Extra Kids to the Zoo

Yesterday I took the small army to the zoo.  The reason I did it on the most crowded day was only because it was the last day I was taking care of Adrianna.  She hardly remembers the zoo and they've built a lot more new stuff since. It was sooooo crowded.  I went ahead and just bought a zoo membership again since I go there so often and added on extra guest members.  We usually try to pick up extra kids when we do stuff like that.

The water caves was a relief from the heat despite how crowded it was. We ended up just riding the train rather than walk around since the train is shaded. The amazing thing was my mom packed us all a lunch!  What a huge blessing that was! 

It a Wednesday so we needed to be able to make it to church.  I completely underestimated how much time I needed for 11 people to shower.  2 hours later I finally got everyone dressed.  I mean,  I was out of breath because that is NOT enough time.  We loaded up and was barely gonna make it on time.  I do my normal head count and realize Ivy is missing.  I called for her in the house and found her still in a towel!  Oh my.  I threw a dress over her and gave her shoes to take in the van.  By that time we were gonna be late. Someone walks up to me in the parking lot just as I pulled in and hands me FOUR cases of formula for Juliet.  Wow!  What a blessing!  I said goodbye to Adrianna as she went and sat by her grandma.  We had to sit in the back since we were so late but I was happy we make it!  I look over and realize that the dress I threw on Ivy was TOO short.  Agh! :D Amazingly enough, as much as I thought the kids would be super tired it took forever it seemed for the girls to fall asleep.

Solution to Feeling Overwhelmed

Are there times that although you love your quiverfull you just have "those moments?"  Those moments where you look around and see the huge responsibility you have?  Well,  if you are having one of those OH MY GOSH moments I have a way to make you feel it's nothin'.  Babysit some extra kids for a week!  Ha ha!  Everything is suddenly magnified. How many dishes you wash,  the noise level,  dirty clothes, and it's tougher to go places.  When they leave at the end of the week you will be shocked at how little your family feels.  I only have seven kids.  Man,  it's so quiet in here!  LOL

Seriously though, we are having fun with extra kids but it's also a lot of work.  My kids are used to the routine around here but it's more work to teach the others.  It can be a bit of a battle but in the end it gets things flowing more smoothly.  This week I bought plastic cups and they keep one cup a day with their name on it.  If they lose that cup or break it they have to drink water by scooping it with their hands till they get a new cup in the morning.

When we got out I had put together buddies so they could watch out for each other. While going in to the community center I had given them some rules.   We walk in a single file and we talk with our inside voices.  After I pay and get us into the pool area then they could let loose and have some fun.  If they didn't listen then we would walk back to the van and start all over.  It took three times but they finally got it. :) 

Birthday Party and Stitches

Over the weekend we went to a really fun laser tag party with all the kids. Since Ashley and Caleb couldn't play I got them lots of tokens. There was no elevator so I couldn't bring the stroller up and down from party to arcade. I just had baby Juliet in one arm and was the token giver with the other. Heh heh.

It was Chaz's best friend's party but I love the mom too so it was great to see her! Towards the end of the party Charles had taken Caleb with him to play in the arcade. He turned his back for just a minute and then turned back again to see blood on Caleb's ear. Not a little but A LOT! He looks closer and sees that a small chunk of ear was totally missing. Caleb is only three so it's hard to hear him talk clearly. We kept asking and asking but we couldn't understand what he was trying to say happened. He got bandaged up but the blood soaked it up fast.

We said goodbye to our friends and my friend Michele and I took him to get stitched up. Michele was in town for the weekend and when we are together it seems we always end up at the doctors for some reason or another. Lol. The doctors were sooooo nice. Caleb was terrified but six people just totally catered to him while he got stitched up. He left with two Popsicles, a Beanie Baby, a sucker, and stickers.

In one weeks time I had to get a dog's broken leg fixed and 2 kids to hospital. The bill will be nice. Already paid for the chihuahua but the other kids' bill still has to come in. A girl at my church who is an RN said she'll take the stitches out for Caleb next week. Yaaaay! I was so surprised she offered that. Kids cost $$$$$! :) They are sooooo worth it though!!!

Bringing Home a Starving Horse

Oh my goodness, I've rescued a lot of animals but now I can add a horse to the list. I didn't really want to post about it just yet because being that I'm smack dab in the  city, I didn't want to draw attention to the fact I had a horse in my backyard.  You know, zoning issues.

Several times as I would drive by a neighbor's house i kept seeing this really skinny horse just tied to a trampoline. I never saw any food or water around.  I finally went over for a visit and greeted the 20 or so dogs that came up to see me.  I saw one particularly skinny black ones whose bones were really showing.  We got to talking about the horse and they said that since the property is not theirs they couldn't have the horse there.  I found out that their father had just came by and dropped off the horse and then two days later was booked into jail. He didn't want the horse and so he figured this family (who is quite poor)  could care for her. Hay is quite expensive these days.   Well,  they didn't know what to do. I told them I would immediately start looking around. Although I was sad for these animals,  they have always been good to my family and welcomed my kids over to play. They are a very poor family but it's obvious they are very happy together. I left with four dogs in my arms and a promise I would find a home for the horse.

No joke, a half hour after that conversation I got a firm knock on my door. I opened it and was surprised to see the gentleman next door standing with the Livestock Police.  The cop saw the condition of the horse and was ready to take the man to jail which in turn would cause the family to get evicted.  The cop told me that the man said I was gonna help him find a home.  He was wanting to know if the guy was lying.   I knew the man was in a jam.  His dad who had abandoned the family with 9 kids keeps dropping dogs off and now a horse. I told the Livestock Police I had someone in mind who could take the horse (meaning myself) and would work on it immediately.  I also told him I would buy food for the horse right away. Well,  as soon as the cop left I asked my neighbor to bring the horse over and I would immediately go purchase supplies needed. He gifted me the horse and I started giving her food and water right away.   I also had to treat some wounds. I was a tad nervous because of zoning issues but I wanted to see this horse make it and find a good home for her. In the meantime I have found homes for 3 out of the 4 dogs I also rescued.

After seeing her look much better with fluids I started looking for a home. Finally,  a family called me that lived out of town.  I asked them a lot of questions and was relieved they've had horses and the means to care for her.   They met me today and I saw Shiloh respond really well to them.   We named her Shiloh because it means peaceful and safe.   She is safe now and I can sleep well.  :)

First pic shows her new family coming to get her. Second was of her after she knocked the gate down to come on the patio to see us. The last picture shows what she looked like the day I got her... skinny.

My Dog Broke His Leg Today

Today started out pretty good as we were trying to beautify our ugly desert backyard. I took the kids to Home Depot,  my favorite place to visit, and we picked out some vines, flowers, and vegetable plants.   We were exhausted by the time we planted everything.

Thankfully, Charles brought home pizza so I wouldn't have to cook.   Yay!   However, as we were relaxing we heard a horrible cry coming from a bedroom. It sounded bad and it was coming from one of our chihuahuas.   It was the little black one we had just rescued.  It was an obvious break in one of his front legs.  He jumped off something not very high. I was no help because I started crying.  Finally I got the courage to drive him out to the animal hospital to have it looked at.  It cost me $40 to have them give him pain meds while his foot was set vs. having him wait for relief from pharmacy for only $12.  He was crying and in so much pain so I had them give the meds right away. 

This is one of the dogs I recently rescued and his bones are not too strong from being undernourished. Also,  the fur is a simple of of poor nourishment. In glad they could set it.   Once we paid the hospital, got meds from pharmacy, then headed home and secured him in basket,  I gave him more meds for pain.   Ohhhh,  I hope tomorrow is a better day.   Sigh.

Visiting the Renaissance Festival 2013

What a fun weekend we had!   We love the Renaissance Festival but try not to go every year to keep it from being to common a treat for us.  Well, Ashley and Caleb had never seen it so it was about time. Our favorite is always the jousting and the Wild Men.  We had a great time and it was so good to spend time together.  As we were getting our tickets a couple walked up to us and handed us some children's tickets.   Plus we had a buy one get one free.   We were like YEEHAW! Here are some great pictures!