Back to School - Whoo Hoo or Oh No!!

First of all I just have to say that I have really enjoyed my children this summer!! It has been a very laid back summer, mostly because we really couldn't afford to DO anything, so we went to the beach and the pool and the library and (of course) JuJu's house!! We spent many evenings on the front porch eating ice cream and Popsicles and it was simply grand!! I have loved sleeping til 7:30 and NOT having to rush to get anywhere! That being said, it will be nice to have a schedule again and, I must admit, I am looking forward to some alone time, even if it is only 9 hours a week:) So next Tuesday my alarm will go off at 4:45 am and the craziness will begin for the next 9 months!! I am already longing for the lazy, hazy days of summer and that's saying a lot because it get REALLY HOT here!! LOL!! Am I crazy?? Does everyone else look forward to school?? Let me know! Any advice on making the crazy days easier, organization wise!! I do so LOVE to organize!! I guess you have to with 5 kids:) Hehe!!

Sorry Ebay!!!

So just last night I was breaking the bad news to my hubby that I was Ebay bound in the next few days to try and find some dresses for Em. She either grows an inch every time I put a dress on her or my dryer is some sort of a super duper shrink-a-nator!! Well then today, in rides my wonderful friend on her white horse and bag FULL of clothes for Em that her gorgeous daughter had outgrown. She had barely gotten her foot in the door when Em spotted the bag! It took less than about 3 seconds for her to ever so stealthily (is that a word?) mosey on over, grab the bag and dump the contents on the floor. The next 30 minutes were spent sifting through the dresses and shirts and pants and trying on whatever struck her fancy! At one point, she sat in the midst of all her new clothes, in her big girl pants (she was in between wardrobe changes)and nothing else but a warm, woolly, winter hat!! I would have loved to have been able to get pictures of some of her outfits but she just does NOT like having her picture taken - UGH!!! It really should be illegal to be that cute and that camera shy!! Hehe!! I did glance over a couple of times, however and caught her with MY camera taking pictures of her beautiful bounty!!



The next 2 are Em's pics!! Not too bad:)


This was the ONLY one I managed to get while she was twirling!!

I found this quote and thought of my friend!! Thank you, Kim!!

"A friend is someone who reaches for your hand, but touches your heart."
- Kathleen Grove

Painted Lady!

A local shopping center had a block party tonight with jump castles and face painting, so of course we had to go because everybody wants to get their face painted! The kids all waited patiently in line while they deliberated what they would choose to adorn their faces. There was much discussion about the tiger versus the frog, versus the smiley face. In the end they ALL wanted to be a tiger! OK, easy enough! For once, I didn't have to get the pen and paper out to write down what all the kids wanted so I wouldn't get it wrong! Hehe!! After waiting for what (in kid time) seemed like FOREVER, it was finally our turn! Sure enough, all of our boisterous, energetic and just plain LOUD kids suddenly became mute!! Little Lizzie was the ONLY one who found the courage (and her voice) and decided that she wanted a heart! Very appropriate for this tiny girl with such a gigantic heart! What happened to the tiger and my LOUD children?? Oh well, Lizzie wasn't to sure about it at first, but as soon as she looked in the mirror she LOVED it and spent the rest of the night showing everyone her "paint"!!!




Look at that beautiful face!!


I had to post this one because it really shows the difference in size of my 3 year old virtual twins!! Keep eating that candy baby girl!!

15 minutes of pure bliss!!

Looky what I got this morning!! 15 minutes of pure bliss and peace and quiet and coffee:) I awoke this morning to the sound of "Momma" from upstairs and a pair of 6 year old feet in my face (but that's a different post)! I got up and got dressed and listened and then heard - nothing! Could it be?? I strained my ears and checked the monitor (is it actually on?) and sure enough, nothing! So, there I was up and dressed and NO ONE else was awake!! WOW!! What do I do? Do I check email, do I dust off the yoga tapes, do I prepare a gourmet breakfast for everyone - yeah right!!! As I as pondering my whole new world of possibilities, our bladder challenged puppy dog looked longingly into my eyes. Translation - gotta go Momma!! So I grabbed a cup of coffee and off to the front porch we went - just the dogs and me! For 15 glorious minutes this morning I enjoyed an uninterrupted cup of coffee while swinging on my front porch swing and soaking up the quiet! Amazing how relaxed I was by the time the call of "Momma" came again!!

The only one missing was our 90 pound teddy bear - Tazzie

Big Girl Pants = Happy Momma

Well I do believe the day has finally come! A day that we have been anxiously anticipating, a day that will live in infamy, a day that will forever more be celebrated with great jubilation - the girls are finally wearing big girl pants! We no longer have any kids in diapers! Oh my! I thought I was ready!! Hehe!! We have been clipping diaper coupons for 12 years now and have always at least one (if not 2) kids in diapers! I actually thought (hoped) we would have been here sooner because girls are easier to potty train - right??? All 3 of the boys were potty trained at exactly 3 1/2 - ugh! I know, I know, that is very late but they just were not ready until then and we just did not push it. At 3 1/2 they each just decided one day that they wanted to go poop in the potty and that was that! I was thinking that the girls might do better and they did but only by a month or two and Lizzie has (so far) done a little bit better than Em - go figure! So anyway, after deciding that it was time, I told the girls that we would go to Target and purchase some pretty, flowery, princess laden big girl pants. They were very excited and could not wait to get there. As we were looking through the immense collection of pink and green panties, I found Em checking out the Diego pants! Now, I do love the fact that Em is such a great mix of girly girl and tomboy, however, when it comes to underwear... Momma was standing her ground!! Em pleaded with me to let her buy big BOY pants!! No amount of pink princesses was going to change her mind!! I finally had to promise her that if she would just pick out some big GIRL pants, she could wear some of her big brother's old Diego pants!! That did it and the flowery girl pants were purchased. Sure enough, as soon as we got home, she beboped upstairs, pick herself out some Diego pants from her brother's drawer, put them on and promptly tinkled in them:) Hehe!!! I do now have them both wearing big girl pants and things are going pretty well. Do I have a little sadness at not having a baby in diapers anymore? Yeah, I do but I did find myself dreaming of all the wonderful things that I can clean (other than a bottom) with baby wipes!!!

Tips and Tidbits

Ok so here is a tip from an idiot! You all probably figured this out a long time ago but a friend of mine emailed this to me and I had to share. Have you ever struggled with the roll of tin foil or plastic wrap? Does it always want to fall out of the box when you are trying to rip off a sheet? Did you know that there at the ends of the boxes there are places to push in that secure the roll of whatever??? I never knew this and feel like a complete idiot for spending half my life mangling rolls of foil and plastic wrap! And it does not matter what brand it is! I spent (wasted) an afternoon checking out the various brands to make sure! Why haven't I heard of this before now!!! Again, the whole world probably knew this at birth and I am just now getting a clue - but had to share - just in case:)




Also had to share what I found at Target the other day. This is a Ni Hao Kai Lan floor puzzle that has words on it in Chinese and English! LOVED it and know what will be on Lizzie's Christmas Wish list!



I also wanted to let everyone know that we know have a new Power Ranger at our house fighting off bad guys and rambunctious big brothers. The dogs feel VERY safe:)

Very cool email!!

Got this from a wonderful friend of mine and thought it was beautiful! This is great love!

God's Wings -

A little something to put things in perspective...

After a forest fire in Yellowstone National Park , forest rangers
began their trek up a mountain to assess the inferno's damage.

One ranger found a bird literally petrified in ashes, perched
Statuesquely on the ground at the base of a tree. Somewhat
Sickened by the eerie sight, he knocked over the bird with a stick.
When he gently struck it, three tiny chicks scurried from under
their dead mother's wings. The loving mother, keenly aware of
impending disaster, had carried her offspring to the base of the
tree and had gathered them under her wings, instinctively knowing
that the toxic smoke would rise.

She could have flown to safety but had refused to abandon her
babies. Then the blaze had arrived and the heat had scorched her
small body, the mother had remained steadfast ..because she had
been willing to die, so those under the cover of her wings would live.

'He will cover you with His feathers,
And under His wings you will find refuge.'
(Psalm 91:4)

Being loved this much should make a difference in your life.
Remember the One who loves you, and then be different because of it.