Jer Lost His Job

Well, the title about says it all.

Today Jer came home from work with the news that he had been fired. Over a technicality at that, but it still doesn't change the fact.

He has been tired of working on the phones for quite some time.. it had started to be a drain on him emotionally and mentally, so hopefully this is a blessing in disguise.

This may mean many things, hopefully not many bad things. But if that is the case... it's the case and there isn't much I can do about it.

Jer is great about just about everything that he applies himself to. He is efficient and has a lot of common sense, he is also very good at learning new things. I know that whatever he ends up doing, he will do it well.

If you hear of anything, please let us know. This doesn't exclude me getting a job as well, If I need to (which is likely) I will.

Here's to hoping that this whole thing turns into a good opportunity.

Yes, I'm a slacker!

Okay, so lets catch everyone up! We took the kids to the pumpkin patch and let them pick out pumpkins before Halloween. Actually it was the weekend before. We had never been to that one but the kids really enjoyed it!
  There was a couple of straw mazes, one big and one small.

Goober liked the small one best because "I didn't like getting lost." hmmm isn't that the point of a maze? :)

Anyhow, the kidlets had fun!

A while ago, if you remember, we tried out a dog. The kids were pretty bummed when it didn't work out... and I promised them we would get something else because apparently Jer and I aren't dog people.

So we headed to the pet store and picked up these:

That would be Fluffykins and Jimmy our new Dwarf hamsters! They are pretty fun, the kids adore them and they are containable so I don't have to worry about them digging up the backyard or me stepping in poop.

This is where they live:

On Thursday I went and helped out at the kids school!  It was enjoyable, I spent the morning helping out with Missy's class and then the afternoon in Goobers class. It was really nice to see how they interacted with the other kids and that they weren't the targets of any bullies.

In fact on of the girls in Goobers class asked me if I was Goobers mom, to which I replied "yes". She then proceeded to tell me that I was nice and that Goober was really nice too :)

Halloween went well, though I didn't really know what to expect with it falling on a Sunday. I have to admit though that I really had kinda hoped that there would be a few kids that came around on Sunday... oh, well. It IS Idaho. :) My kids had fun never the less!

and we kept their pumpkins lit both days :)

Only 4 more days....

Until the kidlets go to school! I love them to death and honestly I'm used to having them around by now (you know, summer and all that jazz), but their friends went back to school a couple of weeks ago which leaves my kids somewhat bored with each other....

Which leads to bickering and other expressions of boredom.

So, needless to say, I'm ready for school to start. It starts Monday and while I'll be sad to have so much less time with Goober, it will be nice to have a little respite from the fighting.

I'm looking forward with some one on one time with Turbo and a little bit of freedom to do things. After all, it is MUCH easier to load up one kid than it is to convince all three to go run errands with me! And this year I don't have to worry about homework (outside of reading for 15 minutes a day) because of the style of school they are going to go to.

At first Goober was upset that he wouldn't be getting a new backpack... then when I told him that he didn't need one because he wouldn't have any homework he yelled "YES!!!! NO HOMEWORK!!!"

Ya, I think that won him over... hopefully the actual school will win him over as well!

I'm also looking forward to the school schedule, while I've been getting the kids up at the school time this last week, it is taxing because they are tired and then I don't have a designated place to take them to so I get to deal with the "tireds". Hopefully they will adjust enough by next week to not be total pains to their teachers.

Anyhow... that is what has been up with me lately. I would have posted sooner about something in the news, or thoughts, or SOMETHING! But my brain is fried from getting up early to exercise and get the kids up, the news has been slow and pretty boring to me lately, and frankly I can't think of anything else to post!

PS we had our family pictures retaken on Tuesday... I'm excited to see how they turn out :)

Sorry I've been slacking.

I've been remarkably tired lately... and when I'm not and think "I should do a blog post" I then immediately think "about what?!" lol

So here is what has been up with me. This Tuesday I get to go in for my Bronchoscopy, something that has made my exercise streak die quickly :( Sucky, right when I get used to it too! (Now to muster the will power to start it all back up again!) Then later that day I get to take Missy to the eye doctor...

I'm kind of wondering what to think about that one... I mean, when we went to the pediatrician for the annual exam they tried to get her to tell them the letters on the wall. Now, if any of you knew Missy, you would know she can be a bit flaky. Be that because that is in her personality, or because she is five, I don't really know... nor care for that matter. She's cute and I love her! But it does make it difficult to tell if she is intentionally answering wrong, or if she just doesn't care enough to answer right... OR that she really can't see very well.

So I made sure to make her an appointment with a pediatric eye doctor here in town so that (hopefully) we can rule out the "flakys" as the reason she didn't do well at the pediatricians eye test.

Thursday I get to go to an orientation for Missy's Kindergarten class... which should be interesting, but I'm not really sure if I should take her with me or not... and then that same night I'm doing a neighborhood BBQ in front of my house.

I put out fliers yesterday but apparently the post man decided he needed to take some of them when he came around for the mail. YES... I know.... I shouldn't be putting fliers in mailboxes... But what would you do if you had 300 fliers to deliver and didn't want to spend all day doing it? I'm sorry Mr. Mailman, but you of all people should know how much more time that takes... and the fact that I'm not getting paid to deliver these things kind of makes me think... Meh! Mailboxes look good!

Besides, I don't think I will be doing another neighborhood watch activity for a while... if the neighborhood wants to put together something before next spring someone else can do it, especially if the turnout to this event is low. One meeting a year is starting to look really good about now...

Goober has a new friend he has found... Mr A is a neighborhood kid that grates on Jer's nerves like nothing else lol  He also is almost 10 years old, which concerns me in some ways. I wonder if he wants to play with Goober because Goober has video games or because he really likes Goober. So today I told Goober he gets to play video games for 2 hours... and those hours are not when friends are here.

Goober didn't like that much, but I really don't know how else to test the reasons for why this kid is around. His little sister is Missy's age though... and the girls get along well and nothing seems amiss there.

We will see what happens when the neighbor kids all go back to school on the last day of this month. I'm a little worried about my own kids boredom though, they aren't starting school until Sept 20th... I may see what I can do doing a review of the things they know so that they aren't so rusty when school starts. I have to admit that as far as reading with Goober and practicing letters with Missy I've been a horrid mother this summer... so I should probably be trying to do some make up work! :)

I haven't been watching the news much due to too little good news. Most of the news related things I think about tend to be things like "Oh great, Iran with Nuclear power... sounds bad... wow, isn't bad what is normal in the news?" So I scan the headlines and call it good lately. No deep thoughts there.... and I haven't been reading my regular blogs much either due to the major blogs recently being inundated with butt heads. What is up with that?!

Oh! Speaking of blogs, Jer and I went down to UT last week to meet up with some of my favorite bloggy people. We left the kids with Jer's mom and took a detour through Bear Lake to pick up one of the ladies :) It's so nice when you meet people you get along well with! It's funny how much you can have in common with people you have only talked to online!

Anywho, That is that I guess...

Oh, and here's a picture... just for kicks and giggles... 

 You would be amazed at how much fun kids can have with a hose and a slide :)

First Time Out...

In a really, really, long time!

Since last fall Jer and I have been discussing the fact that we really need to go camping with the kidlets more... now that Turbo is going to be 3 at the end of the summer it shouldn't be as big of an ordeal as with an infant (you know, the whole... Pack-N-Play,  bottles, baby back-packy thingy, etc etc)

Well, we still hadn't gone till this last weekend, and part of it was because we didn't have a clue where to go ...

Apparently my parents decided that they needed to prod us in the right direction! They invited us to go with them (can we say YAY for bathroom facilities and other adults whom the kidlets adore?!).

So, off we went!

This is the first time Jer and I have used our tent since we went and visited my sister for her graduation... ya, we're kind of pathetic... I know. :)

But we had a blast this time, due in large part to my mama and my papa!

Dad found the perfect spot to say in, that not only would fit their 5th wheel, but our tent and all the vehicles. PLUS it had a stream that the kids loved to jump over and play in AND we didn't have any traffic there besides ourselves running back and forth on the Rhino. :)

I think my kids were in shock due to not being allowed to watch any movies etc (I wouldn't let them, even though my parents did have a TV, DVD player, and a generator.... GOODNESS SAKES KIDS! We are OUTDOORS... and not just in the front yard! Go explore!)

They found sticks to swing around and asked repeatedly if any adult would go on a hike or take them on a ride in the Rhino. (which the adults didn't mind doing at all, that thing was fun!)

 (Gpa J and Missy at the top of the Mountain)

They picked flowers, and generally got themselves really dirty! They even had an incident with Jer where the Rhino tipped over, but alas... everyone was fine :)

There was even a deer that must have lived near our campsite, because we saw her often!

They even had Smores for the first time! (poor deprived children...)

Jer's foot started to hurt (darn gout, and me forgetting that shrimp triggers it... and dang-it everyone loved that meal!) So, now we are home, bathed, showered, and all but me in bed.

It was an awe-some weekend! Thanks to the 'rents!

Walking in the Rain

So today has been nuts. I have to get a certain amount done or I'm hosed, so this morning I woke Missy up early and got Turbo out of bed and dressed quickly and immediately left the house to run errands. It was about 8:30am when we left.

I got to the copy place to get my fliers for the neighborhood watch copied and cut out and found that they didn't open until 9am.

This really sucks because last night I wanted to go to the self serve 24 hour copy place and get the fliers done so that I could start putting them out in the wee hours of the morning... you know, after exercising and before Goober got up for school. But low and behold the place had closed down and the other self serve one is in another store that locks up after they are done.... what is the point of having a self serve copy place if people can't access it at any time? They need to totally put one in a 24 hr service station or something, cause seriously this city is how big and RIGBY has a self serve 24 hr copy place....

 Then I realized the bank didn't open until 9 too. Ugh. So I headed to the DI to empty the back of my van, because I've had stuff in there For-ev-er (said like the kid on Sandlot). Thank goodness they were open, and then by the time I got back to the other places they were open too.

I then spent all morning taping fliers to people's front doors and mailboxes. It was nice weather this morning, did I mention that? Only a few sprinkles here and there, and they were kinda Oregon-eque... you know misty, so not a problem. I headed back to the house about noonish because Goobers last day of school was a half day and we needed lunch anyhow, then we headed back out....

'Cept this time it was raining.... had I realized it would rain I wouldn't have stuck fliers on mailboxes, I would have gone back and put them on front doors but I was wet and tired and I still had more houses to do!!!

This little project of mine took from 9am this morning until 2:30pm to complete... at a certain point we had to go back to the house and get the van because the kids were cold and becoming wet in spite of the Wike and the Umbrella...

Needless to say, my kids weren't terribly happy about it all.

--------------

Update: After all of that, I found out that the time of the meeting was not on the fliers....

"I love you MORE!"

When I was a child I remember always playfully arguing with my mom whenever she would tuck me in for the night.

She would come into my room in the evening when I was ready for bed, tuck the covers around me, kiss me and hug me, and with a wish of "sweet dreams" would leave the room. As she made sure the door was open wide (the way I liked it) on the way out she would say "I love you!"

"I love you more mom."

"You will never know how much I love you until you have children of your own! Sweet dreams kiddo..."

Then she would leave to go read or to finish last minute things before going to bed herself.

Sometimes we would tease each other about who loved the other more throughout the day:

"I love you mom!"

"I love you too April"

"I love you more!"

"I love YOU more."

"Nu-uh!"

Back and forth until in the end mom would say "Until you are a mother yourself, you will never know how much I love you!"

As the years past we had these kinds of playful conversations often. Through my teenage years, even up to when I was married.

Then I had a child of my own.

She was right (as she often is!). We no longer argue about who loves the other more... We both know who loves the other more. But since having my own children I know that my love for her has grown as well, due to knowing just how much she loves me.

As I go throughout my day, tidying up (lets face it, I don't like to clean), and making sure homework gets done, making sure the dishes are in the dishwasher, and being a mediator to my childrens arguments sometimes my daughter will say to me:

"I love you mom!"

"I love you too Missy."

"I love YOU moooore!"

To which I reply "You will never know how much I love you until you have children of your own!" And I hug her and squeeze her and watch as she goes to find her brothers to play with.

Feeding Birds who Aren't Hungry.

This weekend the weather has been beautiful... so of course I told Jer we should go "Feed the ducks" at the river. Then I proceeded to scan pictures, because Turbo was taking a nap.

Well, little did I know, at some point Jer snuck upstairs and cleaned out the freezer (which is where I chuck all the bread heals that no one in our family really wants to eat, so that at some point I can take the kids and feed it to the ducks.). He gathered all of the frozen bread heals into one bag and set them on the counter to thaw.

When Turbo got up Jer decided it was time to go, which I was glad for because I've been kind of mopey today (weird, I know, for a perfectly sunny day... I think it may have to do with the fact that this is the time of year I want to totally revamp the yard in about a bazillion ways then I realize that there is definitely not enough funds for that...), we loaded the kidlets into the van and off we went to "feed the ducks".

Well, the ducks really weren't that hungry (everyone else in town apparently had the same idea and the poor things were gorged)... but the kids still enjoyed huking small pieces of bread into the river and watching them either a) sink for the fish to eat, or b) the seagulls swoop down and scoop them up.

After the bread was gone we all just sat and watched the birds for a while.

Turbo wasn't terribly happy with trying to look at me with the bright sun in his eyes, but HEY, there was SUN! Yay!

Now I just have to figure out what I'm going to plant in my garden...

Belated St Patricks Day..

On St. Patrick's Day the weather was beautiful (unlike today which is dreary and snowing from time to time), so of course Lissa and I took the kids to the park together... and of course we didn't consider that all of the kids would be wearing green that day... so at times it was hard to spot which were ours! But I was glad we went anyways, it was so good to enjoy some time outside with good company. Plus the added bonus of having one of my kids best friends in the whole world there :)

People I Haven't Seen (or Heard from Personally) in Years.

Okay, so I have a dilemma...

When I was in college I had quite a few sets of roommates, not because I didn't get a long with people, but because I felt it was a good opportunity for change and a good way to meet new people. During the two and a half years I was there I had four sets of roommates, which I was totally okay with.

There was one set of roommates that I would term my "best" roommates, in that I got along fairly well with all of them. They were pretty neat girls. Though, I will admit, that I was always one to be over sensitive about being left out of things... so instead of being left out, often times I would take off for the weekend to do laundry at my parents house (kind of a preemptive "I won't be around to be left out" kind of thing... looking back I maybe should have acted differently, I don't know honestly)

Well, this set of roommates tries to get together about every four years or so. It's kinda neat. Last time we spent a weekend near park city, just the six of us girls... well, except the baby one of the girls brought along. It was a nice get away (though -- I admit -- I felt fat the whole time, that's what happens when you go four years without seeing people and you are one of two people that have gained weight, and the heaviest one by far. This was nobody's fault but my own though! Yup, blaming self there). Everyone was pretty agreeable, and I never felt outcast in any way.

Alas it's been four years again and I recently received an email mentioning another "roomie reunion". My dilemma is this: I seldom hear from these ladies except when one of these "reunions" comes up... I don't know if I should take that as an indication that they really aren't too interested in me or just that they have their own lives to lead and it doesn't occur to them (see, still haven't gotten rid of that overly sensitive to being left out thing... have a feeling I will be struggling with that for the rest of my life...). That by itself isn't a big problem but it also seems that there is a desire to have it only be the "girls" again and most of the ladies have never met my husband and most certainly do not know my children. Besides, we excluded the guys and kids last time and there was mention of sometime doing something with all of them (or at least a lunch or something with all of them) so we could meet each others families. Together these two things (no contact and no family) start to be a problem for me.

I don't want to give the impression that I'm a total spoil sport, that I'm a big party-pooper, but really... it does appear that these people don't really want to know or understand me (or each other, unless they have been in constant contact over the last four years and have all met each others husbands and families...). Yes, I'm much more than just a mother and a wife, I hate it when people assume that there is not more to me... but my husband is my best friend on the entire planet (I honestly don't know how I could handle life without him), and I would give my life for any one of my kids to have the opportunity to become all that they want to be in this life, get that -- give my life for their opportunity. I'm not saying that this isn't also the case with many of these girls... I just don't really know how I can really know them, or they me, without us at least meeting (or having the opportunity to meet) the most important parts of our lives.

Maybe they just need a weekend off from being mom and wife. I understand that. Hell, at the end of May Jer and I are taking off for a week sans kids because I almost went insane this winter because of the overwhelming feeling of loosing my identity. There has to be time to be "ME" in any persons life, but does it have to be an occasion that happens only once every four years? Last time I honestly considered not going because I wouldn't have my greatest emotional support in the world there with me (yup, that's Jer -- just knowing he is around helps me to be, well, more ME! Especially the current me). I think I'd be okay without the kids... then again, atm I'm a little OD ed on them... I would LOVE to meet the other girls husbands and families though!!!

This time, I don't know if I will go or not, I honestly don't know if it will make much of a difference to them or not if I am actually there. I mean, sure, anyone would say "Ohhhh, I'm so sad you aren't coming!" or "We really missed you!" but sometimes it's really hard to tell if that is just being kind aka not rude, or if it's honestly the truth. Besides... I have no idea if I will even be able to hold a conversation with these girls... I have, after all, gone a bit "apostate" and would most likely no longer agree with any of them politically, I still hate scrap booking, and I have this newly discovered feminist streak in me... then there is the old "I'm going to get left out" ailment...

PS I know a couple of them have been to my blog before (I don't know if they check it anymore) but just in case, my intention is not to offend or accuse anyone of anything or to hurt anyones feelings, just to try to hash it out to see more clearly where I stand on the whole thing. Okay, butt sufficiently covered.

Why do I stay?

---WARNING: VERY LONG POST---

I know when I was young my family didn't go to church.

I remember when we lived in Utah there were times my parents would throw parties with their friends at our house and we were supposed to stay in our rooms... preferably asleep. I had the feeling there was alcohol around. It wasn't a big deal. It's just what was.

When I was 8 I remember my parents asking if I wanted to be baptized. I said yes. I don't remember why. I do know that I was adamant about my dad being the one to do it. I remember being insistent, even when he tried to persuade me to let the bishop do it. I waited six months for my dad to be able to do it, and he did. Then life went on.

I always wondered why my friends couldn't play on Sunday. I remember my mom telling me that it was my choice if I wanted to play on Sunday or not.

I loved waking up to the smell of coffee. It smelled so good.

I remember going boating on the weekends. I can't remember what part of the weekend it was, it didn't matter. I was with family, and we were having fun and being the way a family should be.

I could always tell when one of the leaders at church told the other kids to "bring a friend" to church with them. That was the only time religion was ever brought up to me by the other kids. There were some kids that would only invite me to do anything during one of those times. I hated feeling like a service project.

When I was 13 I got tired of feeling like everyone else knew the bible stories when I didn't. I had a vague idea about Noah and the Ark, and Jonah and the Whale... but no knowledge about the specifics of those stories. I decided it was time that I knew them. So I started to read the bible. I never did get all the way through it. I think I got through Exodus and gave up. I've never gotten all the way through the bible.

I took a trip to visit an aunt for a couple of weeks. It was fun, it was nice to go to church and have no one really know that I was "inactive"... to just be seen as one of the girls. To be included. I remember the lesson was on the tools of the devil. I found it intriguing.

When I came home my parents had gotten and new car (a purple one!). They had also started to go back to church. They invited me to come along. I did.

When they got sealed in the temple I went with them.

I got my patriarchal blessing.

When my sister married her husband in the temple I got special permission to be there so that when my parents were sealed to her, I could be too.

I went to seminary.

I remember being frustrated when my two closest girlfriends were invited to be on the seminary council but I wasn't. I remember not understanding. How could people that played with others emotions so much be selected, but someone like me, who tried (but often failed) to do right by others was overlooked?

I graduated from seminary.

I went to Rick's college. It was close to home. I didn't want to be all that far from my parents, they were my very best friends throughout high school and sustained me when I was desperately hurting. I didn't want to risk being so far from home that I couldn't access such a safe place easily. It was a good thing. I needed them often. My mom stopped going to church. I didn't think all that much about it. I knew I was tired of the rules at Ricks and the fact that I had no guys interested in me. Ricks had more rules than my parents did for me when I was living at home. What was the point of having more rules if all the guys were interested in the girls that played with their emotions.

I got my associates degree. I decided to "take a break" from school. My mom probably knew I wouldn't go back any time soon. At the time I was considering going on a mission, I think because I really didn't know what else to do with myself. I wasn't married, I didn't have a boyfriend or anyone even interested that I could tell. As far as what the Church was telling me ... that left a mission.

I filled out my papers. I told my whole family I was going.

But I didn't. Instead, I met Jer and got married. (Luckily he was the right guy, I have never regretted marrying him!)

I too got married in the temple. About a year later I was pregnant with our first child.

It's interesting. Looking back at my life, I can't tell my reasons for becoming active in church, besides an attitude of "I might as well". I thought in high school I had a testimony. I don't think I did. I think I sometimes became emotional about church related things, but much of that might have been the fact that I was a teenager and full of hormones. I went to a Church college, I told myself it wasn't to find a husband, but I picked a "fluff" major that wouldn't get me far in the world. I didn't really know what I was truly interested in. The Church doesn't emphasize that for girls. I had lots of things I liked to do, but hadn't ever really thought I would have to support myself. It turns out I never really did have to support myself. I regret not getting a better education while I had the opportunity. This isn't the Churches fault, but they didn't help much here either.

I was content doing what the Church told me to for a while. I was irritated by small things, or what I thought were small things. I was frustrated that many of the women that surrounded me seemed like sheeple, seeming only doing things because that is what they were told to, while many of the guys seemed uncomfortable being my friend because of possible assumptions other people would make. I realized after a while I was frustrated with myself for being a sheeple. I started trying to be and do more that was ME. This is where I'm at.

In the end I don't know if I ever really made a conscious effort to "become active" in church. I was already baptized so there was no defining moment. I don't know if I did it because it was easy, because it was popular, or because it was right. Or all of the above. I don't know. I don't remember much of my thoughts at the time.

So now I'm left with these questions. Why am I here? Why do I stay? Do I stay because I was raised in the Church or do I stay because it would cause some problems with family (namely my in-laws, most of my family is inactive again.) or do I stay because of something else? Why do I stay when I perceive such inequality between the ways girls and boys are treated within the Church, why to I strive to go to Church and get frustrated with things like hearing that Adam was coerced into eating the fruit from the tree of knowledge (that wasn't by a teacher BTW, a class member. I addressed that assumption quickly). Why do I go when I worry it will teach Missy that she is only good to be a follower and a supporter. I want her to be the leader that I know her personality leans towards. I worry that the Church will harm my kids more than it will help them on so many levels. I worry that it will teach my boys that girls aren't as good as boys. What other assumption is a young boy to come to... "why can't girls pass the sacrament?" there is no answer... they are left to make one up for themselves. The most easily accessible is that of girls not being good enough. This breaks my heart.

There are some beautiful things that the Church teaches too. That there is a Heavenly Father and a Heavenly Mother. That we can become like them. That Jesus suffered so that we could live. That the Godhead is three separate units in one. That we can all go back to live with them again.

Is it enough? Is it enough for this life? Is it only this life that the things I have issues with will be in? How can I make it through this life being a "faithful" member of a church that inadvertently teaches such inequality between the sexes? They say the two are equal, yet their actions seem to say differently. Isn't it "by their fruits ye shall know them"? I keep telling myself that my church is actually pretty advanced in this area as far as Christian churches go... it does, after all acknowledge the existence of a Heavenly Mother... which most don't. I go to Church hoping I'm not scarring my children, yet when I stay home I worry about the same thing.

In the end. I just don't know.

Ohhhhhh the Taxmaaaaaaan.....

Taxes = done. HOORAY!!!!

I love it when I can get them done "early" 'cause then I can promptly forget about them again till next year and focus on my little deductibles more. :)

Would You Take 6 More Kids?

I can honestly say that my three kidlets sometimes nearly push me to screaming my lungs out. I love them, but man they can be testing. Then I think about adding 3 more to the mix and I get a little nervous... I may end up in the mental institution after a major breakdown. Then 3 more after that? Ya, it's no more a "may" end up in the mental institution, it's a I "would" end up in the mental institution!

Well, taking 6 more kids into their home at one time is EXACTLY what one of our friends has done! Going quickly from a family of three to a family of NINE!!!! But honestly, with their personalities... if anyone can do it... THEY CAN. They are some of the most giving people we know and so full of love you can almost taste it in their presence.

When we first met Josh and Deneece we were still newly weds (as were they). We happened to be next door neighbors. We would often go to each other homes for dinner, cause HEY two people is NOT much to cook for and any "normal" sized meal would last us a week of dinners. We talked about many things and played many games teasing each other the whole way. I remember at one point talking about the number of kids we wanted to have. My response? Five.... though that has changed since and three is good. :) Their response? LOTS!!!

As the years went by I had Goober and they adopted Eli. Then I had Missy, and they kept trying for those kids they knew would be theirs. Then I had The Energizer Bunny and they began looking into adopting another child. And low and behold they found those kids that were supposed to be theirs! They just didn't know they would find them all at once!

Needless to say their family is going through a lot right now. Instead of one 6 year old they now have 7 kids ranging in age from 12 years old to 4.....and they need a lot of things!

So if you would like to help they have a fund set up at our local WestMark Credit Unions or you can go here and look at the list of things they know they are in need of right now. Or if you have questions you can email amazingadoptionstory@me.com.

What an awesome family!!!! God Bless them... every single one of them!

Say "Thank You!" ...to a husband that has no issues calling me out. :P

Today is GORGEOUS!!! I'm so happy to have such a beautiful day! We would SO be out in it right now.... except Goober came home with a fever from school today. :P

Missy had this same thing over the weekend. No other symptoms, just a fever. Kinda a high fever too. Count my blessings for no pukies. Count, count, count!

This is our new fence! YAY it's almost done! Then I can clean up the dog bombs in the backyard and probably tell them to "GO OUTSIDE" and play. Well..... except right now that would be a slightly hard thing to do.

You see, the only way to our backyard at the moment is through the garage. Can we say Dum, dum, DUMB! We are trying to remedy that at the moment too though.

We just had these wonderful stairs installed.

They work great..... one problem....

You can't get to them. And the kids DEFINITELY can't get to them.

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Yeah, gonna have to wait for the fence to be finished then the fence guy will get back to putting a railing on the stairs and opening the railing TO said stairs!

This is the almost finished side gate. Soon, I keep thinking....sooooon. All that needs to be finished on the fence are the latches for the gates and a couple of boards (I think... maybe some adjusting so that everything fits snuggly).

As for the other things mentioned by DEAREST... he would have to bring up the fact that I mangled a tablecloth I was making. How? you may ask How do you mess up a TABLECLOTH!? I mean... all you do is serge and do the edges...right? Right. Well.... I managed to serge off the wrong side of the tablecloth... the side that wasn't too long.... actually, the side that was TOO SHORT. Ugh. Oh, well.... at least the fabric is on clearance! At least I hope it's still on clearance.....

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As far as the car goes. You know, the car that is paid off? Well, if it's not payments it's fix its. Friday Jer came home from work and informed me that the window on the car is hosed. Yah. It doesn't go up anymore... in fact the darned thing FELL down and won't go up anymore. grrrr. So guess what that means my dears? It means that Jer and I get the try to CRAM the thing into our garage... which was at the time, jam CRAMMED, with STUFF. Luckily we were somehow able to manage it. Well, come Monday we take the car in to have it fixed, and apparently to find out (as always) that other things need to be done as well. Supposedly we are supposed to get the car back no later than tomorrow night... supposedly. That's if another part doesn't come in wrong :P

So, THAT my dears is what has been happening lately. :) Say "Thank You" to Jer

(luv you honey!)

Why I'm So Warped or "I Hurt When You Hurt"

Overall my childhood was a pretty good one. I grew up in a good family with parents who loved me and did what they could for me. I might even say I was spoiled in many ways... Yes, my dear sisters, I admit it! I think most of it came from the fact that my parents were better off by the time I came around and was growing up than they were when my sisters were young. Anyways, to my point. I had a good childhood, but I had my challenges too. Just like every other kid, I guess.

When I was in early elementary I had issues with keeping up with my class, thank goodness I had a wonderful teacher who spotted it and was willing to help me as much as she could. She communicated well with my parents to help them understand what was going on and therefore, when we moved to another school right before my 5Th grade year my mom and dad knew what needed to be done and got the new school to work with me as well. By the time I entered junior high I was caught up and actually ahead in some subjects. Yay for good teachers!

That of course was not the sum total of my hardships. Some of those stay with me to this day, in the back of my mind making me question myself and others, but that is for another day.

You see, when I moved into our new home in the fifth grade I didn't have any friends (like most kids when they move to a new neighborhood and a new school). I of course did my best to make friends quickly so that I wouldn't feel so alone (which by the way is the worst feeling in the whole world in my book). The first kids I met were on the street I lived on. There was only one boy in my grade that lived on our street and you know how elementary school kids feel about the other gender. BLECH! So I made friends with kids younger than me. Two girls in particular. They were pretty fun to play with even if they were two years younger than me... I mean, beggars can't be choosers, eh? At least we had fun.

For a while.

Then one of them decided she didn't like me so much anymore, and when we had been playing happily for a while and the other girl came around she would tell me that she wanted to play with "Anna" alone. (yes I changed her name for those that may know her) Basically she dismissed me. I wasn't wanted around anymore so go home.

I didn't have any other friends yet.

Oh did that hurt.

I can't tell you how badly. There just aren't words to convey how cutting it is to feel unwanted.

My mom did her best to comfort me. She told me I didn't need them anyways. The thing was though... I did. I needed friends. After a while of trying to "just deal with it" and getting hurt over and over again I finally decided that what mom said was true. I didn't need them.

Granted this time in my life passed, I made new friends when school started and went on my merry way (so to speak).

I look back at that time and remember my mom telling me "I hurt when you hurt!" or "this hurts me too" ... as a kid I never really got that. I never really understood until recently.

Actually I never fully understood till this week.

Because this week, my son was excluded. Oh man, does that hurt. But you know what? When I told him "If they don't want to play with you, they aren't your friends. Can you find another friend to play with?"

Guess what?

HE DID.

Bookaholic

Yeah, I read. A lot.

I could easily go through four or five good sized books in three weeks time when I'm "Binging". I really like books... no I love books. They are the escape that allows you to stop mid sentence if you need to cuddle a little kid, or change a diaper.

I have an issue though. I have a weird aversion to the library. That's right. I love books, dread the library.

Could it be that if I were to go to the library every time I wanted a book I would have to drag all of my kidlets with me? I don't think I would mind so much if this were not that case.

I know, selfish. Kids should be taught to love the library ...right? Sure, I agree with that. In Principal. In practice... yeah, not so much.

Maybe it's the garden area that is right in your face as you walk in... that looks so enticing to play in. Maybe it's the fish pond that they aren't supposed to touch that is right at the best level to dangle little fingers in. Or could it be the HUGE ramp that they just want to run on! Up. Down. up. down. Up. Down. UP DOWN ... WEEEEE!! and you know with that much fun there is NO WAY they are going to be library quiet. Heck, there's almost no way I could be library quiet! Not with trying to draw their attention to actual books. Heaven FORBID! Books! HA. Riiiight.

Mom, why would I want to read a book when I can walk along this retaining wall as fast as I can teetering on the edge, just asking the fish pond to swallow me up!? What? You just asked my sibling in a very stern tone for the umpteenth time to stop doing this exact thing? Why are you upset mom? WHAT? We are going HOME??? BUT WHY!!!???? NOOOOOOOO....

Ugh. Yeah, at this point Barnes and Noble is a blessing... even with the cost and the temptation of running around the shelves like it's a racetrack.

If I go to the library all the sanity I gain by reading books is INSTANTLY lost through the tactics of the 3 beings I call my chillins. They plan it in advance I tell you! Those sneaky little short people don't get enough credit for their strategic skills!

Any suggestions?

The Girl(s) Next Door!

OK, so Tandee's girls are way cute, and I got a couple of cute pictures of them while I watched Taylor and Emmrie today. I thought this was probably the best way to get those pictures to her if she wanted them.

TMNT.... the old one.

OK, so today Jer took the kids for 3 hours. All three of them... not just at home, out. GO JER!! :)

Anywho, while he was out with the kidlets he bought the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for G. Can we say TIME WARP. Holy crap have you seen the special effects? How did we actually think that was good.... EVER. The "hot babe" reminds me of my sisters styles when they were in high school, and the Shedder totally reminds me of a Darth Vader wanna be! And I'm sorry but the "tough guys" in that movie are just lame.

I couldn't watch it, I had to leave. It was wounding my soul! Oh the terror... please, oh please don't let this be G's next favorite movie... have MERCY!

Hangin Out

So yesterday Nat had her baby shower for her little girl, and may I say that little girl is going to be stylin! Her hubby "Pete" and Jer and the six kids hung out at our house while us girls were relaxing and hanging out.

Her boys are so cute. And they seamed to have fun playing with my munkins and vice versa.

Clobbered

What is it about a parent sitting or laying on the floor that is a instant kid magnet? And same thing with cameras... as soon as a parent picks one up it's instantly "Mom/Dad can I see?" or "Take a picture of me!" lol I mean... REALLY! ... I often wonder what my kids would think if I pulled out my old 35mm camera. I mean, goodness! you can't even see the picture you just took. And heaven forbid that you actually have to wait a WHOLE hour (or *gulp* a WHOLE day) to see the pictures!

I made the "mistake" today of doing both, I picked up the camera and sat on the floor. Instantly I was a jungle gym! LOL