Boy, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!!!

I am surrounded! 

They are everywhere!

Yes, I am talking about boys.

Boys are interesting creatures. I would bet big money that if you opened a Zoo exhibit for boys and put them on display for people to come watch...it would be the  most visited exhibit.

I go in the kitchen to fix a meal...there they are. 

I go in the living room to try to work out and they want to know how much longer I will be using the TV.

I go to sit at the computer and someone one wants to play on  Webkins.

I try to shower and a little boy head peaks  in, says "hi mom!" and then climbs right in.

I try to pee and they follow me in, pick the lock on the door or  just yell at me through the door.

Forget trying to talk on the phone.

I do not know about your boys...but mine are stinky, loud, rowdy, and often disgusting. 

They push and hit and shove and grunt, trip, poke, slap, whack, thwart and pummel. 

They tie the little one to the tree- and leave him.

They build ramps from boards and slides and sling shot toys through the air. 

They eat off the floor if they think I am not looking. 

They fart and laugh.

They belch and it starts some odd chain reaction in the others.

They have been know to write on walls and refrigerators and floors and dishwashers and dressers. 

They cut BIG holes in my bed sheets.

They jump on the couch and on the beds. 

They jump off of anything that is more than 2 feet off the ground. 

They slosh all of the bath water out and use way too much shampoo. 

It looks like a disaster area after they brush their teeth.

They cannot pee in the toilet..but they can pee ON anything-trees, flowers, shrubs, wheels, they can cross streams and race!

WHY??? WHY???

I haven't the foggiest idea why they do 99.99% of the things they do, but I wouldn't trade mine for anything!!

Rumors...somethings a stirring.

UPDATE.......

Scout just text me and they let 8 go today. Thankfully he was not one of them!! Praise to God!

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Scout just came home for lunch. There are rumors of layoffs today at the office. 

Rumors of layoffs.

I hate rumors. I hate rumors of layoffs even more I think.

I keep repeating to my self.."I will trust in You no matter what. I will trust in You no matter what!"

Now we wait till about 4. 

Then they will call those together and while they are in a "meeting" they shut everything down. Computers...blackberry...all of it! With one cllick of a button...bzzzt! Layed-off.

They are really down to a minimum staff at the office. There will be people leaving. We have no way of knowing if Scout is going to be home early today.

We are a one income family.

We have kids with pre-existing conditions!

Scar requires special food..that is more expensive than it's gluten counterparts.

We have bills. Medical bills. Tefra. Utilities. House. Car. Food.

I hate waiting. 

Did you know that patience isn't my strong suit?? 

Well, it isn't.

I will trust that no matter what happens today that God will take care of us and will not leave us! 

I will...really I will. 

But I may need to shed a few tears too.

Ice Ice Baby

Here are a few pictures to show you what it looks like around here. These were taken at my Granny and Papa's house yesterday. They still do not have power. We went over to check in on them and to cut a tree out of their yard/cars/doorway.

This is looking down their street. It looks like a disaster area! I can remember when I was bigger around than these tree are. 

We did get a lot of ice..but Washington county definitely got the brunt of it!! Thankfully we got power back yesterday!!

And a shout out to the Bowman family...thanks guys for letting us stay with you all for the night! We SO appreciate  your friendship and hospitality! And thanks Stephen for taking the kids sledding! They are still talking about it!!

Ha ha ha..I just lost power and was hoping that this was not lost! We are back again. Hopefully it won't do this all day!

Hope you are staying warm where ever you are!!

My Last Baby

I had grand plans for a post on the 27 of January. But the weather evidently had other plans!

January 27 is my birthday. It is not the 19th like my granny tried to convince me. I have had some very memorial birthdays. Every year in junior high...I had strep! I can remember one year laying on the  couch recuperating from strep when I watched the Space Shuttle blow up. I had skating parties and sleepovers, never a swimming party though.

However..none of those parties compared to the party I had January 27, 2006. I received one of the best gifts I could ever have imagined. It was more precious than gold and way more practical than pearls....

Skeeter and I share a birthday. It wasn't suppose to happen that way. He wasn't due until the beginning of March...but he had other plans. 

Dwight had just come home from a ski trip that I strongly encouraged him to go on...less than 12 hours after he got home..I was in labor...and denial!

 It was a beautiful day out side. Skipper and Scar were outside playing in the sandbox and Scrappy was napping in his bed. I started having back pain..but refused to acknowledge it because it  was WAY to early and it was gorgeous outside-in JANUARY and the boys were having a great time. I finally gave in and called and they asked me to come on in. So I have to call Scout and tell him to come home...gather up stuff for 3 kids and call my brother and see if he can meet us at he hospital. All while having back labor. 

We get to the hospital...doc checks and agrees to send me over to a hospital with NICU. We go and things continue. They tell me that the monitor is not showing contractions..well thanks..that's cause I am having all back labor. They give me drugs to stop things and I can not remember what happens from here! 

Seriously! I can remember bits a pieces of the next 2 days. I remember getting 2 steroid shots for Skeeter's lungs. I remember them saying if we could just make it till Friday I would be 34 weeks and they would let me go. I remember them stopping the drugs and the pains coming back. They started the drugs again and I was sure I was on fire. The is the ONLY time in my life I have been really warm. Evidently Mag does that to a person. I remember the boys coming in and not understanding why I couldn't open my eyes. I remember the bed being very uncomfortable. I remember mom and dad making it and Jesse and Sarah. Just small pieces of things. 

On Friday, January 27, they turned everything off and let me go. By that evening..we had a beautiful new baby boy. He was born at 34 weeks-at 5 pounds 13 ounces. He was the biggest preemie in the NICU!! He did have some lung problems. He had premature lung disease. After delivery, they let Dwight hold him for a few seconds and then took him off.  He was in NICU for almost a month. He was over a week old before I got to hold him. We had insurance issues and logistical issues. I refused to let them bottle feed him during the day so I made my way 30 minutes south every morning at 5. I spent all morning there, came home at lunch to be with the other 3 boys get them ready for naps and then made my way back to the hospital till after dinner, ate there and then went back home to get everyone ready for bed all to do it again the next day.

Skeeter is a gem! He is so sweet and funny and loving. He is a Mommy's boy and I am way fine with that. Soon enough he won't be. Soon he won't need me to pour the milk for him. He won't ask me to "nuggle" him. He won't want to be in my lap or need me to read him the book-for the 100th time. He will not need to hold my hand when he crosses the street. 

So I will savor every minute of this last one!

Not Me Monday

It's Monday which means that it is Mot Me time...join  in the fun over at My Charming kids. Come on...you know you want too!!

• I did not let the boys eat birthday cupcakes for breakfast today.
  

• I did not stay up till 1 am messing around on Facebook.
  

• I didn't show up to therapies only to find out that things were messed up-again.
  

• I didn't let my kids lose the new iPod shuffle. How irresponsible would that be?
  

• I didn't cut Skeeter's hair myself to save a little $$$.
  

• I didn't laugh AT Scrappy while playing Wii Fit. That's just wouldn't be very nice.
  

• I didn't make Scout take me out to eat yesterday for my birthday.
  

• I didn't take all my kids to the office store because I had a gift card burning a hole in my pocket. Really why would I even think of subjecting my self to that kind of torture!?
  

• I didn't order like 7 extra sandwiches for the birthday party at my Granny's expense.
  

• Scar did not ask me not to play Indiana Jones on the Wii with him--ever again.
  

• I most assuredly DO NOT still have my Christmas stuff up!!!! I mean really..it is January 26..how stupid would that be!!??

Really that is not even an exhaustive list of things that I did not do lately...but it will show you that I really do have my act all together!!

Party Time!

My baby turns 3 tomorrow! 

We partied Saturday with family and it was a bunch of fun. Skeeter was set on having cupcakes. So cupcakes he got. All week long he kept talking about blowing out the candle. 

I put in my requests for gifts  and was not disappointed. Thanks family for coming thru for me.

I requested Melissa and Doug toys. I wanted something that I knew he would play with, would last and would be good toys for school time.

We had a great time and it was fun to get my family together. Thanks guys for coming and helping us celebrate our #4!!

Quotes that will never be famous!

"Mom, Scrappy squirted water in my sound holes!!" -Scar

Me: Let's just lay here and have some peace and quiet before church tonight.

Scrappy: "I don't like peace and quiet. I like to be loud and rowdy."

"Just zip it, Mom!"-Skeeter

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Today is my Daddy's birthday!!

He is awesome! Really, awesome doesn't begin to describe how great he really is. Happy Birthday Daddy! We love you tons around here!!

As I was working on this post, Skeeter saw the picture and said, "That's my best friend Papa!!"

How sweet it that?!?

 By the way...that is my ADORABLE nephew...Little C! He is going to be a big brother!!

Kid Crafts

Here are a few super fun sites to check out. They are kid craft sites. 

Most crafts are done with things you really do have around the house.

These are two of my favorites!! 

The Crafty Crow site is having a book give-away too!! 

Check these two out!

No Time For Flashcards  and  The Crafty Crow

Happy Crafting!!

January 20, 2009

Not Me Monday

Ladies and gentlemen..boys and girls of all ages...it's time for Not me Monday!! Join in the fun at mycharmingkids.net!!

I did not let Skeeter wear a pair of my Christmas socks to church yesterday- with a blue "leisure suit!"

I did not laugh till I thought I would pee my pants watching friends sing with American Idol on the Wii.

I most certainly did not have a SCREAMING toddler yesterday. I did not lay there and try to get him to take a nap while he carried on like a crazy man for a serious 40 minutes. And he didn't get worked up because his daddy took my iPhone from him! No sir...not me...my kids don't act like that.

I didn't find out the out Thursday Therapy times have changed again for the 3rd time in less than a week.

I did not let the kids take care of their own breakfast Saturday while I slept in a little!

I would never fake a headache so I could go get a Sonic Vanilla Coke! Not me...must have been my evil twin!!

SUPERBLOGMOM

Should you care and check to see if you are on my bloglist...and you do not see your usual position...

I am the queen of technical flukes....

and POOF!! 

Off the list went. Flying quickly thru cyberspace and landed on top a very large tree. And I am not that tall...so I am having to track you all down and re-enter everything...please bear with me!!

I have most of you back in you treasured position...but there are a few of you who seem to be eluding me! 

Never Fear! 

I....AM....SUPERBLOGMOM!

I can not be stopped only contained by chocolate and Sonic Vanilla Cokes!! 

To save my daddy

I have made a few little changes to the old blog. I have changed all our names. It seems to completely freak my dad out that I would use our real names...and my dad is not a freaker-outer. 

So in order to save my kind father's sanity...I have changed the names of all involved...for the most part. So there you have it daddy...your grandkids have been renamed and some locations removed as to hide their superhero identities. No one will ever suspect us now!!

You can see who is who over on the side there------------->

Really though, I am not sure who really might feel the need to track down a homeschooling mom of 4 who spend most of her days in black yoga pants. 

But hey...I never expected to live next to a level 2 sex offender either...

Ok maybe my dad really does know what he is talking about!!

Useless Facts Thursday

Get out your beanie-copter hats...it's time for some deep thinkin'!

1. Giraffes and rats can last longer with out water than camels.
2. A two by four is really 1 1/2 by 3 1/2.
3. Most lipsticks contain fish scales...gives new meaning to the phrase "pucker up."
4. India has a Bill of Rights...for cows.
5. Bats always turn left when exiting a cave. (who was the poor guy that had to study that one?)
6. No word in the English language rhymes with: month, orange, silver or purple. You tried to find one though didn't you?? Awh...be honest you did!!

And now for your entertaining pleasure...the hardest tongue twister....

The sixth sick sheik's sixth sheep's sick.

(I can't even say it slow.)

Someone likes me!!!

Okay...My friend Jessica thinks I am fabulous! Thanks Jess...I think  you are mighty fab too!(Seriously...I a have deep admiration for you!)

I am now suppose to tell you 5 addictions that I have...so here we go:

1. Sonic Vanilla Cokes

2. Note paper and pens..I can not go into a office supply store alone..it is deadly!

3. My label maker...don't be still too long around here or you will have a label across your forehead!!

4. My iPhone...LOVE IT!!!

5. Black Yoga pants..I won't tell you how many I own...but it is enough for even Dwight to begin to wonder about me!!

Now I am suppose to pick 5 other blogs that I think are fab....but seriously...you are all fab or I wouldn't sit here and read you all! So if you are here...consider yourself "picked" and spill your 5 addictions to me...I will be checking in on you all...you think I won't hunt you down...but I will!!

Oh....I have some really good Useless Facts coming later tonight.....come back later and see!! I promise you won't be disappointed! Well, really you  might be, that is always a possibility!! 

I will not worry. I will not worry. I will not worry.

Mr. Dad came home today and said that they had another BIG loss last month at work. This is 2 months in a row and it is a substantial loss. 

That means there are probably jobs that will be cut...soon.

We have no reason to think that it would be Mr. Dad, but we really have no reason to believe that it wouldn't be either.

Engineering firms are taking big hits like every other business sector. If the companies do not have the money to build or add on, or cities for new projects...that means that the engineering firms lose business too.

I am putting this out publicly....I am going to try not to worry about this. I am a worrier by nature. I think I got if from my Great Granny Lula. She may have been worry royalty!!

I do not want any one to lose their jobs...but selfishly , I do not want it to be Dwight either! We have 4 kids...3 of the 4 with some "serious" issues that if we lose  our insurance...would very likely never get coverage again...and I can not even begin to imagine having to pay COBRA  while unemployed to try to keep them insurable (is that even a word??)

So I put it in God's hands. I will wait. I will wait. 

We will not go hungry. Of that I am sure. However, the house situation would be very questionable. But I know that no matter what, that God has a plan and he is in control. It is not my job to worry over this..but to be joyful and patient no matter what the outcome.

So..again, I will wait.

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let you gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:4-7

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Romans 12:12

Things I didn't do this week...

I did not let my boys eat popcorn for breakfast this week. That's just plain silly.

I did not use gray duct tape to fix my oldest son's tennis shoe. How man-like is that!?!

I did not place an order for one of the sweetest baby dolls on the planet for the "baby's" 3rd birthday. 

I did not laugh till I almost peed my pants at old high school photos on Facebook!

I did not let the littlest one go to bed with a  fuzzy hat and socks on his hands either..that would just be odd-right??

My Christmas stuff is still not up!! All of it!

I did not freak out like a deranged woman when Mr. Dad informed me that we were indeed taking the fireplace out in the schoolroom.

And I most certainly did not put off math and science to write this silly post!!

Useless Fact Thursday

Somethings to think about....

• Once a human reaches the age of 35, he/she will start losing approximately 7,000 brain cells a day. The cells will never be replaced. (This actually explains a lot for me!)

• The record for the longest Monopoly game played in a bathtub is 99 hours. (WHY?!!?)

• The formula for Coca-Cola has never been patented.

"We'd like to avoid problems, because when we have problems, we can have troubles." 
- Wesley Bolin, Governor 

(Thank you Governor...glad you could bring that to our attention)

Now go forth and astound and amaze your friends!!

Our Little Friend...Logan

I just got a text from Logan's mom. They are in Little Rock for a week full of tests and doctor appointments.

They met with a surgeon today. He wants to operate on Friday to remove a lipoblastoma to send off to pathology.

Please, will you lift this young family up. They have SO much going on right now. Jessica has also had some doctor appointments lately to see if she has a tumor. 

Please pray for God to show himself in their lives!

 

Pray that Logan will be healed of whatever it is that is causing all of his problems. 

Pray that the pathology reports come back clean. 

Pray that Jessica will get good news back on her tests.

Pray for peace for this family and wisdom to make the right decisions. 

"Have faith in God,"  Jesus answered. "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."

Love like you mean it!

Starting this month, FamilyLife® is challenging couples to "love like you mean it" by joining our 40-day Love Dare challenge. Based on the Love Dare book from the movie Fireproof, the challenge is a practical way for you to practice unconditional love and transform your marriage by applying simple, biblical principles to your everyday life.

Every day from January 5th to February 13th, we’ll give you a Love Dare for the day for you to put into practice and show love to your spouse. Then, at the end of the challenge, we encourage you to celebrate your spouse with a special Valentine’s Day date. 

You can receive your daily Love Dare one of three ways:

1. Visit www.FamilyLife.com/Meanit each afternoon to see your daily Love Dare. 

2. Register at the above website to receive your daily Love Dare via email each morning. 

3. Tune in each day (M-F) to FamilyLife Today™ to hear your Love Dare for the day. 

You can also visit FamilyLife.com/Meanit to get great tips and resources on how to love your spouse ... like you mean it.

New spot and GF Pizza

For those of you who come to this spot and hope to find something humorous or awe-inspiring...man did you com to the wrong place!! HA HA- no really..it probably isn't going to happen here.

For those of you who are interested in homeschooling...please find our new homeschool blog here!! I will save you all the headache of making you read a bunch of stuff that you have absolutely no interest in!! :O)

****************

On a completely different note.

We want to give a shout out to Tim's Pizza in Tontitown!! We are THRILLED to find out that they now serve a GLUTEN FREE pizza. Made from scratch!! 

Our family hasn't gone out for pizza since Dec. '05. Scar can not eat it and we don't want to subject him to sitting there and watching the rest of us eat yummy, cheesy pizza. But thanks to Mike at Tim's Pizza...we can and Mr. Dad is on his way to pick up 3 pizza's tonight! 2 regular pizza's and 1 gluten free!!!

Now you see that it doesn't take much to excite me...especially when it comes to something like this for my kids!!

Happy 2009

Ack! 

Technical glitch yesterday.....working on getting my blog links put back up!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!