I take requests

This is what I found in my kitchen this morning.

Pacing myself

As of late, our home is the kind of place where you have to keep your toast in your hand or someone else will eat it. I can't believe how fast-paced having four kids makes your life. I am constantly saying where did the morning/afternoon go?

Getting the big kids up for school is a challenge. They are still pretty sleepy from their summer hiatus. Gavin asks me everyday, "Do I have school today, too?" He isn't complaining, I think he is just trying to wrap his brain around the all or none of kindergarten.

This morning I closed my eyes a bit and didn't even leave my bed until 7:15 so I was a few minutes behind in getting them up. It's days like this that I am thankful for the chaos of everyday life, because to them it was just another morning as I fed them breakfast and did Maleah's hair at the same time. I changed dirty diapers and filled cups and tied shoes and shoved them out the door almost simultaneously.
We always stand the the picture window and wave to them and today I noticed the big kids arguing a bit over whether Gavin could ride his bike. I saw Maleah wrinkle her nose and point to the seat which was damp with overnight dew. Gavin shrugged his shoulders, threw off his jacket and wiped the seat clean with one huge swipe. He flipped his jacket back on and alley-ooped onto the bike. Maleah rolled her eyes and reluctantly walked behind him on the side walk. Moments later I thought to myself, a year ago I would have waddled out there and gotten in the middle of them, fussing and shushing and nagging them to get a towel from the house to wipe the seat down. It is sort of a revelation that they can handle it themselves and that the whole incident went even more smoothly without my presence.

It happens so fast, this growing up thing. I can't grasp it. I may need some sort of therapy. I guess that's what this blog is for. Still, my throat tightens and my eyes well up when I think about baby Nora walking and Addison talking and the big kids figuring things out all on their lonesome. *sigh*

Prayer requests today for my cousin Danielle's husband, James, who is undergoing an embolization on an aneurysm in his brain this morning...and for facebook, for without that marvelous invention I would not have known about James or his condition. Thank you Lord for giving us the knowledge to create many different forms of communication to share your Word and give each other the reminder of Your mercy. One of the prayers the family has had in the past day or so was that there would be a Christian in the OR with James and this morning,just before surgery, an old family friend and lover of the Lord was assigned to surgery for reasons that were unknown to her. We know this was God's answer to prayers. He is so GOOD!

A rant and a recipe.

I found the cumin. It was in the bag with the toothpaste that I tossed into the bathroom closet yesterday.

I am crabby today. The white chili bombed last night, I used tasteless chicken breasts and dry beans that soaked up all the flavor, turkey is much more savory, I think I will stick with using it.

I wasn't feeling well last night but with Kris's help, she did all the sewing, we pounded out the wall/hanging. All that hard work just to send it off and never see it again, I am beginning to doubt that this was a good idea at all.

Since I was in a funk, I decided to do my Bible Study homework this morning. While Addison piled blocks on my study guide I tried to downshift my brain into quiet time with me and God. Halfway through my husband came in and said, why don't you just read the Bible instead of someone else's idea of what it says. He has a good point there, you know? But I am a woman and I love hearing other people's stories. It's what turns me onto the Word most of the time. The way someone else describes how the verses made them feel or what the meaning of the original text was. I got so grumpy at him that I shut the book up, right then and there and told him what I thought. I regretted it as soon as I said it. It doesn't really matter what I said. Obviously what I was reading was not sinking in. I am terrible at the real life applications of the Word. WOW, that is amazing and that make a whole lotta sense is what my brain thinks when I am reading it and then I look out into my living room and poof all is lost. I am a poor miserable sinner who knows God and knows how to please him but chooses not to. Not only not to but to do the exact opposite of what he yearns us to do. I am pathetic.

So, here is the crappy recipe. It usually is a yummy treat, but last night it tasted awful. I don't know what I did wrong, but I failed, yet again. To be fair, when I followed the recipe in the past with turkey it has resulted in wonderful soup.

White Turkey Chili

1 tablespoon oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 rib of celery finely chopped
1 can of chicken broth (I always use bouillon cubes and water)
2 cups cooked turkey (Jennie O make a wonderful breast of turkey, I don't recommend chicken unless you season it as you cook it or maybe use leftover roasted chicken)
1 can great northern beans. I soaked dry ones. It made a lot, too much for the chili.
1 can white corn, undrained (or for us simple folk, regular corn)
1 small can green chilies
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/4 tsp. hot pepper sauce, if desired :)
Garnish with;
2 oz. shredded Monterey jack cheese
1 tablespoon fresh parsley

Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat until hot. Add onion and celery; cook and stir 2-3 minutes until veggies are tender. Stir in remaining ingredients except cheese and parsley; blend well. Cover and cook 10-20 minutes or until heated through. To serve, ladle chili into bowls; sprinkle with cheese and parsley, makes 6 1 cup servings, 230 calories per cup.

5-finger fillet with a 15 month old

Just guess which drawer Addi can open and take things out of now?

She came into the living room with a steak knife yesterday and started stabbing the end table.

I don't know if I am gonna make it through this one.

Mr. Mom (and oh my it's been awhile since I've posted)

Alas, my friends. The moon has turned ago many too times, Ay, I have neglected to post. Parting has been no sweet sorrow. The calling of myself and my employment has left my plate too heavily burdened to accomplish much ado about anything else.

The sophomores are studying William Shakespeare. Did you know that there are only 5 known authentic signatures of the man and each is worth 5 million dollars? That's something to put on your thrift list. I would research it first, though, because I would never have guessed his signature read his name it looks more like chicken scratch. Believe or not I learned this from my husband who is currently reading the kids encyclopedia.

Last week at a Horizons committee meeting I told the school superintendent that I would like to be put back on the sub list. I've been at the school three days this week. Guess the education market is pretty solid.

My husband and I had the discussion about me subbing back in August when he had to make a decision to take the weekend job or not. We determined, together, that is would be good for both of us. I would 'get out' per say and we wouldn't need childcare for the day as he would be home. I am not sure he realized what he was getting himself into. Luckily the Lord planned for us to be weaned into it.

The first day I was scheduled to sub, the weather got nasty real fast and I only had to be away for an hour. The second day was pretty tough on all of us. When I was able to find a free moment to come home and feed her she was in her daddy's arms screaming while Addison was taking the aluminum cans out of the recycle bin and playing kick the can in the kitchen. Dad had his hands full. We had planned to attend a basketball game that evening but by 730 pm we were all snoozing on the couches and chairs in the living room.

Yesterday went much better. I was able to come home and pump during a prep period. When I arrived home the living room and kitchen were neat and tidy, the dishes were done and the girls were both sleeping soundly. Dad (aka Mr. Mom) was just sitting down to a hot egg sandwich and a steaming cup of java.

I have to be honest and tell ya, at that moment I was more in love with him than I have ever been before. I sat at the table and had an adult conversation with him about something and it was perhaps the most enjoyable moment of our entire married lives as of yet. What kind of man can do all the things a man usually does (ie outside chores and mr fixit) and can still maintain a house? I am the happiest girl in the world. So what if the poor bloke used laundry detergent in the softener dispenser and didn't know whose sock was whose. Oh, and he learned the hard way that diapers go on immediately after the bath. Thank goodness for solid toddler poopies! This morning Gavin came out of the bathroom and said, matter of factly, to his father, "Dad, this bathroom needs to be cleaned, too." You can add bathroom cleaning to his list of mastered household duties. I am telling you he must be ill, and I hope it's chronic and contagious.

School was late this morning, it is currently something like 25 degrees below zero. During the breakfast routine dad starting speaking in another language. I think his exact words were, "Do we have any other kind of cleaner? That bleach is really hard on my hands." I almost choked on my eggs.

The kids had time to play this morning together before the day had drained their politeness and made them baby lions and tigers. Maleah set up her 'throne' in the hallway and gave specific instructions that in her absence (school) Addison would be the replacement and we had to obey her every command.

So, it's gonna be a pretty normal day around here I think.

Stay warm!

PGNT4EVR

On our road trip this weekend we saw a lot of personalized license plates. I decided what mine would say if I made one up today. Hence the title.

We had a really great time visiting with family. The kids rode the 4-wheelers, got in the hot tub, and my dd went to the American Idol concert. She was really exhausted when they got home. She had just enough energy before she fell asleep to tell me, "Mom, you would have been sad...the lines at the bathrooms were really long." Six going on thirty, she is.

The baby is mobile. She is moving and grooving. We are in trouble. We have yet to install the baby gate or lower the crib mattress. The to do list is getting almost too long to tackle. I have had a bit of energy to complete some mending and small projects that I wanted to do. I made a baby doll blanket and pillow for dd and I have a tiny bit more of fleece I want to make a hat and mittens for #3. I thought perhaps I was nesting, but today I am thoroughly exhausted and have no energy to do anything.

Today we are all back at the grindstone. Dad is at work. Dd is at school. I am back in the car dropping off and picking up kids from daycare and preschool while I sub. Dh fixed the broken dryer last night so at least I can get caught up on some laundry this afternoon. I am too fat to hang stuff on the line any more.

The weather is a crisp, cool change from the 90 degree stuff we experienced this weekend. I am NOT complaining. I love this stuff. I put potatoes and ham in the crock pot for supper.

I have an ice pack on my butt for my sciatica and fingernail polish on my ankles from all the !@#$ bug bites I got this weekend, but it could be worse. I could have strep throat, too.

I'm too hungry...

I could post about my awful week. For example how between my hubby and I we made over 10 trips to the city and filled all three vehicles with gas at least once, OR, how half of those trips were for doctor appointments ranging from acute care, to general practitioner, to oncologist and finally the OBGYN. I could tell you about the 1 and one-half days missed subbing because of strep throat and misdiagnosis for my ds. I could tell you about the kind gentlemen who got out of his car at the stoplight to tell me my car was 'smoking something awful' on my way to the OB. I could tell you about my husband driving the sick kids in to fix my broken down car in the medical building 3 parking lot. I could tell you about me almost missing another half day of work because my car was broken down, but instead I left one sick child with my hubby and took the other sleeping one and tried to teach while making frequent visits to the sick one, passed out from pure exhaustion in the car. I could tell you how excited I am about this weekend because; A) we are leaving for the cities B) I got permission to spend time in the hot tub from the OB C) my daughter may be able to see the American Idol Concert in person and D) I really need a weekend without doctors offices, computers, or my broken dryer. But I won't. Because I haven't eaten yet today and it's 3:18. So, here's my favorite alfredo recipe. I am taking some breadsticks out of the freezer and pigging out tonight. I have a bag of frozen shrimp that I was saving for a rainy day calling my name, no matter how sunny it is...

Alfredo (without the fuss)

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons flour

1 cup milk, half-n-half, or cream (to your liking, Ijust use plain ol' milk)

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

Directions:
Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Stir in flour and heat until bubbly. Slowly stir in cream, Parmesan, and seasoning. Heat over medium high heat, stirring constantly for 5-7 minutes or until thick. Serve over pasta.

The one Hundred and Fifty (+) Dollar Haircut.

Okay, the truth will set you free so here goes.

I don't get my haircut but once or twice or maybe three times a year. Now, there was a time, before kids, while I was working full time that I did go every six weeks like clockwork. It just doesn't happen anymore. Partly because I can't find the time, partly because I don't have the money, partly because I only know one person who can tame the mane. She thins the heck out of my horse hair. It feels weird and selfish to complain, again, about something that only a couple of years ago I was losing faster than I could say 'chemo'. My husband (who I think is extremely lucky that I don't still require 6 week haircuts and 4 week manicure's)is usually floored that I pay(his cousin, no less) $30 for a haircut and eyebrow wax. Anyway, today was the day. I came home from subbing, parked the 'new'(to us) Suburban in the driveway and hopped in the little commuter car off to my appointment. It was quick; I was maybe gone an hour and a half, tops. But when I came home I couldn't believe my eyes. I parked in the driveway next to a vehicle that was missing a backseat window. Now, those of you who know where we live know our street and the problems we have had with the highway. We have had people try to make the corner on icy winter roads and drive into our garage. We have had our dog ran over, our car ran into by a speeding motorist and now this. I peeked in, past the shattered glass shards to see a hunk of concrete smirking back at me from the comfortable leather seat. My heart sank and my stomach churned. It was devastating. No note. No message on the machine. It was just a freakish accident that I was going to have to buck up and pay for. OUCH. A quick trip to the local and marvelous body shop and $125 later we have an appointment to replace the broken shards with an actual window. Sigh. Guess it will be a year or two before I get permission for another hair cut. This is one time it probably would have been cheaper to drive the gas hog. Self portraits follow, view at your own risk.

a teensy weensy bit of KARMA

Guess what happens when you don't eat your mommy's delicious healthy meals?

A huge rain/wind storm comes out of the blue and almost blows your tents away...

he. he. he.

They kept asking me, "Why didn't you tell us it was going to storm, mom?"

I guess mommies also predict the weather now.

I am refusing to cook supper...

That is it!

I try and try to make healthy foods for my kids and recently they have begun refusing anything that is remotely healthy.

It's driving me bananas.

Last night I made taco soup (little ground beef and onion, peppers, yellow squash, tomatoes, taco seasoning and kidney beans served with shredded cheese and taco chips). THEY REFUSED TO EAT IT. The baby had two 1/4 cup helpings. I took away dessert.

Today I made veggie abc soup from a can and toasted ham and cheese sammies with broccoli and cauliflower and carrot dippers in ranch and fresh peaches. The baby ate her weight in food. Again, refusal from the almost 5 and 7 year old. I am going out of my mind. I took away snacks. Nothing but water to drink is allowed until supper, which I am refusing to cook because I am stomping mad that I have thrown away enough food in the last 12 hours to feed a small underprivileged country...

We'll probably have cereal and they will each eat three damn bowls full. At least milk is healthy, huh?

Grrrr.

Things to do...

so far this morning I have;

called to replace the glass windshield in two vehicles and repair the third

got show and tell ready for the kindergartener

committed to a substitute job

organized the game closet

bathed a 5 month old

made breakfast for the crew

paid some bills online

ordered some things online

ordered new insurance cards

talked to my mother on the phone

AND it's barely 9 am.

Memories

Trying to keep up with the active attention span of a four year old boy while remembering I have more than a year left with him before kindergarten...exhausting.

Avoiding spit-up, changing diapers and keeping up with feeding a four month old while trying to also do laundry, make meals and tidy up...demanding.

Watching the four year old play 'I am gonna get you' with the four month old as she laughs hysterically...cherished.

It's fun to live in a 1979 ranch style home because...

When you are bored, you can climb the walls... LITERALLY!

Clean enough...

It's a good week when I get a shower in every other day. Seriously. I could probably braid my leg hair. If I would have to put myself in a category, I would say I was a morning person. Nothing gets done after 8:30 pm in my house. NOTHING. This morning I cleared the supper dishes off the table exactly 2 minutes before I served a nutritious meal of expired Fruit Loops. Morning person or not, I savor those last few minutes of shut eye before I get up for the day. Perhaps it has to do with getting up every two hours to change a diaper and get a bottle. It would probably make most sense to get in the shower daily after she takes her last feeding around 5 am. But I can't. I won't. My feather pillow beckons me...

So today is the every other day day. It is also clean the baby with more than a washcloth day because I tried cereal mid-morning thinking perhaps I could get her to sleep longer than a couple hours and all it did was make her spit up this clear spit with flakes in it, all morning. She soaked through two bibs and onto her (my first Christmas) outfit. She was a smelly Nelly. So, after I took my son to preschool I took her into the bathroom and put her in her bouncy and hopped into the shower.

I shampooed, scrubbed my face and conditioned. Then I grabbed her and sudsed her up. She LOVES showers, baths=not so much. The cereal must have made her thirsty or at least more aware of the purpose of her mouth and tongue because every time the water came near her face she began to lap it up like a puppy. Then when I propped her on my shoulder, she quickly found that little dip near my collar bone and started slurping. It tickled me and I laughed out loud. She laughed back at me which made me laugh even harder. I was glad daddy was sleeping because I am sure if he would have heard us he would have proclaimed me a mad woman. I tried to rinse off all the slobber she got on me and herself but I can't guarantee that the shower did much more than just get rid of the milk spit up smell, at least temporarily. It'll have to do for another day and a half...

Tried and True Tested reasons that the Third Time is NOT the charm.

1. Cooking lessons with your preschooler consist of; open box/can, pour in pan, stir, hurry, move please, get out of the way, just let me do it.
   
2. Table manners learned by observation include; pray while you are chewing, speak while are chewing, drink while you are chewing, hold crying baby while you are chewing, the faster you eat the sooner you can walk around the room with the crying baby so stuff as much food as you can into your mouth at one time.
3. Holding the baby (all the time) is much easier than; listening to her cry, waiting for her to calm herself down, fearing for her life when she is on the floor while your four year old is playing hockey in the living room, thinking about her not being a baby anymore.
4. The baby is almost three months old and she had not had tummy time yet. See number 3.
5. Your children think you are putting the baby in time out when you are using the timer to let the baby cry for 15 minutes at a time because your preschooler says over and over, "when you stop crying mommy will START the timer".
6. Doing the dishes is an all day (and all night) project. The kids think 'normal' is always having a sink full of (cold) soapy water and dirty dishes.
   
7. There are no clean bottles at 8 am. See number 6.
8. It is obvious if there are clean bottles because all clean dishes remain drying on the counter tops. They never get put in those wooden boxes on the wall mom calls cabinets.
   
9. Poop is cause for celebration!
10. You tell your six year old to lay something on the baby's bed and she immediately puts it on your bed. *sigh*
    

she's talking back already...

#3 has started talking. I will coo and she will coo. Then she smiles a huge dorky smile and coos again. The other kids think this is so much fun. Most of the noises are gurgly sound from deep in her throat, but sometimes we hear a bit of her voice. It's pretty amazing. #1 can't wait for her to say dada or mama. I can't believe how fast she is growing. Last night we changed the batteries in both bouncy chairs(again)and now she watches the bubbles and kicks the toy bar. Pretty soon she'll be driving. *sigh*

or not...

on Friday the kids had 6 green olives and a Little Debbie cake for their after school snack

my goal is to do better than that today...

the definition of SUPER MOM

nursing baby and doing laundry and getting kids ready for school and tidying up and making breakfast and lunch and answering the phone and changing diapers getting groceries and making homemade bread and soup for supper all while wearing the baby in a new sling purchased on ebay last week...

Thankful Thought for TGIF!

It's 9:26 am.

I spent the last 3 hours getting myself showered, #1 and #2 fed and dressed. Nursed #3 Pushed #1 out the door, while wiping the tears off her face, exactly 4 minutes before the school bell is scheduled to ring. Nursed #3. Ate my cold toast and drank my cold coffee. I have to get better at this morning routine...

Nursing #3 again. #2 is watching PBS. Reading blogs. Friends are going through awful things like watching their mom's die of cancer and struggling with cancer themselves while raising young ones. Trying to be strong for them. I have been on my knees a lot. Feeling thankful for life...

Husband got called into work again. Hospital is a busy place. Have you seen the local news lately? Feeling thankful that I made the choice to stay home...

#3 is GAINING WEIGHT at the average of 1oz. per day! I took her to an appointment yesterday and she is coming along just fine. Feeling thankful for being able to nurse her...

Speaking of nursing. MOO! It is taking more of my time than I remembered. My sister gave me an awesome baby sling to hold #3 in, but she is just a tiny peanut, so I bought a hotsling off ebay.
Feeling thankful for overdraft protection...

Wondering if, by the looks of the bank account, choosing to stay home was the right option? I hate what money does to us. It is so hard to come out ahead. We scraped up the last of our savings and bought yet another commuter car. Hopefully, filling up only once a week will help some of the overdraft problems (If dh can keep this one from crashing into deer and other vehicles). Feeling thankful for people who sell good vehicles privately for no profit whatsoever enabling us to maybe save some cash buy not filling up so often...

Nursing #3 saves us a ton in formula bills. Thinking about cloth diapers, but I am not sure where to start. It is a little cost to set yourself up and she is still in newborn size for the moment. Once her weight evens out maybe I can get a few in one size and try them out. If she didn't poo every other hour, we might be able to get in the black. ...excuse me for a moment...here is a tip for ya...rub that Vaseline all over her bum when you change her so you are not forever wiping at that sticky poo! Aren't you glad I shared? Feeling thankful I have a healthy pooing baby, even if it costs me an arm and a leg to diaper her...

The hair is back in full force. It is sort of wavy, but not beautiful wavy, annoying wavy. I dislike it greatly. I always said I wanted hair with flair, but this is not what I had in mind. I want my straight hair back. I am trying to tame it with headbands, barrettes, and YES even the curling iron. It is not working. I am dreadfully unsuccessful. I am sure it has nothing to do with the fact that I get 3.5 seconds to work with it and I am using the same curling iron I used in 7th grade.
My dear mommy got me a hair appointment for next week hoping that I can at least trim it to make it look like I am not hair challenged. I am contemplating getting the hats out again. I never had to work to keep the straight stuff looking manageable. This is way out of my comfort zone. Feeling thankful to have hair, even if it looks like I stuck my finger in a light socket...

Prenatal Vitamins ROCK! I had to get my hemoglobin checked yesterday and I passed. I was sweating this one. I have been living off of cold toast, coffee and cereal and whatever I can grab to put in my mouth while I am nursing. My goal for next month is to eat better. Fruits and veggies have all but disappeared from my fridge. I cannot believe how much I miss not being able to run up to the store and get a few things. I need to work on time management as well as eating healthy. Feeling thankful for the people who manufacture vitamins...

Exhaustion is mounting. I am trying to lie down during the day, but something always comes up. Need to add GET MORE SLEEP to my goals. #3 eats more often at night than during the day. I pump during the day, but I am too tired to get up for a bottle so I just nurse her at night. Every 2-3 hours I am up again. I am so glad my other children are good sleepers. I did squeak an hour nap out yesterday and man it was good. Feeling thankful for sleep, when I can get it...

Thanksgiving is next week. I haven't thought about it much. Don't even know where we are going to have the big meal. I have yet to plan an baptism, a birthday party for #2, and start thinking of Christmas. I think this may be the year that the lights don't go up, the presents don't get bought in time yet alone get wrapped. I think we will be wishing Baby Jesus a happy birthday without any of the extras this year. Feeling thankful for the birth of a Savior...

Gotta switch boobs... I mean breasts. #2 knows that boob is a slang word and corrects me every time. Only he says it like this,"you mean, bweastses, mom, we don't say boobs."

Happy Friday!

I am not making this up...

After a weekend of semi freedom, (the kids were both gone on Saturday for most of the day) yesterday, I resumed my everyday role of cook, chauffeur, maid, kisser of owies, wife and mommy. I finished a couple of loads of laundry, put supper in the crock pot, did the dishes three times, tidied up the house, cursed at the squirrels for eating my colored Indian corn and, after the final pick up of the day, I came home to sit at the computer, after I got the kids snacks, of course.

I spent probably a half an hour on the world wide web maybe a few minutes longer. I ventured up the stairs again to check on the rug rats. On the stairway I stubbed my toe on a hot wheels car. When I got to the kitchen I noticed a chair up to the snack cabinets and the bucket of candy out on the counter. A gallon of milk was on the table, I followed the trail of rice krispies to the toy room where I found both of them eating, again, and applying makeup. I expressed my disappointment about the snacks because I knew both of them would have full tummies for supper. I gathered up the dishes and headed back to the kitchen sink. I went through the backpacks adding to the ginormous pile of papers that I will forever collect, but have no idea where to store them, so they sit in a huge pile on my counter top.

By this time it was getting late and supper needed to be assembled so I set the table for reasons unknown to me and put the food on the plates. They didn't touch a thing, but I ate well. As I cleaned up and started my fourth batch of dishes, I wondered if my husband remembered that I wanted to attend the Junior class play at 7. He had left for hunting and I hadn't heard from. him. I waited until 20 minutes till, then I called him to check and he was still in the depth of pheasant land. SOOOOOOOO...

I used a couple of washcloths a piece to clean the rug rats faces off. (What kind of person invents kids makeup that is not washable?) I combed their hair and forced their shoes and coats on and out the door we went. I spent 45 minutes watching ds climb the bleachers and explaining to dd why the curtains closed and the lights dimmed in between scenes instead of watching the play myself.

I came home to a garage that stinks like dead birds, feathers all over the sidewalk and a fridge full of pheasant and supper leftovers I will probably never eat. I was disappointed once again with my husband for not attempting to try to be home so that I could have 45 minutes of this day for myself.

The really sad part is today I am doing pretty much the same thing all over again.

This is my life. I hope there is room for baby #3. I barely have enough patience for the family as it is now.

God grant me the wisdom and patience and, well, whatever else I need to get through this.