating in the dining room which is right next to my room. He saw me lay her down, tuck her in, and shut the door. He stared at the door almost in shock that she wasn't screaming. I said, "Look she layed down to sleep and she isn't screaming."

Then about 20 minutes later I took him upstairs and layed him down but first I told him, "No crying. It is bedtime. You need to lay down and go to sleep." Not that I haven't told him that a gazillion times already but I keep trying. So I layed him down, tucked him in, and shut his door.

And NOTHING. He didn't make a peep.

I am astounded. Either he is doing something really naughty (thus being really quiet so I don't find out) or he is asleep.

Sad really

It is sad to me to watch our newest boys as they adapt to a normal life.

The oldest came home from preschool with his bag full of valentine's and candy. I told him he could pick three things to eat right away. You would think I offered him the moon the way he responded. So he sat at the table and tried really hard to bite a sucker. Finally he got through and looked at me with big eyes and yelled, "There is gum inside!"

We had to have a little lesson in what you were supposed to do with a sucker that has gum inside. Odd that something that should be so simple and experienced years ago is so new to a five year old.

His brother, the one year old, sits at his feet begging like our dog. Of course I stressed sharing with others and he gladly gave his brother some candy too. But he devoured it and is back to begging. I keep having to send him off to play. Sharing is one thing, giving it all away is another.

Two lessons learned with one bag of candy.

Happy Valentine's Day!

OOOOOHHHHH!

I found a car! A 2004 GMC Yukon that seats 9 people! And it is in our price range! OOOOHHHH! I am sooooo excited.

We are going to go look at it on Saturday!

Cross your fingers and say a few prayers that if this is the vehicle for us we will get it.

Proving Myself

I came here about 10 times yesterday trying to think of something to share with all of you.

Did you want to hear about our attempt to get all 120 valentine cards signed and candied so the kids can take them to school tomorrow?

Or how I have been working on our mountain of laundry on a daily basis?

Maybe you want to hear about how Jack spent his entire day yesterday screaming in his crib because I couldn't understand what he was trying to ask me so instead of trying to tell me again he just resorted to a screaming fit?

Or maybe how Jack won't eat anything that isn't an orange/yellow/or tan color? Vegetables are the enemy you know.

I could write about how we FINALLY got a bedroom door thanks to our neighbor?

Perhaps I could tell you how amazing Mr. Bill is lately? He in in Kindergarten this year but is starting to read words on his own and they are not little words either. Yesterday he was drinking a Sprite soda and was staring very intently at the bottle. He said out loud "No caffeine." You could tell just from his tone of voice that he had suddenly figured out what it said. Now at night when I read to him he can read some of the words in the books. He amazes me.

Or maybe you want to hear about how I talked to my Dad on the phone the other day? He told me a story about when I was little and he was making cookies. There was one on the counter which he told me I could not have. He said I looked right at him and grabbed the cookie and ate it. I am still laughing at this because that is sooooooo my personality. If you tell me I can't do something, I will prove to you I can. Even if I get in trouble doing it.

Of course none of these make a great post all by themselves but I guess together they give you a good glimpse of what I have been doing so far this week.

Monday Mania

It's Monday. And the routine here is the same. Chaos, chaos, and more chaos.

Last night we took all 7 kids to the store to pick out valentine cards. And of course the candy to go with them. We walked out with 20.00 worth of cards and about 15 in candy. Crazy. I try not to be stingy with the money for holiday stuff like this because I remember all too well what it was like to be a child whose parents bought the cheapest and ugliest stuff to pass out. If I have to pay 2.50 for a box of valentine cards instead of .99 I will do it.

Today Mr. Bill went back to school after a full week off from being sick. He is still on antibiotics for the ear infection but should be feeling fine. He sure didn't like having to get up early though.

I am fighting off the usual seasonal depression since it is once again going to be below zero for the entire week. I really don't know how much more of this cold weather and lack of sunshine I can handle. On top of that I spend my days with our newest kids who aren't too fond of behaving. I am really struggling. I could use some summer sunshine today. Instead I am getting snow and cold. Blah.

Billy got to chaperone a middle school dance this weekend. Let me just say the stories he told me about what some of the kids were doing makes me wonder if sending our daughter to these dances is a good idea. Middle school kids are ummm.... very immature? To say the least.

Billy and I also attended the Home Show this weekend while a babysitter watched our kids. We happened upon a concrete stamping company. Intrigued we stopped and talked to him for bit. We wondered about a concrete driveway or patio area. The rough estimate? 5,000 dollars. Ye gads! When did dirt and glue get to be so expensive?

After the home show we went out for lunch together. Just the two of us. It was so nice. I could use more days like that.

Woody

When I hear someone talking about putting wood in a car I think of this:

But in today's world it seems everything can be recycled in a more sophisticated manner. Now when we think of wood being used in a car there is this:

For the person who has everything or for the person who likes to customize everything they own (like my daughter who has recently learned how to change my desktop wallpaper, screensaver, and cursor). They can have their own car decked out (couldn't resist the pun!) with these new wood dash kits.

It is a far cry from the ugly paneling of the 80's isn't it?

Snowball

I am surprised at how surprised everyone was with my last post. I guess I didn't realize how much everyone tries to hide their debt and financial situation.

Part of paying off our debt is being honest with myself. I look at that debt every single day of every single month. It isn't going to go away and the balances are hardly budging every month. Nothing is more depressing than sitting down and looking at my bank accounts and feeling like I have not made any progress.

I decided enough was enough. It is time to take control of the situation. So I am.

It is a slow process. And sometimes very frustrating. But it just takes baby steps to get the ball rolling. I started this process in November so I am a few months in. But I cannot tell you how much those little baby steps snowball! It is incredibly motivating to see that first balance start to go down and soon to be paid off. This is the first month I have managed to pay off anything and it felt great! I can't wait to get to the next one.

In the end we will have almost 900.00 extra each month that won't be going to credit card companies, a bank, or other companies we have done business with.

If you think you can't get out of debt, think again. Just take that 2.00 you are spending on a soda out of the vending machine at work and put it on a loan instead. 2.00 doesn't seem like much but it will reduce the interest you are paying. After you are used to putting that extra 2.00 on a loan move on to somewhere else you are spending money.

I am using the plan that was recommended on Oprah's website. I pay double the minimum on one bill and pay just the minimum on the others. When that one is paid off then take that money and apply it to the next bill. For example our first cc payment was 20.00 a month. So I doubled it and paid 40.00 a month. Now that that bill is paid in full I am taking that 40.00 I was paying and applied it to the next bill. That minimum payment is 60.00 so now I am paying 100.00 to this bill each month. In the end I will be sending 350.00 as a payment to our last bill. See how the snowball grows? I have gone the extra step and am taking any little extra money we get (insurance checks, my babysitting money, etc.) and applying that to the bill we are working on as well.

It starts with one little babystep.

In another post I will talk about savings accounts...

Pinching Pennies

I have been putting lots of effort into paying off our bills. Every day I am faced with a choice to spend money or save it to use towards bills.

It is not always an easy choice. Somedays that meal out, or that shirt, or those new rugs are way more tempting than saving the money to pay more on a bill we have.

And sometimes things that I can't control, like needing to buy 840.00 worth of propane an entire month earlier than we should have. Or when the van breaks. Or a child suddenly grows 5 inches and needs new pants asap. Those things have to be remedied immediately.

So I have learned quickly that although I have a budget and a plan, I HAVE TO BE FLEXIBLE. It is hard to not get frustrated when we end up spending money on something unplanned. But if I take a step backwards and look at the big picture we are still getting out of debt. Sometimes we just have to take a small baby step backwards first.

So even though we are a few steps behind where I would have liked to be right now, I can happily say I have TWO credit cards paid off this month. One had a 200.00 balance and the other had an 800.00 balance. That is a giant leap forward! If we can keep going forward and not have any major setbacks the next one will be paid off in April. That is only 2 months from now. It currently has a balance of 1500.00.

We also put our entire income tax return onto our van loan cutting the balance in half. We now owe only 4900.00 on our van. I hope to have that paid in full in a year's time.

But I will be flexible.

(And because nothing is more motivating than sharing your goals with the internet world, I have posted our bills and their current balances over there--------> in my sidebar.)

Right Up Our Alley

My husband is a computer geek. Yes, I admit it. If you show him a catalog or webpage with computers in it he knows what all those acronyms and code words stand for. And he knows which is better. He always somehow ends up on the page with the MOST expensive computers with the biggest and best of everything.

Me? I look for how much it costs and what it can do. End of story.

So I had to laugh when I saw these PC Kits. These are right up my husband's alley. It says all you need is a screwdriver and they will ship all the parts you choose to build your own computer, literally. Now he is handy enough and educated enough that he can do this. And it could very likely be the way to get a 5000.00 computer for much less.

But seeing how we have 3 laptops and a desktop ALREADY in our house, I think I will be hiding this little webpage from him. Shhhhh! Don't tell.

Playing Favorites

The doctor was waaaay behind today and so Billy and I sat in the waiting room until 11:00 which was a good 40 minutes past our appointment time.

But it wasn't time wasted. Mr. Bill sat and told me all about his 5 year-old philosophies of life. It was funny to listen to him because you could tell parts of what he was saying were things he had learned at school and others were things he had just thought up on his own.

Finally we were taken back into the exam room and waited for the doctor. There were pictures all over the walls and he kept asking me what they were of in his nervous-chattering way. We discussed the poster that showed pictures of the inside of an ear that weren't infected and pictures of an ear that are infected. I told him his probably looked like the one that IS infected. He thought that was gross. LOL

Then he saw the squeeze bottle of gel that the doctor uses when they listen to a baby's heartbeat. He wanted to know what it was. I told him it was for pregnant mommies. He then looks at me and says, "You are pregnant." To which I violently shake my head. "Well you were pregnant with me." he responds. I nod. "And you were pregnant with all the girls. But you had them first. And I was born last."

He said this with the most accusing tone of voice I have ever heard from him. As if I had any control over what order my kids were born in. Clearly he thinks I chose to have all girls first.

And then he looks at me and says, "But you love me more!"

Tacky or Trend?

I was watching one of those "sell your house" shows the other night on t.v. and the realtor/designer gal walks into the master bedroom and gasps at what she sees hanging on the wall.

A t.v.!!!!!!!!!!!!! The horror!

Apparently it is quite a fashion disaster to hang your t.v. up now. Who knew? (Well of course unless you have a flat screen t.v.) So I was really surprised when I saw a website that sells several tv mount designs. But then they aren't a few two by fours slapped up on the wall either. They are stylish and practical all at the same time.

I prefer my t.v. on the entertainment center and one day I intend to find one with doors so I can close the whole mess up.

Vintage OC

A trip down memory lane...

Heaven Help Me!

I. have. three. kids. home. sick.

T. H. R. E. E.

***Edited to add: It would appear we are passing around Influenza A. Becca, who did go to school today, said the teachers were all talking about it. We are dealing with sore throats, fever, cough, stuffy noses. Mr. Bill also coughs till he throws up but he has always been this way. He doesn't deal well with snot running down his throat.***

Giving

As the tax year wraps up I have been hearing all kinds of tips and tricks to lowering the amount of taxes we will need to pay by donating to charities.

While I know there are many charities out there that are needing help and money, I am always hesitant to give to most of them.

Then I heard about Car Angel (http://www.carangel.com/). Car Angel is a non-profit company takes cars as a donation, as well as other donations to make movies on video for kids. So far they have given away more than 2.4 million videos to children. You can see the movies they make here.

Now I live in hickville where many landowners have fields and fields of old cars. Maybe if a few of them would take a look at Car Angel and donate car, boat, r.v., or even a house. The cars don't have to be running. What a great way to clean up a yard and benefit kids.

SuperBowl

Thanks

1. I am thankful that we got to go ice skating this weekend. The neighbor girl babysat Jack for us so we could go and have some fun. I haven't been on skates since I was 9 so it was a whole new experience for me.

2. I am thankful we have finally gotten Jack's screaming under control. He seems to have figured out that we mean what we say now and that every little thing is not worth throwing a fit over.

3. I am thankful the deep freeze we were in seems to have finally passed. The temps are supposed to be in the 20's this week. That is a huge improvement over last week.

4. I am thankful that we have heat. I filled the propane tank last month for 870.00 and because it has been so cold I had to fill it again already for another 830.00. But we could pay for it and that I am very thankful for.

5. I am thankful for good friends and family who are there when things aren't going well.

And the winner is...

First off, let me just say this:

OMG! I am glad you all do not do our grocery shopping. 1400.00! Are you kidding! Eeeeek! I would pass out if ever I spent that much on food in a month. Ye gads.

Also perhaps I should have mentioned that I feed four girls who eat like birds. Small petite birds.

And I also should have mentioned that we don't buy any processed, boxed, or premade foods. Well okay we buy some like mac and cheese and canned soups. But I pretty much skip the frozen food aisle except to buy vegetables. I also totally skip the candy aisle and the chip aisle.

Okay, now on with the show:

Here is the photo I took of the end of the receipt:

The total was 226.97!

So the winner is Allie! Congrats to you girl!

And her prize is:

Just drop me an email with your address and I will ship it out the door. :)

Thanks to everyone who participated in the contest! That was fun!

Food Budgeting Fun!

***THIS IS YOUR LAST DAY! Leave your best guess before midnight. Scroll down for new posts!***

Are you curious as to how much money a family of 9 spends on food each month?

Well I am here to let you in on our family budget. :)

But first you have to guess how much you think we spend.

Here is a picture of the receipt from my last trip to the grocery store. Megan, who is 4'4, is holding the receipt. This food will last all month. We, of course, make trips once a week for milk and a few other odds and ends that total about 100.00 per month more than what is listed on this receipt.

It's Working

Thank you all for your prayers and words of wisdom for us about Jack.

I started this week with a new tactic for when he starts his screaming fits.

I don't give him any warning but when he starts screaming I pick him up and take him directly to his crib. I tell him, "We don't scream to get what we want. I will come get you when you are done." And I leave.

The first day we did this probably five or six times and he screamed for a good 30 minutes or more each time.

The second day he only went to his crib once through the whole day. He would start getting upset about something and whimper for a few seconds but then he would stop. I was amazed!

Yesterday he only went to his crib once and he must have needed a release because it was another marathon screaming session lasting almost 45 minutes. Once he calmed down and stopped screaming I went in to get him.

When I go get him I tell him, "You need to say please and thank you when you want something, not scream." Then I make his say "I am sorry Mommy." Which comes out sorry momma but it is close enough. I do this for two reasons, because he should have some consequence for all the screaming and he needs to learn respect, something he is seriously lacking from living with his birth mother.

So far it seems to work. He has drastically cut back on the amount of fit throwing and screaming during the day. Yesterday I even asked him to wait a minute when he wanted to be held and he did. Usually that would send him into a horrible screaming fit.

Let's hope I didn't just jinx myself. :O)

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Oh, and the yeast infection medicine kicked in at about the 24 hour mark. I am feeling much better today. Just slightly itchy instead of wanting to see a plastic surgeon about having my private parts removed permanently.

Prom Envy

It is apparently that time of year again.

Time to go prom dress shopping.

I have been hearing ads on the radio, seeing them on t.v., and watching them all over people's blogs.

I love seeing the beautiful prom dresses in the stores. When I was of prom age my Mom was more interested in saving money than buying me a dress. Eventually I ended up borrowing a dress from a friend of my Mom's. And while it wasn't an ugly dress it wasn't mine and when I had to return it I was sad.

Do you think men have the same memories of their tux or cufflinks?

Nah, I didn't think so either.

This puts a whole new meaning to a BUN IN THE OVEN.

Okay, I have a yeast infection. Sorry if that is TMI. But I am dying. I get a yeast infections a few times a year. No big deal. Usually I can just wait them out because they don't get too bad.

But this one! OMG! I made a run to the drug store last night in the frigid cold because I could not stop the itching and it burns when I pee it is so bad.

The box I bought is the one dose medicine but as I am reading the box it says this: Most people do not feel better the first day. Most people have relief within 7 days. WTF?! 7 days! I paid 20 bucks to "wait it out" like I normally do. Ugh!

I don't feel any better today. I better start feeling better soon! That is all I gotta say.

This is not natural!

Today when I got up it was -15F.

The wind started blowing and it now officially feels like it is -45F.

We shouldn't even be able to measure temperatures that cold.

Brrr....

Mall Walking

99% of my regular shopping is done at Walmart. It is not because there isn't a wide variety of stores around me. It is because everything I could need or want is there.

Well almost everything.

At Christmas time I decided to get my husband the "ultimate" gift. I just had to find a little red nightie in the women's lingerie department. What I discovered is that Walmart has a very small selection of clothes in this department.

Which required me to venture out of my comfort zone. I checked out several stores in the mall and found myself blushing as I explored the possibilities.

Needless to say my husband didn't get the "ultimate" gift. Instead I got him a power wrench.

Welcome to married life. ;)

Life in this house

Shhh! It's nappy time.

Helping to make the brownies

Teenager in training


Testing our Christmas jammies.

Saving for later

Continuing with my debt-reduction theme for the year I have been checking into other insurance companies for our life insurance. We currently have the basic term insurance that ends when we are 60-something. My ultimate goal is to get it moved into whole life insurance so the rate does not continue to go up and we are covered until death-does-us-part.

I have been asking for a life insurance quote from many companies and then comparing them to what we have now and what we would like to have. So far the quotes are not compatible with my budget. But that doesn't mean I have given up. Once we get a few more bills paid off this year, I will re-evaluate and see where we are then.

I do not want to leave our kids in the postition we were in when Billy's mom and dad died. Their funerals were 8000.00 each and we lucked out because we didn't have to buy a plot at a cemetery.

Bad Parent Award

This weekend we took all the kids (plus 4 extra) to a motel in a neighboring town to do a swim/sleepover for Becca's birthday.

I was aprehensive about how Jack would do while we were at this sleepover but didn't want all of the kids to suffer because he has not been properly trained in the ways of the world. So we all went.

Saturday night went great because we spent 90% of our time in the pool. Jack liked the swimming part until about 8 p.m. we had to take him out and take him to bed. I took him and Cassie (who had enough swimming by then too) and got him ready for bed while Billy stayed with the other 9 kids at the pool. We all crashed into bed by 10 p.m. with hardly a whisper from Jack. He fussed a little before falling asleep but then slept well. He did wake once and started to fuss but he quickly went back to sleep on his own.

Then morning came. We got up early so the kids could swim again before check-out. This may have been part of our demise. Jack refused to eat breakfast. And by refused I mean he screamed. So we removed him from the breakfast room. He calmed down pretty quickly so we took him to the pool with us but this time Billy and I weren't swimming which meant Jack wasn't either. He was fine with that until we made him sit down in the chair. He started screaming again. This time there was no stopping him. And he doesn't just whimper or cry, when I say scream I mean scream. I have been tempted to record him doing this just so people can understand how frustrating this is. But anyway, Billy took him out of the pool and back to our room where Jack continued to scream for a good 45 minutes. I am seriously surprised no one called the police or social services on us. It sounded like someone was killing him.

It was obvious at that point that Jack had lost all control of himself. We have tried so many different things to help him calm down and regain control but so far they only work once or twice and then nothing. We have used time-out, holding him, distracting him, and lately even tried spanking him. (And let me just insert this PSA: We do not and have never spanked our own children. They never ever did anything that I thought deserved getting hit and I don't think it is an effective form of parenting anyway.)

Nothing stops this child. He just screams. 99% of the time we have no idea what sets him off. Sometimes someone looking at him will start the screaming.

Today after leaving the motel Billy and I both felt sad, disappointed, and frustrated. We feel like bad parents. How can two loving kind people raise a child who acts like this? And what the heck must the other hotel guest have been thinking listening to him scream?

I brought him home and he is now upstairs in his crib. He is not sleeping because I can hear him talk every once in awhile but he is not screaming. That I am thankful for.

I know this child is not a "normal" child as he has a lot of issues and circumstances normal children don't have but if any of you have any ideas on how to deal with this I would really appreciate your input.

Shopping Sensibly

I have been reading a lot of websites geared towards gaining financial freedom.

One tip that almost all of these websites have in common is their push to use coupons when shopping to help save you money.

I have to admit I am not a big coupon user. If I have one that is for something I buy regularly I will use it if I remember it when I am shopping. But for the most part I don't use any coupons.

I also do a lot of shopping online so I have learned to do a search first to see if there are any available codes or coupons to use. Like these Shutterfly coupons which will help save you some money on your photos or let you get a jump start on gifts for Christmas.

I guess I need to make coupons more of a habit to help save us more money as I shop.

Oops...

When we remodeled the downstairs bathroom...well let me back up a bit...

When we made a bathroom downstairs out of what formerly was the walk in pantry (I use that term very loosely here) we planned everything down to the light fixtures. We decided to go with recessed lights because they would provide a good amount of light and we could have light not only above the vanity but also above the shower.

After we finished the bathroom and began to use it, we discovered we had made a major oops when it came to the lighting. We didn't install any kind of lighting close enough to the mirrors (the ceiling is 9 feet up so the recessed lights don't cut it) so it is hard for anyone, me in particular, to see much detail in the mirrors. Which isn't a problem unless you are trying to put on makeup evenly.

So now we are shopping around for a new light fixture to put over the mirrors. I don't think home improvement ever ends.

The last installment...

Here are the final two questions for Ask Jodi:

Vegas Princess asks:

What is the hardest part of your day?
For me the afternoon is the hardest part of the day. I am a morning person so I have lots of energy in the morning and can get a lot done. By mid afternoon I am tired and dragging and then the kids all get home from school and have oodles of homework to do.

What do you wish you had more of in your life?
Well I wish I had more of the obvious things like time and money. But the thing I want more of in life right now is more alone time with my husband. When we were dating the world sort of stopped for us and we were all consumed with each other. Once we got married and started having kids that time quickly dwindled. Now when he walks in the door I am usually the last one in line for hugs and kisses and we spend the weekends doing things with the kids. A weekend away once in awhile would be so nice to reclaim that time we used to have together.

What would you being doing if you were not a SAHM?
I imagine I would be a very successful career woman. That is what I wanted to do in high school and even as I started college I imagined myself CEO of a huge company someday. But that all changed when we had our first daughter. Suddenly I couldn't imagine myself anywhere but with her.

Can I become one of your kids?
Sure. Take an application. ;)

And Sandi asks:
Do you know of any site to get good advice on SD law?
I wish I did Sandi. I am not up to date on most SD laws but I am sure if you did a google search or call a lawyer in SD they would be able to point you to some good resources.

Sleep Blissful Sleep

I was talking to one of my friends the other day and she mentioned that she intended to buy a new mattress and boxspring with her income tax return. I laughed and said that is something we should probably do too since our bed is well over 11 years old.

I had to hold the phone away from my ear as she screamed something about bad backs and bugs and allergies.

She started telling me all about the new memory foam mattress she was going to buy. I told her our bed was just fine and was comfortable so we wouldn't be replacing it for a few years at least.

I think I heard some gagging on her end.

So tell me how old is your bed? Have I broken some rule I don't know about by not buying a new mattress already?

80's Rock

I have a new favorite blog. I was doing some 80's searches and ran across this blog: Life in The 80's

They have a list of 80's toys, 80's t.v. shows, 80's movies, and other 80's related stuff.

Looking through all this sure brings back memories.

Watch Me!

I have worn a watch off and on for most of my adult years. I started this in high school and then it would break or the battery would die and it would be weeks or months before I got a new watch.

In high school (I am going to show my age here) we had to have Guess watches and then the Swatch Watch came out. Do you remember those? They were sooooo cool! I think at one time I had 3 or 4 that I wore all at the same time. Because in the 80's more was better.

Now of course I am a stay-at-home mom and I really don't have much need for a watch. I have a clock in my car and several in the house. Plus I have my cell phone so I really hardly ever need a watch. Now that I am all grown up I don't imagine a plastic Swatch Watch in Neon pink would really match my style anyway. But I am a little to redneck for a Rolex President watch either.

Until I get a "paying" job, I really don't need to know what time it is anyway. Except when I am at the doctor's office. Because clocks are apparently illegal there. You know because they don't want you to know you have been waiting in the waiting room for over 45 minutes.

Jodi Answers... Round Three

Allie asks:

Do you like sour cream? Love it! A little too much probably.

Have you ever tried sword fish? No. I have had most fish but not this one.

Do you keep your eyes open when you kiss? Depends. :)

Ripple or plain chips? Ripple if I eat them. I am not a big chip fan.

Are you adopted? Nope.

Do you knit? No.

Are you right or left handed? Right handed.

Do you get "alone" time with your husband? Not very often. We try to schedule dates when we can. It is hard to find a babysitter willing to watch all 7 kids though.

Do you like raisins? I do. Especially in oatmeal.

Do you like liver? No. NO. NO! My parents made us eat this once a week when we lived in Hawaii and I hated it. Blech!

What colour is your room painted? Chocolate Brown. It is very nice and soothing.

And Nicki asks:
What is the family dynamic between your children? We're thinking of adopting a girl after having three boys. I know there have to be things to consider here, what are they?

Having several children of the same gender and then getting one that is the opposite is interesting. We had three girls and then adopted our fourth girl before we had our son. I wasn't too worried about bringing a boy into our life as I knew either way we would be great parents. Love is not gender-based.

At first when Billy was a newborn I didn't really notice much of a difference except when I would change his diaper of course. It wasn't really until he got into Preschool that he started acting "like a boy". He learned from some of the other boys that it is fun to run and jump and be loud and gross. Up until this time he had been "girl-ified" as I like to say. He grew up with four sisters so he didn't really act any different than they did. Of course this year he is in Kindergarten and that dynamic has changed drastically.

As for the girls, they all get along really well with him. We have since adopted two more boys and the girls are just as happy with them. It is kind of fun to see them interact. I find that the girls and boys fight a lot less with each other than the girls do with each other. I am not sure why that is. The boys are also younger so the girls kind of act like little moms. I have to frequently ask them if someone died and they are now the Mom because they can get a little too bossy. And there are the obvious privacy issues with adding another gender to the house.

If I was considering adopting again I wouldn't hesitate to get a child of an opposite gender. I have learned a lot from my sons and I have enjoyed every minute of having boys in the house.

I wish you lots of luck in the adoption process Nicki.

Look for the last installment of Ask Jodi tomorrow...

Retro

Yesterday I ran some computer parts to town. While I was there I stopped at Taco John's for lunch.

As I sat eating my lunch a guy walked in the door. He was dressed very much like Vanilla Ice was in the 80's. I had to chuckle as I saw this teenager sit down for a job interview with the manager. That certainly isn't how I ever dressed for a job interview no matter how casual the place was.

I was telling a friend about the guy and she laughed. She said she is seeing so many 80's things making a comeback. The other day in the shoe store she said the old canvas shoes were there waiting for some poor fashion fool to buy them. She said she even saw Nike golf shoes.

I said, "Whatever sells I guess." I don't know why we want to repeat the neon big styles of the 80's. Although I do still feel my heart go pitter patter when I see an 80's boy band with big hair. I guess you never get over some fashion trends. :)

Sums it up!

This picture pretty much sums up my day. Not full of food though.

Jodi Answers more...

Ready for day two of answers to your questions? Here we go:

JG didn't really ask but rather stated:
Well since you live in South Dakota, I am curious on what your stance on abortion is.

I must say my first thought was, what does living in South Dakota have to do with this? Does living in South Dakota have an impact on how I think about things like abortion? Hmmm. At any rate this is one of those issues that I thought a lot about before I sat down to write an answer. Politically and really with any controversial issue like abortion I tend to agree and disagree with both sides. There are good things the pro-choice people are saying and good things the pro-life people are saying but in the end I sway more towards the pro-choice side of the spectrum. Why you ask? Because I don't think the government should be able to tell a woman (or man) what she should do with her own body. And because I have now adopted three kids from a woman who should never have had children. I can see the benefits of abortion. If a woman gets pregnant and does not want a child why should she continue the pregnancy? And yes I realize there are millions of people wanting to adopt a newborn baby but maybe just maybe if we stop bringing unwanted children into this world there will be less children in foster care or orphanages waiting for homes and families. Having said all that I also don't think abortion should be a form of birth control. I think abortion should be used for those times when a woman has no other options. Birth control is available widely and in several different types and I do believe it should be the first course to preventing pregnancy. (See how I sway between the two sides?) I also have to say I have never been in a position where I needed or wanted an abortion so all of my beliefs are based on a hypothetical situation. I don't know how I would react if I was in this situation other than I do know I wouldn't want some law making the decision for me. So there you have my view on abortion. Feel free to respond but keep it nice. We are all friends here.

The next question comes from Perri:
When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? Did you want a lot of kids? did you go to college? Do you attend church?

When I was a kid I wanted to be a nurse. Sometimes I still think that might be a good career for me. However I went to college to be a Family and Consumer Science Teacher. I graduated in 1998 but have yet to actually teach in a classroom. I opted to stay home with my babies instead.

I never really thought about the number of kids I wanted when I was a child. I did say to my Mom several times that I was going to save the kids in this world who don't have what they need. She says I also told her I was going to have 10 kids. I don't remember saying that but I guess subconsciously I am working towards that goal. LOL

I don't currently attend church. I wish we did. Billy and I have church-hopped since we got married. As a child I was raised catholic but we hardly ever went to church. Billy was raised baptist but only went to church as a kid and his parents stopped somewhere before he turned 12. We found a wonderful church home in our old town but once we moved we have not been able to find anything as comfortable. We continue to look though.

And the third and final question for today comes from Tammy:
Do you have any hobbies (besides blogging)? How long have you been doing them? Have you ever tried to knit/sew? What happened?

I have a ton of other hobbies. I love to do genealogy on the computer. I read lots and lots of books. I prefer young adult and older novels that don't refer to the internet and cell phones. For some reason I expect a book to be about things in the past. It always throws me when a character starts referring to his cell phone. Weird I know. I also enjoy sewing but don't do it very often. I have done cross stitch and embroidery but since having babies I just don't have the time or patience. I have been thinking of getting back to it though now that my babies are getting older. I tried crocheting once. I could figure out what to do after I made a really long chain of stitches. LOL

Stay tuned for more answers tomorrow....I will try to wrap up the answers by Friday. Enjoy!

Too Tired

This is too much laundry. I nap..you finish it.

Jodi Answers

Okay, here is our first installment of ask Jodi.

Let me just say first how much I appreciate all of you taking the time to ask a question (or two) and making this game so much fun. I got a good giggle out of some of the questions and others really made me think.

So without further ado here is question number one by Chris:
Are you going to have more children?

Well Chris, the short answer is no. The long answer is probably not. We have seven kids and as much as my ovaries scream at me some days I know in my head that seven is enough. My husband is quite adamant that we are done and he truly doesn't want another child. And he has an appointment in March to get snipped so unless God intervenes, we are done having kids.

The next set of questions comes from Humincat:
How many siblings do you have, and how many are people you like? Are you the youngest, oldest, and what size family do you have? What do you do when Jack is screaming? What is your favorite recipe and will you share it? Did I break the rules?

I have three siblings. Two sisters and one brother. None of them are like me. But I like them all. Kid-wise my oldest sister has one child, my brother has none, and my youngest sister has two. I definitely over-compensated for their shortcomings. :) Otherwise none of them are really like me. I am a middle child (the second of the four). I am bossy and assertive and am not afraid to take charge. None of my siblings are like that. :)

When Jack is screaming I cover my ears with my pillow and pretend I am in outer space. Okay not really but that sounds like a good idea. Right now we are trying to un-train Jack. I guess when you live with a mother who is a drug addict you learn that the only way to get what you need is to scream for endless hours and for everything. Jack screams over everything. And it is not an "I am upset cry" but just a "hey I am here" cry. So we are trying our best right now to ignore him when he is screaming and encouraging him to ask for what he wants/needs. Somedays this goes better than others.

My favorite recipe? Hmmmm. That is a tough one. I am not a very enthusiastic cook so my recipes are always changing. I think the one thing that I make regularly are slow cooker ribs and cheese encrusted cauliflower.

Slow Cooker Ribs
Slice one vidalia onion and put in bottom of slow cooker. Place thawed ribs on top. Pour your favorite bottle of bbq sauce on top. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Cheese Encrusted Cauliflower
(I know you are thinking ewwww cauliflower but really this is yummy. I don't usually eat cauliflower but this is one dish that disappears quickly at our house.)
1 head cauliflower chopped into bite size pieces
2-4 Tbs vegetable oil
1 cup parmesan cheese

Place cauliflower pieces on a baking sheet. Pour oil over the top and mix well to coat the cauliflower. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake in a preheated oven at 400F for 15 minutes. Stir and serve hot.

And no Humincat, you didn't break the rules. ;) Thanks for the great questions!



more answers tomorrow...

Ask Jodi

Thank you for all the wonderful questions!

I will start answering them on Monday so if you haven't asked me what you have always wanted to ask, run to this post and leave me a question. You have less than 24 hours.

Getting Smarter

One of my goals for this year is to become more financially educated. That means I need to figure out what the heck stocks and bonds are, what our 401K is and how it works, and other ways we can invest our money and make it grow.

I have tried reading websites and articles but most of the time the jargon is so technical that I can't understand what I am reading. I have thought about hiring someone who could help me by explaining this stuff if a language I can understand. Which led me to more webpages talking about cpa's, commodity brokers, and financial advisors.

Which got my head spinning more than when I started. I think I need to take a college class or pick up one of those yellow "for dummies" books. I can't make more money if I don't understand the process.

Doggie Bed

This new bed you bought the dog for Christmas... Is very very comfortubuhls...

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

Go way now pls k thnx...

**Ignore the date on the pics. The camera is wonky and likes to have whatever date it wants on the pictures now. I need to figure out how to turn the thing off.**

Pimp My Piece Of Crap

We used to own a blue Plymouth Voyager. It is the most family-looking family van available. After we owned ours for about 3 years the transmission went out. Of course it couldn't happen while we were backing out of the driveway. It happened as we were pulling out of the parking lot at the store 30 miles from our house.

We managed to get it in the shop and get it fixed but it cost more than the van was worth. And then a few months later the van sprung a huge transmission fluid leak. We decided at that point to cut our losses and sell the van. We parked it by our house with a for sale sign on it. It sold within the first week.

The other day we saw the van go by our house but it didn't resemble our van anymore. It had new chrome rims, flashy lights and other auto accessories that should never have been put on a family van. I guess the guy who bought it gave it to his teenage son. I thought that idea went out in the 70's. ;)

Since We Are Playing Games

Let's play, "Ask Jodi"

Since I am tired of hearing myself babble I am opening up the floor to those of you who read here.

What are the rules of "Ask Jodi"?

They are very simple:
Ask Jodi a question. Any question you would like. Do you want to know what I had for breakfast? How I manage life with 7 kids? What color my bedroom is? What political party I am registered under? Or how I feel about abortion? No question is taboo. And no question is dumb (totally stealing that from my math teacher).

And I know everything (or so I tell my kids) so don't be shy, ask away. I will do my best to answer them all.

So GO! ASK! Because if you don't this is going to be a really boring game of "Ask Jodi". And no one likes to go to a blog and hear the crickets chirping.

The days when

There are days when I get so much spam in my email that I imagine the servers are sputtering smoke trying to keep up with the overload.

But today, as I was sifting through the junk I saw one spam that I wished was for real: Invitation: 4 days/3 nights in Bahamas for toogirls2000@yahoo.com

I could really really use a trip to a warm exotic location right about now. The temps here have been in the single digits with a wind chill dropping the temps well below zero. And my kids are acting like caged animals.

Of course the email is nothing more than spam. But a girl can dream can't she?

The results of What Would You Do...

Well the teacher and parents met. The teacher walked in with a three page agenda she wanted to cover. And she did. She read the things that had been said in the past through notes and comments. Then she read about the child. How wonderful she is but also how meticulous she is. Then she went down the list of things she thinks the CHILD needs to do to make this situation better.

Now I understand that it is not all the teacher's fault this child is getting a ton of homework. But the child has expressed that the teacher leaves the room during work times and then the kids don't work. When the parent said as much to the teacher she agreed the class was a wild bunch but left it at that. As if the kids are to blame for not sitting down and working when the teacher is not present.

After she finished the agenda the meeting was ended. Bascially leaving both parents feeling as if nothing had been accomplished other than making the child feel like crap. The parents had anticipated a meeting that would be more of a problem solving situation, trying to discover where the problems lie. Instead they got a lecture and watched their child's self-esteem drop lower.

There will be a follow up meeting in two weeks.

Koolaid, it isn't what it used to be

Remember when you were a kid and you would drink a glass of koolaid and then walk around with a koolaid mustache for days? Apparently Koolaid noticed too because it isn't what it used to be.

Megan, my 10 year old, has been begging for blue highlights in her white blond hair for months now. At first I psssshawed her because she is ten and blue hair is not really cool like it was in the 80's. But she was persistant and kept bugging me. So "santa" brought her this really cool hair paint stuff that lets her make her hair blue for a day and then it washes back out. But it is crunchy she complains. So I called my sister, the one with a degree to cut and color hair, and asked her what do I do? She suggested koolaid. Yes koolaid. So I followed her instructions and mixed koolaid with a little shampoo and used a paintbrush to do two very small sections of Megan's hair and then I wrapped it in foil so the rest of her hair wouldn't be blue too. The websites I read said it had to stay on for quite a while if we wanted it dark. She wanted it dark.

I checked her hair after 3 hours and then reapplied the koolaid mixture and folded the foil back up. 3 hours later she had had enough so we took off the foil, blow-dried the hair, and then rinsed it out. And ta-da....

NOTHING!

The koolaid washed right out without a hint of blue in her hair. I have pictures of us doing this step-by-step but without a final "ta-da!" picture it seems pointless to show you all the work we went through for nothing.

On the websites it says to mix the koolaid with conditioner but my sister suggested shampoo because it opens the cuticle of the hair and so the koolaid would soak in more. I don't know what we did wrong. I may try it again with conditioner and make the ratio of koolaid to conditioner higher this time.

Otherwise it is off to visit Aunt Angie to get real blue highlights put in her hair. She is that excited about getting them.

New Year

Now that a new year has rolled around the media is hitting the advertising hard. We are seeing ads for weight loss much like we see the election ads come voting season. Personally I get rather frustrated at the amount of time and money companies are throwing at us to get us to buy their product.

But there are some ads I have been seeing a lot of lately that are interesting to me. Those are ads about getting out of debt and learning better money management skills. I was reading an article about the top 10 things people waste money with and one of those was auto insurance. The article said that too many people get comfortable with one company and don't check around for new rates with other companies. If you remember I did this last year and saved us over 600 a year by switching to a better rate. I did ask my insurance company if they could match the price I was quoted and when they said they couldn't I switched. So do yourself a favor this year and shop around for a new auto insurance quote and see if you can save some money.

Then do it again next year about this time. It will be worth the effort I am sure. And who doesn't want more money each month?

ADHD Thoughts

I read this article in the news and again in Merritt's blog.

Bascially the article states that ADHD is just a matter of maturity of the brain. And that it will get better as the child ages. And that early parenting can add to the problems of ADHD. You can read the details for yourself.

Here is my deal. I have a daughter with ADHD amongst many other acronyms. But we opted at the age of 4 to treat her with medicine specifically related to her ADHD. She is now 8 years old and is still on the medication. Since she is adopted and we didn't get her until she was just two months short of two years old we don't know exactly what kind of environment she grew up in. We have a vague idea. But we do know that over the last six years we have been treating her as we have our other kids.

Maybe it is true that it is a matter of maturity and the brain has not developed appropriately. But the truth of the matter is, if they hadn't treated our daughter's ADHD we would have given her back by now or been locked up in a psyc ward. Why?

1.Our daughter's mouth does not have an off switch without her medication. Anything that goes through her head comes our her mouth---at 90 mph. Without her medication she talks non-stop. Which, for a day or two, may be cute.

2. At school if she is required to sit still for a story or work time, she gets up to get a kleenex 20 times in 20 minutes. I am not exaggerating these facts. When we were considering putting her on the medication I asked her preschool teachers to keep track of how often she got distracted or they had to redirect her to keep her on task. Over the course of a 4 hour class she was put in time-out 25-30 times. So we choose the medication. And the teachers continued to keep track. And suddenly she was down to 3-4 times in time out per day. They wanted to know what we had done to her because they couldn't believe how well behaved she was.

3. She steals. That is the impulse part of the ADHD combined with her RAD symptoms. When she sees something she wants she doesn't think twice. She takes it. We are treating the RAD symptoms through therapy but the impulses we had no control over until we started the medication. Now she has some control over herself and we are working on teaching her that taking something has a consequence.

4. She can't sleep at night because her brain doesn't shut off. Before we started the medication she would be up and down all night. And having a 4 year old running around the house at night is not safe. She would get into anything and everything she could. After the medication she sleeps, all night. And I don't have to put an alarm on her door so I know she is not out of her room getting into stuff at 2 a.m.

So yes it may be a maturity thing. But without medication our daughter at this point would have no self-esteem, no friends at school, and absolutely depleted and miserable parents. Not to mention she would have not been able to learn anything and would most likely be in the "special" classes at school because she could not focus long enough to learn. I feel like she has made great progress and I can see a future with her off of these medications if she continues to do as well as she is right now. She is learning and maybe that part of her brain is finally catching up to the rest of her. Or maybe the medications have given her brain that much needed control. One day this year I forgot to give her her medication before she left for school. That day also happened to be conferences. When I went in that night to talk with her teacher she said to me, "I don't know what happened but today was a horrible day." So it is not just us who sees the change in our daughter.

There are so many other things I want to say on this subject because it irritates me when people say, "Oh just give her more structure. You need to change her diet. or She will outgrow it." ADHD is not that simple. It is a complex problem that has many facets that affect not only the child but also the family around them. I think each family does what works for them in the hopes that the child will get better or outgrow it.

A Vanful of Cows

As we drive to the school everyday we pass corn and bean fields. This time of year the cows are left to forage in the corn fields so we pass many cows as they chew their cud.

Jack and the little girl I babysit both are fascinated by cows and so each time they see cows they yell out, "Moooooooo!"

I just take it in stride since we do this daily.

But the other day Becca stayed home sick and so she accompanied me on the drive into town. And suddenly as we passed a field of cows the kids broke out in mooooooooos. Becca almost flew out of her seat and she looked back at the kids. I giggled and she hit me and said, "Not funny!"

I sure thought it was.

**This picture is from here. I was going to take my camera and get a picture of the cows we see but driving and taking pictures don't go well together. So here is a picture that is extremely similar to what we see everyday.**

Live Blogging

My life is so exciting today that I am going to give you the play by play:

At 1:45 the repairman for my BRAND NEW washing machine knocked on my door. (Well okay he didn't knock. I saw him coming and opened the door for him.)

At 1:45:30 I escorted him up the stairs and instructed him to take a left and then another left to the end of the hall. He mumbled something like, "Gotta love these old houses" cause 15 stairs and a hallway are apparently too much. But then the man reaked like a chimney. It made my eyes burn if I get too close to him.

At 1:47 I showed him the funny clanking noise my BRAND NEW washing machine is making and share with him the fact that if I do ignore the clanking and let it run the machine shuts itself off and flashes a F30 code at me. Because clean clothes apparently are not on its agenda today. He nods and mumbles something about, "Something stuck in the soap dispenser is usually what does this."

At 1:50 I walk downstairs telling him I will be here if he needs anything. He mumbles something about "getting back to my kiddos". I clean out the litterbox (no need to worry about the repairman smelling the stink while I am scooping. I bet he can't smell anything through all that smoke scent.) and make my bed. The I play with my kitty who thinks me making the bed is great fun. She gets that wild look in her eyes and starts running all over my bed with her claws out and swinging. She finally runs off the bed and hides under the couch.

At 2:09 I sit here surfing the net and reading blogs waiting for the sound of footsteps down the stairs. I hear a lot of clanging and banging instead.

At 2:45 the repairman calls me upstairs. He shows me a little plastic bar that is on the dispenser part of the washing machine. It is getting stuck and making the rattling sound and stopping the washer from working. Unfortunately, the parts stores he checked do not have the part in stock. Are we surprised? So he leaves the top off my washing machine so I can "push the bar down" if it should get stuck.

At 2:50 he puts the screws from the lid to my washing machine into his toolbox so they "don't get lost" because I must look like a loser type of gal. He writes down the part number and model number and heads out the door.

At 3:00 I start a load of laundry.

At 3:40 I switch the laundry.

By 8 p.m. I put in the 5th load of laundry. The baskets are once again tamed and the dirty clothes are minimal.

The laundry gods are smiling on me again today. And hopefully they are smiling on the parts store so we can get a new part soon.

The end.

Let's Play "What Would You Do?"

A child I know, not my child mind you, is in fifth grade.

This child comes home with homework every single night, holidays included. Halloween night was spent alternately trick-or-treating and doing homework.

This homework is not a mere 15 minutes of homework nor a mere hour of homework. It is regularly 4 to 5 hours worth of homework a night.

This child is a little slower in getting homework done, her mother knows that. But still she wonders if 4-5 hours of homework is a bit much.

The mother called the school at the beginning of the year and talked with the teacher to let her know about this 4-5 hour workload. She said some kids just aren't as quick as others.

Mother stewed and dealt with 4-5 hours of homework a night. Until Christmas vacation ended and said child came home with 4 hours of homework the first night.

Mother called and talked with the principal. Now teacher has called and wants to meet with the child and Mother. What should be said and what should the mother expect the teacher to do, hypothetically of course?

No!

Jack is on a 'no' kick lately. No matter what we ask him he answers with a loud, "NO!"

So the other day in the car the kids were having fun with this.

"Jack do you have a nose?"

"No!"

"Jack are you one?"

"No!"

"Jack are you wearing your coat?"

"No!"

"Jack is your name Jack?"

"No!"

And then Megan pulls out a pack of gum and says, "Jack do you want some candy?"

Jack's eyes lit up and he said, "Jack, caneeeeeee, yes!"

Dr. Oz

I was watching part of Oprah yesterday before my kids got home from school and it was an "Ask Dr. Oz" show.

At the beginning of the show Dr. Oz pulled a tapeworm out of a glass jar. A very long nasty tapeworm. He said many people across the globe have some type of parasite or worm and just don't know it.

It sure made me want to run for one of those colon cleanse products. But after watching Dr. Oz I wonder if they would get rid of these parasites. It makes me queasy just thinking about it again.

Nasty!