It's the most wonderful time...

Guess what time it is?

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL TIME

YIPPEE!!!!

My kids came in the door singing tonight. I could have dropped dead and been the happiest mom in the world. They had so much energy and enthusiasm about the WORD OF GOD. What else can you ask for?

I roped my Pastor into helping. His wife is 38 weeks prego and dilated to three centimeters. I told Pastor to tell her to cross her legs until Thursday. He didn't laugh. I also told her I was dilated to a three with one of my babies for two weeks. He wasn't impressed by that either.

I am so thankful for my friends and village people who have set aside their evenings this week. You are some of the most amazing and wonderful creatures. My kids thank you, I thank you and the Lord is using you to do some awesome things this week.

A messy movie

Activate the prayer chain

Prayers appreciated for Trisha and her children...a classmate and friend of one of my dearest college girlfriends.

Driver dies after crash in USAC race in Iowa

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The beauty of summer...

It's 1:26 here and all is quiet on the home front.

I put the little ones down shortly after a lazy lunch of frozen pizza, corn, apple slices and Kool-aid. The kids spent all morning outside while I hung sheets and uniforms out to dry. After lunch I recruited the big ones to help me bathe the dog and water the garden and trees. I lost one after she tripped on a twig and came in for a band aid. Then a bit later the other one wandered away. After the dog was brushed I spent some time watering and came into find everyone sound asleep. One big kid on the floor of the babies room and the other sprawled out in the easy chair.

Isn't summer beautiful?

Hope your having a lazy summer day wherever you are.

Scratching the itch.

Hi, pretty Baby!

Last night I had heartburn. Heartburn makes me think of pregnancy.
A couple of nights ago Ad fell asleep in daddy's arms. He said, "I wonder how many more times this is gonna happen? Not too many more, I fear."
Pastor's wife is 37 weeks pregnant. She looks beautiful. She is all a glow.
Nora is getting up on all fours. She is so close to crawling, we can all taste it.
There is something amazing about babies. They are so miraculous. The pregnancy itself is something so wonderfully awesome. It's hard to put into words (and the excuse to wear elastic waistband pants is pretty cool, too).
Then there is the birth and those first 6 months of joyful learning and no sleep.
I think Ry and I are realizing this is the last of babies.
It is sort of a hard pill to swallow.

It's pretty quiet here tonight.

The kids decided to give us all nicknames the other night while we were eating supper.
Lee, Lil' G, Ad, and Lou Lou are what they came up with. I thought it was cute.

My house is quiet because;

Lee left for an overnight birthday camp out. She was EXCITED. I am nervous. Her first official friend sleepover. She really doesn't need me anymore. Sniff sniff.

Gordo and Lil' G went to the ballgame. They barely had enough bodies for a game. Hopefully Lil' G doesn't have to go in. I think we are in for rough season. I am praying that no one else gets hurt. I got a sneak peek at the new uniforms and they look 'cool'. No more polyester jerseys. That thick, rough, scratchy, material has been replaced by a cool thin mesh that all the guys will surely appreciate on those hot summer nights.

Ad and Lou Lou were really tired. They stayed up for a quick after work visit with Mema and then both fell fast asleep.

The quiet is really loud. I had to turn the television on for background noise.

What's a mom to do?

Guess I should plan for VBS, or finish my three started books or do laundry or clean or just blog about what I should be doing and not really do any of it...

Day before Memorial Day Photos

Addi uses the stilts.
Hannah Hosanna wants to bathe in the water.One little, two little, TWELVE little grandkids eat around the picnic table. Pork loin, chicken, potatoes, carrots, onions, asparagus, strawberries and watermelon filled the plates and bellies :)
Pat and Joel go for a ride. Can you please go faster, daddy?

Filling up the squirt thingys with water from Grandma's bird bath.

They had to find something manly to do. I made them pose for this picture, they were pooped.

Addison checks out Grandma's homemade greenhouse while chowing on the melon.

Everybody mulches!

We didn't really have any plans for this holiday weekend. At the last minute my sister decided to pack up her dog and her four kiddos and make the trip south to see us. We spent Saturday morning garage saleing in the rain, what fun:) We even stopped at Old Navy for their one day one dollar flip flop sale!

Sunday we went to church together and then spent the day gardening and playing at Grandma's.It was a very impromptu reunion. We mulched the garden, checked out Grandma's homemade greenhouse, watched Ryan and Ben chop some wood, rode the four-wheeler, played with squirt guns, ate, tried out the pogo sticks and stilts and lost the dog for a full 24 hours. My lovely husband helped start a fire and we ended the evening with about two dozen smores'. YUMMO!

This morning we all went to the Memorial Day service at the school and then I went off to triple coupon day at Sunshine. We took the kids to Pizza Ranch and now everyone is full and sleepy. I feel a family nap day coming on...

Hope your long weekend was as sweet as ours!

*below you will see that Uncle Ben had to try out those stilts, too!

Sharing

Hey,

Check out my new side bar box with deals and steals. I read SEVERAL deal blogs and websites and every time I find a cool deal I add it to the box. So click on the link if you want to find out more information!

Good luck and happy bargain shopping!

More Maleah

The sun is shining. It's the last day of school. Maleah kicked butt at field day, AND I have the videos to show daddy! Can life get much better than this?

Football toss, one for three. This one went right through the tire.

Nora enjoys the sunshine.
Maleah doing the tires, she gets her supreme athletic ability from me, uh-huh, right.
Taking a break to hold her sister.

She pulled out a first in the potato drop race, the obstacle course, the potato sack race and she won her heat and then tied for first (with her bff) in the finals in the 50 meter dash. I can't wait for dad to wake up and see her cross the finish line again and again. Guess we'll have to work on frisbee toss, football toss, softball throwing and soccer kicks for next year.

Momma bear and fuzzy hair

Maleah's first grade class had their play on Friday. It was a huge success. Maleah played the part of momma bear.

I have been experimenting with a few hair ideas for her since her hair is getting long and is all one length. We are trying to make it long enough to cut some off for locks of love. We have the urge to chop it, but as long as I can do something to it she seems to be satisfied.

Last night after her bath, I put rag curls in. Basically, I cut rags from an old sheet and wrapped one inch sections of her hair in it. She slept on it, soundly. This morning we took them out and WOWEE! Fuzzy, wuzzy hair. I think I may do a few things differently next time like try to be more uniform with my sections and take smaller section on the top part, but mostly she was really pleased with the result. I was thankful for an easy 'do this morning, too. Thanks to Jenn for the cool idea.

Sink Bath

Naked Baby Alert!

The gingerbread man, aka the Gavinator, is a preschool graduate!

Gavin poses with his preschool teacher! Preschool is in the past.

Good luck trying to hear Gavin's lines over Addison's chatter...he played the gingerbread man. They also said the 50 states but my camera died in the middle of it:(. This fall will be the first year in four years that I don't have a preschooler. It will be different.

Next time she asks, I'll know what to say.

Thank you CLM for remembering me!

Happiness, defined by a 7.5 year old.

Heard in our house after school today...

"MOM, this is the GREATEST DAY OF MY LIFE!"

"It is?" shock and surprise from yours truly, barely hidden in my sarcastic remark.

"Yes, I got to play Webkinz AND dad is MOWING!"

I don't try to understand it. I just know it's the truth. You would, too, if you saw her face and heard her say those exact words.

Oh, to be so happy...

I wonder why there isn't one?

So after I opened my card and gift from the kids this morning, my son said to me,

"Mom, when is kids day? I know what I want."

Free Glitter Graphics, Christian Glitter Graphics

Why my baby looks like a South Dakotan touring Hawaii.

In this photo Addi is sporting a "someone I love went to Hawaii and all I got was this t-shirt" t-shirt, some handmedown baha shorts, her favorite SDSU jackrabbit socks, pink maryjane crocs and a tyedye sun hat (on a cloudy day).

Before you wonder why I would let my child out in public like this (although, truth be told we are not leaving our yard today) let me explain myself.

I know right from wrong. I usually know what is the correct thing to do in most situations. Whether I choose to do the right thing is another story.

At about 14 months I thought about taking Addi off the bottle. I started making excuse after excuse about her needed the bottle. It's too hard for her to see Nora's bottle and not feel excluded. She needs the soothing nipple still. She is teething. On and on and on...

I knew that I would regret having to take two bottle to ball games all summer. It would be difficult to keep cow's milk cold and it would be just plain embarrassing to have an 18 month old toting the baba around by her teeth.

It was that last part that I finally sucummed to. I took her to the game on Tuesday night where the public kept me accountable. It was embarrassing. It was wrong. Worst of all, it was mostly hurting my baby and her dental health, not to mention my ego.

Wednesday morning I woke up and made her throw her bottles in the garbage. She screamed, she yelled, she threw a fit. She refused milk in ANY cup. She didn't nap. She cried herself to sleep that night.

The next morning she got up, rubbed her eyes, looked up to the counter where Nora's bottles sat and said, "uh?". I said, "all gone". She looked a little forlorn. I almost gave in to her little lost face. Then she sort of shrugged her shoulders and walked away. That was it. Done deal.

She has small fits of restlessness, especially at nap or night time, when I think she really just wants to be soothed. Right now I using fresh fruit or a toothing chewy to soothe her at those moments. She is still getting teeth faster than grass grows, I think she must have a hundred or so.

Today, she brought me her favorite socks and her favorite hat and her shoes and wanted to get dressed. I gave in. I dressed her like a tourist.

She was happy.

I didn't have to hear her throw fit while I forced a matching outfit on her.

Everybody wins.

Pop Fly!

Forgive me, Lord, for not putting YOU in everything I do.

Got this in an email today. It's a good reminder for me.

A man was being tailgated by a stressed-out woman on a busy boulevard. Suddenly, the light turned yellow just in front of him. He did the right thing, stopping at the crosswalk, even though he could have beaten the red light by accelerating through the intersection.. The tailgating woman was furious and honked her horn, screaming in frustration, dropping her cell phone and makeup. As she was still in mid-rant, she heard a tap on her window and looked up into the face of a very serious police officer. The officer ordered her to exit her car with her hands up. He took her to the police station where she was searched, fingerprinted, photographed, and placed in a holding cell. After a couple of hours, a policeman approached the cell and opened the door. She was escorted back to the booking desk where the arresting officer was waiting with her personal effects. He said, 'I'm very sorry for this mistake. You see, I pulled up behind your car while you were blowing your horn, flipping off the guy in front of you, and cussing a blue streak at him. I noticed the "What Would Jesus Do" bumper sticker, the "Choose Life" license plate holder, the "Follow Me to Sunday-School" bumper sticker, and the chrome-plated Christian fish emblem on the trunk. Naturally...I assumed you had stolen the car.'

gel seat and no more treats

I have loosened the shoe laces, worn a larger size and just plain walked through the pain and I think the foot is getting better. My ankle is still sore, but I think that is a joint thing since my knees, hips, wrists and elbows are all singing the same song.

I have graduated to the bike. THE BIKE, people. The bike that my hubby and I bought with leftover wedding money. We got a matching pair. Mine has since hung in the garage for 10 years collecting dust and bird poo.

Thanks to the generosity of good friend, I dusted the old blue girl off and got her running. I took her for a test ride and the first gear switch sent my chain a' flying so I had to have the hubby fix that. Then I hooked up the bike trailer (generous donation) and took off, only to find that the seat was so low my legs could not extend and I felt like I was riding my sons 12 inch dirt bike. I stopped at my brothers place and had him extend my seat for me. Then it was smooth sailing. Well, sailing at least. I can't go uphill even a tiny bit. A small incline makes me huff and puff and I am pretty sure it would happen even without those two 25+ pound babies in the trailer.

Everything was going along fine until I realized that my bum was numb. What do they make those bike seats out of, iron? OUCH! I had to get off to push us home. As I was walking along explaining to the girls that riding a bike hurt as much as child birth my neighbor hollered out to me. Guess what? She had one of those gel seats and so graciously offered it up to my aching pelvis (more generosity). Man, I love this little neck of the woods. Ask and you shall receive, knock and it will be answered. Complain on the street and your neighbor will succumb and give you her gel seat.

So, after I put the kids to bed I decided to celebrate my new found energy and will for exercising. I thought since I had both walked and rode the bike I deserved a cookie. I chomped down hard on that chocolate chunk goodness and almost bit through my tongue. What's the old saying? No pain, no gain.

I then and there gave up any and all chewing, at least until my tongue heals.

Ebates and YouData

I am a sucker. I pretty much sign up for anything that says free. I have made a few mistakes over the years. It took me awhile to figure out that I should have an email just for sign ups because some bring a lot of spam to my inbox.

But, sometimes, things work out and they are no trouble at all AND it's like getting paid to shop.

Maybe you haven't heard of these two yet. I hope you sign up for them and use them. I get checks in the mail once a month or more frequently. Research them more if you want so you can see for yourself whether it's worth signing up. But if you do sign up, please use my link, 'cuz that's a little extra for me, too. Both of these I have used for sometime now and I know they work. I couldn't live with myself if I was giving my friends and family a bunch of scam.

Ebates is a shopping site that gives you up to 26% Cash Back every time you shop online. You can shop at over 1000 stores including Barnes & Noble.com, Gap, Target, Buy.com and Expedia. Plus you get additional savings with exclusive coupons, free shipping offers, and limited-time sales! I buy my Avon from this site and they credit my account every time I buy face wash and bubble bath! Sign up with Ebates today and we'll each get a $5 bonus when you make your first purchase!

Click here to sign up for Ebates: Ebates

The next company I would like to tell you about is YouData (youdata.com). They are trying to convince consumers like us that we should be the ones controlling our own data and selling our own attention, not third parties like broadcasters, newspapers, and spammers. By creating a MeFile at YouData.com, I now control what ads I see and when I see them. Best part - I am selling my attention directly to interested advertisers, for real money. That's right, I get paid for giving them my attention. I can use the funds to buy music and video online, donate to charities, give to my favorite blogs and websites, or keep the change myself and do whatever I want with it. It's real. They pay. You should check it out.

The first time I used YouData I made like five or six dollars. They just send it to my PayPal account. I click on the ads every other day or so and then I get paid. It's that easy. This week I forgot to do it often so I only made 60 cents. But hey, it's 60 cents I didn't have before. They pay me on Friday afternoon, like clockwork.

Click this link to sign up. My MeFile ID in the "Referral Code" will tell them I sent you. YouData


Happy clicking:)

Too good not to share...

I had to share a couple of deals. These are too good to pass up.

Walgreens is giving away a FREE 8x10 Photo Enlargement on Wednesday, May 6th. All you'll need to do is click here and upload your photo. Then just type in coupon code MOTHER when checking out. If you are able to pick it up yourself then just choose in-store pick up to make this photo enlargement completely FREE!

Do you coupon? My sister does, big and bad. The fever has spread to me just a little bit. I only buy items that I need and will use. I use diapers and this week K-mart is doubling coupons up to $2. That means if you have a $2 coupon they will double it to $4! Wahoo! I have several $1 and $2 coupons for diapers and wipes and some hair products that I will be using this week. It starts tomorrow and only lasts until Saturday, so get clipping! The Sioux Falls stores limit your coupons to 25 so don't get too happy! Or if you are really in the mood to get free products or $4 off diapers you can visit both stores in Sioux Falls and use 25 coupons per store. Thanks to my sister Jo and Hip2save.com for this helpful information! If you are not from Sioux Falls or the surrounding areas, check your weekly circular to see if your K-mart is doubling coupons or go to Kmart.com

and type in your zipcode to find the circular for your neck of the woods.
I am getting my huggies for $6 a pack and free shampoo and body wash with my coupons!

Happy Shopping!

Yank!

When I was growing up my parents were, um, open. They often walked through the house naked or mostly naked. It wasn't something that was ugly or dirty. It just was. We had a hot tub in the porch. My whole family would dress in the living room although not all at the same time. Partly because the laundry room was in the basement and the bedrooms were upstairs. The main floor was the warmest and was where the bathroom was located for showering. We used the bathroom with the door open. We bathed my brothers in the sink. It's just the way it was. In fact, both my brothers were born in my living room. I watched the whole thing. I have the photos to prove it.

As I got older, I noticed that other people were not as open. Other moms did not squat in the middle of the living room (this time fully clothed) to show you how to properly insert a tampax. Other mom's didn't ask you what color your poop was. Mom was not above talking about anything. She explained everything and even borrowed a book from the library to further educate us about things.

I think I use a bit more restraint when it comes to my own family.I don't want to be all the way on the other side and be hush hush and hoity toity, but Ryan and I agree a little privacy makes us more comfortable. We still use the restroom with the door open, but we don't walk around naked or anything. Maybe we would if we didn't live in town, just kidding. I guess I admire my parents for their ability to not be self-conscious about their bodies. The 70's were a really different time for young adults and awareness and acceptance of others.

This morning Gavin was getting dressed in the bathroom and Addison walked up to him and pulled on the only thing that she could get her hands on. She is a curious creature and, well, it is sort of an interesting part of a boy's anatomy. I was really proud of Gavin, he just said, "Don't Addi, that hurts!" I tried, I really did, to hold my laughter, but I barely made it out of the bathroom before I busted up. I told him that he best be getting dressed in his room from now on. She is still trying to figure this world out, you know? I am sure those of you with big brothers have a few stories of your own.

Remember

So, (and I am sure this will surprise you all) I was freaking out this morning adding Maleah's softball schedule to our calendar. I knew this was coming. You know, the 'which activity should I go to tonight' season of our lives. Thank goodness I have a good year or two before I am trying to go three ways at once (and I will not be dragging diapers or bottles with me by then, God willing). Anyway back to the freaking part. I really have started to do this less often, the spaz part. But, nonetheless, I was pretty much in way deep when my eyes sort of glanced to the top of my planner for the month of June. This is what it said.

STOP and CONSIDER God's wonders. JOB 37:14

(empahasis all mine:)

There it was like a giant exclamation point at the top of the page. Thank you, Lord for your gentle nudging reminders that it's not all about me. In fact, it's not even a tiny bit about me.

Glory and honour and in His presence. Strength and gladness are in His place.

1 Chronicles 16:27

Now, go about your day, your weekend, your life. Remember that you are a loved and forgiven child of God and He stops and considers you every moment of every day. Save a part of your insignificant day for Him, won't you?