Tuesday, December 29, 2009

somebody's rather pleased with herself

Five steps!
~
She's been standing up in the middle of the floor
for a few weeks now.
She can squat and stand back up
multiple times
without ever touching anything with her hands.
She'll take a step
maybe even two
here and there
but she's been awful cautious about
really walking.
Tonight
she was sitting on my legs and just hopped up
and walked to Papa.
Wouldn't walk back to me
but I'm sure that's just cause it was uphill
and not
because
I scared her with my boo-hooing
or anything.
~
Precious Lex,
Momma loves you so so much!!


Tuesday, December 22, 2009

"she's a good feeder!"

Lily said
as we both shoveled
bits of date-nut bread into Lexi's mouth.
We couldn't get it in fast enough
and
there was all sorts of
numms & drawn out mmms
coming from the girl's mouth.
Darn.
I really like that bread.
And now
it appears
somebody else likes it just as much.
Maybe
Mom can find a bigger can next year.

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Brandon's answer for everything

Puppy Chow
is the answer
this Christmas season.

Need a gift?

Puppy Chow.

Need to take a treat?

Puppy Chow.

Need lunch?

Puppy Chow.
~
Melt in a glass bowl in microwave:

1 stick butter
1 c. peanut butter
1 - 12 oz pkg. semi sweet chocolate chips

While chocolate is melting
remove 2 cups from an 18 oz box of corn or rice Chex-type cereal
and dump the rest in a big bowl.

Stir chocolate sauce and pour over cereal.
Mix thoroughly
being careful not to spill cereal all over the place.
Let cool a bit
stir in 2 - 3 c. powdered sugar

Enjoy
as a meal, gift, treat to take
or
just because

Sunday, December 13, 2009

SofB update

I don't have to tell you
we're all getting a little tired here.
~
huge thanks
to our friends who have blessed us
with childcare and food
and, of course,
to Mom & Bill for the couch!

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

shhh

Things'll be pretty quiet here for the next several days
while we focus on
our Season of Blessing project.
As we're prone to do -
we picked a doozie!
~
Having no information
- just some ideas rolling around in my head -
I was thinking we needed a couch
and briefly wondered how God would provide one.
I was listening to this,
when my mom called yesterday evening.
"We wanted to give you our couch....."
'course she was thinking for us.
ours, loved as it is, has seen better days.
much better days.
~
I'm excited to see what else God has in store
(and what else he has in His storehouse for us to use :-)
~
Prayers would be appreciated
as several of the kiddos still aren't feeling 100%
and these projects can be kinda tricky with little ones anyways....

Monday, December 7, 2009

gotta love this boy

"Mom. I'm ready to go hunting."

He's so thrilled with his birthday fish from his bubs
that he wants to get pets for Josiah and Lily, too.
Live ones.
That eat bugs.

"I hope you don't mind;
my weapon is a machete."

Not quite sure how the hunting will go
but you gotta admit
the boy
has style.
or
something.

Friday, December 4, 2009

this and that


I am so grateful that we didn't listen to the Dr.
when he told me I needed a hysterectomy!

Wednesday
we celebrated 6 years of Jeremiah


The boy wakes up
with a smile on his face and love in his heart
and we are all so much better
for having him in our lives!

~

in other news...
Lexi finally has a tooth
and I think we all know who found it


Thursday, December 3, 2009

careful what you wish for

Just yesterday
I was telling a dear friend,
"I wish he'd just realize it's not working
and take the stupid dog himself!"
Well
he did
and he is - right now
and you know what?
It's harder than I ever would have imagined.
I'm nauseous.
I'm sobbing and can't even see the stupid keyboard
which is a problem, since I can't type.
I wanted it to work out.
But it hasn't.
It just hasn't.
The dog simply wouldn't abide by the few rules we set for him.
If it were just about the dog
I could have let him go 2 years ago.
But it's also about the boy.
About the boy
who is fast becoming a man.
~
Ton'
I love you!
I am more proud of you than you can imagine.
And, I'm sorry.
~
and now
I think I'll go throw up.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

weird

Today
I found myself
in a situation a girl doesn't get into every day.

Tyler had called 4:30ish
and told me he thought we should go to the Patriot's game.
And
rather than tell him all the reasons it wouldn't work
I said, "Okay."
That
is how I found myself
at 6:32 in the evening
with absolutely nothing to do.
Lexi had fallen asleep in the car
and I didn't want to wake her;
she really needed the sleep!
So I decided to just wait for her
and climbed in the back seat to sit next to her.
I had no book
no writing utensil
no paper.
I had my phone
but didn't want to risk waking the girl
by calling someone.
And so I sat
doing nothing
for about 45 minutes.
Weird, I tell ya!

Monday, November 30, 2009

cranberry tea

One of our favorite holiday traditions,
generously shared by sweet friends, several years ago.

Cranberry Tea

In a small pot, pour
1 - 12 oz bag cranberries (fresh or frozen)
8 1/2 c. water

bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer about 10 minutes.

Add
1/2 c. honey
1/4 c. sugar*
1/2 c. orange juice concentrate
1 1/2 Tbs. lemon juice
3 cinnamon sticks (or about 3 tsp cin.)
1 tsp whole cloves

Simmer another 10 minutes
strain
- or not -
and serve warm

*if you aren't used to regularly reducing sweetener
you'll probably want to add
either
another 1/4 c. honey or 1/2 c. sugar
~
we like to toss all the pulp that we strained out
into a small saucepan
and add some more spices
and simmer on the back of the stove for a few days.
just because.

two year-old plans

"My Papa's gonna get me married;
he's gonna get me a mom
and I'm gonna nurse my baby with momma milk
and
he's gonna get me some garlic oil."

Saturday, November 21, 2009

all in a day



waiting for Gramma & Grampa to get here


Gramma Joyce told Ton' he looks like
one of those boys on the TV

5 generations

Josiah, taking Brandon for a ride

"Everyone in the house, get outside.
You have got to see something amazing!"
Jeremiah out in the kayak for the first time - by himself

Lily can't get enough of sweet baby Aiden
and neither can Mimi; the downside of a big family
is - we all have to share the baby


Thanks, Papa & Grampa
for fishin' fun!


Aiden is just about tired of all the excitement

Aunt Lexi taking care of her baby.
Who needs dolls when you have a nephew?

~
all in all - a great day
would've been perfect if TJ could have been with us, too

Thursday, November 19, 2009

lunch with one of my buds


"Eunices?
I had a dream about going to Eunices!"

I'm not quite sure
how Josiah had dreamed of lunching
at a place he'd never heard of,
but there you have it.
While Lily was at Lana's to 'help take care of Aiden'
(we all miss her terribly!)
Josiah ran some errands with me.
He wanted to 'go to a store for lunch' while we were out.
We pulled up to the fabric store,
conveniently located right next to a small restaurant.
We'd never tried it, but I figured it'd be a good chance to;
we were pressed for time, had to get back to our Lexi soon,
but the lunch rush was over, so it seemed like a good option.
When I suggested it to Josiah,
well - we already know what he said.


I can't recommend the restaurant
but the company was awesome!
I love you, my Josiah

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Lexi's new word

"UP!"
silly girl, she saw Ton' grab the carrier
and thought it was for her.
(good bub that he is, Alice was quickly replaced with Lex')

before I forget


We had some pretty tasty muffins this morning;
while I still remember how I made them
I figured I'd write up the recipe.


Get Her Goin' Chocolate Chip Muffins

3 1/2 c. freshly ground white wheat
1/2 c. bran
1/4 c. flax seed, ground
2 cups real milk
1 Tbs lemon juice

Mix well, cover with a towel and let this soak
anywhere from a half hour to over-night
(if you use 'bought flour' - you can skip the soak)

add

1 egg
1/2 c. olive oil
1/2 c. honey
1/4 c. sugar
1 Tbs b. soda
1 1/2-ish tsp. cinnamon
1/2 c. or so chocolate chips

Stir 'till mixed and put in greased muffin tins
top with a bit of brown sugar & cinnamon mix
bake at 375 for 22 minutes

mmm, mm, good
(take a look at this)
~
completely unrelated...
I am totally in love with this little girl!
I fell asleep last night with a smile on my lips
and her precious little hand cupping my cheek.
Life is sweet.

Monday, November 16, 2009

growin' up

way too fast

it could help


We 're getting more than a little tired around here
of all the crying and whining.
The little patients
are taking a toll on our patience.
"Just a minute, Lily, I need to clean out your ears."
I wondered why on earth Ton' would think to do that.
She must have had some huge blob of earwax, I thought.
Then he said, "There. Now your ears are clean
and you can hear better
so you won't have to cry nearly so loud anymore."


Sunday, November 15, 2009

our newest creation

well
not a creation, so much as a copy
I'm a much better copier than creator.
Megan bought some awhile back,
so I've had 'em in the back of my mind for several weeks.
Today was the day.

With help
one only took 12 - 15 minutes;
without
it'd have taken 8 - 10


a quick fix

I've said it far too many times,
"Stupid people should be shot."
And yet
more and more often
I'm finding that
I
am one of the stupid people.
~
My entire life
I have been plagued with a problem,
Lana has, too - a lovely gift from my mother:
a waist to hip ratio that few clothing manufacturers recognize.
That is to say
-with rare exception-
if something fits in the rear
the waist is huge.
Given that we three also share a
comfort over fashion
mentality
a cute belt just doesn't do the trick.
~
I found a pair of like-new Lee jeans at a yardsale for a dollar.
One of the few brands that sometimes fits decently.
Seeing that I'm pretty desperate for jeans right now
-owning all of 1 pair that fits anywhere-
I bought them.
(and another pair - Crazy Horse. fit perfectly. who knew?)
When I tried the Lees on after I got home
ugh
the waist was about 3 inches too big.
Bummer.
"But they fit great in the butt," Tyler generously pointed out.
I didn't mind too much, though;
I figured the one pair that did fit well was worth $2
so I didn't really waste any money.
But now I had this pair of jeans that almost fit
but didn't.
In the semi-quiet
(this house is never completely quiet)
when everyone else was sleeping
I realized how easy it would be to solve my problem.
and I wondered why on earth
I'd never thought of it before!
~
After taking off the little leather label,
I simply cut thru the inside layer only of the waistband
on both sides of the pants
right behind the first and last belt loops.
Ran some elastic in one hole I'd created
and out the other.
Stitched one side
tried 'em on
adjusted the elastic
and stitched the other
~
Clothes shopping just got a whole lot easier
Now
if only there were a simple fix
for our shoulder to bust problems....

Friday, November 13, 2009

who's your daddy?


Tyler has made numerous pairs of 'slippers' over the years;
looks like Josiah's going to follow in his footsteps.
(stupid pun completely intended)

perspective

"One of the great things about this house
is we have great art-hanging spots!"
exuberantly shared Jeremiah the other day.

Funny.

I'd just been thinking,
"We don't even have a dectent place in this stupid house
to hang our art projects;
I have to hang them in this nasty window."

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

next time - La Fiesta

I really wanted to go out to eat tonight.
I'd left some of the dishes and pans from last night
(I know - always leave the sink shiny...)
add in all the dishes and pans of today
and I was still cleaning the kitchen at 6:30 tonight.
I really didn't want to go messing up the kitchen again.
But
we'd already blown
our eating-out budget (and then some) Saturday.
The envelope was beyond empty.
Grocery money's been going fast,
I didn't figure I could squeeze out an extra $30.
Gas - how could I finagle this as a 'gas' purchase?
(I was pining for Mexican...)
I almost talked myself into using some of the 'blessing money'
but blessing myself just seemed a bit wrong.
So
I dutifully put away the dishes I'd just washed
so I could get to the mill & mixer
and set about making dinner -
meximelts on homemade tortillas
with rice and Nate's fabulous green salsa.


Somewhere in the making of dinner
Brandon stepped on a fork
in just the right(?) way
that it punctured his toe.
To make matters worse,
some of the skin was pushed up into the wound.
I called my momma.
I cried.
He cried.
He soaked his foot all through dinner.
We both quit crying.
Mom said we probably needed to take him to the ER
grr.
We've been to the ER
once already this past month.
It wasn't a pleasant experience.
We haven't even paid for that visit yet.
I knew it would hurt like the dickens to get that skin out, though.
I was going to try numbing it with clove oil.
Tyler said I may have to cut the skin
then pull the piece out.
Do you people think I am made of steel?
(Lana thought I might do an at-home circumcision for Aiden;
no worries - she had a book I could use detailing the procedure)
We sterilized the needle and tweezers
and placed the clove oil soaked cotton ball on his foot.
And then we got him ready to go to the hospital;
there was no way
either Tyler or I would be able to inflict the pain
pulling that piece of skin out would cause.
Clove oil is good, but I don't know that it's that good.
~
Next time,
we're going to La Fiesta;
it'd a been a whole lot cheaper
and a bunch more fun
than a trip to the ER

one tiny thing

A few weeks ago
I ordered The Messies Manual
after reading that Jen was excitedly waiting for her copy
after she ordered one
cause one of her readers highly recommended it.
So desperate to get this house in order,
I seriously considered paying the extra 4 bucks
to have it overnighted.
As soon as it arrived, I hightailed it to my room;
I didn't even make a cup of - well - anything first.
This book was going to solve all of my problems.
You can see that this doesn't bode well
for the poor book.
Rather than being hasty,
I should have at least checked the profile
of Jen's commenter who did the recommending.
She has two dogs.
no children.
While reading the first half of the book,
I discovered
that I am not
what one would call
a messie.
I simply have a larger than average sized family
housed
in a
smaller than average sized
house.
and some of them are messy.
Tucked into the second half of the book
along with some elaborate systems
that I certainly don't have time for
was one little jewel.
The 30 second rule.
Which states
'if it will only take 30 seconds to do - do it now'
or something along those lines.
I haven't gotten anybody else to abide by the rule yet
but I have found myself
many times
going to set something down, to put away later
and thought, "30 seconds - that's all it'd take. 30 seconds".
Even when I'm super rushed
I can probably spare 30 seconds.
It's revolutionized my house.
No - not really.
But
it has helped my mindset.
And that's a good thing.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

open mouth, insert foot


"You shouldn't say that;
it sounds like you're tempting God," Tyler told me last week
when I told him I could not get sick right now.
That it would put me over the edge.
~
I spent about a third of the summer sick
- which is totally unlike me -
and that
coupled with some other stressful issues
and
being home - alone - (while sick...) with the little ones
while Tyler, Tony and Brandon
put in a collective 500+hours on Luke & Lana's house
'bout did me in.
I'm still in recovery mode;
one step forward
and three steps back
lots of days.
So
it makes perfect sense
that I do not want to get sick.


So far this week
I've got 3 sick kiddos.
As my friend Susie would say, they're droppin' like flies.
To say I'm hoping I'm not next
would be an understatement.
~
I really didn't mean to test God!

Thursday, November 5, 2009

under the sea


thanks (again) to teachkidsart
we went from whining
"I can't draw a fish"
over and over and over
to
"Thank-you, Momma, for doing this with us!"
multiple times

Lily had difficulty with the 'paint the entire page' concept;
she much prefers to thoroughly saturate a spot with color.
If you look closely on the right side of her paper,
under one of her baby fishies
you'll see her very first person!

Josiah's lionfish (and baby)

Jeremiah added babies, a turtle, and a jellyfish
(fabulous scissoring, Bud!)

Brandon and I
wished we would have been more generous with the salt
(love this guy's eye & mouth!)

This could certainly have been a two day project;
I think we spent about an hour and a half painting.
It was fun to do it all together
but the boys want to do it again
and make sea turtles instead of fish
and I think we'll paint & salt the background one day
and make the turtles the next
then come back later and cut & paste.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

beauty in the rough


Tyler and I have talked
about how important beauty is to our well-being
but we'd never really realized it before.
Spending my days in this ugly (really ugly!) house
has made me even more aware of my need
to be surrounded by beauty.
I wouldn't have considered that a need before
but I sure do now.
(I still argue with myself over this - I shouldn't need to look at lovely things
sure, I like to - but to need to? It almost feels like a character flaw to me.
but, alas, that is where I am right now.)
That's probably why I've been more diligent
to 'do art' even though I don't feel competent in that area.
In learning about art and artists
we are bringing more beauty into our home.
~
Ann writes often about beauty
and recently concluded that
because
God is everywhere
beauty
is everywhere.
We need only to look for it.
~
What can you find that is beautiful today?

Saturday, October 31, 2009

I can almost taste it

It's been 3 long weeks
since we've had any real milk in the house
and
3 1/2 months
since we've had the really good stuff
(fresh, never frozen)
Back then, I could only have a sip or two
but
Lexi seems to be handling dairy just fine now
so long as I don't go hog-wild.

In just a few hours
Tyler and Brandon
will make the long trek to Claremore;
I'm so excited
I can almost taste the goodness!

Thank-you, Tyler,
for sacrificing your morning for us (again)
I love you!
oh, and I love our milk.

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Lex' loves school

every.
single.
day.

NOT!!!

poor little sweetie

somethin' I'm lovin'


~
oh yeah
peppermint oil!
We use it for several things around here
but my favorite way to use peppermint oil right now
is in the bath or shower.
When I'm slow to wake up,
which is
pretty much every day,
the delightful aroma of
a few drops of peppermint essential oil
and maybe some orange oil, too
on a cloth, thrown on the floor of the shower
just makes my brain happy.
And when my body aches
a few drops in a hot bath is just about heaven.
(well, it would be if my tub were comfy - for now, I pretend)
Sort of an icy heat;
the right amount leaves me feeling invigorated
too much, though,
leaves my hind-parts a bit too tingly
all day.
~
to find out what others are lovin' today, see here


Wednesday, October 28, 2009

I sorta caved

I know;
I said I'd never do it.
Apparently, I lied.
I'm doing it.
If I commit any FB faux pax
I trust everyone will just forgive me
and
point me in the right direction.
~
anyone wanna be my friend??

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

going green got easier

Reversible wal-mart style shopping bags!

Aren't they so cute?!
~
It's easy to use re-usable shopping bags at some stores
(the hard part is remembering the bags.)
but other stores, like Walmart?
I kinda think they frown on it.
Sure
they sell flimsy re-usable bags for $ .99
but
actually using them,
I think the checkers wouldn't like so much.

And so I thought
if the bag was just like a wal-mart bag
the checker wouldn't be inconvenienced any.
You could just load your groceries on the belt
then
go load your bags on the bag-turn around thing.
~
They use 2/3 yard for each side
with some scraps leftover for quilts :-)
and go together in about 30 - 40 minutes.

The hard part
will be remembering to bring the bags...

Monday, October 26, 2009

li'l Lex'

she sho do has what it takes

Today
Lexi added Lily to her list of words
and
said, "I love you" this evening
which, while I'd like to think she said it to me first,
Brandon told me a few weeks ago
he was pretty sure she'd said it.

Still no teeth.

She crawls all over the place
and, of course, pulls herself to standing.
Tonight
she got herself back down from standing.
Normally she either falls or cries for help
when her little legs get shaky.

Well,
add 'hey' to the list.
She just pulled out my earring and I said, "Heyyy!"
She laughed
and said it right back.

Maybe I should try telling her 'goodnight'
and just go to sleep;
maybe she'll do the same.
It could happen.

prize-winner

As I was surveying the aftermath of dessert
I thought to myself
I really am the cheapest person I know.

It gets worse;
I re-used
one of the 1/2 plates
for a snack later.

Saturday, October 24, 2009

I've done it again

I am beyond tickled with myself this time.
I've had a project idea for a few weeks now,
perfected
in my mind, at least.
I searched online for a tutorial;
no need to reinvent the wheel.
Didn't find one
so a week or so ago
I made my pattern (out of newspaper, of course)
was to buy cheap - or rather - inexpensive fabric
so I could do a test run.
I was so certain it would work, though
that I bought enough different fabrics for six of them.
I reasoned
that if adjustments were deemed necessary
2/3 yard would still be enough.
It would be naptime when we got back home
so I'd have time to sew.
I'd timed it perfectly.
But
I was unsure of my fabric content
so I knew it'd be foolish of me to not pre-wash.
argh.
I decided to be patient and throw them in the washer.
I added towels to the dryer
so it'd go faster.
I was just beginning to iron my fabrics
when Lexi woke up from her nap.
Rats.
But
I've managed to steal a few minutes here and there
and
viola
I finished my first one.
and
it's perfect!
No adjustments needed.
And
it's so darn cute!!

how's that?

The kids and I were shopping and wanted a little snack
for on the way home.
I grabbed some sugar wafers.
You can't choke on a sugar wafer
and I figured
in a pinch, Josiah could give Lexi a tiny bite.
Horrible, I know.
As we were leaving
I decided to check the icecream aisle,
see if something better grabbed me.

Now, these were a buck sixty-eight
more than the cookies,
but I figured
they are actually good for us
so put the sugar-laden treats back
and congratulated myself on my wise decision.
It wasn't until after I got home
and we'd already eaten some
that I thought to look at the label.
I wasn't expecting what I found
These all-natural pure fruit bars
are loaded with
fructose
sugar
and corn syrup!

Excuse me - how exactly is that Pure Fruit???

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

momma has a new helper

It makes me happy.
Really it does.
But it also makes me want to cry.


chock full of wisdom, I am

If your freezer seems to be going out,
don't ignore it
and hope it fixes itself;
Chances are pretty good
that it won't!

Sunday, October 18, 2009

playing parents

"We're mom and dad - we're playing cards."
(this proves it's been too long since we've had coffee on our dates)

Saturday, October 17, 2009

welcome to the jungle

We knocked on the door
then cautiously pushed it open.
Things didn't sound good.
I looked at Jodi.
"He's trying to talk her into a C-section," she whispered.
I looked at Shelley, "What do you think?"
She silently shook her head 'no'.
I caught Lana's eyes, big and scared,
and firmly shook my head 'no' with a look that said
fuggitaboudit
~
four hours and 34 minutes later
Lana pushed out - and I do mean pushed out -
an adorable 8 lb 1 oz baby boy.
Aiden Timothy



Lana did an absolutely fabulous job.
She listened to
and tried
everything
Jodi and Shelley encouraged her to do.
I was so proud of her!
And so thankful that she had
both of them there.
And, of course,
immensely grateful that I was able to be a part
of the birth of my first grandson.
~

I doubt the nurses (who were very kind!)
had ever seen a soon-to-be-gramma
nursing her own infant daughter
in the labor room.
I must say - it felt rather odd to me, too
to go back and forth between
one baby girl
and
the other
~
Welcome little Aiden
you are so loved!!