Happy Birthday to Michael/How to Make a Birthday Special

Today is Michael's 10th birthday! Of course I still remember being in labor with him, driving to the hospital, labor pains getting worse so my mom took Joel away from the hospital and to a park. He was born within a few hours and had these full lips that are still so gorgeous.

So things have been a little busy around here and Michael had a rockin' party on Saturday but it's really important to me that my kids feel special on their birthdays. It's just a thing I have ... maybe because my parents always made such a big deal out of my birthday. So this morning I was awake around 7 and everyone was sleeping and I asked Aron if I could run out to the grocery store really fast. Michael has gymnastics today and Religous Ed and I wanted him to be able to take some special things to those places. Everyone should enjoy a birthday! So here's what I got; allow me to take you on a tour:

*Keep in mind all you may see is sugar and processed food, but we don't eat this way all the time and birthdays are for sugar. You may quote me on that.

Here we have the illustrious powdered and chocolate donuts. We never have these unless Papa Dave drops them off unexpectedly, so they are a treat. Don't worry, I will also be feeding my kids eggs for protein, Mom!

For lunch we have something I got for FREE ... Fast Fixin's jumbo popcorn chicken and chicken nuggets. They sent me some free vouchers to try their product and I have been trying them and they ROCK! They are yummy and the kids love 'em. We also have some ice cream to top the brownies later. I got thte Hi-Lite because a little LESS sugar won't kill 'em.

Here we have an assortment of nastiness. Cupcakes for gymnastics. Cupcakes for Religious Ed. Chocolate chips to go in the brownies for after dinner. A sugar coma is imminent. Check on us at about 9 p.m., please. I also have napkns and NEON food coloring because I had a Q-pon. Aron asked if it was natural food coloring and I said yes, made from beets, carrots and green beans ... NOT! By the way, McCormick, the word TURQUOISE has a U in it. If you need me to proof future packaging for you, just give me a call and I'll do it for the steep sum of: FOOD COLORING FOR LIFE!

Then you have Mr. Geoffrey Giraffe call from Toys R Us and you have yourself a fun day in the making!

I'd like to thank Mr. McLoughlin for making this grocery trip possible, and for helping to make the existence of Michael possible.

Happy Birthday, Michael! I love you more than you can ever know and always will, no matter what.

Saturday Craziness/Homemade LEGO Banner

Last night was the Imagine Homeschool Community play! More on that here later, at my homeschool blog.

This morning I have one kid being picked up to go clean a stream with Scouts for a few hours ...

.. and another kid + Daddy going to her First Communion Retreat for a few hours.

My mom is getting her 2nd crown in 2 weeks then bopping over to my house this morning.

Then everyone reconvenes here at 1 for Michael's 10th birthday party. This includes my dad and stepmom, of course, and I LOVE when I get to see my parents in one day. Being an only child, they are the most important people to me in the world next to my husband and kids.

This year we are saving money and instead of going to the party store at $50 a pop x 5, we are using tablecloths we already have, decorating ourselves, using our own plates, etc. I guess you could call it a Year of Cheap Birthday Parties! Anyway, we have a Merida/Brave banner that says HAPPY BIRTHDAY and we tack it up to the wall and then we can just cover Merida's face with whatever we want for the boy parties! For Michael it's LEGO. For Joel it will probably be Pokemon. Anyway, I just pulled a LEGO image and pasted it several times and then put his name in the middle of the page and printed it out. Don't mind the wall; we don't live in a cardboard box ... my husband has stripped the wallpaper so we can paint! The square LEGO creation below the banner is courtesy of Michael.

Here's a picture of how we are trying to organize Michael's LEGOs lately: in knockoff Tupperware. The problem is we have too many and there is still a massive tub full of them!

Have a great day!

How to Take a Family Easter Picture

Had to get this post up since Easter was days ago. What a slacker I am! Anyway, this here's my cute little family in Easter garb. Before you judge, ask yourself if you know how hard it is to get SEVEN people to look amazing all at the same time? Well, do you? Okay, then you'll know that this picture is FANTABULOUS in my book.

Thank God for the timer on the camera and a husband who knows how to use it!

Have a great weekend, everybody!

McLoughlins

Pictures of Aron & Our Kids as Babies: Wordless Wednesday

Joel, 2001

Michael, 2003

And this is where Blogger likes to mess with me, as it won't let me caption the rest of the pictures! They are:

Callie, 2005
Eva, 2007
Samuel, 2009





What Would Kerrie Read? (WWKR?)

Look, I don't want to become of them thar book bloggers or anything, but I do like to share what I'm reading ... or attempting to read whilst the kids run around me and I try to entertain a writing career and keep a smokin' hot guy happy (by keeping the house picked up and cooking meals, dirty minds!).

I'll update this sucker whenever I'm into a new set of stuff and will put the newer stuff at the top. Since I like to have several books going at a time, hopefully you can find something interesting that applies to your life. And in the interest of full disclosure, I might make a little something if you click the link and buy the item from Amazon.com. Or check it out from your local library Kerrie-style!

And YES -- sheesh -- I do realize I have too many books at one time and should leave some in the library for the rest of you blokes. I have an addiction! My library card is like a Reading Credit Card (don't ask about the fines).

Here we go:

April 2013

 

Coping With OCD by Bruce M. Hyman, Ph.D., LCSW
My 10-year-old son has OCD, which popped up in 2010 and went away quickly. It has reared its ugly head again and is proving harder to get rid of. Yes, he is in some therapy for it. Yes, we are reading books about it and trying to help him at home. There are hard days and not-so-hard days. I'm betting we will end up writing our own memoir or help manual about OCD someday. In the meantime, there is this.




The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing
A classic, I hear. I can't wait to read this winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature 2007, first published in 1962. This is the story of a divorced single mom in 1950s London. "Fearful of going mad, she records her experiences in four coloured notebooks. The black notebook records her writing life, the red her political views, the yellow notebook her emotional life and the blue everyday events. But it is the fifth notebook -- the golden notebook -- that brings the strands of her life together and holds the key to her recovery." She  has written tons of things, including a novel called The Fifth Child. The Golden Notebook seems like it could be a little Margaret Atwood Blind Assassin-ish with a story in a story.



The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs
Borrowed from Cousin Tresa. When I can get 2 minutes to read it, I love it, and it makes me laugh. When I tell people about it, they seem annoyed, like this guy is trying to be perfect and misconstrue the Bible and make all of us look bad. This book is highly entertaining so far!


Checking out the above book on Amazon.com led me to this, which will be going on my list soon: A Year of Biblical Womanhood (this should be verrrrrry interesting!)


The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver
I've been trying to get past page 62 in this one for a long time and just can't do it. I'll let you know if I finish it. Kingsolver is an icon these days, and this is one of her earlier works, so I hope I love it and that I will also love her other works.


Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
I'm reading this to Joel for our Newberry Award book club with our Imagine Homeschool group, and it makes us laugh but also makes us very sad and makes us appreciate the family that we have and the things we have such as a home, food, transportation, safety, health and more. Set during the Great Depression and told from the viewpoint of a young black boy, this one will make you think.


Around the Writer's Block (Using Brain Science to Solve Writer's Resistance) by Rosanne Bane
I'll be showasing some of my findings from this book over at my Make Money to Write About Your Kids blog, but the cover says it will handle issues like: procrastination, paralysis, perfectionism, postponing, distractions, self-sabotage, excessive criticism, overscheduling and endlessly delaying your writing. Guilty, guilty and check!



Home Learning Year by Year: How to Design a Homeschool Curriculum from Preschool through High School by Rebecca Rupp
Just got this in the mail and am super excited! I only have the "What Your X Grader Needs to Know" up to Grade 6, and this book covers basic benchmarks from PreK through high school and offers resources you can check out at the library or go to online. Basically if you use this book you could homeschool for ... mostly ... FREE!

Coming up in May if I can get through April's

 

Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne with Lisa M. Ross



Get Organized, Stay Organized by Christine D. Shuck



War's End by Christine D. Shuck



The War on Drugs: An Old Wives' Tale by Christine D. Shuck



Voices of Autism

People Who Don't Believe in God

Today Callie whispers to me, "My friend X says she doesn't think [our mutual friend] believes in God."

And do you know what Catholic me said?

"So what?"

Then I asked her what she thought of this person. She said she is a very nice person. She's a good mom.

I asked her if she remembered some of the times that Christians have been mean. Of course she remembers.

Then I got to drive home the point that we are all sinners, we are all just trying to be better people and get along and we often stumble but that just because someone does not believe in God we don't stay away from them.

Their un-Godness won't rub off on us, and we don't try to convert them to our point of view. I happen to really like this person, and her husband, who I believe is agnostic or maybe even atheist. I'm not sure, and I don't care. We sit around and trade homeschooling info and I consider these people to be our friends.

I want my kids to be able to hang out with all sorts of people.

Great Aunt Eva's little dolls. Funny how there are 3 boys and 2 girls like I have now!

*Sidenote: just because I DON'T handle you, doesn't mean I CAN'T ... I'm just trying to be nice and get along. Although I am considering making this coming summer the Summer of Handling People's BS on the Spot. I have a lot of trouble reconciling the Old Testament eye for an eye with the New Testament turn the other cheek. Am I the only one who is bipolar about this?

Endometritis After Childbirth

Okay, so this is a picture of me in October of 2009, about a WEEK after giving birth to my 5th child, Samuel. The poor wittle guy took a week-long trip to the NICU for meconium aspiration (story here) and I just was not losing weight.

I mean, you are supposed to lose SOME weight after you squeeze a 7-ish-pound baby out of you, right? Then there's the placenta and all that goo.  But I was losing NADA and my ankles were getting more swollen. It was freaky.

So I finally went to the doctor because I had all these other symptoms both before and after birth that were puzzling me and making me feel like crap. I really don't think he knew what it was, but he diagnosed me with ENDOMETRITIS (not endometriosis), gave me an antibiotic and I was dropping weight and feeling better within 24 hours.

So if you are feeling crappy after childbirth, please don't ignore it and call it plain old postpartum junk. Please go see your doctor, for me!

And no, this is not an April Fool's post!

Happy Easter & All Natural Jelly Beans

Yeah, I'm kind of hooked on Trader Joe's after one visit. Well, I went in 2002 in Scottsdale, Arizona but could not fully appreciate it then. Now I realize what an incredible array of stuff they have. Sweet potato fries! Quinoa chips! Oh, that smooth and creamy hummus!

On a lark I picked up these all natural jelly beans. I have friends who swear their kids act like total heathens when they eat food dyes. And I'm like, um, okay, but your kids act the same when they don't eat food dyes! Anyway, moving on because we are all entitled to our opinion and I am no Perfect Parent ...

... so on a day when I had a few extra kids around I whipped these out so I could get some work done. My daughter proceeded to play Easter Bunny, fill eggs and pass them out.

And I am happy to report the children (some of whom were not mine, mind you, so they were in the Control Group) were all calm and kind and sweet and did not run around like heathens.

Yeah, right.

Happy Easter!

Weight Loss Buddies

I am a contradiction, I know.

I like to be around people but I also like to be alone.

I like to sneak into my Weight Watchers and sit in the back of the room.

This morning I was standing in line and heard, "Kerrie, is that you?" I dreaded turning around.

But it was someone I know and like! [I know it's not AA, but I won't "out" her unless she wants me to.]

I didn't know how she felt about being alone at meetings, so I asked her if she'd like to sit with me.

We sat next to each other and laughed and shared ideas. We talked for 1/2 hour after the meeting. It felt weird since for so many years I always feel like I have to get right home to my littles.

Just like how I met a fellow published writer at an Easter egg hunt yesterday and that felt cool, it was nice to see someone I know in Weight Watchers, sharing my struggle and encouraging me.

I think we all need someone like that, someone to tell us they ate all of their weekly 49 points in one sitting last night when stressed or sad. Someone we can relate to. Then the next week they might tell us how excited they are that they worked out every day and lost a pound ... or even a fraction of a pound.

With Easter coming up I was feeling crummy and not in control. She told me how great I was doing and how far I had come in the last 6 months.

So this is a shout-out to my new weight loss buddy. I think I'll try to start attending the same meetings she does. This blog post is her warning so she can switch if she doesn't like to be stalked.

Thomas the Tank Engine Lunchbox and Pez Dispensers

This is Sam. His Tutu (grandma in Hawaiian and no, we are not Hawaiian; my mom just likes Hawaii) gave him money for Easter.

I used his money to buy him this Thomas lunchbox with 4 Thomas Pez dispensers in it. I also got him a Plants vs. Zombies T-shirt because he likes to watch his siblings play that game.

Anyway, thank you from Samuel, Tutu. We appreciate you and love you and you are wonderful.

And no, Sam is not wearing any pants.

Your 6 Most Favorite Places

My friend Angeliina of Modern Art Announcements just gifted me with this amazing print. She told me to pick my 6 favorite places and my husband and I could only think of 5 so then I just had her put our last name at the end.

San Diego is where Aron and I honeymooned and where my parents and I went in 1977. Aron and I went back in 2008 when we had 4 kids and currently we are saving up to go again.

New England is where we went in October 2000 for 2 weeks. Aron is from Connecticut. We found out when we got home that I had been pregnant with Joel the entire time.

Grand Lake, Colorado is where we went in 2010 with all 5 of our kids and had a great time.

Phoenix is where we went in 2008 with 4 kids for 3 weeks. We had also gone for 5 weeks in 2002 when we had Joel and I was pregnant with Michael. Someone in my family thought I was nuts to do this, to travel with a kid while pregnant. Now it's still no problem with five!

Kingfisher Bend Ranch is where we stayed in Wyoming for 5 weeks in 2012 and is what has inspired us to try to do some remodeling, save some money and move to some land while our kids are still young enough to care.

I think the next one I will have her make will have the names of my 5 kids, then McLoughlin.

What would your print say? These are only $13 and you get to keep the file to do anything you want with. You can print it and frame it. Use it as a scrapbook page. Get creative!

Thanks, Angeliina. It's always nice to have a super creative friend!

Three Hours Without Kids?! Errands with Photos

Saturday was a rare day. I had a lot to do and can always get things done twice as fast without kids (sorry, kids, but you know it is true).

First, I took Callie to her friend's house. She is harder to leave than her 3-year-old brother for some reason, so I chatted with her pal's dad a while (I'm sure it made his day to sit around shooting the breeze with a chick he doesn't know very well) then had to give her a bunch of sugar-free gum to get her to let me leave.

Then to the Apple store to see about getting TWO measly keys fixed on the MacBook Pro I've been borrowing. I had Toshiba over a year and a half with no problems yet I borrow a laptop and the damn things FALL OFF while I am using them. They are all snooty about me needing an appointment, tell me it will probably need a new keyboard, and in researching online it looks like they will charge $150 for that. Or I could get a used keyboard and have Aron the Computer Wizard replace it for $50. It's all up to my pal. She has let me borrow it for months and I owe her a whole laptop even if the keys are a piece of crap and the guys who work at the Apple store are snobs. Keys randomly falling off?

Since I was out in the most shi-shi part of Kansas City besides the Country Club Plaza -- Leawood's Town Center -- and already felt like I was living the life of the hooker in Pretty Woman (um, you can't afford that) it was time to try my maiden voyage to Trader Joe's. I'd been in 2002 in Scottsdale, Arizona with Baby Joel, but it's a whole new world now. I got some cool crap like quinoa tortilla chips, apple cinnamon sticks, jalepeno/cilantro hummus, garbanzo beans, all natural jelly beans and some little chocolate cupcakes for the kids. Sue me; I like to feed people.

I was so annoyed with Apple (why can't they just check the darn computer in and then call me and let me know an estimate or something?) that I sat in the van and pigged in some hummus and chips while listening to talk radio. A plan formed. I knew there was a bra place nearby, so I called Aron to see if we could swing me buying a costly bra and he said okey dokey. I ordered a 34 long and was good to go.

If only. I still need a nursing bra. Yes, Sam is still nursing. Stone me. AND you never know if that Aron is going to knock me up again, so I threw down some serious cash on TWO nursing bras that are SO pretty and make me look skinny because my girls are not resting on my lap when I sit down. I highly rec Clair de Lune in Leawood.

 

 

Next it was on to Bass Pro Shops in Olathe, Kansas for Passport to Adventure pick-up day. PTA is a program where you hit a bunch of cool places in town like nature centers and historical sites and the kids dig it and learn stuff and get a prize at the end. I picked up NINE ... 5 for me and 4 for my friend Jill who just lost her son. I almost started to cry in the Bass Pro because I so badly wanted to pick up FIVE passports for her. Later I HATED handing her husband only four of them. Then I started thinking about Easter for them this year and lost it.

 



Wipe your eyes, friends, because we are moving right along. Yes, I am aware that crying in the car is very therapeutic. Anyway, I went by Julia's house (Joel's friend) to return some shoes and gift her mom with some coffee. Her mom in turn gave ME some coffee and also some facial stuff (she's an aesthetician [how do you spell that word?]!). Score!

 

By now I was severely missing my peeps even though I knew they were in good hands. When I got home it was snowing like crazy (spring break, anyone?) and I walked in to this ...

 



 Yep, a man who approves the expense of a fine nursing bra, watches the kids with no problem, has them in the tub when I arrive AND makes a fire is a man who is fixin' to be a daddy for the sixth time, don't you think? But don't tell my parents, because they only had little ole me and that many grandkids would freak them out!

UPDATE! I Want My Wedding Ring to Fit Again ... Is That a Lot to Ask?

fun fact: my diamond wedding ring has FIVE diamonds, like I have FIVE kids. weird!

***Originally posted January 31, 2013 and updated today:

It's tight, and it ain't comin' off, but it's on there, folks! And, no, I did not have Knuckle Reduction Surgery, although I did consider it. It was too pricey.


Here's some miscellaneous weight loss stuff all in one post so as not to bore you in separate posts!

Okay, first of all, see above. I wear this Black Hills gold ring when my wedding ring does not fit, like generally when I am pregnant. I'm like some 1950s housewife and MUST wear a wedding ring when pregnant. Since I gained almost 40 pounds, my diamond wedding ring does not fit. If losing weight doesn't work again this time, I might need a knuckle reduction. My point is: I'm not just losing weight to look "hot" or wear "cute clothes" ... (I'm not going to lie to you ... those are good reasons, too). I also want to be able to wear the wedding ring my man bought for me in 1997.

Above, how I pack healthy stuff when I'll be out of the house for a few hours. I have to have healthy stuff ready to go or I will eat pure crap. This picture shows oranges, carrots, apples cut into small pieces and string cheese.

We went on a rockin' field trip to The Roasterie in Kansas City. We bought enough coffee to get a free lunchbox, and below is what I put in it ... my "stash". A "stash" for me used to consist of bags of Hershey's kisses and Reese's peanut butter cups and these things Russell Stover used to make called s'mores cups. I would hide chocolate in my drawers in the bedroom, in the closet, in the coffee table in the family room and more. Now my stash is Weight Watchers 2-point bars in about 6 different flavors and these yummy double chocolate protein bars.

Yes, sometimes I do make fun of myself because I'm so much healthier. But, DANG, I have so much more energy and patience for my family and friends, and I just can't beat that.

Banana Republic's MadMen Collection

Holy crap.

I am no fashionista, folks, and my little girls dress themselves nicer than I do, BUT ...

I do know I have a funky style and it's certainly got retro vibes to it, AND ...

Banana Republic has a new MadMen (you know, the rockin' TV show on AMC?! ... if you have not heard of it, Google it and then take your laptop back under your rock with you).

I am in love but can't afford $130 for something like this (and I'm not sure how it would look on a woman with boobs and hips) ...

Note: Banana Republic, don't advertise your MadMen collection all over creation and then make it impossible to find the entire collection by searching MadMen. Sheesh. I am specifically looking for the black and white top/pants set you advertised in People Magazine.

Guess it's back to my local vintage store at a fraction of the price. Pete 'n' Repeat in Overland Park, Kansas .... here I come! This makes me want an apron, too!

Unprotected Sex and Old Girlfriends: A Rant

Yeah, that got your attention, didn't it? Let's dive right in.

So I watched a season of this reality show called "VanderPump Rules". Remember we are not here to discuss the merits of reality TV and whether or not I should be polluting my brain with it. Remember again (redundant?) that I do not have any awesome vices anymore since I'm losing weight, so reality TV is it. Try and focus, people.

So this show is a spin-off from "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills." There is a person on there named Lisa VanderPump who owns a restaurant called SUR. "VanderPump Rules" is a show about the staff there. Lisa is English so she says it "stoff."

I have two issues with this season (keep in mind I was also 20-something once and was also a big drama baby; now I am a full-fledged middle-aged drama queen):

1. This nasty dog Jax seems to go around having unprotected sex all over California and Nevada. Yeah, the obvious happened, and it seems like more than once: pregnancy and giving-her-some-money-to-take-care-of-it. My kind of guy. Oh, and the lying about it to his current girlfriend. Dude is a sociopath for sure; no tears even shed as he broke the news to his woman. As Andy Cohen of BRAVO would say, here's what:

-- I'm sure I will offend someone with this, but I hate how black men get the rap for being the ones who make babies all over creation with multiple women and when a white man does it and an abortion occurs, it's all good. He has "taken care of it."

-- I also hate how people like myself who CHOOSE to have many children because we LIKE them and can TAKE CARE OF THEM get snide remarks and looks. You want I should give one back?

2. This drama baby Kristin had a major meltdown over running into her boyfriend/shack-up lovah's EX-lovah (stay with me here) at a photo shoot. She freaked out, people, then went and let her man have it. For what? For HAVING SEX WITH SOMEONE BEFORE SHE CAME ALONG.

Here's what: this is the society we live in. I love how one of the Bachelors on TV allegedly saved himself for marriage. Rock on, dude. This is rare, and I applaud you.

But here's what, Kristin: I am a little too close for comfort with a couple of women my husband of 15 years was WITH before me, and you don't see me beating him up over it or acting like a diaper baby around the women. And I am Facebook pals with a couple of guys I used to date and my husband is not all checking my account with his mascara running down his face while wailing at me because I had a LIFE before him.

In conclusion: Sex is an intimate act. Don't do it with someone you don't want to spend the rest of your life with cuz stuff happens.

Garden of the Gods in Manitou/Colorado Springs

Originally posted 9/19/10 when we were on vacation in Colorado. I could use a vacation right now, so I'm reposting this!

Yeah, yeah, we went to church this Sunday before we went to what I like to call my Outdoor Church: Garden of the Gods. In fact, we went to TWO churches this morning, devout Catholics that we are. Actually, we made a mistake and went to an Episcopalian church first. We made it halfway through before Aron realized we weren't at a Full-On Catholic Mass (I was in the hallway with active girls and Sam, so I was clueless about the situation, which is of course a first). So he schlepped our butts to another church, where I spent the whole Mass in the nursery with my 2 youngest bonding with the nursery workers and playing with my kids.  I think God was cool with that.  I don't, however, think God's cool with traipsing all the little kids to another room to do a Sunday Schoolish youth program and have some fun instead of sitting through church ... and then telling them, "Oops, we have nobody to teach this. Go back and sit with your parents."

Anyway ... our Garden of the Gods experience was amazing as always. Got some walking in, some playing in the red dirt in, lots of time to think about the awesomeness of the universe (no, I was not smoking weed).

And it's always fun to put your kids in rock cracks and take pictures of them.

Call Me Crazy ...

... but I went down to the basement the other day (by the way, is there any other way but to go DOWN to a basement? isn't that a redundant statement I made?), and ...

I heard running wild banshees going crazy on the level above me.

They were running and laughing and having fun.

Some people would yell STOP IT. Believe me, I have my days when I can't handle the noise. I am no saint, friends.

But usually it just makes me smile. It's like music to my ears. It's all I ever wanted to hear when I was stuck in a cubicle working in my late 20s and dreaming of having kids and being at home with them all the time.

Lazy Crockpot Cinnamon Sugar Apples

This is so easy, makes a nice dessert and makes your house smell amazing!

Just cut up any type of apple you like into chunks and toss them into a slow cooker.

Then toss a stick of butter or margarine on top.

Sprinkle in maybe 1/2 cup of sugar.

Sprinkle in maybe 2 T of cinnamon.

Cook on low 4 hours.

Make this recipe your own ... more or less sugar, make it light, whatever.

Enjoy!

P.S. No, I don't peel the apples because I am lazy. AND my friend Jill gave me the idea to put in some flour so it isn't as runny, and also add oats to the top for a Cobbler Effect!

Messy Monday: Snowed in the Midwest

So we have another big snowstorm in progress here in Kansas City. I got some awesome Popeye arms shoveling snow last week, let me tell you! So now things are getting cancelled left and right. Scouts, gymnastics, religious education, you name it. We are gonna be snowed in. Yeah, we have food and all that stuff. My main concern is keeping everyone OCCUPIED, if you know what I mean.

The kids have plenty of toys and schoolwork and movies to watch and games and all that. So when they are happy and playing, I like to sneak off and ...

ORGANIZE.

Above is a picture that is very exciting to me. It's a box (one of like 3 FULL boxes) of kid artwork, postcards, letters and so on. I got them all organized recently into separate Banker's boxes for each kid. I have a sad reason for having done this. Since my friend's son died, I thought about how I would like easy access to any one of my kids' writings and artwork ... just in case.

Oh, and it'll be nice when they move out and you can say, "Here ya go. Here's your box of stuff. Enjoy it until it gets ruined in your future basement flood. Don't worry about me; I have everything scanned."

I also got stuff out of these boxes because it seems some mice or other creatures got into the boxes and ate some of the stuff with glue on it. And let me give you some advice, parents: don't save the crap made out of macaroni or rice. Mice love that crap and they don't realize they are also eating other important things you have saved.

How to Handle Your Parents as Grandparents

I want to share with you an email I recently sent to my parents. I'm  hoping it helps you learn how to handle your own parents in their grandparent role. Sometimes they just need a little smackin' around, ya know. They like to attend stuff or at least know about it, and the kids love to see them, so I like to keep everyone in the know.

"Okay, troops, we have a lot of grandchildren ground to cover. You might know some of this already but I'm reiterating (look it up). ;-)

1. I am working on bidding some of the LEGO architecture sets for Michael's birthday now since there is no rush. Since it's not Xmas, they are MUCH cheaper. If you would like me to find you a set for him, please let me know. You can slip me the money under the table later. Stuff like this http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160974095865. I know you like it when I do your shopping for you. No extra fee.

2. Joel's Scout Court of Honor is [this part not included for you readers in case there are pervos amongst us]. There is some blah-dee-blah then they give out awards and badges. Joel gets his First Class and some badges. After there will be snacks and drinks.

3. FYI ... Joel gets to go to Exchange City on [no pervos allowed]! Remember that place? I got to go when I was in school so I'm glad he gets to. I have to get him to several prep classes for it, but it should be fun!

4. Friday night, April 5 at 6:30 is Joel/Callie's play in Spring Hill. A bake sale will be held for donations. It's Alice in Wonderland, then you can leave before Romeo/Juliet starts if you need to! [I left this date in because I'm in charge of play publicity ... pervos will be bounced; I have pervdar (like gaydar), so I will know you are there].

5. [Not telling you this] is Michael's bday party at 1.

6. [It's a secret] is Callie's first communion at 11; party afterward around 12:30 ... (Callie's new friend just happened to have a nice, white, long dress in her play closet that we are borrowing for a first communion dress, saving us like $50 at least! i'll need to get her a headpiece still, i'm thinking.)

I love you guys! We have a busy spring coming up, so take your vitamins, do your stretches and attend your Grandparent Boot Camp.

The Mom

I Don't Go Crazy

One of My Drugs

I'm quite proud of the fact that I am parenting drug-free, folks. My neighbor comments that he's surprised I'm not in the loony bin for being at home all day teaching 5 kids, especially when my husband goes out of town, but it's all good.

I have my mother's little helpers. Like chocolate. And this stuff I make with strawberries, fat free Cool Whip and sugar-free Jello powder.

And coffee.

Good coffee bought with coupons.

And half and half.

And sugar. Real sugar.

For some reason when I'm losing my mind, coffee helps. Thank God for decent coffee I can make at home!

Happy 8th Birthday to Callie!!!

If you want to send Callie the aspiring fashion designer any birthday greetings and can't get this #$^% blog to take a comment, head to Glitter In Our Coffee.

Taking Daddy to the Airport (Wordless Wednesday)

So sorry about all the problems leaving comments here. It's an old, rickety blog. Head over to my new endeavor, Glitter In Our Coffee to leave comments!

Eva and Sam Have Two Mommies

Posted this to Facebook and wanted to share with my bloggy lovers:

Today Eva and Sam both requested my presence in keeping them company on the pot. Being one person, I could not be in two places and said so. Eva suggested I split into TWO MOMMIES. I said that would benefit everyone, and DADDY would love it.

A**-Flavored Medicine (PG-13)

I warned my husband that I would put this on the blog.

We went to his work one night recently when he was working late and took him some dinner. He'd been sick for a couple of weeks (and going to work anyway ... a good worker or a spreader of germs? you decide.)

On his desk I saw this medicine, and he gave it a special flavor name*. I think he needs to work for medicine companies to help name things. He IS married to the apothe-kerrie, after all.

He says they make the stuff taste bad so little kids don't chug it. That doesn't make sense, though, since they make the kid stuff try to taste so good.

My ideas for adult flavored medicines are:

Beer flavor
Bacon flavor
Chocolate flavor
BBQ flavor
Coffee flavor

Hey, they can't be any worse than what's already out there.

*My husband does not know what a** tastes like, just to be very clear.

Love Letter to My Husband (PG-13)

Being on the road a lot for work, my husband Aron eats out at restaurants many nights. He has always observed that there are couples who sit through dinner and barely speak a word to each other. To us, that is sad.

I know, we should not judge. Who knows what they are going through? I mean, once when Michael was having his OCD symptoms, we went out for our anniversary anyway. I was upset to have left him, we disagreed on a few other things, and we sat through dinner in silence, obviously mad at each other. Maybe some young couple observed us and said to each other, "That will never be us!"

I hate that my husband eats dinner alone so many nights and has for about 17 years. Yes, we have many months and even one entire year when he won't travel. But most years he is going someplace, and we miss each other incredibly.

January 5, carriage ride on the Plaza in Kansas City with 6 kidlets in tow. Romance is all around!

The other night we had a rare night. I was a "good mommy" and pulled out the sofa bed for the kids to lounge on and watch TV. I was upstairs nursing Sam to sleep and Aron and I got to talk on the phone (he's in Wyoming again) for over an hour, uninterrupted. So much of the time at home our talk is "business" (here's what this costs, here's where we're going tomorrow, here's what the kids are doing in schoolwork, etc.).

Aron, I loved talking to you the other night and making plans for our future. When I met you in 1995, I never dreamed we would be at this place in our lives, still together, still falling more in love every day, and doing it with 5 wonderful little people in tow. I think you are amazing. I think you look hot in chef pants, in a suit, in jeans and a hardhat, in coveralls.

I think you are the most attractive to me when you are canning chicken and noodles, playing with the kids, and going off to work so you can support us and so I can stay home to homeschool, be close to our children, clean your house immaculately (ha!) and soak in the tub eating Kit Kats all day.

Thank you for being my complement, for keeping me grounded, for loving me so completely.

Like the fabulous Justin Bieber so eloquently sings, "As long as you love me, We could be starving, we could be homeless, we could be broke." As long as you love me, all is well.

Reasons to Get a Dog for Your Kids

This is my oldest, Joel, hanging out on the floor while our Snoopy lounges on him. Sure, he still poops on the floor sometimes, but for the most part he is doing his business outside these days now that he's a little older.

I'm talking about Snoopy, not Joel.

January 2013 Weight Watchers Update

I took this picture of myself a few weeks ago when we were out of town visiting family for Christmas. I had just gotten some cool new dresses at a vintage/consignment store and was really excited. I've lost nearly 20 pounds and am finding that my style is more funky and less baggy jeans/high-neck T-shirts. I love to wear this dress (I call it my Pucci print) with crazy-colored hose and black fuzzy winter boots just for fun.

Sam in this picture shows that I am still always with my kidlets and love it that way.

What was your first clothing purchase after losing weight? Or what will it be?

*Check the comments for the 2018 update!

Elderly Love

Yes, we've all heard of brotherly love.

Today Aron was home for lunch and we were hugging and kissing on each other.

Our oldest son Joel, age 11, says ...

"Ew, ELDERLY LOVE."

WHAT? We're only 41 and 46!

Kids! Due to the economy, we may have to lay one of them off.