Mother's Day Antics, Financial Surprises, and Letters to Genesis

Mother's Day went kind of decent. I didn't get to do some big huuuuuuuge celebration like go to Disneyland a restaurant but I still had a great day. :) I have to admit the highlight of the day was at the Sunday morning church service.  They made mamas feel extra special when coming into the church with muffins, chocolate covered strawberries, coffee, and other yummy treats. They showed a video of them interviewing some kids in the church talking about their mothers.  My daughter Ivy was so hilarious Charles and I were cracking up!  I need to some how get my hands on the video.  All the kids were just sooooo funny!  Some of them I have in my class and even my favorite little redhead was interviewed.  I love these kids.  They are all so amazing.  The message that day was on parenting and he majorly hit it out of the ballpark.  I could barely keep up with writing notes and I filled up the entire page.  Here was something that really stuck out to me.  There are 3 different parenting styles.  1. Authoratative. 2. Permissive. 3. Biblical. I never saw it that way.  I loved it!  I would like to choose biblical.  :)  Rules without relationship breeds rebellion.  My favorite thing he said was (when talking about media), if what we are watching on TV is not something we'd want our kids to watch, should we be even watching it?  I love that because my kids are very sensitive to moral issues and I never want to ignore them when they point out something they see that isn't right.  I love that my kids all turn their eyes away when they see kissing because they know those actors really aren't married.  Stuff like that!  I don't even want to tell them to stop because why would I want to desensitize them?  Kids are very sensitive to God and I don't even want to get in the way of that.

My Mother's Day collage.  Me with all my loves!!!

My huge Mother's Day plans fell through because some crazy financial stuff happened all in one week.  You know, like when you have a blowout and your van tires are so crazy expensive that it feels like you are paying for it by selling your arm or a leg?  Or when you realize that your 6 months insurance plan is up and you didn't see it coming so you have to plunk down money for another 6 months?  Or that summer camp money is due? Yeah!  I need to write that down so I'm not surprised again!  I hate paying monthly insurance because in the end you always pay so much more. It's just more cost effective to pay in advance for it. You get a huge discount.  I was just so happy to have all my kids happy, healthy, and our family doing well.  I had nothing to really even complain about! It's so funny because my husband offered to make lunch for us so I wouldn't have to but he forgot to actually do it. I finally got up and did it when the meat started burning.  Daddy was running around trying to take care of things for me, changing diapers, etc, so he was running in all different directions. He said, "boy, this homemaking stuff is hard!"  Tee hee.... it was so cute I had no problem getting up and just taking over the lunch.  Next year, this mama is eating out for Mother's Day!  Haha.  (In the meantime I'm gonna not forget important financial events so it can happen.)

My mom, nurse, and I on my birth day. :D Thank you, mom!

I thought a lot about baby Genesis yesterday and how much I miss him/her.  I know I say it over and over but I'm just so happy and excited that he/she is waiting for me in heaven.  Even though I get sad at times, having that hope of a reunion just washes away that grief.  I know with Jesus as my Savior I can have that hope of one day meeting Genesis in Heaven.  Boy, I can't wait to buy the movie Heaven is for Real.  I have the book but it's just such a reassurance of what is to come.  I cried in the movie where the mom found out from her son that her baby was in heaven and it was a girl.  After reading the book I realized that she miscarried her baby the same week of pregnancy I did. Yet her son was able to see that not only was it a girl, but the girl knew who her family was and couldn't wait to meet them!  Genesis may not be here on earth but I'm a mom to 8!  So grateful.

"Genesis, after seeing the movie Heaven is for Real, I realize that I really, really, really do get to see you some day and RIGHT NOW you are playing in heaven and you know we are your parents. I only carried you for 9 weeks but I feel like the luckiest mommy in the world that you made me a mommy to now 8 beauties. I'm sooooo blessed to be your mama and I CAN'T WAIT to meet you. I love you like I could never express!"

My Forgotten Love

I kind of got caught up in life and forgot how much I love to bake. I mean, it truly is a love of mine. Back in the day I had plans to try and go into culinary school but got a little distracted. I had met a boy and lost focus on that. It's always been a desire and maybe someday I can fulfill that dream. For now, my husband and kids 100% have all my attention. Not too long ago a pastor came up to me that knew me from years ago and asked if I ever got to go. I told him no. He asked what happened and I replied that I got married! Ha. Now I'm earning the marriage and parenting degree. When I graduate somewhat I'll focus some elsewhere. Knowing me, my grandkids will be a huge part of my life. I hope!!

I don't really like cooking but more like baking. To me, cooking is kind of just putting together ingredients. Well, it's still a talent! However, I love baking because it feels like creating something from the very, very bare basics! That's fun! I could create all day but I have soooo many other responsibilities. While I'm baking in the kitchen, the rest of the house is falling apart. :P

When Is Our Time of Death?

Oh man, as faithful as I have been on my Paleo diet I was getting frustrated that I couldn't lose anything passed the 10lb mark.  Ohhhh, so frustrating.  The rest of my family is only half Paleo so I have been having to cook them dinners that I can't eat.  It doesn't bother me because I like being skinnier more than eating a plateful of pasta.  After I cook for them I'll make what I want and then my husband will look at my food and want to eat it.  "I told you I can cook yummy and healthy!" Ha ha.  They never believe me.  Well, I've gone a whole week being 100% faithful to my diet and not losing another single pound.  Finally today I broke that darn 10lb mark. I stopped going to the gym after Ivy got burned.  I was at the gym when it happened.  It's not that I'm blaming anyone it's just that it was such a horrible experience I just lost my taste for going.  That and I have NOT found the time for escaping to the gym.  Having 7 kids is AWESOME and WONDERFUL but I put taking care of them first so if I don't have the time, I just don't have it.

You want to know another reason why I haven't gone back to the community center?  When we first joined a nearby community center, Chaz got hurt on the first day.  This was only two months ago.  Well, Chaz was going down the slide and the lifeguard let another kid start going down right after.  Chaz got kicked in the head and got a mild concussion.  I went and got a lifeguard who is also an EMT.  He was the nicest guy and spent time with Chaz making sure he was okay.  He told me if I ever needed anything just to come and get him.  Well, he recently committed suicide and he was in his early 20's with a 10 month old son.  When we went back to the center, it just didn't feel the same.  I walked into the pool area half expecting to see him there with his kind smile but he wasn't there.  My heart just broke.  I know I need to go back.  Life moves on.  The sun still sets, but it still hurts.  That was someones boy, someones dad, someones grandson.  :(  Life is short and he took it.  The rest of us don't know when it's our time.  It's foolishness to just hope eternity will take care of itself and it's not something we should think about.  If I were to die today, am I ready to meet Jesus?  Will Pershing, a blogger, didn't know this would be his last post. The very next day he died in a crash on his way to lunch with his family after church.  Will was ready to be with Jesus.  

On a lighter note we visited the zoo this past weekend and my mom came with us.  What a treat!  We never, ever get sick of the zoo because it's full of nature and animals.  The kids can run around and we don't have to worry about being quiet! Ivy wanted to wear shorts instead of pants over her swimsuit but I said no because of her burn.  She can't expose her leg to the sun for over year.   She wasn't happy about it but she got over it.  :)

My mom playing with Juliet near the giraffe area.

All of us rode the camel.  I was a little worried about getting on because I was worried my weight would deflate his hump.  Turns out Dale is pretty durable.  Ha ha.

Hi Dale!  You are such a patient Camel.

Juliet is 4 months now!  She is very social and likes to be part of the action.  If I try to put her in the baby swing she only stays happy for about 5 minutes.  She has to be sitting straight up to see what everyone is doing.

The kids checking out an exhibit

Surgery Scheduled for Caleb

This time in our life has been such an incredible challenge.  Just when things look up I feel like my feet get kicked out from under me.  I have to keep getting back up though because I have a life to live, kids to love and care for, a best friend to have fun with, a husband that is amazing, a ministry to serve, and so much more.  God has somehow brought us through.  I'm amazed.

Caleb showing Nana his new car through the phone

Several days ago Caleb was having trouble going potty so we had to take him into the ER.  He was screaming and nothing would come out.  He would have bright red blood in his diaper.  Turns out, he needs to have a dilation done as it's very difficult for him to go and getting worse from irritation.  They don't want him potty training at all until he's healed and it's approved by the doctor.  He's scheduled for surgery on Wednesday.  It was Caleb's 3rd birthday when we brought him into the ER.  Thankfully, that day we had a fun day with him by taking him out and letting him pick out a toy.  I'm just sad it had to end bad but he's getting help so that's good.  Chaz will be getting an EKG soon to make sure everything is okay.  He's complained about chest pains and his heart pounding even when he's resting.  I'm gonna wait till we get done with Caleb's surgery so we can focus on that first.

Happy birthday, Caleb!

Ewwww.....

Well, this place kindly gave me two lobsters to bring home and cook.  I NEVER buy them and thought maybe it'd be easy.  Well, I unwrapped them at home and couldn't believe what I saw...  Yuck!   It had eyeballs and everything.  I had thought maybe they gave me parts, I don't know.  Now I know why I never buy these because they are so gross looking.  I was being a total wimp and asked my husband to put it in a pot for me.  We looked up a video online on how to cut apart a cooked lobster.  By the time it was done I'd gotten over my fear of these mini monsters and we ate it just fine. Still, I won't be buying one of those anytime soon.  

Learning How to Live Gluten-Free

Oh my goodness, life has been incredibly busy.  I don't mean to but I do tend to make my life harder.  I wish I could do it ALL but I just can't.  I decided that since I have an overload of non-food items from couponing, I'll only be couponing in the summer.  Seriously, I think my 40 deodorants will last me for a year or two that I've acquired over the summer.  Ya think?  Ha ha.  I don't want to be a hoarder.  Well, that frees up time for me to learn other important things.


My friend and I have spent HOURS learning about how to eat gluten-free.  I mean, we've spent HOURS.  While the kids went to their one-day-a-week school today, we went around looking for gluten-free bakeries and finding healthy stores.  Um, it's really expensive to have food made for you that's gluten-free.  It is so much better to learn how to make it all on your own.  I got a book awhile back from Future Horizons that is a recipe book for gluten-free cooking.  Special Diets for Special Kids.  Over 200 revised and new Gluten-free, casein-free recipes.  It's a fantastic book because the recipes are for kids in mind.  What can we make that's healthy, doesn't have a million ingredients, and kid will love?  Even better, it's not gonna hurt them if they have an allergy because substitutes were made.  Well, it's not nearly as hard as I thought.  Michele and I went to Whole Foods and had so much fun sampling everything.  I think I sampled the mangoes so much that it equaled just eating a whole mango.  So funny.  They had this machine that had peanuts in it and you can grind it.  Guess what comes out?  Peanut butter of course!  No yucky preservatives in it, just good ol' fashion peanuts.  Nothing needed to be added to it.  I'm in loooove with the store.

at least I try to convince myself... haha

Tonight Michele and I made Chicken Curry and some drink smoothies.  I called it Hulk Juice because it was tons of different fruit, kale leaves, and amazingly healthy for you.  The kids downed it.  We proved to them that great juice doesn't have to be about drinking Koolaid.  :D  Why does healthy food have to be more expensive?  Whyyyyy?  It's so much easier to go into Fry's (Kroger) and just snatch up $1 savings here and there but if it's bad for Chaz, My Aspergers son, and ADD son and daughter, I'll take that extra steps to help them.  I think Michele and I just have so much fun learning about all these interesting things and we tend to venture off into new things together.  I love having a friend like that.  Makes it so much more fun to explore when you're laughing half way through it.  :D

Here is the smoothie we made tonight.  See?  Not difficult at all!  Was yummy too.  :D

Click to enlarge picture

36 Weeks Pregnant and Counting Down

Wow, I'm 36 weeks pregnant.  In my sleep last I kept waking up to my stomach tightening and it really hurt.  It last about 8 hours and finally stopped.  That's crazy that it was doing it all during my sleep and a few hours into my morning.  I wasn't even working yet.  So my husband made me sit down on the couch for a long time and it was super, duper boring.  I really wanted to start my chores for the day but when I do, they start back up again.  Argh.

Now the girls are making scrambleggs.  It's neat seeing the variety of eggs.  We get eggs for our miniature chickens, regular chickens, and some from the store.  I really need to raise more chickens again so we can get more eggs every day.  So far we are getting about 3 eggs a day which is not nearly enough since it takes 2 dozen to make breakfast for everyone.  It is pretty awesome to just go out back to get an egg when needing one for a recipe.  :D

(Ivy in picture)  Anyway, I need to stop procrastinating and get my bags packed for the hospital.  I'm not planning on having a baby shower so I'll need to get stocked up on some stuff. The great thing about already having kids of both sexes is I can go in the attic and find things we need.  I'm sure I'll donate at least half of the stuff.  I only reuse what looks mostly new but it'll be fun to go through all the stuff with the girls.  I've never gone earlier than one week before my due date so I'm pretty sure at the earliest I'll have Juliet in 3 weeks. That is NOT very much time.

A Note From a Distracted Pregnant Lady

Boy, I've been in a different world it seems the last two weeks.  There has been so much going on and things to do with outside of my home that I haven't had much time at home.  Thankfully Charles and kids have been really understanding.  The pressures from it all had just zapped all my energy and I'm a really energetic person.  Charles said my "lack of energy" is everyone else's normal.  Really?  My friend says I'm unusually energetic but I think my sisters are also that way.  With having no energy right now I look at the work load around my house and it just seems a lot.  No wonder "normal energy" women look at me like I'm nuts.  I'm behind on everything.  I've gotten out a lot to deal with some issues and coming home was just too overwhelming.  Not because of my family but because I didn't have anything to distract my mind from it all.  It's hard to explain when I can't tell you the things that have been happening.  Anway...

I'm 32 weeks now and I'm having some really bad acid problems still and laying down at night can be difficult.  When I lay down the acid tries to come up.  I'm downing Tums but my doctor suggests Prilosac instead.  I took my first pill today but it can take up to 4 days to start working.  Since controlling the acid also helps with nausea it should make it easier for me to cook and clean in the kitchen.  I also don't want to become a whiner.  What I'm wondering is, why are guys hitting on my so much  more now than I'm pregnant?  It is sooo strange to me and also very annoying.  Good grief.  It's not like I walk around immodest or anything.  Did you know this company wanted to have me take pictures every week of my bare belly to show pregnancy growth on my blog?  I declined because I'm not baring my stomach on my blog.  Only my husband sees my tummy like that.  :D  Other than the morning sickness and acid, this has been one of my best pregnancies ever.  Amazing being it's the 7th one.  I've gained 20lbs so far and hope not to go over 25lbs total. Crossing my fingers (and eating brownies).

The other night my husband was coughing and coughing.  He couldn't get any rest and had to get up at 4:30am.  Finally I went into the room, rubbed some Vics vapor rub on his feet, then put clean socks over them.  Then I got him his inhaler and some cough drops.  Finally he drifted off to sleep but it was a long night before I had thought of all that.  The next day he talked about it on his job and also to me telling me if felt so good to have his wife take care of him like that in the middle of the night.  Hmmm.... maybe I've been so focused on myself my poor husband is feeling left out.  He has been sooo supportive of me.  The nights I can't sleep and get sick, he always lets me sleep in the next morning since he gets home from work in the morning.  When he gets home the kids are still sleeping so he'll take care of them till I'm ready.  He has yet to ever complain about the lack of home cooked meals because of the morning sickness.  Geesh.  Do I really deserve this guy?  This week I am really gonna focus on him and find ways to make him feel extra special.

Each Day is an Adventure Around These Parts

Neighbor kid hanging out

There are some interesting stuff happening around here but I cannot tell you.  Nothing to do with my family but helping out a friend. Soooo, we've basically had about 4 adults and 12 kids hanging around and spending the night.  Lots and lots of food going into tummies.  :)  

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Anyway, today we ate Tortellini Soup and it's the only way my kids will eat spinach.  My sister showed this to me and it's sooo easy and is a family favorite.

-2 family size packages of fresh (cheese only) tortellini.  Usually in the cheese section of store.
-10 or 12 oz package of frozen spinach
-10 cans of chicken broth

Heat chicken broth and spinach (don't really have to drain juices first) to boiling.  Then add tortellini for 9 minutes (reduce heat to medium).  Done!  Then you add salt to taste and parmesan for topping.

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I've been tired a lot. There has just been a lot of things happening from all different angles and I'm just trying to stay strong and figure out how to handle things from day to day.  Last week I was really down so I didn't do much cleaning for a whole week.  I've been really paying the price for it this week. Since there are a lot of people here on and off I figured I needed to stay on top of it.  The last two nights I stayed up till around 2:30am to clean.  It's just so much easier to clean while everyone is sleeping.  Besides, I don't want to just be cleaning and be there for a friend instead.  The good thing is this issue has kept my mind off the last week's issue.  Anyway, I'm super private about these kinds of things in my life so I'm sorry if this doesn't make sense.  LOL.  Caleb is such a light sleeper it's been hard for him to nap but today he just fell asleep in the middle of all the noise and I had to take a picture it was so cute.  I transferred him to my bed for some quiet.

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.

Does Anyone Else Find Patience More of a Challenge When Tired?

Yesterday was a crazy day but then ended well.  Just as soon as I finished blogging my laptop pooped out on me.  Everything went bad and even the mouse driver stopped working.  Instead of doing my chores I spent the entire day doing system scans and trying to figure out what happened.  Finally I just had to wait on it to get ready for company coming to my house.  Luckily my house is super easy to clean and it only took an hour to get everything back into shape and even the bathrooms sanitized.  (Boys can quickly unsanitize a bathroom.  Especially when five live in the house).

My friend and I wanted to make something super yummy so I made a Better Homes and Gardens meatloaf and she tried out a new recipe for making delicious mash potatoes.  Then I cooked some chopped onions in butter and added some green beens.  We made a ton of food.  About 6lbs of beef !  Wowee!  Don't be fooled by the picture.  It's taste so much better than I can take a picture of.  Alsooo, I ate way more than that.  Tee hee....  My husband woke up the next day and didn't want breakfast.  He wanted leftovers.  

I think my biggest struggle with patience is at night time when I'm super tired.  I LIKE to read books to my kids but often by the time I clean up the kitchen from dinner, get everyone's teeth brushed and ready for bed, I just want to collapse in my own.  Sometimes I just fight that feeling and read to them and other times I just say I can't.  Mommy needs some quiet time and I need it bad.  Just a half hour alone, even better an hour, makes me feel back together again and rested.  I feel so guilty though.  

I have to say that I give them my full attention all day long, even outside of homeschooling.  However, I feel guilty for just wanting that last hour of the day before I fall asleep to have it in quiet.  Maybe I just need to start laying them down earlier.  I think if I had them in school all day I would force myself to always have that time with them.  I checked on them 15 minutes later after I laid them down and was happy to see they were all quietly reading books.  After I knew they were settled I did scans on the computer that lasted all night long so it can be working again. Thank goodness!