Lovin' their lovies

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Just a few random pictures today of the boys...and their lovies. Kaleb has been a little bit "under the weather" the last few days. You know. The stuffy nose, rosy cheeks, watery eyes kind of days. The ones where you hear a sneeze and run as fast as you can with a tissue or something similar because there are boogies hanging down to their knees. Sigh.

Kaleb loves his cloth diapers. Give the boy a binkie and his cloth diaper and he is good to go. He pops that binkie in, plants his face into the diaper and he's in heaven. Today I managed to snap a quick picture of him enjoying it immensely. All is better now.

Zachary has his puppies. The security he finds in these puppies is at times annoying. Especially when you can only find 2 of the 3 puppies. And heaven forbid that the truly special puppy - the one that looks like it has been dragged behind our van on a 5,000 mile road trip - should not be attainable at any given moment. After 2 hours of fooling around during naptime today, this is what I found when I went to get Zachary up from his nap. I tried and tried to wake the boy up, and wouldn't you know his eyes popped right open the minute I said the word, "snack." No kidding.

The boys love their lovies. :)

Spiders for Dinner

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I missed Tiny Talk this week...just couldn't even think of funny stuff the kids had said.

Until now. ;) Like there is EVER a lack of conversation in our house. That would take a miracle....

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A few days ago Laurianna was talking about a story in the Bible about the rich man and the poor man (something triggered her remembering it). "You know how the poor man ate scraps of paper from the table of the rich man." The story otherwise was reiterated rather accurately, but scraps of paper? It took me a minute to figure out that she had just heard the word 'scraps' and assumed that the poor man was given scraps of paper to eat....her mind doesn't move far from a most joyous time in her day: crafts!

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Tonight I made enchiladas for dinner and McKenna was in and out of the kitchen watching me. She asked what we were having and I told her, "Beef enchiladas."

"Yeah!" And she quickly ran out of the kitchen to tell the others. "Guess what? We're having tarantulas for dinner! Mommy is making tarantulas!"

Hopefully not anytime soon...

Tupperware takeover

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I had a "little" Tupperware party. Ummm...maybe not so little as I orginally thought. I received several ship notices today from Tupperware to let me know the order was on it's merry-little-way.

11 boxes. ELEVEN!!

I am a little scared to see the FedEx man. Not-so-happy will he be with me...

And where, pray tell, am I supposed to keep all these boxes?

My husband is in heaven.

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Sports heaven, that is.

Our cable company recently sent out a little notice informing us that there were going to be some new hd channels added to our lineup. We, however, do not subscribe to any fancy-tiered cable system. Instead we subscribe to the basic, get-you-by, 13 channels-which-includes-QVC cable package. But we do have an HD ready tv. So today we ran a new scan on our tv just for fun since we already have a few "bleeder" channels.

And my husband was whooping with joy.

ESPN and ESPN2. In High Definition. Lucky me.

But we are also getting some other lovely channels too. And for that I can't complain. Like National Geographic. And A&E. And Food Network.

Heaven, I tell ya.

Having Church

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McKenna had to spend a little "alone time" in her room this morning due to a few sibling issues. While she was in there and I was sitting in the living room I heard her start singing.

"Praise the Lord for all he’s done.
We praise you God. We praise you God.
We praise you God. Our God.
You make us smile.
We tell you when we’ve done something wrong.
We pray to God. You’re the one that we pray to.
You are our God who is the Savior.
You are the one that we praise.
You are the King.
You are the special man. Oh God."

When I asked her later what she was singing in her room, she said "I was just having church." This is a the moment that outshines the moment that got her in her room to begin with!

Singing Harmony

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We usually sing our dinner prayer "God is Great" and toward the end (with Rick gone mind you) I tried to sneak in a little harmony along with the kids. Problem is, Laurianna followed right along with me and the song quickly took a sad, twisted downhill turn.

When we were done, we talked a little bit about singing harmony and that we all couldn't sing harmony. Zachary was quick to pipe in, " I can sing harmony. See?" and he proceeded to sing..."Harmony! Harmony!" (get it? :)

Head on over to Mary's blog for some more Tiny Talk by clicking on the button below:

My amazing little girls....

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Friday morning I got up and had the beginnings of a nasty headache, so I ate a little, took some Excedrin, had a shower....and it only got worse. Worse to the point of not being able to get out of bed. So who would take care of the kids? Seriously if I would have gotten up I would have thrown up.

I called Laurianna and McKenna into my room and told them I wasn't feeling well and asked them to get cereal out for everyone and get the drinks ready, etc... I could hear the girls working together in the kitchen to set the table, get the bowls out, and get it all together. Laurianna got the boys up and she told them I was sick and she fed everyone. At one point I could hear Zachary and McKenna asking her for something and she said, "I'm very busy, just like Mommy is very busy. You need to wait." Can't imagine where she's heard that before...

I about laughed outloud though when I heard Laurianna telling Zachary that he could have some cereal when he finished his dinner from the night before. I shouldn't be surprised that she remembered he hadn't finished it. I was surprised that he actually ate it.

Laurianna even changed and dressed Kaleb (it was only a miracle of God that his diaper stayed on) - but she managed to get more snaps put together correctly than I usually can. That girl is amazing. And she was so proud of herself for being able to help me out. And I am so proud of her too!

Reinforcements arrived mid-morning to help keep the kids occupied and fortunately the migraine was gone by the time the kids took a nap. But I did gain such a new appreciation for the two little girls in our house. :)

To post or not to post...

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This last week has been one of continued chaos in our house. Coming off the heels of everyone going through the flu, appetites adjusting back to the normal, weaning kids off the extra television... It all came to a head on Wednesday.

We don't usually serve the kids too much dinner (they can ask for more) but expect them to taste and eat what they are given - or it comes back. Because he had been sick the previous week and his tummy catered too, Zachary was bound and determined to get the food he wanted. And that wasn't the food he'd been given. Add lots of whining (on both his and my part), frustration, etc...and one little boy went to bed without eating dinner and the promise of seeing the food again the next day until he decided to eat it.

Guess who wasn't happy to see the food for breakfast. Guess who refused to eat it? Snack? Nope. Lunch? No way....he was holding out in epic proportions. The other kids were also going completely batty. I was going completely batty. Complaining about school. Complaining about cleaning up. Blah, blah, blah... Zachary refused to take a nap and just sat in the room screaming at the top of his lungs.

By the time I had to take the girls to gymnastics I felt like I had reached the breaking point. I just cried on the way home and just prayed for God to help me. I felt like one of the world's worst moms. Just a feeling of total loss of control of my kids. Their attitudes. My attitude. In the midst of it all I just felt an overwhelming peace as I poured out my heart to God. No earth-shattering revelations. Just peace. And boy, did I need that.

Later that evening I was reading a friend's post about her kids, and despite not-wanting-to-compare, I internally was. She can't get enough of her kids - in a good sense! After reading the post, I was internally thinking: "I'm ready for a month-long sabbatical. I can get enough. Is something wrong with me?" (and I know the answer is "no" *grins*).

Life isn't always fun and games at our house (and I'm guessing it isn't always at yours either). I usually try to post funny stuff or some random stuff, but when life isn't "fun" and things are normal or difficult, it's harder to post and share and be open. It's easy to post the good stuff. It's being open and vulnerable that is difficult to do.

The truth is, I am often a crazy woman in need of a good strong cup of coffee and uninterrupted adult conversation. My laundry is abounding and unfolded, toys are strewn from top to bottom of my house, children are running from here to there, wildly amuck, interruptions are at every turn, and I sometimes think hiding in my closet might be my best option for the day. There is lots of noise. LOTS of noise. And that is life. Plain and simple. I am raising a group of amazing children. Passionate kids. Who know what they want (and scream when they don't get it *grins*). Me? I'm passionate too - and my passion for them is growing deeper every day (sometimes along with my frustrations). But I long so desperately for that passion to be channeled into their love for Jesus. That they never turn back in their pursuit of Him. And go after Him with all the passion that they have for so many of the little things in life.

Phone conversations get interrupted frequently. Using the computer can be challenging at times. I ALWAYS have a means of conversation with a Friend- and that exists wherever I am, whenever I want, despite having children hanging on me or yelling for something. I've been listening (rather repetitively) to a song redone by Kathryn Scott "What a Friend". It's a great old song, but the words have really struck something in me this this last week.

What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear, what a privilege to carry, everything to God in prayer.

Oh what peace we often forfeit, Oh what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry, everything to God in prayer.

Have we trials or temptations, is there trouble anywhere? We should never be discouraged, take it to the Lord in prayer.

Can we find a friend so faithful, who will all our sorrows share? Jesus knows our every weakness, take it to the Lord in prayer.

Feeling the Burn

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From the title of the post, one might assume I've had the good sense (or desire) to work out. Not so much. I have succumbed, once again, to the inner-vanity and visited a doctor for laser hair removal. The last time I went was around 2 years ago, so I continued those treatments and I was also blessed to receive a FREE treatment of my lower legs. Painful, but free.

And seriously. If you had to shave my legs, you might be considering the treatments too. It might not be so bad if my hair were blond. Or light and peach-fuzzy. But no. Coarse. Black. And enough to make any sane woman wish she were European and NOT HAVE TO SHAVE!!! I boycott as often as I can, but it's really not a pretty sight. And if you don't believe me...well, just believe me, take my word for it, and be thankful you DON'T have to have a visual on it. Some have dared and haven't been the same since. *grins*

My husband is all for the idea. And frankly, who can blame him? He doesn't have to deal with the pain and reaps the lovely benefits! Right now, I'm happy with doing my legs and the hairs on my chinny-chin-chin. There are other parts of my body that I am quite not - nor may I ever be - ready to let venture into laser-land. Ever.

I talked to the technician today about the price for doing my legs, etc....and when I showed her my calves, she got this funny look on her face and said, "I remember now! You are one of my favorites!" I don't know if that's good...but apparently it is. She couldn't restrain herself (the OCD in her kicked in) and while we were chatting, she started doing my legs as a little "freebie" for my visit....did from the knees down on one leg and HAD to match up the other.

My legs are a little "tingly" at the moment and before I show you a picture of one of them, I will preface this by saying that the first treatment on my legs probably cut down my hair growth by 40% - a HUGE reduction for me. Was it worth it? Well, it was free, so most definitely yes. And so was this one. But here are the results of today's visit. This is the from the knee down on one of my legs (the red bumps are basically where each hair follicle is).

Would you do it? Would it be worth it to you? Oh. And did I mention there will more than likely be quite a bit of itching attached to this. For a few weeks? Hello to my friend Benadryl!!

The Job of the President is....

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The kids are perking up a little more each day (some more quickly than others) which is evident by the

a) arguing in the house
b) increased level of violence
c) the funny stuff that comes out of their mouths
d) all of the above

(The answer is D in case you were wondering. :)

McKenna and I were reading some of her schoolwork together yesterday (she was reading to me). Her first assignment was a little "prayer" of sorts called "I Can Pray!" As she was reading it she was almost too the end when she turned to me and said, "This girls prays too much!"

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Much to Rick's disappointment, there was some ice skating show on during the Dallas game on Sunday, so while he was flipping channels avoiding the commercials he had to stay on the skating once the girls saw it. The kids were in awe watching, even Zachary (shocking, I know!!). He just sat and stared at one lady as she skated and then said, "I wish I could marry her."

When I asked him why, he said, "Because then I could dance with her."

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We're starting an new lapbook about President's Day and we were talking about President Bush yesterday. I asked McKenna, "What does President Bush do?"

She thought for a second and said, "Um. Look for bushes?"

Apparently we need to study the topic a little further....

Head on over to Mary's for some more Tiny Talk!

Making the Rounds

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Well, it definitely wasn't food poisoning with the kids (big weight off my shoulders since I was the one who cooked a different meal for them that night). It was the flu. Which I so graciously contracted from my children.

Being sick really isn't fun, and fortunately it was VERY short-lived in my body - really only a few hours. On the bright side, I managed to lose a whopping 4 pounds. Not so bad for 4 hours, eh? Hee hee....

Not necessarily the diet I would have chosen or want to repeat, but I know some pants that are calling my name....or, I can just have a little more room for the fun party tonight at Christin's!! :)

Oh What a Night....

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Let the fun begin. Pukefest Extravaganza 2008.

Last night McKenna started complaining that her stomach hurt. She quietly went to bed...and not so quietly woke up throwing up EVERYWHERE. Rick helped with her in the bathroom while I stripped her bed and tried to find more bedding for her. Not too long after, Laurianna started up.

By the time I got ready for bed the mound of laundry was steadily overtaking the basement and relief didn't seem too close at hand. I was just about ready to get into bed when I heard Zachary start.

Sigh.

All night long. Literally. When one kiddo was done and I would have it all cleaned up and JUST sit down, I would hear another start up - about every 10 to 15 minutes. No rest for the weary until about 3am I had a brief reprieve to sleep some. They were all so great about it - truly they were.

We're not sure if it's a bug or something they ate (since they had a different dinner than we did last night) - but thank goodness Kaleb didn't start in too. Today is a LAZY day in our house. Mommy is tired. Kids are tired. I am sad to say the tv will be our friend today. A lot. I will be doing laundry. A lot. And disinfecting everything I can. A LOT.

Mr. Clean saves the day!!

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Mr. Clean eraser is the hands-down favorite of mine. It has saved me in numerous situations and today it was nice enough to clean the sharpie from the desk. Of course I couldn't find one in my house to save my life, so I had to load the van up, cart the kids to Target to buy some...and then found a cute pair of shoes, and a few random other items. sigh.

But - the Sharpie is gone!! :) Of course afterwards I remembered a similar situation with markers and our dining room table and for that I made a paste of baking soda and water and scrubbed til my arms about fell off - but that worked too. Hopefully that will help someone, somewhere. :)

Can You Get Sharpie off a Desk?

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I suppose later today I will figure out the answer to that question. Hopefully, you can get it off.

Now to explain WHY there is a Sharpie drawing on our nice, big, lovely, oak roll-top desk. That would be thanks to a certain 5-year-old living in our house. Who apparently has too much free time on her hands.

When Laurianna told me about the writing yesterday I was non-to-happy. She didn't draw a picture, but rather wrote our last name on the pull handle to one of the drawers. Laurianna said, "Ask her WHY she did it!" Ok. Why, you might wonder? If a burglar breaks into our house and tries to steal our computer, he will see our name and know that it belongs to us.

Yep. That ought to stop him dead in his tracks. :)

Tiny Talk is back, so be sure to pop over to Mary's and see what other little ones are saying!

Back to Life...

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Vacation's over. I suppose that I've pushed off the inevitable starting school up again long enough. :) We had fun working on our candy cane lapbook - check out HERE to see some pictures of it.

The computer - still in the shop and hopefully I'll have it back sometime early this week. I feel so out of the loop of things when I can't "do" some of the stuff that I feel needs to be done.

On a pitiful note - I have been lost in Mitford, North Carolina since Christmas Day. If you are familiar with Jan Karon and her Mitford series, you might understand. A friend had given me the first book in the series when I was on bed rest with Kaleb. And the book has meanwhile been sitting in my nightstand, unread, since sometime last October. I found it while cleaning up and figured I couldn't give it back after having so horribly long without reading it. Bad move. Very bad move. The first one finally hooked me and sucked me into the little village of Mitford. I had to call my friend, confess that I finally read it and beg to borrow as many of the other books as I could. Sadly, there are NINE books in the series. NINE. And as of yesterday, I have finished them all and read the first book in her next series. No small feat I assure you. Ten books are now completed....I am now left hanging in a new series....and searching for what to do now. Hmmm...perhaps resume life? That I suppose was my "Christmas break" - back to school for me!

Fritzy Computer

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Our laptop is having issues again...and will hopefully get fixed this time for good. :) Unless I run down to the basement, I have no computer access. Sometimes it's a little hard to sneak away safely for a few minutes and other times I'm just plain lazy. But let's face it - I could probably use the exercise too! :)

If you don't hear from me, that's why, but hopefully we'll be back up and running soon.