Can you say BUSY?

Ever since I've had Caleb, I can't describe to you how busy I've been!  Well, maybe I can.  You know how nursing is.  It takes lots of time!  So with homeschooling, nursing, laundry, dishes, meals, etc., I just have such a hard time finding time to blog.  That's what I love to do most!  Should I start blogging on the toilet!  Ha!  Just kidding.  Don't worry about that vision in your head.  If you look under this post, I posted pictures we took on Sunday for our Christmas photo.  Don't worry, those won't all be on my Christmas card.  LOL.  We just had so much fun taking pictures that we didn't quit!  They all came out so beautiful.  I don't like myself in them because of my weight gain from having baby but OH WELL.  I am getting gym membership soon because this is gonna drive me nuts.  I HATE gaining weight and won't tolerate it.  Now that I'm only 30, the weight doesn't melt off as easy every time I have a baby. Needless to say, I hope to have a few years in between before I have another baby if I have another one.  What's funny is that on Sunday, when we chose to get pictures by the lake, there were other families there with the same idea.  It was hard not getting each other in the back ground.

Our Christmas Pics 2009!

THANKSgiving 2009!

Thanksgiving turned out wonderful, even though I peeled some of my fingertip skin off with a potato peeler. It's so hard to type right now with a big bandage on it! LOL. Anyway, so it was gonna be at my house but ended up over at my mom's house. We were gonna have a guy from Kenya over but he couldn't make it. I made two pumpkin pies the night before and then the next morning I made two pecan pies. Then sweet potato casserole which is just so yummy. :D Oh, and mashed potatoes too. So, when we were ready we headed over and had a nice time together and gloriously ate tons of calories.  Ahem.   Then we headed to the park with the kids and my dad and his dog. It was such a gorgeous day! We all played and visited till sunset.  Here is a nice and normal picture of us. 

Here's our real selves. Haha.

Charles holding Caleb

Sitting around the table. Caleb is over in the carrier sleeping. :)

Ivy, in the picture, is helping me make pecan pies. She loooooves to bake! Hmmm...maybe she'll take over for me eventually. Oh, such a dream.

Binky Buddies

Ashley understands why Caleb needs his binky. She still loves hers and I never wanted my kids to have binky's after the age of 1 and here Ashley is 2 years old.  Oops.  Well,so now I have to binky babies. 

 

Anyhow, it's been so crazy here. I haven't blogged much since I've been doing so much deep cleaning and it seems I have so much more! How do you people keep up? I can do a lot of surface cleaning but it has been so tough to do more than that at times. I did a double take when I saw how bad my floor boards were. So I cleaned that. Then I realized my cupboards were crying for a cleaning so I did that. I'm almost afraid to ask my bathtub how he's doing. Saturday we worked in the backyard for 4 hours and also raking up all the dead grass and such. Sheesh la weezers. I'm not a natural organizer nor phenomonal cleaner so I never understand how people can always keep their house perfect. My sister is like that, she's so talented. So I guess everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. My weakness happens to annoy me very much.

So on to more encouraging subjects. While at the doctors office to have my son checked out, he started to pick his nose after the doctor walked out. I tried telling him (at least a hundred times) that it's impolite to do that in front of people. I also tell him that's how you can get sick. You have germs on your hands. It falls onto deaf ears. So the next time I saw him do it, I made him drop down and give me 20 push ups. That got his attention. Haha. I don't care where we are, in the store or at home. If he starts doing that, I making him drop and give 20. Today we were in the backyard playing relay races and he did it again as a habit and I made him give me 20 pushups right there in the grass. He's starting to pay more attention. It works.

'No Homework' Contract

Finally! I agree! I mean, if kids are in school 7 hours a day at the minimum, why are they given soooo much homework? This never made sense to me. Kids need down time too after such a long day. So add in chores at home and that's a pretty taxing day. I don't really like the schools ruling my life to where they not only have my kids all morning and afternoon, but that they'd also have my kids work at night? I mean, good grief. I wish I had thought of this when my kids were in school.

Boy, Santa Is Early!

When we visited the Bass Pro Shop the other night, we were suprised about Santa being there. I was caught off guard because I would have dressed my kids up and put little Caleb in an elf suit. That would have been so cute! I was planning on cutting the boy's hair that night too. Oh well, so here is Ivy with Santa. She thought it was great even though Santa was early this year. By the way, my kids don't believe in Santa but they still have fun seeing and talking to the man! LOL

Here is Ivy and Ashley below. Ashley didn't like it one bit but I thought it was a great pic anyway for memories. :D

Little Caleb has been good in his 7 weeks of life so he'll be getting presents this year.  Haha.

The boys with Santa.  Chaz, my oldest (far right), was embarrassed at first but then with his brothers by his side he was happy to be near the guy.  He's in that really self conscience stage.  He thinks everyone is staring at him.  lol.

I'm kind of surprised (maybe) that Christmas is all over the place. Whatever happened to celebrating Thanksgiving?  Is it being fazed out or is it my imagination?  Thanksgiving is an important day, at least to Christians.  I love Thanksgiving and all that it stands for!  So we don't decorate till December first for Christmas.  Everyone is different though.  :D  Oh well.  The kids still had fun shaking Santa's hand before Thanksgiving.  LOL.

Winter Wonderland at Bass Pro Shop

We took the kids to another kid's night at the Bass Pro Shop and was planning on doing a scavenger hunt. Instead we found out Santa was there and they had new and fun stuff to do. So the kids had fun in the winter wonderland area. The kids got pictures with Santa and even Baby Caleb did. My kids don't believe in Santa but they still liked getting pics with him. :) I ended up running into another mommy who has 7 kids and we chatted for a bit about birth control. JUST KIDDING! No, we talked about homeschooling, blessings of kids, how spaced apart they are, etc. We talked while our kids waited in line to do rock climbing. We didn't get to do everything we wanted to do but that's okay! We'll save it for a different night.

The kids and I below:

Ivy kept finding (fake) presents under the tree and was just so excited about it!

Ivy thinks she's getting this for Christmas (below).  Ahem, I think not.

Ryan rock climbing!

Kyle is rock climbing below.  See the pretty girls in the tutus?  So cute!  They are sisters with 5 other siblings.  :D

In Hindsight...

...I shouldn't have got that veil. Oh well. Whoa, hot guy alert! Who is that skinny chick with my man? That can't be me. That girl wore a size 3 and couldn't put weight on even if she tried. Well, having kids fixed that problem. I want that problem back though.

Today, my kids really gave me a run for my money in the homeschooling department. It is super hard for them to concentrate sometimes and that is frustrating for them and me. When my husband came home in the afternoon I was needing a break badly. I was in the middle of making lunch and he said "why don't you go take a bath and read a book?" I was like "really?" I was just wondering though if he knew how to make the cheese crisps. Those are my husband's favorite but the only thing he can really make is a bowl of Ramen in the microwave. Haha. :D When I got in the bath I heard a knock on the door. It was my husband and he said "Um, babe? HOw do you make a cheese crisp?" LOL. I told him and I felt a little bad I wasn't making it myself but he said "No problem, babe!" Ahhhhh.....it was hard to get out of that bathtub. Then he headed back to work and I continued homeschooling. My kitchen was torn apart because we went through and cleaned all the cupboards out so it's taken me a couple of days to wash every single dish and pot and put it all back.

By the time I was finished with the boys (homeschooling) at 4pm and working more on the kitchen, I had a terrible headache and was just so exhausted. By the time my husband got home, I was ready to head for bed. When he walked in the door he told me I should go take a nap and he'll take care of things. I knooooow though that this meant dinner would be later because my husband doesn't cook! :D I laid down and totally crashed at 5pm. I could have slept through till the next morning I was so tired but I got up knowing everyone was hungry. We had dinner at 8:30pm which is way late for us because usually our kids are in bed by that time and sleeping. My husband, who has a major big heart, played with the kids for another hour and a half while I nursed Caleb and then cleaned up. Oh, thank goodness for someone who has compassion and happens to be mine. Whoo-wee.

I'm up putting the kitchen back together while the kids are sleeping because it's just so much easier and Mr. Caleb is awake with me. Together we are yawning but hopefully heading for bed soon. Nursing always makes me tired so usually I just fight through it. Luckily I have a bestfriend/husband who has a big heart and gives me a rest when I need it most. :D You rock, Charles! I can tell you that he knows how to make a cheese crisp now. Yesssss.

Now I Remember Why We Got Rid Of Our Game Systems!

Now I remember why we got rid of the Wii game system. I remember when our boys had the Wii and whenever we asked them if they wanted to go to the park or somewhere fun, they didn't want to. They loved playing the Wii instead. I mean, they figured if they can play baseball on the Wii then why would they need to go to the park and play? It's been nice doing real things again besides fake boxing and fake baseball. LOL. So we've been getting out with them and taking to more places that don't cost money such as the park or the good ol' fashion library.  Below is Ivy on her rollar blades. 

Below is Ryan on his rollar blades tossing his soccer ball in the air.  Chaz is behind him trying to ride his little brother's bike.  LOL.

Charles is hanging out near Caleb in the stroller.  Kyle is still trying to get a hang of the rollar blades.  It's so funny to watch him!

Ashley and Charles watching boys play baseball. What you don't see is after I took this picture, I went to go skate with Ivy to the restrooms.  I fell flat on my butt so hard that I just laid there on the ground for awhile.  My butt really hurt but my pride was hurt too because of the stares I got.  ha ha.

Baking Fun!

I love to bake more than cooking. Not sure why but it's always been that way. Tonight after I laid the kids down I baked some Pecan Pie an pumpkin pie. However, the pumpkin pie below was baked by my son Chaz! He even mesured out all the ingredients and everything. It was delicious!!! Anyway, some were asking for the Pecan Pie recipe and just in case I ever lose it, I can reference it from here. The picture just doesn't do it justice for how delicious it really is. Ohhh man. I had some tonight. Just a little too much.

The Best Pecan Pie!

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F

Ingredients:

1 cup light brown sugar 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/4 cup white sugar 1 tablespoon milk
1/2 cup butter 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs 1 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

1. In large bowl, beat eggs until foamy, and stir in MELTED butter, Stir in the brown sugar, white sugar and the flour; mix well. Last add the milk, vanilla and pecans.

2. Pour into an unbaked 9 inch pie shell. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes at 400 degrees, then REDUCE temperature to 350 degrees and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until done.

Cramping My Style

My Aunt Joy and Uncle Lloyd drive around the US and so when they drop into our city, we always love a visit. Plus, I love my dear Aunt Joy and my awesome Uncle Lloyd. Uncle Lloyd is hilarious! Plus he's just a teddy bear. He put up with a 3 week trip along the coast with me while I was a teen. You didn't know me as a teen (Hyper!) or my best friend I traveled with. So they are winners in my book. Uncle Lloyd just thinks he's a survivor but I say it was one fun trip. (By the way, those who don't get why the picture says "check my grill", it means teeth. I learned that from my nephews. I'm not really that cool).

Below: I look like the Jolly Green Giant next to my Aunt. It's kind of like when I stood next to my friend in a wedding who was (and still is) really beautiful.  When I stood next to her for a picture, I looked like a burn victim in comparison. Aunt Joy in the picture below makes me look like a giant and I'm only 5'5".

Below: my dad on the left.

Sooooooo, after church I went to the grocery store, even though it was late, and picked out stuff for meals.  I don't really like going to the store.  I'm happy once I'm finally there but I'm even happier when it's all over with.  Tonight I had my two older boys and baby Caleb and I met my mom there. We shopped together so that was nice.  :)  Anyhow, after walking in heels for a couple of hours, by the time I walked to my car my feet were so sore!  As I was loading my groceries, my foot started to cramp.  It was a really bad one.  I took my shoes off and tried walking to get the cramp to go away.  It was NOT working and it was so painful!  I started jumping up and down and then running around the van.  I did this for 10 minutes with people walking by me.  Not to mention that my van was parked in the very front parking spot right by the front door where people could see me.  I'm sure they were wondering who this weird lady was that was dressed in church clothes hopping up and down and running around the van. (Maybe they thought I was having my own revival in my head). I was a tad embarrassed.  But, hey, my kids embarrass me all the time anyway so I guess it's not a big deal.  You know, like when they see a guy with a white beard and yell out that they found God.  Things like that.  Or when they ask a guy with a bald head why he has broken hair.  So, me looking crazy in the parking lot just fits our family profile anyway.

God Gave Me A Break With Ryan

Ryan has seriously been a big helper to me. It's not that I ask him, he just likes to help out. He reminds me of my big sister Tammy who was always like a little mommy. Just has a big heart. Ryan saw the look on my face yesterday when I looked around the room sad, because of kids making a freaking mess and he went and started picking up.  I was sad because with having them do their "jurisdictions" twice a day, they are still not realizing what huge messes they make. 

In this picture, Ryan  is working on his homeschooling while holding Caleb for a few minutes. Caleb looooooves to be held.  He does not like laying flat on his back.

Later, I asked Ryan to read a book and then I asked him if he wanted to read to his siblings and he loved it. He ran to the couch to sit and read with them.  Ryan may be easier for me but he tends to easily go along with the flow.  He's a people pleaser and he notices people watching him.  He can be easily influenced it seems.  I have to be careful with him.  I know better not to just expect him to help me out with his brothers and sisters.  I don't want to abuse that.  I also know that kids like that can harbor feelings inside of them until they blow.  That's Ryan.  He'll just start really acting out all of a sudden and he'll be emotional.  Then I know he needs some personal time and some good cuddles.  He's a good kid. 

We Heart Library Nights And Other Updates

Every other Tuesday night we all go to the library. The one we go to is really rockin'! We've always loved it but now there is a lot of construction going on to build on even more in the kid's area. I love the cafe there. It's just like a Starbucks. They have a huge children's area with computers for kids, a toddler area where moms can read while their tots play with toys. Just really cool. It's pretty huge and sooo family friendly with a nursing and changing room for babies. So we really look forward to that. (Not the diaper changes. We look forward to getting books.)

Above: Charles is so cute holding baby Caleb! Hee hee.....

Chaz found a book on making paper airplanes so he was sooo excited. Then Ryan found a book on how to make things, like castles, from recycle stuff. So when he got home, he had fun pulling out cereal boxes, empty toilet paper rolls, etc. to make himself a castle! Then they were having airplane contests all day. They are starting to realize how resourceful the library really can be!

My daughter Ashley loves the toddler area since it's so hard to keep her still! Makes it easier for mommy to pick out her books or visit the cafe while dad is with them.

Above: Here is proof right here that weirdness runs in our veins in this family. If my son putting a baby sock on his ear isn't proof enough, then I don't know what is.

SO OTHER NEWS!

I am so switching my 3rd grader's homeschooling program to SOS.  "SOS" truly is the word.  What he does now is extremely boring, beyond measure.  It can't hold his attention.  I have to work with him for so long that it's getting harder to help everyone get their work done every day.  I found out, especially from the Duggar site, that Switched On Schoolhouse is great for this reason. Not only that but I'm in love with the idea that they get a course in The Bible.  Neato!  It costs a good amount but I've heard a lot of great stuff about it.  :) 

OTHER NEWS.  Is it possible that anyone might have more hyper kids than mine?  I mean, sheesh.....

Late Pumpkin Carving

I know, Homeschool and etc! We are late! Ha ha. What happened was that my already busy brain was getting ready for Halloween and trying to figure out where we were gonna (safely) go. In the rush of it all, I was bummed when I realized that we hadn't carved pumpkins yet. I had already bought one from the store so I can make pumpkin pie. We went to the store and all the pumpkins were sold out. Everywhere! All we could find was little ones. Poor guys! So they each picked one out. Since only the boys had one, I let Ivy pick out what I was gonna carve on the big one. That's why it's a cat. :D So we had fun anyway. If we found more pumpkins, we'd have a round two. This is always so fun!