My Piggy Bank Went on a Diet Without My Permission

As much as my husband and I miss his other career, this one has been such a blessing for me in a different way.  He works a split shift and comes home during the day.  It's so great having daddy home during most of the kids' waking hours.  Having him here for lunch and dinner is awesome.  We go back and forth, back and forth about whether it's safe enough for him to apply back into Engineering.  EVERY TIME we think it's safe, we hear news that unemployment is not really dropping (Obama is full of it) and it's best to stay with what is stable.  Because of what is happening in another country, it could make unemployment here rise even more.  Sigh.  However, I would miss Charles if he had his old schedule back and wasn't coming home till sun down. He's truly my best friend and we get along really well.  Thank goodness, otherwise we'd be driving each other nuts by now.  I don't know.  We worry that if he did get his old career back, it'd be really unstable and then he'd be out of work in 6 months.  Engineering is not too safe right now.  The proof is in the pudding, Obama.  Unemployment is "dropping" because you're looking at the facts in the wrong place.

The lice is officially gone!  Having that lady come to my house and show me how to properly do it made the problem go away so much faster.  If only I had met her sooner.  I think for now I'm gonna keep going through their hair every other day and the once a week just to make sure.  Just one egg missed can cause a problem.  I'm just so happy we can go to church again and this problem is solved before the holidays!  Wheeeeee!  Did you know I missed my sister and her family coming in from South Africa?  They are back home after 6 years of being gone and I couldn't even see their plane come in because of the problem.  It was heartbreaking.  At least  we can see them for the holidays.  :D

Today I woke up with a migraine, but on a positive note, it forced me to take the morning slow and just watch my kids play.  Caleb kept walking around with this gun and making shooting sounds at everyone.  The boys and I were talking in their bedroom last night about how great it is that there are 4 boys.  One more boy to play soldier with, video games, and other fun stuff.  They think Caleb is the greatest little brother ever.  We shall see though as he gets older and out of diapers.  Haha.

Reasons to Rejoice, Cry, and Laugh Out Loud

So now I'm 15 weeks along and into my second trimester.  Thank goodness.  I've always disliked the first trimester very much.  It's just not much fun at all since it always comes with morning sickness.  In my first trimester I was hungry every two hours and if I didn't eat, I'd get very sick.  That can make weight gain just go out of this world.  So, now I'm hoping my weight gain slows down.  Babycenter says I should have only gained 5lbs.  Hahahahahahahaha!  Now my appetite has gone down to normal and so it's a lot easier.  Now the fun finally begins.  ;D  This is the trimester of finding out the sex, feeling the baby move, and getting my energy back.  The house is finally clean again!

I'm having a serious issue with my Great Dane and I can stand it right now.  Just recently I had to clean all my carpets because of dog pee. This is a new thing.  He was always trained before so I don't know what to do.  I rented a cleaner and worked on all my carpets for 8 hours to get the smell out.  Just yesterday I walked into my closet and there was dog pee on my laundry.  Smoke was coming out of my ears and I banned my dogged outside till I know what to do.  Today he threw up on my carpet because he had been eating out of our garbage in the middle of the night.  I'm pretty much done with dogs or cats.  I'm not gonna find another home for him but I think he's our last dog for sure.  

On a light night, I found some favorite videos that get my family cracking up every time we see them! This is one of my favorite.  These guys go into Home Depot and cry about everything.  Soooo funny.

How to Get Rid of Head Lice Fast

Okay, this has been my first experience with this nightmare. Some don't feel like it's a big deal but it was for me because it kept us out of church for 3 weeks and we actually battled it for 4 weeks.  IF ONLY I knew what I know now it would've been dealt with WAAAAY faster.  So a professional came out to my house and showed me exactly how it's done.  At this point it had already been 3 weeks and I felt like I wasn't getting very far.  Also, I was taking the more expensive route.  Isn't there a better way?  The idea of washing every single clothing and bedding item in my house seemed so daunting.  Especially with this size family and all that comes with it.  So, to save you the headache, I would love to share what I learned from this wonderful angel that came to my house.  

Originally, I kept buying those lice kits and they are expensive.  There is nothing wrong with those and it's great to use to kill the bugs already hatched and crawling around.  However, you HAVE to get the eggs. Every single one of them and you can only do that with a lice comb.

$4 Amazon or at
Sally's Beauty Supply

I first bought this comb for only $4 and although it does get the eggs out, your kids won't like you very much since it pulls out some hair.  It does work though and is cheaper.  Do NOT use the combs that come in the lice kits.  They are completely worthless.

$11 Amazon

Instead I ordered this comb from Amazon for $11 and it's much more friendly to kids but not to the bugs.  You will definitely get any and all eggs out with this comb.

Wash your child's hair and then condition really good.  Don't rinse the conditioner out because this is gonna help get the eggs out when combing through.  The picture of the girl shows her hair dry but when I'm doing it, it's wet with conditioner on it.

Make sure to separate hair into sections and start right at base pulling all the way out to the ends. Wipe comb each time onto a paper towel but always on a dry spot each time.  Keep folding paper towel to wipe on new sections. When it's used up, put in a zip lock bag and cut another piece of paper towel to use.  Don't just pull comb down with each section but also sideways and back up.  Eggs can be laid in all directions of the hair and this way you are sure to get it.  Once you finish a section, pin it out of the way to start on a different section.  Take special care to look around the crown of the head, surprisingly, this is where I've found the most each day I combed through.  When you are finished, make sure all used paper towels are sealed up in a ziplock bag before throwing away.  Also, rinse and put your comb in a ziplock bag and put in freezer overnight.  Repeat this procedure every day till you find not even one egg after you've combed through hair.  Even one egg missed will become a problem so it's good to really make sure.

The first night only I bought a spray for only $5 that kills bugs on the bed or any other non-washable item. After it dried I vacuumed the beds.  Each night before they go to bed I would throw all their bedding and pillows into the dryer for 20 minutes on high heat.  After they wake up I do it again.  The reason is throughout the day they they go to their bed sometimes to rest or just play and if they do have any bugs, it can get back on the bedding.  Then repeat that night drying the bedding on high heat before they lay on it.  It kills the bugs.  I also dried all of their stuffed animals they slept with at night.

Another tip is you can fill up a spray bottle of vinegar water.  It can help loosen up the eggs and also help to prevent lice being able to lay eggs on their head.  If you get a notice from the school that lice is going around, this is a good precaution.  You can spray on their hair each morning before sending them off to school.

Don't worry about washing every single item of clothing in your house.  Lice can't live without human blood for more than 2 or 3 days.  I only worried about washing things they would come in close contact with.

I've kept my kids out of church for obvious reasons of not passing it around and it's soooo not nice to send kids to school until they are totally clear.  I hope this helps and please leave me a comment any time if you have any questions!

Order Online for Christmas and Avoid the Crowds!

Shopping online for the holidays is my favorite.  I like to avoid the rush in the stores as Christmas approaches.  Actually, I kind of avoid it like the plaque.  However, I love to shop online and I have a few favorite places.  My first of course would be Amazon but there are plenty of companies to look into that offer products online that you can either have shipped to your home or pick up at nearest retailer.

This Christmas you can order the Skylighter lighted disc. It's ideal for the shorter days and enjoyable but darker evenings of early fall.  Once the sun goes down players can turn on the light module to illuminate the disc for dazzling evening play. The Skylighter disc’s patented aerodynamic design makes it easy for players of all skill levels to throw and its cushioned rim makes for comfortable catches.  It retails for $15 and is sold at Sports Authority, Dick’s Sporting Goods, and most other sporting goods stores.  See list HERE.

My kids think is fun to play with outside and have enjoyed it.  It'd make for a super unique gift for Christmas!  It comes in several different colors and what's great about this is they are a soft catch because of it's cushioned rim.


Can also be found on Facebook!

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Will you be traveling through Arizona for the holidays?  I have six kids and keeping kids happy only last for so long after hours of driving.  Even for me. I loooove learning the history about the state as we travel through it.  Arizona Way Out West & Wacky is a fun activity book but it's even better because there is so much more than just about coloring.  There are activities, information about the animals that can be found in Arizona, types of plants, recipes (yay for moms!), crossword puzzles.  Funny, gross, interesting and wacky stories and facts.  I love fun mixed with learning and trust me, your kids will appreciate it!  I've really loved looking through book and am holding onto it for when we make our travels.  

‘Like’ www.facebook.com/fivestarpublications for the latest author blog updates, reviews, giveaways, reading tips & more!

Or, follow us on www.twitter.com/fivestarpub

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Glow Crazy sent my kids this really cool glove.  My boys love to play like they are all powerful so the loved the glove since it glows in the dark. When they put the glove on, they were having a good time playing in the dark and making some cool patterns on the wall.  Even more fun is that they have a special canvas they can draw on in the dark with the beams from the glove!

Right now though they have a cool special where you can order a kit for only $19.99.  You get a Glow Crazy duel beam Glow wand, 4 stencils, 3 sheets of colored canvas, 3 reusable colored jumbo canvas, tip book, and a bonus wide beam glow wand.  You can draw from over 10 feet away.  It's fun for kids and would also make a super unique Christmas gift!  In fact, when I checked on my boys 10 minutes ago, Ryan was laying in bed playing with his Glow Glove drawing.  There is still time to order before Christmas!  :D

www.glowcrazy.com
www.facebook.com/glowcrazy
www.twitter.com/#!/glowcrazy  

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So there are some unique gifts you can definitely find that I know your kids will love because my kids have had lots of fun with them!  

Judge Beats Daughter-How Far is Too Far?

This video is so heartbreaking...

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How far is too far?  Of course this beating was beyond "too far."  It was flat out abuse.  It completely broke my heart watching it and I just kept putting my head into my hands because it was too hard to watch.  He beats her and beats her for something small (in comparison).  She's not even yelling at him back. She's not punching or cussing out her father.  She's only begging for him to stop.  How cold can you possibly be?

I'm not against spanking but in NO WAY is a swat close to a beating.  A swat is meant to just give a quick sting to bring attention to a serious offense.  A small and quick discomfort.  This father wacking her over and over seems to me that he was just getting all his anger out on her that he already had festering inside.  Seeing the mom stand by and watch was just SO SAD.  Yes, I know she said she was brainwashed but I've been in a brainwashed relationship.  Thankfully I didn't have a kid in that situation but I guess it's hard for me to imagine hearing my daughter plead for a beating to stop and doing nothing.  Although spanking is not against the law, there are other ways to punish such as groundings or having to earn money to replace something misused.  Also, there is a different between childishness and foolishness.  You wouldn't beat a child for leaving their bike out in the rain.  That's being forgetful often times and the best punishment for that would be to take the bike away for a week.  

He's a judge???  Wow, please tell me people are smart enough to re-elect someone different in 3 years.

Leaving Bitterness and Unforgiveness Behind

It's Thanksgiving and the turkey is in the oven!  Every year I'm so surprised at how fast the holidays seem to come.  Time just keeps flying by. There is so, so, so much to be grateful for.  I'm grateful God is doing a work in my heart about not holding grudges.  It's not fun going through life and watching your back.  I'm learning that no matter how many people have hurt me, everyone's been hurt.  It's impossible to go through this life and never be offended.  Pain from others doesn't give me permission to be bitter and unforgiving.  My God is a forgiving God and has forgiven me of a far greater debt.  I've listened to some parts from a book called The Bait of Satan via audio.  It was amazing and I need to invest in buying my own copy.  With as fast as time flies and how fast these holidays come around, it's not worth shutting people out because of hurt.  Especially when we don't know if this is the last time we will celebrate Thanksgiving with them.  We have no way of knowing.  Just on Facebook this morning a friend posted "Asking prayers to go up today for a family with 10 children, as their father and husband passed away last night of a massive heart attack, very unexpectedly."   I cried and prayed when I heard this news.  Friends, instead of worrying about who did what in the past, remember how much Christ loves them so much more.  Holding onto bitterness twists us up inside and hurts us more than it hurts them.  We never know if this is our last chance to see someone we love (or used to love) and celebrate Thanksgiving.

So, I'm thankful God has put this on my heart as a start to healing and moving on.  Love ya and have an awesome Thanksgiving!  This year embrace someone you haven't in awhile (without strangling them. haha).

Reupholstering Chairs to be Kid Friendly

See stained chair?

I've hated the looks of my chairs for soooo long.  I've had them about 4 1/2 years.  Whatever you do, don't buy furniture from MOR, they don't have good quality.  Well, we paid a lot of money for them so it's here to stay for a bit longer.  When I first bought the chairs the seat covers were an almost white micro fiber.  Right away I knew I needed to cover them with a clear plastic to keep them looking that pretty.  My husband said it was okay because the store people said they are easy to clean.  Yeahhhh, if you have NO KIDS maybe.  So of course right away it started getting really stained and becoming a huge embarrassment.

The piles and piles of fabric

Yesterday I went to SAS to pick out some new material for the chairs. I had an idea of the type of fabric I wanted.  Basically, anything I can take a wet cloth to and wipe down fast.  This store is cheaper but extremely unorganized.  They basically just throw everything in these huge piles and you just have to hope you find what you need.  Nothing is in order at all so I wandered around for a long time.  Just when I was about to give up I found the perfect material.  Black vinyl for $4.99 a yard.  Sounded good to me and I was crunched for time!

So then I went home and took apart all the chairs.  The kids couldn't figure out why in the world I'd want to take the cushions off. I jokingly told them it's because we didn't need them.  They just got quiet for a minute and then said, "But mommmm.....!"  I went to Home Depot and asked guy for help in finding the right staples for the staple gun.  We talked a bit and then he wouldn't leave after I got what I wanted.  I told him I needed to call my mom and he kept standing there.  So then I just stared at him waiting for him to leave.  I said, "Thank youuuuu" in hopes he'd get the hint I'm done. So he said, "Do you want to talk to your mom in private or something?"  I told him, "Okay thanks, but I got the idea of what I need."  He kept standing around and flirting and I was getting frustrated.  Okay dude.  He was soooo flirty it was getting on my nerves.  Then when I was leaving he followed me to talk to me some more.  Ugh.  Was happy to get out of there.

I headed to my moms house (which was also a great excuse to visit) and asked if she could help me.  My mom is an expert on this stuff because she'd done it so many times.   After looking at pictures online and chatting we got down to business. She made a pattern for me and I started cutting.

While I was cutting my mom was doing the stapling of the fabric onto the chairs.  It's amazing my dad could sleep through all that.  I kept yawning the whole time while working and mentioning how late it felt.  I looked up at the clock and it was only 8pm.  What the heck?  What a wimp I've become!  Haha.

Finally, I got home and put the chairs together.  The newly reupholstered chairs look amazing!  Now, all I have to do is wipe down the chairs with a wet cloth after a meal.  No more scrubbing and scrubbing.  The stains would never come out.  Don't believe people when they say white microfiber cloth is safe from kids.  Ha!

Boys Come in All Different Types

I need to recover my dining chairs since they're pretty abused and dirty looking no matter how many times you scrub them.  It's an almost white microfiber cover on the seats.  When we first bought the dining set I told Charles I needed to put a clear plastic over them, then staple gun underneath to protect the color.  He said no way, it's already easy to clean.  Those chairs are a pain in the butt.  He admits now he should've let me cover them.  

Well, while getting ready to head to the fabric store, Ryan was the only one up so I took him along.  He had never been to one before.  He absolutely loved the store and could imagine all the possibilities.  He picked out some blue faux fur fabric and asked me if I'd make him a pillow with it.  First off, the lady didn't even cut the material straight and I didn't notice till be got home.  There are no returns allowed.  While looking at it and measuring, I was thinking it'd be a pain to keep that pillow clean.  So I asked Ryan if he's rather me just make a pillow case out of it so he can just pull the pillow out real easy.  He loved the idea.  :)

You know, boys can be such boys!!  It's so cute.  I didn't realize that when Caleb laid down for his nap that he was cuddling a motorcycle and put a toy car right next to him on the other pillow.  So cute!  

Boys can be so different in their personalities. You can have the BOYS where they would get bored in fabric stores and silly girl stuff and then you have the boys that are the gentler type, likes to cook, go on errands. and even visit a fabric store.  I love my boys all around.  :)

Rug Doctor to the Rescue

This last weekend was just crazy because we are still trying to clear up any last bug problems there could be.  I think we've gotten a handle on it but I took it a step further and rented a Rug Doctor to clean all the carpets and kids beds. I also cleaned all of our dining chairs with it.  It was just crazy and a ton of work.  Lugging this thing around and constantly emptying out the dirty water and refilling with clean water and solution was tiring.  After 8 hours of cleaning all the carpets I locked the bedroom doors.  So relieved be to done with it!  The house smelled really good though.  Several times in the night I woke up with arm spasms.  Pain just shooting through my right arm and it was really painful. Charles had to get up with Caleb and changed him since the thought of me having to pick him up sounded too painful.  I am really happy to clean the carpets anyway because awhile back we were dog sitting for a friend and the dog kept sneaking back to pee on our carpets.  Then our Great Dane thought he could too so we kept having to clean it up.  It just needed to have some serious cleaning.  I'm happy it's done in time for Thanksgiving.  :)  I cleaned all the carpets in the house 4 times over and all the rugs 2 times apiece.

If you rent a Rug Doctor, click HERE to get a coupon first!

See my nails on my wedding day?

Over the weekend while running errands I took Ryan with me.  He doesn't mind getting drug to the salon and other boring places.  I took him with me when I got my nails done. The guy doing my nails was a real meanie but I didn't complain because he is amazing at what he does.  He does my french manicures like no one else I've ever seen.  He knows I like to keep them shorter too because I need to be able to function.  Charles has been begging me forever to get my nails done again.  I finally drug my feet in to get it done for him.  For 13 years he has talked about how he loved my french manicure when we were dating.  

Whenever I would try to grow out my own nails they would just crack.  So when I got back from the salon he was thrilled!  Well, if he's happy, I'm happy.  :)  It has really been hard getting used to typing with them though and remembering not to be such a tomboy.  They are kept at a shorter length though or they would drive me crazy.

Emergency Middle of the Night Food Run

There is nothing weird about waking up in the middle of the night to go buy a dill pickle.  At least not for a pregnant lady!  Lately, I've had some weeeeeeird sleeping habits and I feel really bad about it.  Luckily, my husband's job makes it okay the way his hours are.  Last night I went to bed at 8pm but woke up around 11pm to hearing a commotion in the living room.  Charles hadn't put the kids to bed yet and since they are all camping out in the living room, it can be hard to settle them down.  Well, I laid there for about an hour trying to fall back asleep because lately, if I get woken up that's what happens.  The other night I woke up in the middle of the night wanting a pickle and a meat sandwich.  I opened the fridge and not only was the meat all gone but so were the pickles.  I cried and went back to bed.  Well, last night at midnight I couldn't take the cravings anymore so I got my shoes on and headed out to buy a dill pickle.  Charles said, "Okay, you ARE so pregnant.  Can you get me one too?"  When I got back I made a meat sandwich to eat with the pickle and made the dumb mistake of having a Diet Dr. Pepper with it.  Caffeine is such a bad idea at that time.  So then I couldn't fall asleep till 4pm! When my husband left at 5:30am and said goodbye, I couldn't back back to sleep again for about an hour.  Just as the kids woke up, Charles got back and he said to just go to sleep.  He's got everything taken care of.  However, I missed my kids and wanted to get up to be with them so I just threw off the covers. These darn cravings are ruining my sleep.  Well, might as well get used to it with middle of the night feedings with baby.  ;)  I actually got used to it with my last two babies and that didn't bother me anymore. I think being a mommy, especially of newborns, we can become light sleepers over the years.  It has really helped me to not mind waking up every 3 hours in the night.  So, maybe my body is just preparing for it early.

Fighting Mommies on Facebook

Caleb holding his pants up and dancing

My husband and I were sitting in the homeschool room yesterday and just talking about how fast time flies. Baby Caleb walks into the room with just his little diaper on and talking to us.  If he sees you have a drink he will climb onto your lap and try to talk you out of it so he can have it.  I have no idea what he's saying but it's probably some sort of a sales pitch as to why he should have that drink and not you.  Charles said, "I can't imagine not having little ones around anymore."  It's so true.  It's WONDERFUL!  Yet, it's HARD raising kids

I have people all the time say, "Oh, you just wait till they get older, it gets so much easier.  They don't wear diapers, don't need help getting something to eat, and it's easier to go places."  Yeah, that does sound easier on my body but not on my heart.  I loooove having my little diaper babies toddle up to me and take me by my hand to show me what they want. Or show me something their excited about that's tighty held in their little hand.  I love having conversations with the kids about their future even though they are only in elementary school and their minds might change a thousand times before they are an adult.  I love that the girls always want to be just like their mommy and the boys want to be just like their daddy.  Things change fast when they are teens.  

I've almost completely backed out of mommy groups on Facebook because there seems to be so much fighting over different beliefs on raising kids. People having a hard time letting each other have an opinion. There is always the argument of how many kids someone should have and what age they should stop at.  On one extreme, some feel you should leave it up to God and on the other some feel only 2 should suffice. Although there is no law about how many kids someone should have, people fight about it like there is.  If you want to start something really explosive, bring up the subject about vaccines, the Duggars, or spankings.  For the sake of my heart, I had to back out of the groups.  I looove visiting for sake of learning, gleaning ideas from each other, and the encouragement.  However, sometimes there seems to always be the fighters on there looking for a debate to start. I wish, I wish, I wish moms could understand this one point.  If they did, they could peaceably have discussions.  This applies to moms (and mother-in-laws) we know in person and moms we know online.....

There is no way to be a perfect mother, but a million ways to be a good one.

A 6 Year Old's Idea of the Perfect Job

It was late at night and my daughter Ivy had a lot of heavy thoughts on her brain she needed to unload before she could sleep.  

Ivy playing cashier at Children's museum

Mom, remember when I would come to you and tell you something was wrong with me when I'd go to the bathroom?

Yes?

Well, I was tricking you. I just wanted you to take me to the doctor because I LOVE going to the Dr's.  They make me happy, give me treats, sometimes tickle me, and make me feel better.  

Well, if you like Dr's so much, when you grow up why don't you marry one?

Because, mom, they work all day until dark time and I'll hardly ever get to see him.

Oh, that is so true.  What about a car mechanic?  They like to fix cars.

Same thing.  They are just so busy fixing other people's cars.

What about someone who fixes computers?  Then they can fix your computer too.

Yeah, but then when the computer breaks he'll always have to be running to the store to buy stuff.

What about if you marry a pastor?

Mom, I want to be able to sit by my husband in church.

Oh yeah, that is so true! (Haha.)  Okay, Ivy

Chaz "unloading the truck."

Mom, all I can think about is I don't want doctors, bus drivers, soccer, football, and baseball players, a pastor, a guy that works at the zoo, or a guy that has to clean all the time. I don't want to marry any of those.  

Why not?

Because those things are hard on a husband and I want to be able to see him.  

What about a guy who takes care of flowers?

Only mommies take care of flowers.  


What about marrying a teacher?


No, because every day there is always school. The next day, and the next day....


Ivy, I think you're gonna have to marry a guy that works from home.


Okay!  Goodnight, Mom!

Kyle

The Slice Safety Cutter Review- Great for Couponers!

Being that I'm a big couponer I was excited to try slice™ Safety Cutter - Great for couponers.  I can't always carry big scissors around everywhere I go but can carry this.  Especially those times sitting in a doctor's office when I'm quietly trying to rip out coupons from magazines but it's still so loud.  Yeah, this would be good for those times.  It's like the stealth cutter. You don't hardly see it it and you don't hear it.  This is even safe and easy for your kids to use.

- Ceramic blade lasts longer than steel
- Stays sharp and never rusts
- Built-in magnet and key-ring hole
- Finger-Friendly™ Design
- For left- and right-handers 


However, depending on how hard you push down, be careful if you don't want it going through other pages since it easily will.  Just be light with your hand when using it.  I love that I can put it on my key chain to use at anytime.  It's even great for scrapbooking.  Anyway, I love it!  

The Slice Safety Cutter is also on Facebook.


Product Description 

The Slice™ Safety Cutter is the most versatile tool you'll ever own. Features a finger-friendly microscopic ceramic blade that's quick, easy and a safe substitute for scissors. Perfect for scrap-booking, clipping recipes, coupons and news articles, removing shrink-wrap, opening CDs, DVDs, and plastic packaging, and more. Includes a built-in magnet and key-ring hole.

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I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Discovering Head Lice on Kids! Ack!

I can't believe what I discovered several days ago.  My daughter had been itching her head and just as we were about to head to church, I found some lice on my daughter's head.  I was completely shocked since this has never happened in 11 years of having kids.  What the heck???!!  Of course we were not going to church and we won't be able to till I make sure this problem is completely cleared.  We are going nowhere and no one is coming to our house.  

"Lice infestations are very common in families that have young children attending daycare, preschool and grade school." -wiseGEEK

I have no idea how they got it.  We were around some kids a week ago and a week ago before that, that sometimes struggle with it.  Also, they go to children's church, Caleb goes to church nursery, and my 4 older kids go to school once a week.  They could have gotten it from anyone of those four places.  Anyone that sends their kids to church, school, or with friends knowing their kids may have lice are completely rude in my eyes.  More than rude. Heartless.  However, just like me, sometimes we have no idea until we shockingly discover it one day on the way to church.

What do Head Lice Look Like?

Ivy has it the worst, Ashley a little bit, and the boys do NOT have it at all.  So it's obvious that Ivy was the carrier.  Since the boys have the possibility of getting it, I took them outside and completely shaved their heads down as close to the skin as possible.  They are almost completely bald.  Well, even though they don't have lice, the fact that they are bald, the boys don't want to be in their school play now. Ivy is heartbroken.  I told her if she's cleared up in time I will let her still be in it.  However, I'm not gonna do that unless she is 100% clear because I'd be a jerk of a mom otherwise to put another mom through this.  If we have to stay in this house for 2 weeks to make sure, that's fine. 

How do I remove headlice from my home?

Today I am bagging up alllll stuffed animals and sealing them for 4 weeks. I've been washing all pieces of clothing and will be every day, all day till it's cleared.  I still have to go buy the bed spray but we have been having kids sleep in our leather couch for now.  This is such a pain in the butt and I've still managed to keep on top of homeschooling which is a miracle.  The link I just gave above gave even some great ideas for me to use to rid of this.  I've known parents to treat the head but not the house and that's why they continually get it.  It's important to treat everything possible.

Battles with Nausea and Miniature Chickens

Gosh, I have had such bad morning sickness lately that I have to sit outside to avoid any smells in the house.  You know how hard it is when you are hungry but you can't go in the kitchen or you'll get sick?  Or change a poopy diaper without getting sick?  Oh man. I hope I can cook for Thanksgiving.  I will probably have to wear nose plugs and open all the windows.  This morning I tried to do that but the roosters were crowing too loud and Charles was tired so I had to close them.  Little stinkers.  These are my miniature chickens but their crow is still really loud.  In the picture they look big but they are adult size and I can pick them up with one hand.  I'll have to show a picture sometime of them next to the big chickens.  It's gross sometimes having to change out their bedding or refill their water right now. Normally it's not a big deal but next time I using gloves.  So worth it though for all the eggs we get for breakfast.

So my big and tough boys somehow end up here every now and then once we all go to bed. It was around midnight but I turned the lights on to take this picture.  I don't feel guilty about not giving them their own room because they all end up sleeping on the same bed or couch anyway.  Caleb is even sleeping on top of Chaz. Sooooo cute!

I was up at midnight because I tend to be hungry alllllll the time.  If I don't eat I get really bad nausea.  How's that for keeping weight off, eh?  Yeah, this baby is gonna help me get some pounds on if this keeps happening.  The doctor tells me to eat a carrot or something.  Ha!  That's like serving a vegetable dish and putting a candle in it for someone's birthday.  Just mean!

My Idea of a Perfect Homemaking Day

Kyle said he was training Caleb how to play soldier

What an awesome, awesome day Thursday was.  I have a goal in mind and that is I want to be finished homeschooling the kids for this grade period by the beginning of May.  The reason is because this baby is due on May 21.  I really, really don't want to be worried about homeschooling and would love to have that summer break to just be with the baby and recover. Right now I'm super spoiled and get plenty of rest every night but I very well remember what it's like having a newborn.  Absolutely adorable but so time consuming and the word "exhaustion" comes to mind.  Soooooo, it'd be great to just have the summer for all that.

Well, homeschooling went fabulous today. All four did really well and truly did their best. I sat with them and helped explain all kinds of goodies like Math and Science.  My weakness is Language Arts because I hate grammar and punctuation.  If you notice bad grammar and bad, punctuation, on, here, well, that's, just, my weakness.  Especially, commas.  Wink.  Spelling is my favorite though and it was super hard not to grade my husband's love letters when he first would write them to me. Tee hee.... He laughs about it now because he knows I would NEVER do something so weird as insult a love letter. It was the heart of  the letter that melted me.  My husband is a genius so I can't say much by picking on his spelling.  Anyway, today we put priorities first.  Daily devotionals, homeschooled, chores, play, dinner around the table, baths, bedtime for kids, then my own personal cleaning time.

Flower picked from my rose bush. :)

Whoa, do I get tons accomplished when kids are in bed.  I completely decluttered the front half of the house. I mean like pulling furniture out to see what's hiding, behind the piano, under the armour, cleaning off anything on counters, sanitizing bathroom, bleaching and washing shower curtain, washing living room drapes, sweeping, mopping, cleaning out microwave.  Whew!!!!  I wasn't done till 2am but you know what's best about getting all that done?  I didn't miss a moment with my kids. Those 2 hours I would've used up during their wake time but helping them complete the list above (devotionals, homeschool, checking their own chores, making dinners, giving baths, laying them down) takes a lot of time.  Especially when you stop frequently to talk with little ones or settle a dispute.  Yesterday was my idea of a perfect day.  Sigh.

I would like to take yesterday and Copy and Paste it for today.  :D

How Impossible Standards Can Discourage Moms

Although I have been battling fatigue and morning sickness, it was around midnight last night that I just got really frustrated with myself.  I was about to go to bed when I told myself I couldn't till I completely cleaned the kitchen and at least decluttered something.  I was tired but I'm mostly just tired of excuses.  I have an obligation and being pregnant isn't a ticket to laziness.  Don't get me wrong, there is not stuff on my floors and crazy stuff happening.  I get mad at the piles on my table, a counter, dressers.  Things like that because it makes it feel cluttered.  Anyway, After I got the kitchen clean I started decluttering one certain area and was just so happy when it was done. I guess I'm mostly surprised how many dishes this family can dirty in one day.  Should I be surprised?  No.  I am going to go buy some paper plates though to combat some of it.  Another thing is we need to label cups each day because all of us are guilty of going through several cups a day.

This is how perfectionist people
make me feel. No Joke.  Like bullies. 

I need to wake up and get on the ball.  Need to get back into my wonderful system that has always worked for me.  Having only 2 computers in the house with 4 homeschooling kids definitely get me behind because not only do they do book work, but they also do online work.  Well, sharing just gets all of us behind.  I put their education absolutely first and so by the time I get to my cleaning, it's easily later in the day.  I will get my head back together.  My body is just having too much fun creating this new life and draining my energy but I know it'll come back.  My husband is amazing at letting me take a nap when he's home.  The only thing is he won't wake me up and I sleep like a submarine.  I asked him to please not give me that much mercy.  Wake me up after an hour!  Haha.  He's too good to me and completely an understanding guy.

So today, I AM GOING to become faithful once again to my own personal chore system that I set up for myself back in 2009.  I kept up on it for a long time but slacked off some these last 2 months.  I won't let discouragement overcome me. It's a fantastic system so I will find bits of time in between homeschooling to tackle items on the list.  :)

I do have to say though that perfectionist people tend to be people I stay away from. For some reason I know an awful lot of them and I feel like no one can measure up to their standards.  I've always, always been the kind of mom that would much rather do this.....

....than be the mom that can only seem to focus on the perfect house. I guess maybe a good example of the perfectionist mom would be Kate Gosselin.  I had a chance to see one of her shows and she was panicking because her kids were carving pumpkins in the garage, on a table, with plastic covering it. Even though everything was protected, she could not stand the fact that a mess was being made. They could hardly relax and just have fun.  Sometimes sitting in the church nursery I'll hear women compare who cleans more than others (in fun, friendly way), it just seems odd to me.  "I mop my floor 3 times a day."  But then another says "Well, I mop mine 4 times a day."  I'm like really?  Oh wait, they have 2 kids.  What happens though when you have more like an army to care for?  You have to let one of your high standards go in order to really spend time with each kid. I do know one spectacular woman that truly is a perfectionist and has a fantastic relationship with all 10 of her kids (name starts with  "P").  She truly is the only perfectionist I've ever looked up to because she has a wonderful balance between her family, cleaning, and is even a pastor's wife.  That's one woman I would take advice from.  I guess what kills me more is some that truly turn their nose down on people that don't live up to their standards.  You know, sometimes it's the creative moms, the fun ones that love adventure and seeing the world, that don't have the perfect house. That is no excuse for a disgusting house or unsanitary one.  

Have you ever seen the show Clean House?  There was a difference between the lazy wives vs. the creative ones.  Their houses weren't filthy, they just had so much stinking fun being creative with their kids they didn't know where to put it all.  Instead of trash talking them and telling them they are disgusting, the people on the show worked around it and help them create a system where they can keep up on everything AND be creative.  The ones they harped on were the ones that were just filthy and could give a crud about cleaning.  They were lazy.  My mom is not a perfectionist but she's also not lazy. She's a very creative person that loves to learn and make things.  Her house is in no way dirty, but you can tell she's the creative type. She's one of those woman that can walk into your house, completely redesign everything to look better and make an old house look new. If she wasn't a mommy first, that would've been her other calling.  Buying homes, fixing them up, and reselling them.  She's extremely talented.  

I'm not trying to down perfectionist people, but after reading this article last night that promoted insane cleaning over having some balance... it frustrated me.  That's like having a legalistic person turn their noses down on people that maybe aren't the perfect Christian.  We are saved by grace, not by works.  It should be the same mindset for housewives.