Worried

I'm worried that we might get kincked out of our house cuz the landlords own 14 different properties and they're having an inspector come in on Monday, July 6, and if it doesn't pass inspection, it cannot qualify for insurance. If it does not qualify for insurance they are not allowed to rent to anyone =( . Plus, we have no money to move and have no idea where we would move if we had to. Plus, our suburban is still down with a bad radiator, so we can't all go anywhere. So, pray for us that everything will work out OK.

3 cart shopping trip

Gotta love summer!! We went shopping a couple days ago at Walmart and filled 3 carts full of mostly groceries, some misc stuff, but mostly groceries. I can't believe how much food my kids go through when they're all home!! School lunches are WAY cheaper than trying to feed them all at home!!

CHRIS

ALLI & FAITH COMING HOME FROM SCHOOL

Tuesday

Well, today seems to be a lot calmer than yesterday when, whatever could go wrong did. On days like that you seem like you'll never make it through, but then, suddenly, it's the next day and you have a new chance to see what adventures will come.

So far today is pretty boring but I'm sure that won't last long as soon as everyone gets home from school and work. Allison is home today because the school kept all the kindergardeners home since the new ones for next year are registering today. She is having fun watching whatever she wants on TV without having to fight w/her older sisters and brother. It's nice to be spoiled sometimes =)

How Clean is Your House?

There's a show that was on Lifetime Network, which I found on DVD at Netflix called,"How Clean is Your House" that I've been watching lately. It is so interesting, but so disgusting. There is a team of two British ladies that go into people's homes that are filthy, I mean FILTHY and help them clean it and give them cleaning tips. 

I watched about 20 episodes and got thoroughly disgusted. You cannot imagine how bad some people's houses are. It also made me vow to myself that I would NEVER let my house get like that. So, since I've watched the shows I have been cleaning and scrubbing almost nonstop. In fact, Kaydee actually called me a clean freak today which, for those of you who really know me is the LAST nickname I would ever have!! LOL!!

The only drawback is cleaning constantly with 5 kids and a hubby who's still set in his slobby ways, which I shared with him until this week, has made me a tad cranky and nagging. Not only am I constantly cleaning, but constantly reminding everyone else to clean up after themselves too, which is making them also cranky . Hopefully I can figure out how to ask a little nicer and pretty soon they'll get the hang of better habits so there won't be so much nagging.

Stubborn is as stubborn does

You know how most parents say, " I hope you have kids that are just like you."? Well, that has definitely happened, 5 times over! For anyone who knows Brian and I, you know that we are two of the most stubborn and hard-headed people there are. Our genes have definitely gone on.

At least once a day one of our girls throws a tantrum about something or other. It's either something they want or something they do not want to do. Now, we do not give in and just try to ride out the storm, but it doesn't seem to be lessening any. We used to think, "Oh, it's just a stage." But now we know it's those stubborn genes that have found their way into our little girls.

Kaydee, Aimee & Allison are smart enough to know that that kind of behavior does not fly out in the world.  All of their teachers, school and church, have said how perfectly they behave , it's just when they get home that they really let it out. Faith, unfortunately, has not learned yet that other people are watching out in the world. On Sunday, right when church ended, I was gathering everyone up when Faith wanted a gift bag that Allison had received from her teacher. I asked Alli if Faith could hold it and she said,"No." So I told Faith she couldn't have it and you would've thought I had stabbed her with the shrieks that followed right there in the middle of the church hallway with everyone watching. 

Until I can really instill to my girls that they don't always get what they want or avoid unpleasant things they do not want to do or eat I will just have to continue to remain calm, walk away and ignore, ignore, ignore.

Tuesday's Thoughts

The famous line from the ending song from the movie Yentl applies to me every day, "The more I learn, the more I realize the less I know."

Humility, to me, seems to be the key to really learning and growing. I find that the second I'm sure about something it doesn't take long until I find that I was either wrong or there may be a better way. I've found that in a lot of things in life there is no "right" way to do things. Yeah, sure, there are truths in the gospel that never change and are stead-fast and solid in my life, but I'm talking about day-to-day choices. What do I wear today? Which groceries will I buy? How, exactly, will I discipline my children? It's those daily choices that change frequently.

Some things remain the same like what shampoo I use or which TV Shows I watch, but those things even change over time. There's always a new and improved whitening toothpaste out there, or my favorite show may be cancelled after just a couple months. ( Pushing Daisies)

I guess, the point I'm trying to make is that I've tried to learn to be open to change and new ideas. And when my schedule or routine gets interrupted by, for example, having to go pick up a sick kid from school when I had planned something else entirely, that I should just go with the flow and not let it frustrate me. And I shouldn't be so hard-headed and think I'm right all the time cuz at least 75% of the time I'm wrong. I actually like being wrong sometimes cuz it's the only way my stubborn self can learn.

Being open to new ideas does not mean that I compromise my principles and/or morals. Those are rock solid and will never change. But, as long as I have them for a solid foundation I feel like I'm free to explore the world around me and soak up all the good there is to experience in this crazy world.

How Well My Kids Know Me

Okay, I stole this from Erin cuz I thought it was too cute. The only problem I ran across was Faith, my 3 yr old, mostly wanted to be silly so she kept giving me silly answers. Other than that my kids answers were pretty insightful and most of them true. BTW I asked them all separately so, if answers match, it's just a coincidence.

Chris - 12 yrs

Kaydee - 10 yrs

Aimee - 9 yrs

Allison - 5 yrs

Faith - 3 yrs

1. What is something your mom always says to you?

Chris: Do your chores

Kaydee: Go do your chores

Aimee: Do your Chores & Homework (Wow, I must be some kind of slave driver)

Allison: Go to Walmart

Faith:  No Toilet Paper

2. What Makes Mom Happy?

Chris: When the chores are done

Kaydee: Quiet (YEP!!)

Aimee: Her mom

Allison: Do my chores

Faith: Dad

3. What Makes Mom Sad?

Chris: When the chores aren't done

Kaydee: Screaming Children 

Aimee: Sometimes Dad

Allison: I don't do the right things

Faith: Bear

4. How does your mom make you laugh?

Chris: When she messes up. (Oh, how sweet)

Kaydee: Tickles Me

Aimee: Doing Funny Things

Allison: Tickle Me

Faith: Ha Ha Ha

5.What was your mom like as a child?

Chris: The same

Kaydee: Don't Know

Aimee: She looked like me

Allison: She liked to play

Faith: She liked to play

6. How old is your mom?

Chris: 37

Kaydee: 35

Aimee: 36 (yep)

Allison: 36

Faith: Foop

7. How tall is your mom?

Chris: 5'2"

Kaydee: 5'2"

Aimee: 4ft

Allison: 5 inches

Faith: (she put her hand above her head)

(I'm actually 5'4". They all kept making me shorter. I guess I seem to be shrinking since Chris is almost as tall as me now.)

8. What is her favorite thing to do?

Chris: Watch movies

Kaydee: Play on computer

Aimee: Sleep

Allison: Play on computer

Faith: bloom bloom

(all of the above)

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?

Chris: Don't know,I'm not here

Kaydee: Watch TV (sometimes)

Aimee: sleep and play oncomputer

Allison: go to store and buy popcorn and candy and soda

Faith: la la la la (all the time! LOL!!)

10. What is your mom really good at?

Chris: crocheting

Kaydee: writing poems

Aimee: I don't know

Allison: making stuff out of yarn

Faith: bee boop ba

11. What is your mom not very good at?

Chris: being organized (true)

Kaydee: doing flips (very true)

Aimee: doing the splits (extremely true)

Allison: don't Aimee (?)

Faith: carrots

12. What does your mom do for a job?

Chris: stay at home

Kaydee: stay-at-home-mom

Aimee: stay at home

Allison: movie theatre ( I worked there, but quit)

Faith: clean up the house

13. What is your mom's favorite food?

Chris: popcorn

Kaydee: spaghetti (yep)

Aimee: soup

Allison: soup

Faith: crunch crunch

14. What makes you proud of your mom?

Chris: she gets stuff done

Kaydee: she takes care of us

Aimee: giving her hugs

Allison: kiss

Faith: musuna (?)

15. Who would your mom be if she were a cartoon character?

Chris: Donald Duck

Kaydee: Mickey Mouse

Aimee: Dafnee from Scooby Doo

Allison: Dora

Faith: roar

16. What do you and your mom do together?

Chris: watch movies

Kaydee: talk

Aimee: play games

Allison: play duck duck goose

Faith: sing

(all true)

17. How are you and your mom the same?

Chris: ADHD (true)

Kaydee: both like TV

Aimee: we look the same when she was younger

Allison: both have short hair

Faith: sh

18. How are you different then your mom?

Chris: she's a girl, I'm a boy

Kaydee: I can do flips and mom can sit on the couch

Aimee: hair

Allison: different noses

Faith: put away

19. What is your mom's favorite place to go?

Chris: movies

Kaydee: the movies

Aimee: home

Allison: buy some food

Faith: the wasa (?)

20. How do you know your mom loves you?

Chris: does stuff for us

Kaydee: she takes care of us, feeds us and comforts us

Aimee: she hugs and plays with me

Allison: because I do

Faith: hugs

Denver Trip

The cousins waiting for lunch

Chris, Darren & Michael playing video games
Kaydee, Daurie and Aimee
Maleena, Allison & Faith
Fruity water at our hotel in Denver. It was a container filled with water, ice and fruit. It was yummy!!

Denver Trip

The Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. in Denver, Co

A shrimp from the BGSC in Denver
Outside of the Denver Convention Center where Chris' State Spelling Bee was held. Only 33 of 264 kids passed the written test to go on to the oral test. Chris was not one of them. It was a very hard test. I had never even heard of most of the words. The same day they had the spelling bee they also had a huge volleyball tournament and tryouts for So You Think You Can Dance.
This was in our hotel room the school paid for in Denver.
Faith, Allison and Maleena at Darren's house in Colorado Springs

The Park

This is all the kids on little horses at the park. The pics kinda blurry cuz it was from my phone.

Saturday Night Movie

This is the first time my kids have been quiet all day. We had a pretty busy day today. We went to Kaydee's first wrestling tournament where she got second place in her weight class. Yeah, Kaydee! After we had been there for several hours we came home and did the typical Saturday "get ready for Sunday" stuff. Now the kids are chilling out watching Sky High before they go to bed.

Moody Girl

The many moods of Faith!

Sick

I don't have a picture because, believe me, you don't want to see me. One of the things I don't like about winter is getting sick. I was glad to actually avoid it all winter until March, but now I'm pretty miserable. I don't know exactly what I have, but it's some kind of head, throat, nose thing. All I know is that I'm pretty miserable and some days I feel like my head's going to explode and other days I can't even talk. I hope everyone is feeling better than I am right now.

What's a Gerbil?

We went to the pet shop the other day cuz the kids wanted a pet. Being that we rent our house we couldn't get anything big, so we decided we were going to get a hamster. While we were at the pet store we saw the hamsters and were going to get one. In the aquarium right next to the hamsters there were these other little animals that kinda looked like a cross between a mouse and a hamster so we asked the pet store guy what they were. He said they were gerbils and were actually better for kids cuz they didn't bite as much. So we decided to get one. Within a couple of days we went back and got a second one cuz the first one just wanted to stay in it's little house all day. By the way, gerbils tails are twice as long as in the pic. The first day we had it I accidently pulled half it's tail off. I freaked out, but then found out that it naturally happens in the wild as a defense mechanism, it helps them get away. The fur and skin comes off and the remaining bone dries up and falls off within a few days. Fun, huh?

But the kids love their new pets, Jasmine and Stephanie.

Balloon Fun

Pause the music player at the end of my blog so you can hear the video.

Aimee's Birthday

Aimee had her Ninth Birthday on February 12th. We had a small celebration with our family, a few gifts and cake and ice cream. Aimee's favorite thing, though, was her balloons. I got her 30 helium filled balloons and her and her sisters had a blast trying to tackle them and keep them down!

My Hair

My Haircut...Before
And After...

Faith

Faith cut the back of her hair one night, so I took her somewhere the next day so they could fix it. It was the first time it had been cut since she was born, except for her bangs.

Everyone

I thought I'd go ahead and post a pic of the whole family together.

Kids

New Christmas Clothes

These are the kids new Church Clothes!

A Winter Wonderland

Let it snow!