God Gives Me a Mommy Break ... and a Kleenex Person

I took this picture one day last week when Aron was out of town. Things can get pretty crazy around here, as I'm sure you can guess, but there came a point in our day when I realized the kids were QUIET and were ALL working happily at the dining room table. Of course I had to take a photo of this rarity and treasure the moment. This little creative session yielded this gem from Michael:

Personalized Christmas Ornaments ... Family Bed!!!

I got this at PersonalCreations.com and got 500 MyPoints as well! Remember I've told you about MyPoints before, so if you sign up there, puh-lease use me (mommykerrie) as the person who referred you because I get a few points for doing so. Anyway, I'm coming up on 10,000 points soon and that means $50 cash in my PayPal account (I am choosing that option over getting a few gift cards since we need money for Christmas instead).

But I digress like I am prone to do. I dig this ornament so much. I don't collect much stuff these days since we don't have the space and I am turning anti-accumulation. I get rid of a bag of crap about twice a month these days and hit the Half Price Books to sell movies and books about once a month. But this personalized thing is so special because all my babies are in the bed together! If I get pregnant again someday, I'll just order another ornament with Aron, myself and the new baby on it and hang the ornaments together.

Personalized stuff can be costly ($15) but if you don't get it very often it is so worth it and so special.

Playing in the Leaf Piles

When I pulled up in the driveway yesterday from taking 4 kids shopping at Aldi, Aron and Michael had raked a huge leaf pile for me to drive through! They were going to hide in it, but were afraid I might run them over. Good thinking, guys!

Yesterday Aron was off work since he's been traveling so much and didn't get to take last week off. So he focused on the leaf raking. It was one of those days where the temperature SAYS it's like 40 degrees, but the sun is out and there is no wind so it's warmish in a fall kind of way.

Later I took the kids to a park (not the school park since we'd probably be kicked out, right!), then when we got back Aron had another huge leaf pile. The kids did flips into it, rode bikes into it, swung into it and more. The kids getting out of school were in awe of our cool pile and many stopped to jump into it. As Aron is off again, today holds more raking fun ... in the backyard.

Today over at Homeschooling Mommybot I give my version of European "explorers" because the history books are making me fall asleep.

Have a great Tuesday!

Pokemon and Thomas the Train T-shirts

I love when kids hit that stage where they want to be BIG. When the start knowing what they like and hunting it down. For example, Sam is in love with trains (like most boys, I know). So I tracked down an old Thomas the Tank Engine t-shirt that the boys had when they were his age. His face lit up when he saw it and he put it right on, even though it's huge on him! Notice the STILL unfinished kitchen wall behind him. I've been slacking on that little project.

One day we were getting ready to go to Pokemon Club at the library and Sam tracked down this Pokemon t-shirt in his brothers' closet and put it on. It looks like a dress on him, but he didn't care because he knew he was dressed appropriately for the occasion. In case you're wondering where to get Pokemon t-shirts, I saw one at Target that was of the new black and white characters but they only had 2 left in a size medium. Have a great Monday! My hubs is off work for a few days, so I have nothing left to do but strip the rest of the dang kitchen wallpaper (yes, folks, THREE layers dating back as far as 1966).

Inappropriate Parenting Comments

Sometimes things come out of our mouths (or in our emails) that are totally inappropriate. Those are the moments I love because they make us real! Here are a few of the latest funnies:

1. A guy I know sent out an email titled "Pimpin' Girl Scout Cookies" ... PIMPIN' them!!!! I pictured him with a big, purple furry hat and platform shoes sending poor, defenseless boxes of cookies out into the world to make him money. No offense to pimps.

2. The Prader-Willi Syndrome Association sends out their fundraiser and the tagline is "still hungry for a cure." The reason this is funny is because one of the characteristics of P-W Syndrome is that a kid's brain tells the kid that it's hungry all the time so the kid want to eat constantly.

3. At Bible Study, I noticed a mom who had her kid in those pants that snap from foot to crotch. I said something about his cool STRIPPER PANTS. Then I was worried she would snub me, but she LAUGHED. 

Thank God for people with thick skin and a sense of humor!