Celebrating Ashley's 5th Birthday Party with Just Us Girls

We had to celebrate Ashley's birthday late but for this birthday it was just my mom, dad, Ivy, Ashley, and I.  My dad just met us for dinner and then us girls headed over to Chuck E Cheese.  

My dad is so good at winning these things and he got one of the first try.  Sheesh!  Isn't it funny though how the people tuck everything in so tight?  We were lucky to get that one because after that he couldn't get a second one.  I mean, nothing budged.  I seriously need to own one of those machines.

It is really, really nice to spend time with my parents.  I always wonder what life is gonna be like when all my kids grow up and I'm still here without them.  Are they gonna move far away?  Are they gonna want to bring their children here?  Charles and I have already planned out making one of the rooms a guest room and another one a nursery....just in case anyone will bring the kids by.  I know that's really thinking ahead but I love family around me so much.  It was even a little bit hard going to Chuck E. Cheese without the rest of my family.  We still had fun but I can't help feeling like that.  I think the hard part about being a grandparent would be knowing that you aren't the decision maker on raising the kids anymore.  Your job is done and however your kids decide to raise their kids, that's their choice.  

Have you ever been to Chuck E Cheese during the school year on a week night?  It's so empty AND wonderful!!!  We had the whole place to ourselves.  Usually the place with all it's noise can get really crazy but it was much more enjoyable with not having the over crowding.

Chuckie completely caught me off guard.  I turned around, saw him, and almost fell over.  Sheesh.  Ha ha.

I think the girls cared more about winning tokens then anything.  Ashley was excited about her winnings!  She still carries them around everywhere.  She's so polite though so when we got home and the kids wanted to try out her things she said yes.  I told her to be careful because they break easy.  She shares everything.  Her toys, candy...  The wonderful thing about having several kids, they learn to share so much easier. :)

Happy birthday my sweet princess.  My 5th child turned 5.  You have been so easy to raise thus far and you always have such a sweet spirit.  You even skipped the terrible twos.... I need more of you.  Heh heh.

After Chuck E Cheese we headed to McDonalds so we could have coffee with the cake.  Boy, my mom is a night owl and we only left at 11pm because they were closing.  LOL.  I got my night owlness from my mom.  

So you know how I'm on a diet?  Seriously, I love my diet.  I basically eat only meat and vegetables.  I allow myself only 25 carbs a day MAX.  That's usually just from my milk and coffee creamer.  I ate two tiny bites of my cake.  Heh heh..... so proud.  Seriously though, we went to Denny's, Chuck E Cheese, then McDonalds and I still stayed within my diet.  I'm so proud.  Pat on the back, pat on the back.    :D

Little Ballerina Girls and Chicken Soup for the Soul

Ivy and Ashley had pictures today for their upcoming recital.  So cute.  I had to wait in the mommy waiting area but I could hear Ashley shouting out "That's how you know!  That's how you know, he's in love!" from the movie Enchanted.  The ladies told me she was dancing and singing around the studio.  I guess she doesn't have stage fright.  Tee hee...

It can be fun sitting in the waiting area for two (Agggh!) long hours listening to the other moms.  I heard one mom say she goes to Starbucks every single morning for her drink.  I started adding it up in my head and it comes out to $210 a month!  Whoa!  Hey, if you got the bucks, you got the bucks.  LOL.  I think sometimes it's more than just the coffee because I love my Keurig at home.  Maybe it's the atmosphere that people would actually drive there every day just for a cup of joe.  Hmmm.... I don't know.  Haven't figured it out because it just tastes like burnt beans to me.

While I waited I also mentioned the frustration of my dieting.  I told them I lost 10lbs like nothing when I started but then it just stopped.  I guess I'm gonna have to hit the gym again and I seriously don't have the time.  I will have to MAKE the time.  Argh...  A lady mentioned that she does the Insanity workout and she lost 20lbs really fast.  It's a video she buys to do in her home.  I asked her if she ever tried to do aerobics in her house with kids everywhere trying to do it with you.  It's cute till you fling your hand and knock another kid across the room.  I always had to wait till they were sleeping.  She mentioned that on her diet you can eat whatever you want and just not go over 1,500 calories.  I told her I can't eat the carbs because it just makes me hungry again real fast.  I basically eat only meat and vegetables.  Here is one of my favorite meals.  Just chicken soup without the noodles.  So it's just chicken, keep the broth and add NO extra fake chicken flavoring.  That's basically just the broth from the chicken there.  I also added the celery and spinach leaves.  Sooooooo good and the bone broth is so good for you.

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

Diaper Rashes & Dinosaur Food

Wow, I have gone through a horrible battle with my baby regarding diaper rashes. I've only talked a little about it but it had gotten so bad that I was getting up every hour of the night to change her diapers. When I was nursing her I never had that issue.  Unfortunately, because I switched her to formula and also changed her brand of diapers at the same time, I didn't know the cause.  I wish I could have kept nursing but it just wasn't possible since I ran out of milk.  I tried eating more, which is why I gained weight.  I tried drinking tons of water and even took Fenugreek pills that lots of moms were telling me about.  Nothing worked and I hesitantly did what I always end up having to do.  I had to switch Juliet to formula.  Well, her bottom started to get really pink and it gradually got worse and worse.  Eventually I had to take her to the doctor and get a prescription.  When that didn't work I tried all the different brands of diapers, including switching to cloth,  then tried different formulas.  I've spent so much money buying one here and there, using it only one time and then having to find another.  Then I tried all the sensitive ones.  By now her bottom was bleeding and she was pooping almost every 15-20 minutes.  After being up with her all night to keep changing her after every poop, I had enough and was calling the doctor again.  That's just not right.  The nurse was perplexed since they originally said it couldn't have a link to the formula.  They called a meeting and then called me back to tell me to switch her to soy.  By now I've spent a lot of money on finding different brands of diapers, cloth diapers, switching formulas without even using most of it.  I had recently discovered a hidden shop inside of a church that is majorly discounted so I paid a visit and found 3 cans of soy formula and spent a total of $8.  That's my kind of deal!  Well, she no longer has a rash.  She's happy and mommy is happy having some sleep at night.  :)

Did I tell you I switched my family over to the Paleo diet?  Basically we are meat and vegetable eaters now.  I do have some compassion about it and haven't forcefully taken away all pastas.  My husband and kids are lovers of it.  However, I have GREATLY reduced it.  Last night I made homemade chicken noodle soup and it had mostly the meat and vegetables in it.  I personally didn't eat any noodles at all but I added a tiny bit for the ones that insist they have to have it.  I asked them for a compromise on it and told them I'd at least like to get them special noodles that are high in protein.  I hope to eventually win them all over.  :D  I feel fantastic and I don't have sugar crashes in the day from so many carbs. I will be making visits to meat markets and to the farmers markets on the weekends.  Should be fun.  ;D  Because of this new way of eating my couponing is definitely being cut in half.  Most of all coupons are about bad foods so I won't be couponing for food anymore, only for toiletries and stuff.

Yeah, I know.  I make everything hard in my life rather than taking the easy route.  Lots of kids, cloth diapers, chickens for fresh eggs, couponing for deals, healthy food planning and homemade meals every day.  It'd be so much easier to just go pick up a pizza.  But... it's a good life.  :)