Large Family Laundry Catch Up and Annoying Ulcers

Yay... I love playing catch up. Not. However, knowing I can head to the nearest laundrymat and just do 27 loads at once makes it feel better. I brought two helpers and we knocked out those loads and folded in 2 1/2 hours flat. We walked out tired and happy. 

Recently I went to the doctor for severe stomach pain. At first they thought it was the gall bladder but turns out it's ulcers. Gee, I don't know what caused that. The doctor asked what's happened in my life that is causing major stress. Well, relatives I love passing away too early. Sometimes scared something will happen again, that the economy will crash. That my husband's job would be affected again. Another major change in my life that I can't discuss. Just that attending caused such major stress I had to remove myself before breaking down majorly. I have since remedied that but it is still an adjustment. Major. Each week though it's getting better and better. 

My own kids and husband are such a huge comfort. What incredible blessings God has given me. They bring joy to my days and I love, love, love waking up to them every day. Some tell me they don't understand how I could be with my kids 24/7 and love it every day. I don't know, I guess the attitude adjustment I got back when I had my third kid stuck. It wasn't all about me anymore. :D

On a sad note: I miss my uncle Ron. He didn't have to die. Still waiting to hear results from investigation. He's in heaven but my heart hurts for his family and my dad. His funeral was amazing. He left a big impact because of his amazing work ethics, and very good husband and father. Everyone said he was always happy and made everyone happy around him. He wasn't a big time evangelist or serving in a homeless kitchen but he showed Christ's love thru his actions to people around him. Being a person like that doesn't mean it'll make the papers but it matters in those people's lives. Imagine if everyone lived like that. ;) For others and not just for ourselves. It'd be incredible.

Perfection is for Guest Visits Only - Not Everyday

Recently someone contacted me about possible being in a TV show and wondered if I was interested.  They were looking for families that feel like they don't have enough time together and would like to work on being closer together.  I thought about that and realized we don't qualify at all.  I constantly have thought about this and tend to evaluate where my relationship is with my husband and kids often.  I don't feel that I have any regrets in the area of spending time with my kids or husband.  No, I don't revolve everything around my kids but we do try and stay really connected.  I know, I know, I know that the key to being close with my kids when they are older starts when they are young.  I'm not going to wait to build a close relationship till they are adults.  I realize that now some of their concerns or small talk may be silly but it's important to listen because it'll gradually mature. I want them to know that if I'll listen now, I'll listen then.  I get sad when I hear people blow off their little one because the concern little Johnny is having seems silly.  It's important and really big to them. 



Most of my days consist of spending time with my kids and training them.  Often I won't blog or do anything else until I feel like I've met the needs as much as possible.  Ahem.  Hence the reason I tend to not blog AS often as I used to.  Sometimes at night when I'm thinking about getting on the computer, there has been several times that a kid needed to talk to me about something personal to them.  As much as I wanted my free time, I knew they really meant it.  I have a teenager in less than a month and another one in a year.  It's snowballing on me since I had three kids in three years when first starting a family. Their talks are getting more serious about issues of the heart.  I'm SOOO glad they feel they can open up. 

One of my three sons come up to me recently and told me they are experiencing thoughts in their head that are not good.  He said he fights them but they come back sometimes.  I asked in general what I thought it might be.  He looked embarrassed to tell me but did.  I said, "Well, I figured out the problem.  You are turning into a man.  You aren't there yet but what you are experiencing is temptation.  It's not a sin to be tempted.  Only when you let your thoughts dwell on them or you act on it."  He looked relieved and gave me a hug.  See?  It's stuff like that! I'm so glad they know they can trust me.  That they can openly talk to me.  Some day they will be grown up and out of the house.  I will make the time to be available because some day they won't be here and I can have all the time to do whatever I want.



My days can be sooooooooo hard at times and there are days I fall back in bed at night and just fall asleep almost before my head hits the pillow. It's a good kind of exhausted.  The kind that no matter how hard a large family can be, it is worth every minute of it.  My laundry piles rival the mountains and the dishes never, ever, ever end.  As soon as we clean it starts to fall apart but I'd rather just be happy for our two chore times a day than yell at them all day to quit messing up the house.  Yeah, it can get frustrating to have it look like it does at times but I realized that I was always going in circles after them to pick up, pick up, pick up.  I started to sound like a mean ol' broken record.  I finally settled on the fact that two chore times a day to pick up are sufficient and we can always do a perfect, to the T clean, if we have visitors.  So, if you walk in and my house looks perfect, you are the only reason why.  Perfection just isn't my cup of tea and couldn't be even if I wanted it.  Unless I want to go nuts.  Ha.

Buyin' Me Some Silkies Chickens and Right Being Made Right

Today I headed back to the feed store to buy more chickens.  This time I was finally able to get my Silkies!  Later, once I got home, I discovered one of them has a deformity in her feet and walks funny. I don't really care but wonder if other will pick on her as she gets bigger. Hmmm... I'm gonna have to find out about that because Silkies aren't "cheep" to buy.  Heh heh.  The bigger problem I had was that once I got them in with my still tiny roosters in a shared cage, the roosters started picking on them even though they are all the same size.  I know they will eventually do a pecking order and so I wasn't sure how friendly it was and if the new ones would be safe.

 





Today is a very good day but for reasons I cannot say.  Although my friend Homeschool and Etc. might know why.  :)  I had some visitors to my house today and they stayed for awhile.  It was wonderful!!!  At one time I was really sad about some events that happened and although I was grossly wronged and hurt, I decided not to be bitter and just wait for things to calm down.  Turns out, right was made right in a particular way.  Now there is a totally confusing paragraph for you.  LOL.

 

Now that AIMS week is over I am completely shocked how much laundry I have to clean in the house.  I'm due to make another 10 gallons of laundry soap.  When I went to the laundry mat recently, I washed so many loads that I ran out of laundry soap and had to buy some Tide.  It killed me to pay $6 for a little thing of Tide when I pay only $2 to make my own 10 gallons.  I know people say they like the Tide smell but I like the frugal smell!  Ha!  I just throw in some wonderful softener and it smells fantastic.  My laundry soap last 6-8 months!  It's awesome.  :D

Kids Pitching in to Make Homemade Laundry Soap

 

It was time again to make some more laundry soap.  I had bought some laundry soap through couponing not too long ago but after I ran out, I realized making my own was just a way better deal. 

 

This time it was different though because I was actually patient enough to wait for soap to completely melt down in the water. I wish I had done this sooner instead of being impatient. The consistency was more like regular laundry soap. 

 

 

This time the kids really wanted to help.  I've learned not to discourage them from helping because I know that someday I would end up pulling teeth to get them to help.  I figure it's worth the extra work to let them pitch in.  Once we got our 5 gallon bucket they filled it with the Borax, Super Washing Soda, and this liquid that's shown above  (Fels Naptha Bar melted down), they stirred and we were set to go. 

 

 

I've had someone tell me they'd rather spend tons of money on Tide because it smells really good.  I tried to tell them that the smell actually leaves pretty fast.  When I walk through church I can't smell anyone's clothing.  In fact, when I say hello to them I never bend down to smell what detergent they are wearing.  LOL.  So to me, I'd rather be smelling the green bills in my pocket that I just saved from making my own laundry detergent.

 

If you've never made it, it's super easy!  I did a blog on it Here:

 

How to Make Your Own Laundry Soap (10 gallons)

 

Make sure you melt down the Fels Naptha bar into some water on the stove.  COMPLETELY.  I was too impatient before but there should be no chunks at all. 

 





Why I Switched to Cloth Diapers

I'm asking for prayers for my husband's job that more work will come in.  I have 244 followers and would love the prayers to be lifted to heaven.  This economy is not that great and work tends to dip drastically in my husband's field.  I'm praying that God will bless my husband's job with more projects.  His boss is Christian and it's such a blessing for Charles to work there.  Ohhh, I wish our economy would stabilize.

Did you know I switched my babies to cloth diapers?  I spent an hour with a lady (thank you, Rosemary!) I met on Craigslist who was super nice and she had almost every brand of cloth diapers out there.  She showed me each one so I could see the differences.  A lot of it is about preference but there are just some that function better.  Functioning by not leaking!  I wanted to cloth diaper 9 years ago but there wasn't as many options and I hated the constant leaking.  Maybe there was good ones out there but I just wasn't good at finding them. Anyway, the selection is HUGE now and we're lovin' it!  I can afford to buy the disposables but being that I spend $700 a year on the Target brand, lets not even mention the more expensive brands, cloth just makes sense.  

I used the excuse that you have to also use electricity and water and you have to count in that cost.  Well, in just one load I can wash several days worth of cloth diapers.  I have a front loader so even better.  Sweet!  I have been changing diapers nonstop since the year 2000 without even a month break.  Do you know how many diapers that is?  Around 50,000!  Whooooaaa.... You know you love kids when you don't mind changing THAT many diapers.  I wish I could see all the diapers I changed in a big mound to really understand how much I added to our landfill.  That is just me alone that used that many and threw away. Eek.

I made sure to go to Sprouts and buy Country Save which is safe for cloth diapers.  It's 80 loads for 10 bucks.  I asked Rosemary why it was important to use this kind of laundry detergent and she said because regular laundry detergent will break down the material that keeps diapers from leaking.  Okay, I make my own laundry detergent but I might just figure out how to alter it to be able to make it safe for cloth diapers as well.  I've been noticing lately that I have this desire in me to learn how to do everything the hard way.  Not sure why but I just like learning how to make things myself.  What if I couldn't go to the store and by the top brand out there?  Isn't it nice to know your options?  Save money?  To actually know what you need and how to make it?  Maybe it's the frugalness in me, I don't know.  

It really is important to protect your cloth diapers so if you are curious about brands, just click on this link HERE to know which ones are safe and the cost differences.  

By the way, I'm trying THIS next!  Keep one in the shower filled with a mixture of half vinegar and half Dawn dishsoap.  Use it to wipe down the shower while you are in there and your shower will always be clean.

My Insecure Mind Battle as a Mom

The chickens come to our door every morning asking for Cheerios
Apparently they like it more than chicken feed.

Luckily, I've been reading a book called A Mom Just Like You.  I need it badly right now.  I relate to some things this large family mom is talking about.  I relate to her constantly wondering if she is good enough in everything she does.  Will I ever be caught up on laundry, house work?  The homeschooling issue really hit home for me.  It's not that I completely distrust schools because I know there are some fantastic teachers out there.  However, my kids flourish 100 times more with me and do great on their state testing when they do take it.  They flourish in the way of their attitudes, love for God, not feeling negative peer pressure nonstop, and they have much more respect towards adults in general.  It IS my job to raise them up in Christ and I felt like every day that I was sending them off, I had to fight "something" every time they came back home.  It felt like I was just retraining every single day.  Am I 100% qualified to homeschool?  Well, of course not.  I'm sure I have the grammar police right now freaking out reading this.  However, I LOVE to learn with my kids.  I truly love being with them every day and never have any regrets.  Having all 6 kids home and being pregnant truly plays a factor in how easy it gets messy and I keep forgetting that.  Like they say, it's like shoveling snow while it's still snowing.  Little stinkers.  They make life so wonderfully difficult.

You know, Caleb is a HUGE fan of the Cars cartoon and insists he sees it on the iPad every day.  He knows how to maneuver through that iPad like an adult can.  Well, often he thinks he owns that iPad and apparently even takes it to bed with him. He's two.  This is how I found him napping.  It would be nice if I could have my iPad back but Apple made it so cool for kids that I literally end up having to share it with 7 other people in this house.  

You know how people say that each kid you have needs their own space?  They fret over how many rooms they have in the house.  Don't kids need their own beds and their own room?  Look, I have tried to give them their own space and no one wants it.  This is how I found the kids while checking on them in the middle of the night and this was AFTER I transferred Ivy to her room.  There are 4 kids in this picture crammed like sardines on one bed.  It is not uncommon that I'll find all six kids on the bed like that.  They just prefer to all stick together.  Yeah, you can tell they are all crying about needing more space.

I was kinda feeling guilty about always sitting down whenever I had contractions and being that I don't want to end up having this baby late I took 4 of the kids to the park.  I didn't take Caleb because there is A LOT of water around.  It was soooo pretty.  Did I get any contractions?  Nooooo.... of course not when I'm actually willing to walk around and egg them on.  Well, I tried so I will tell the doctor I did give it some brief thought and followed through...

The Busy Life of Large Family Mamas

What happens when you have a mom of six that is nine months (37 weeks) pregnant to boot?  You have one busy mommy!  Between attacking the never ending laundry pile, homeschooling, and always finding ways to save money on things I need, there is not a whole lot of free time.  I'm not complaining because I'm one happy mama.  The craziness of my life brings me joy.  Odd as that might seem, my paycheck doesn't come from a company.  Being with my kids every single day of the year is the biggest payday I could ever have.  Time is so short with them I'm afraid to blink.

My latest challenge is a barrage of insults of people whether in real life or online that absolutely can't stand me because I am having yet ANOTHER kid.  The personal emails I get would shock you for how evil they can be.  Or when I get cornered (literally in a corner) with someone telling me why they think I'm having this many kids.  I just nod and say "surrrrre, THAT'S why."  The more kids I have the more enemies I didn't think was possible to make.  Well, it is possible.  So, if you are not Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, or a large family mama, you are safe.  

Want to know my latest (almost) freebies?  I got 6 Dawn dish washing soaps, 5 tooth pastes, 5 tooth brushes, 8 whole grain Barilla pastas, 3 dill relish, and one pack of Pepsi Next for a total of $3.  Whee!

Michele and I being goofy!

As I was picking up the Dawn liquid soap, a guy pointed out to me that the news had talked about the blue ones yous see in the picture.  They are safe and fantastic to wash your dog with because they kill fleas and ticks.  So, I set those 3 aside for my husband to use on our dogs.  :D  He was happy about that.  I bought some other groceries and saved about 70% off my bill.  :D  I love saving money for my family and my best friend and I really enjoy couponing and shopping together when we get a chance.  

I've been wanting a little dog for quite awhile but haven't had a chance. The last one I had died from injuries and I then dog sat a friend's dog for 5 months in another instance.  I was still waiting for my little dog and finally got the chance.  My kids are major animal lovers too and we are thinking next we might want a pygmy goat.  I might wait for better weather though before getting a goat.  Caleb carries around that chicken like it's his teddy bear.  The chicken doesn't even mind and even follows us around.  Another PLUS is we finally started letting our chickens walk around the yard wherever they want. We always worried that our big dog would kill them but he doesn't even care about then.  I hated having the chickens on the far side of the house where we couldn't see them. Now they just follow us around the yard or the kids while they are playing.

BY THE WAY, come visit my gorgeous niece Hanna's new poetry blog.  She's not just any girl, she was the first to make me an aunt, she just came back from missionary work in South Africa with her family.  She would love for you to pay a visit to her blog and leave a comment.  :)  

  http://whenthebluebirdsing.blogspot.com

Housewife Dilemmas: When Kids are Away

Today my boys are at an all day birthday party at a game place so there are only my two girls and baby Caleb at home.  So many ideas run through my head of what to do to fill in that time.

Should I clean?  As much as I've decluttered the kids just seem to have messy as their middle name.  So many remind me that I have little ones and I will have to still constantly train.  However, I expect my 10 and 11 year old to start showing me what they've learned.  Have they?  Noooo, they've just gotten really good at doing their chores when it's chore time.  Well, that leaves a lot of time before next chore time they can make a mess.  Is this normal?  I don't know.  I will not and refuse to act like a perfectionist mom because that's not who I am and I've come to the realization that I don't ever want to be like that.  However, I don't want to raise my kids up as pigs lest their future spouses hunt me down.

Should I nap?  I haven't been sleeping well AT ALL and now that baby Juliet in my tummy is reaching inside my rib cage, I'm always feeling uncomfortable.  At least most of the time.  Sitting in church is the most uncomfortable because I have to sit for so long and I feel bruised by the time it's over.  Juliet is so gentle in my tummy so it's not like she bruises me with kicking or anything.  It's just she's discovered her new found space that's much higher and she's loving the extra room.  I'm only 30 weeks along so I'm wondering how much more painful it's gonna get.  Also, at night I've been throwing up acid and then inhaling it in my sleep.  I'll wake up and have to run for the TUMS.  I wake up about once every 1-2 hours so sleep is something I'm longing for.  However, and I'm not joking when I say this, I feel like it's great training for having to get up in the middle of the night to feed a newborn.

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Should I read and feed my soul?  Right now I am washing clothes and have been reading several books on my iPad Kindle.  <--- This has been my favorite right now because it's really nourishing to my wounded self esteem.  I haven't felt like the best housewife in the world lately but that's mostly because I've gotten behind greatly on laundry and on my chores.  I truly, truly put my focus on educating my kids and sometimes I don't get everything done around the house.  There is not a lot of support for stay at home or homeschooling moms so often we have to go online or read books to receive encouragement.  I have so many friends that are against blogging and Facebook.  I say, "Are you serious?  That IS where I get 98% of encouragement for homeschooling and being a homemaker."  Kinda sad but true. We mommies need to stick together.

Once we are done schooling and with chores we usually allow neighbor kids to flood into our house.  Kids LOVE coming to my house because we have 5 computers they can game on, trampoline out back, about 75 costumes to dress up in, lots of toys, bikes, skateboards, skates, and they looove playing on my iPad.  There are kids of every age up to age 11 here so there is always someone to play with.  As long as they are around my kids age and they are respectful they are welcome here.  I only have six kids of my own but often I have an average of 10 kids running around.  I even got them set up on Skype so their moms can get a hold of them and see what they are up to anytime with video chat.  Also, they use Skype at their house to send me a video chat asking if they can come over.  :)

I settled on reading and feeding my soul.  I rarely have time to read so I'm gonna take it.   Of course I always HAVE to be doing something productive so I'm washing clothes also.  I can never get myself to waste time on fiction books unless it's Janette Oke otherwise it's usually books that encourage like Lies Homeschooling Moms Believe, Simply Homeschool: Having Less Clutter and More Joy in Your Homeschool, or from other blogging mammas. :)  

How to Train for Less Sleep with Newborn

Yesterday I took Kyle and Ivy in to see if they needed glasses.  After waiting in the waiting area for an hour (whyyyyy?) they finally get called back.  Turns out they both need glasses.  Both have a hard time seeing their schoolwork in front of them.  However, Ivy's is much worse and she also has stigmatism.  What???  I asked, "are you serious?  Do you think that's why she's struggled so much focusing on her schoolwork?"  She said a BIG yes.  Well, Ivy went a full year of kindergarten not learning much of anything.  She just seemed to be in lala land most of the time.  She'll get her glasses next week and I'm SO CURIOUS to see if it's gonna help her to concentrate.  I really, really hope that has been the issue all this time.  

How to train for less sleep with newborn baby? Here is how.  I could hardly function most of yesterday because I haven't been sleeping well.  The night before I could sense the dog wanted to be let out to potty which means I might as well check on the kids.  I like to see if anyone looks cold, put them back in bed if they rolled off, get myself a drink, take those vitamins I forgot to take, use the restroom, let the dog back in, notice he has no water in his bowl, remember to turn down phone so it doesn't wake up kids in the morning, pick up a couple of things off the counter and put away on my way back to bed, check that the doors are all locked, remember that I forgot to transfer clothes from washer to drier before I laid down earlier, take some TUMS because of heartburn or acid is killing me, then finally make my way back to the bed.  By that time it'll take me some time to fall back asleep.  Then, I woke up every half hour because I was worried I wouldn't hear the alarm clock for the appointment the kids had. I sleep right through alarms or sometimes they don't go off.  Argh!  My sleeping is just crazy and this routine can happen at least a few times in one night.  Although, on a positive note, it is training for having a newborn wake up all night.  (Grin)  Okay, then it's worth it.

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The good news is my friend and I signed up for the homeschooling convention that's happening in the summer!  WHEW!  We are so excited and can't wait.  My favorite people of all time will be there.  The Boyers have 14 children and were some of the first to homeschool their kids in their area.  Talk about pioneers of homeschooling! They didn't have all the whistles and bells you can buy now.  I really admire what they have done and how they've stayed true to their faith, family, and raising their kids up in Christ. They didn't just talk about Godly values, they lived it.  Well, they are coming to the convention this summer and they are the first people I'm gonna look for.  I read this book back when I had maybe 3 kids.  They definitely were a big influence on helping to change our thinking about children and having a large family.  I read about this family before I knew anything about the Duggars.

Ashley playing ballerina

Here spring break is coming and my van is out of commission.  Whyyy?  My husband doesn't work all week and we've come up with all kinds of great ideas.  Swim at Nana's heated pool?  Visit the zoo and have a picnic since we have a membership?  Go to the mall during the day while all the teens at home are all sleeping in?  Visit a really neat museum?  Go the airstrip to watch planes land and take off?  Go to Christian skate night at the nearby skating rink?  We have tons of fun ideas.  Wellll, I guess we'll have to get creative and hang around at home.  Phooey.  :)

Schooling: Knowing What Works for Each Kid

Recently I took the boys to get their new glasses and they look so good and they can see better.  One question I have though for all doctors and dentists.  Why do you schedule people for 10am but don't even call them back till 11am?  Just wondering because I think it's kinda rude.  I know you like to cram in as many people as you can but you also lose quality of service by doing that.  Thankfully, there were other moms sitting there I could talk to and keep each other company.

Yesterday I finally broke down and bought an electric griddle.  I'm always standing over the stove just to cook one hamburger at a time or one cheese sandwich at a time.  It was normally $30 but on sale for $20, then I used a coupon for $6 off so I paid only $14.  :)  Good deal, eh?  I was able to grill eight hot ham and cheese sandwiches at the same time.  Yes!!!

I washed all the girl clothes yesterday but this time instead of putting it away, I went through and got rid of a ton.  They just got two more bags of clothes from a friend and right away I went through it to see what we wanted to keep and what would go.  Also, I needed to get rid of a lot that they already had like the faded, stained, outgrown, or just what was excess.  Here is the pile I got rid of and that's only half of it!  I had already donated another pile the day before.  I'll be doing this for all the boy's clothes today.  It's a big job but needs to be done because I'm tired of washing anything that is excess and mediocre.  Only the best of it should be kept.  Not only that but they need to have a limit of clothes.  Basically each kid gets 10 shirts but with four boys that's 40 shirts.  So yes, there is gonna be a lot of laundry in this house but that's why I need to keep a limit.  My poor washing machine deserves a hug.  I collapsed in bed at midnight last night after finishing the girl clothes.  

Homeschooling has been going so well!  The kids are really soaring and working at their own pace.  Kyle is really flying and surprising me by wanting to always work ahead.  He's so self motivated and rarely needs my help on anything.  Chaz is really smart but he gets overwhelmed easy and I have to calm him down a lot.  It takes him twice as long as it should just because I have to keep telling him he can do it and it's okay.  He KNOWS what to do and he does well at it but he tends to want to give up before trying.  He comes in thinking something is going to be more difficult and it takes a long time to calm him down to see he can do it. Once he gets started he goes really fast.  Ryan and Ivy have major ADD issues and always have.  It's very, very hard to keep them focused. They have no problem wanting to do their work but I have to snap them back into reality every 10 minutes and remind them what they were working on.  It's funny how each kid has their own personality and issues.  Once I can figure out what works best for each of them I'm sure our days will go smoother.  They really are hard workers.  We are generally homeschooling between 10am-3pm.  We fit lunch time in the middle and once they are done they go straight into chore time.  Work before play is my motto.  We all wake up at 8:30am and I feel like a lucky woman!  I know, I have it soooo good.

I'm fairly new to schooling at home so I feel like I'm constantly having to watch out and experience what does and doesn't work for each kid.  I want to take the time to really understand them and not rush them through their schooling.  I don't care about getting them way ahead, just that they'll learn well at what we do.  It doesn't matter if they are ahead or behind other kids, just that each kid GETS what they are learning.