Organized Chaos

Organization!

2012-01-17T18:02:00.002-05:00

I have a borderline obsessive need for organization. It makes everything run that much smoother. When everything has a place, it's easier to keep things clean! Those cube storage shelves (from Target, Lowes etc.) are pretty handy and don't look too bad for "cheap" decor/furniture.

I did a minor little revamp in the kids school/art room. I needed more storage. I don't like leaving anything that could cause a potential disaster or be dangerous to the little ones, out in the open. Everything needs a place!

Here is the school/art room! It's nothing fancy, but it's really great for the kids! There are still some things I plan to do with the room, but I am happy with it so far.

I love the canvas drawers/bins so much. Really. This stuff makes me happy LOL.

My rays of Sunshine

2012-01-16T15:48:00.000-05:00

I came across this picture on my phone, that I took back in the summer, in South Carolina. I thought it was just so beautiful and I had to snap a picture, even if it was just with my phone.

My mind went on a bit of a poetic path, if you will, coming across that picture now, considering what I was dealing with last night. Looking at those parted clouds with the beautiful rays of sunshine, shining through, kind of gives me a peaceful feeling. It makes me happy.

Yesterday evening when some dark clouds were moving over me, my rays of sunshine came through to bring me some peace.

Now, before people start wondering if I'm smoking something here... I'll explain. I'll try not make this semi brief (but it'll still be long I'm sure). I'd rather not give any more satisfaction to some people.

My choice to be open about the fact that we have some debt (that we are positively working on) and openly talking about little financial concerns that have come up in the past, like needing a bigger van when we found out we were pregnant for Declan, was used to shame me. I had a little freak-out about the van thing. I was worried. We figured it all out. We pay every one of our bills, we do not receive any assistance, we have a roof over our heads, we have healthy food in our home and our children have all of what they need and much of what they want. We are taking the right steps to move in a positive direction to get out of debt. We have a plan, so yes, sometimes when something comes up that puts a kink in the plan, I get a little worried. I'm a worrier, that's who I am. We save for things so we aren't using credit and adding to the debt (like the table situation for the kids where I was irritated that the price went up right as I was ready to buy it and some amazing online friends helped out.) I am honest about our situation because I don't want to pretend I am something I'm not. We're making it, we're ok... we just don't have lots of money to blow. Do we have to plan and be smart about things? Yes. We aren't so comfortable that we can be care free and not plan, but we are taking care of what has to be taken care of. Our children are well provided for and we will ensure that any future children we may have, are well provided for as well.

Anyway, I'll continue... I commented on a friend's ultrasound picture on facebook, about wanting another baby. Someone who I only know because of a military message board and mutual friends, (who I had unfriended a while back because she only ever commented on something of mine to be negative) decided to take the opportunity to publicly attack/shame me via comments on this photo. Rather than quote, I'll just say, the gist of what was said is that she can't believe I am talking about wanting another baby when I can't afford the children i have... *insert record screeching halt*. Nope, I've never said that, because it's not true. I corrected her and she said I complain about it all of the time and I'm not responsible about choosing to have my children. That is untrue, but whatever. This conversation was not one to be had on a mutual friend's ultrasound photo. In fact, it wasn't one to be had at all, because 1. I unfriended her so that I did not have to have any contact with her. 2. It's false and 3. It's none of her damn business. After a little while I decided that blocking her was the best decision. Because I blocked her, her friend (who I thought was a friend of mine) posted a very long-winded comment on my wall about how we can't afford our kids, we aren't going to be able to take care of them as they get older and how we're irresponsible etc. All while throwing specific things, like the van situation (which was more than a year ago and we handled on our own) out there to support her claims. Someone else who barely even knows who I am, chimed in, in agreement. Basically, we can't afford our kids and we don't have the right to have another because we aren't caring for them properly and we're irresponsible.

All in all, it was down right mean, entirely unwarranted and completely unsolicited. There was more, but I don't feel the need to really keep going with it. It was a perfect example of 40-something year old "mean girls". They had their facts wrong and twisted my situation to fit their attack. All of it was done under the veil of "Well, you put it out there...". Thanks, but I didn't ask.

So, here is some clarity. We can afford our children, We DO think and act responsibly when considering another. We DO have a plan for the future. Do we run into some hiccups now and then? Yes. We're human and we aren't wealthy.
One final thought on this. You aren't paying my bills, we are, and they are ALL paid. We're not on any type of welfare or assistance whatsoever. We have a roof over our heads (and we own a home in SC) We have 2 reliable vehicles, one big enough for my whole family, plus some. We not only put food on the table, but we put HEALTHY food on the table for our children each day. Our children are well taken care of and incredibly loved. What it comes down to is this. What I do with my uterus and my checkbook is absolutely none of your damn business.

I should not have even had to explain myself and I will not again.

Some wonderful friends came to me both privately and publicly, supporting me. The people who really know me, know just how false the things they were saying are. They know that I think of my children first in every single thing I do. I was feeling quite beaten down and I appreciate each and every one of them. Thank you all for being my rays of Sunshine when I needed it.

This is not here for debate and I expect anyone who feels the need to attack me, to just hit that red X at the top right corner and leave. Any attacks on here will be deleted and I will disable comments if necessary.

Letter to the mother at Target who let her teen daughter laugh hysterically at the man with Tourettes

2012-01-14T23:58:00.000-05:00

I am pretty much horrified over how disgustingly insensitive people are.

Dear mother who let her teen daughter laugh hysterically at the man with Tourettes in Target today,

You should be ASHAMED of yourself. Not only have you not taught your daughter (12 or 13 maybe?) compassion, but you clearly missed the mark on manners as well as common decency. The fact that you walked along allowing her to loudly laugh hysterically and comment "Oh my god, I can't take it!" while standing at the end of the very isle this man who was ticking and his family was standing in, trying to pick out bedding, is down right despicable. I stood there staring you down, so I know you didn't even as much as make a motion to tell her to cut the crap.

I am so deeply saddened to have witnessed your daughter today. I am even more saddened that I saw you not care at all that she was behaving so poorly. That man was with his wife and 2 beautiful little girls (who were behaving wonderfully BTW!). He is clearly uncomfortable to be ticking from his Tourettes while shopping. He doesn't need people like you and your daughter to make him feel worse and to make him more uncomfortable. His family doesn't need to be made to feel uncomfortable.

Educate yourself. Learn some compassion. Just be a better person.

Sincerely,
Someone who possesses some compassion and common decency.

This girl, no crap, stopped at the end of the isle this man and his family were standing in, stared at him and began laughing hysterically at him, walked a few steps and stopped again, still laughing. Said "Oh my god, I can't take it!" while still laughing very loudly. Her mother just kept right on going as if this was acceptable... This man and his family were shopping for bedding for one of the little girls. He was conversing and ticking. I have seen him before in Target and the last time he was Christmas shopping with his wife and a woman old enough to me my mother made fun of him to another shopper. I quietly shamed her for that. Today I bit my tongue because I didn't want the family to hear me and feel any more uncomfortable.

I am very sad to see how many people are just so insensitive, rude and down right cruel.

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls - Bread Machine Recipe

2012-01-04T00:15:00.000-05:00

I finally found the perfect bread machine cinnamon roll recipe. I messed around with a couple of different recipes to come up with this one. This is not allergy free for my 7 year old, but it doesn't have soy or barley, so he had one, even though it has eggs and milk. I need to try tweaking this recipe to make it allergy free for him and see if it works out. Anyway, here is the recipe! They were SO GOOD! Not healthy, at all, but a tasty indulgence!

The picture is deceiving... These are pretty big!

Dough

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of milk
3 tablespoons of canola oil
2 large eggs lightly beaten
1/2 cup of sugar
4 cups plus 2 tablespoons of flour
1 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons rapid rise yeast

Filling

4 tablespoons of melted butter
1/4 cup of sugar
2 - 4 tablespoons of cinnamon
I honestly don't measure the cinnamon and sugar, I just sprinkle it until it looks good to me.

Icing

3 teaspoons of milk
1 1/2 cups of confectioners sugar
4 tablespoons of melted butter
1 teaspoon of vanilla
Adjust milk if it's too thick to fully mix well.

Put the dough ingredients in the bread machine in the order that they are listed above and run on the dough cycle. After the dough is finished, roll it out into a large rectangle. Spread the melted butter over the rolled out dough and sprinkle the cinnamon and sugar evenly over it.

Roll the dough and cut into roughly 1 inch sections. I get 12 out of this. Butter and lightly sprinkle sugar on a baking sheet. Place cut cinnamon rolls onto the baking sheet, close together. Bake at 325 for about 22 minutes (remember that ovens vary. So watch them and take them out when they begin to get a light golden brown.) Spread the icing on as soon as they come out of the oven.

Soy, Dairy, Egg and Nut (barley and rice as well) Free Cupcakes/Cake - Frosting Included!

2011-12-16T01:29:00.000-05:00

This afternoon and evening, I made mini cupcakes for my husband's command Christmas Party tomorrow night. I wanted to bring something my son with severe food allergies can have because I know he'll likely not be able to have anything else there. Coming up with a 100% soy, dairy, egg and nut free cupcake (as well as barley and rice free), from cake to frosting, was a bit of a task. The cake itself, was a breeze. I had gotten a recipe from a friend, who got it from her grandmother a while back and then realized it was the same recipe my grandmother has made for as long as I can remember. I don't know the origin of the recipe, but I joking named it "great depression cake" because it's ingredients are limited, simple and inexpensive. So the cake, already fit what I needed as long as I used the right flour! The frosting took a little bit more effort. I had to change a couple of basic recipes and it worked out surprisingly well.

Chocolate Cake: (My 92 year old Grandmother has always called it "Wacky Cake". I think it's because she doesn't thoroughly mix the ingredients so it comes out kind of.. wacky.)

Ingredients:

3 cups of flour (I use Gold brand Organic flour because it does not have barley, which my son is also allergic to)

2 cups of sugar

6 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa

2 teaspoons of baking soda

1 teaspoon of salt

2 cups of water

2 tablespoons of vinegar

2/3 cup of canola oil

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Combine dry ingredients, mix together. Add wet ingredients and mix thoroughly.

Pour into a greased 9x13 pan, cook for approximately 55 minutes (ovens vary).

This can also make 24 regular size cupcakes or 48 mini cupcakes. The cook time for the mini cupcakes was around 14 minutes for my gas oven. It will be more for regular size cupcakes.

To check if their done, insert a toothpick. It should come out clean.

Chocolate Frosting:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of soy free shortening OR earth best soy free buttery spread

2/3 cup of cocoa powder

3 cups of powdered sugar

1/3 cup coconut milk

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Directions:

Melt shortening/butter alternative. Mix in cocoa. Add vanilla and alternately add powdered sugar and milk while beating. Beat until smooth.

Vanilla Frosting:

Ingredients:

1 cup of soy free shortening OR earth best soy free buttery spread (lightly heated, but not melted. Should be like ice cream.)

3 - 4 cups of powdered sugar

1/4 teaspoon of salt

1 tablespoon of vanilla extract

3-ish tablespoons of coconut milk

Directions:

Beat shortening/butter substitute for a few minutes. Add 3 cups of powdered sugar and mix until it's all in the shortening/butter substitute. Add the vanilla extract, salt and 2 tablespoons of coconut milk, beat for a few minutes. Add more powdered sugar or milk until you reach your desired consistency.

The mini chocolate chips you see in the pictures are Enjoy Life brand. They are dairy, soy and nut free chocolate chips! I've only ever been able to find them at Whole Foods. They are even hard to buy online.

The cashier at Target, asked me about my Vagina.

2011-12-10T19:10:00.001-05:00

Yup, the cashier basically asked me about my Vagina.

Our trip to Target today left me with 2 things. I was reminded just how awful people can be and I have also come to the realization that Target doesn't always hire the best employees. This isn't my first issue with Target, which makes me sad. As I've said before, we go to Target at least weekly and I actually like going there, or I did at least. I am seriously considering finding somewhere else to shop after today.

Today we went to the Target in Waterford, CT, which is the closest one to us, to finish up Christmas/Christmas Party/Birthday party shopping. When we were done shopping, we went to checkout. I went to a register a few lanes over from my husband because I was buying a few small stocking stuffers for the kids and didn't want the older boys to see them. He was with the older 4 boys and I had the little ones with me. The cashier was someone I have seen just about every time we've been there. She looked at the cart with Annabella in the seat and Declan inside his carseat in cart. She commented on having 2 little ones and it being a lot. I smiled and told her those were my 2 youngest and my husband was checking out a few lanes over with my other 4. She immediately looked horrified and said "You have 6!?" I smiled again and said yes. Now, her looking horrified, I'm totally used to that. I see it a lot when people realize I have a lot of kids. However, one thing she said, I have read online SO many times and heard endless jokes about it, but of all of the rude comments I have gotten, I've never had anyone actually say or ask this in person. First she said "Wow, that's a lot of babies to be having." and THEN said "So, is it true that they can just walk right out of there after having like 4?" What!? Did she REALLY just ask that? She just asked me about my Vagina! This isn't even one of those questions they expect an answer to, no. This is one those haha you have a lot of kids so your vag must be so loose and floppy kind of questions. My usually quick witted and sarcastic self was so completely floored by the ginormous balls this girl had, that I was unable to come up with anything at all. In fact, it took a few seconds before I picked my jaw up off the floor and was only able to answer "No... it's not quite like that after having many babies...". She just got a cocky little smirk then told me I looked too young to have that many kids. I told her I am not as young as I look and walked away to meet my husband who was finishing checking out.

I was so absolutely floored that she actually said that to me and with another customer right there to boot! I went from floored, to embarrassed after we had loaded the kids up in the Econoline and were leaving. My husband turned around and went back to talk to the manager because the more we thought about it, the more it fully clicked that what she said was not ok. We are really easy going but she is a cashier that doesn't even know us and to top it off, she clearly wasn't trying to joke with me. We weren't having a friendly conversation about having babies or anything or the sort. What she said was vulgar and inappropriate.

My husband went back into Target and spoke to the manager, Bradley Sher****. The manager said "I usually like to give people the benefit of the doubt, but that comment was pretty clearly not taken out of context." He agreed it was inappropriate etc. and told my husband he would "talk to her about customer service". That's it? I don't even know what I was expecting or hoping for... but... that's it. I feel wronged, I kind of feel violated and I certainly am embarrassed.

Are Target employees not trained about sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior? ~~Heck, maybe I'll ask my ex husband, he's worked there before.~~ Aren't they made aware that making crude, rude, vulgar or otherwise discriminatory comments to customers as well as co-workers is not ok? I just don't think it's ok. I feel as if it would have been a bigger deal if it was a racial or religious comment she made. It's the same to me. "So, is it true that Asian people <insert ridiculous offensive stereotype here>?" or "So, is it true that when you're Catholic <insert ridiculous offensive stereotype here>?" I feel discriminated against. She singled me out because I am not within the "norm" and have many children. She made a rude and offensive comment because of my "minority", if you will. Lets add the element of it being a veiled reference (and insult) to my vagina. That could fall under sexual harassment. She not only said what she did to me, but in front of another customer as well. That embarrasses me and makes me feel belittled for having many children, that much more. This wasn't a friend joking around with me, this was a Target employee who I do not know at all. I can joke and be crude, rude and sarcastic with the best of them. But what she said, in the setting she said it in, was just too much. Never mind the fact that she was obviously not trying to just be playful and failed miserably. She was just being blatantly rude.

I am not sure what I am looking for here. I just don't feel like it has been adequately handled. I feel... violated.

Crazy Skunk Lady

2011-11-28T22:15:00.001-05:00

My neighbor is a crazy skunk lady... ok, she's probably not crazy. She's pretty cool actually.. BUT skunks love her... or hate her... hmm... I guess they probably hate her since they keep spraying her family.

Several times since moving here we've been gagged by the smell of skunk. Last week or so her dog was sprayed and before I moved here, her younger son was. Tonight, a skunk has sprayed the front yards (We are in townhouses and we live in a section of 4 units. She's 2 doors down from me) TWICE. We've never had skunks bother us, so it must be her, right? ;). Tony and I are generally pretty unlucky people. Apparently my neighbor is also unlucky, or at least she is when it comes to skunks! I wonder what kind of disasters we'll all have with all of this unlucky business going on? :)

So I have great neighbors (thank fricking goodness, after some of the horrid ones we've had!) and one of them is a crazy skunk lady.

Anyone have some tips on keeping skunks away?

My 3 year old is way cooler than I am

2011-11-26T23:26:00.001-05:00

My 3 year old is way cooler than I am. Really. He is pretty much the coolest kid I know (you know, next to his siblings and all).

Here is why my 3 year old is way cooler than I am. Tonight my parents took us all to Edaville Railroad in Massachusetts. Right from first entering Edaville he was determined he would go on the Ferris wheel. After riding the train and the carousel, he waited in line with Daddy, Grandpa and 2 of his older brothers for an HOUR (lets not even talk about that!) to ride the Ferris wheel. He was excited the entire wait. They finally got on and my husband expected him to be scared once they started moving. Not a chance! That boy thought it was the most awesome ride. When they got all the way to the top, he was excited and loved every second of it! For me, I am terrified of Ferris wheels because I am scared of heights. The top of the Ferris wheel in that wobbly, I'll tip over any moment bucket seat, is horrifying to me. Instead of loving the view being up so high, I feel like I'm going to pass out and die (or something like that). My 7 year old shares that with me, poor kid.

My 3 year old is way cooler than me. He is an adventure seeker.... and he rocks the poo out of the Ferris wheel. I am a giant wimpy pants.

It Happened...

2011-11-25T02:24:00.001-05:00

Yes, it happened... My husband went out to stand in line for a Black Friday, Midnight opening at Target.

In all of the years my husband and I have been together, we have never done the Black Friday, out at midnight craziness. We always said it just wasn't worth the hassle and the potential of being trampled to death. We watched all of the crazy stories on the news over the years and were always like "WHY do people do it???". But, this year, it was different.

We hyped up putting up the Christmas tree after Thanksgiving here with Grandma and Grandpa, to the kids. They were so excited and looking forward to it. Tony digs out the huge Rubbermaid bin, with a hole cut into it to accommodate our Christmas tree, that we've had for around 6 years now and some of the boxes of ornaments from the garage. We put the tree together and begin to fix the branches (that are already in poor condition from being old and being moved so many times). We plug it in to ensure it still works. One of the lines of lights pretty much blew up. They didn't just burn out, no. They practically melted. Another set of the lights flickered if you moved a branch. Between that and the overall condition of the tree, Tony and I determined it needed to go. I was a bit annoyed because I had wanted to take the tree out a few days ago when we would have actually been able to go buy a new one and the kids were disappointed. I figured we would be spending this weekend fighting crowds finding a new tree. Tony felt bad seeing the kids disappointed.

Super-Tony to the rescue! He left while I was tending to the baby and not paying attention around 11pm. The stores had all been closed because of Thanksgiving of course, so he decided he would go stand in line for the midnight, Black Friday opening. The line was almost circling the entire store, but he stood in it regardless. When the store opened and he finally made it in, he walked straight back to the Christmas trees and stood there debating with himself which tree he wanted to get. A Target employee asked if he was looking for the $30 Black Friday special tree and he simply said "no". He wanted a 7.5 foot tree like we had and that was only a 6.5. She looked puzzled, but carried on. He decided on the tree and then walked right to the register with it. The cashier was looking around for the rest of his purchase and asked in a confused tone "Is this it?" to which the answer was yes. The tree was all he was there for. A regular sale priced tree and not some Black Friday steal.

He proudly walked in around 12:40am with that artificial pre-lit Christmas Tree. He could have waited, but he wanted to make sure that tree was here for us to decorate together in the morning. Annoyed wife and disappointed child, free.

My husband's very first "Black Friday experience" was not even to buy an awesome Black Friday deal. He just wanted a tree and he couldn't buy it when he wanted to earlier, because the stores were closed for the holiday. It was an uneventful first for him also. There were no fist fights, no one knocking someone else over for the last Elmo. Nothing. All he had happen to him, was people look at him like he was crazy because he wasn't buying one single Black Friday deal item.

Him and I put the tree together quickly before bed. The kids will be so excited to see it here in the morning, waiting for us to decorate it.

I think karma is out to get me...

2011-11-23T11:32:00.001-05:00

What I just experienced was traumatizing. Perhaps because I have failed at posting what I am thankful for daily (I need to make up for that!) so it's a little slap of karma?

Oh Em Gee... The dirty diaper I just changed was the worst smelling I've ever had to deal with in my diaper changing career, I do believe. How is it possible for the smell to nearly kill you when you're HOLDING YOUR BREATH!? I'm traumatized. I'm terrified to change another poo diaper! I've always said dirty diapers didn't bother me... but that one did!!! Where was my husband when I needed him!?

I don't ever want to experience that again. I might have to take that child outside and use a high pressure washer to just blow that diaper right off, if this ever happens again.

One comment can change a lot

2011-11-23T10:44:00.001-05:00

Sometimes I step back and wonder if sharing as much of my life as I do publicly, is a poor decision. Most people say it is. Maybe they are right. They probably are. But I continue to share the good, the bad, the silly... the gross. Why? I'm not really sure. Maybe it's because I really love my family and everything in my life is about them. I want to share that happiness.

I probably question my open-ness on a weekly basis. This morning I received a message on twitter that really touched me. It was a simple message, but it meant more to me than the person who sent it could have realized.

"I need to thank you, wifey just told me we are preggers w/#3 (unplanned) & I didnt freak, your family has inspired me, shown whats possible."

That simple short little message changed how I thought about all that I share. When I post my blogs or tweet about things in my life, I don't put much thought into people actually reading them. That message made me realize that we have had a positive impact on his life in some small way. That is incredibly humbling. If he is the only person who walked away with something good out of what I share, it's all worth it. If others do... that is amazing. Someone else commented on my facebook in response to mentioning this, that we have also inspired her. That really means so much to me.

To every one of you who I/we have met online or in person, all of my/our friends and acquaintances, all of my/our family who care about us.... I appreciate all of you. You inspire me. Thank you. Thank you for caring about us. It means more to us than you know.

Sarah

Our 2011 Christmas Card

2011-11-22T16:09:00.001-05:00

This morning I took a quick shot of the kids so I could get our Christmas cards ordered. It would have been better with the tree, but I didn't want to wait any longer. So... here we have it. Not too bad considering I did it myself while Tony was at work!

Timberdoodle Review - Bloco Construction Sets - Birds of Prey

2011-11-15T00:46:00.001-05:00

Another Timberdoodle Review! The older boys reviewed the Bloco - Birds of Prey Construction Set for Timberdoodle recently. We have a good age range, so that really helps us see if the age recommendation on items like this are accurate in our opinion.

First, I'll talk about the item and packaging itself. The construction set is made up of a fairly sturdy high density foam. The parts that you use to hold the foam together are plastic. When you open the box you find several cut out sheets of the different shaped parts that you just need to pop out of the sheets, a bag with the plastic connectors and the instructions for building the birds of course. It took my older 3 boys roughly 15 minutes to to pop all of the pieces out of the sheets.

The instructions picture each step, so it is easy to understand and does not require your child to be able to read. My 5 and 6 year old boys just needed a little assistance with getting the joints in really well so that the model was sturdy, but otherwise could do it themselves. My 9 year old had no issues at all. Depending on the model, this could be a good 20 - 30 minute project (maybe even longer for some) between finding the right pieces and constructing it. Long enough to make them think and use their motor skills, but not so long that they become bored. My 3 year old did also build his own little model he thought up on his own :).

I would say that the age recommendation is pretty accurate. Younger children with good motor skills can enjoy this as well. My only gripe about these particular models is that they don't stay standing up well. My boys built the Eagle together first and they wanted to keep it on their shelf in the school room to show daddy when he visited on the weekend (He's away doing Navy junk and has been visiting on the weekends until he's done). I can't tell you how many time that thing has fallen over! Otherwise, it's a pretty neat set and my boys, who love to build, have been enjoying it. It's a great filler that wont turn their brains to mush. If your child doesn't care to build things, this probably isn't for them.

Timberdoodle has several different Bloco Construction Sets to choose from. They would make great stocking stuffers for the animal lover or builder in your life! If you're interested in seeing the large selection of educational toys, games and curriculum they offer, head on over and fan them on Facebook, check out their site and/or request their Catalog. We love them here!

As a member of Timberdoodle's Blogger Review Team, I received Bloco Construction Set, Birds of Prey for free, in exchange for a frank and unbiased review.

30 days - What I'm thankful for - Day 10

2011-11-10T23:57:00.001-05:00

Day - 10
Today I am thankful for my children's health. Alex has HGH deficiency and Cameron has severe food allergies, but those are small things in comparison to what they could have wrong with them. I am so very lucky to have such beautiful, healthy children.

♥

Yes, that DID just happen

2011-11-10T23:14:00.001-05:00

This was an actual conversation tonight with my husband. You probably don't want to read it.

He called me tonight for a little bit before he went to bed (He's at a Navy school right now.) The conversation we had was very typical of us... That is the sad part.

T - So, while I was in school today I was like "man, my belly hurts. I need to go to the bathroom." It was just a little small bathroom because of the area of the building I was in.

Me - ... and you took a huge dump, right?

T - Well, no. I had so much gas! I let out this LONG fart, it just kept going *insert fart imitating noises here*. When I stopped farting, almost immediately the automatic air freshener triggered. It was the funniest thing. Perfect timing.

Me - ... and you totally laughed out loud, all by yourself in the bathroom didn't you?

T - Yes, yes I did.

Me - I knew it!

This is why we couldn't be married to anyone but each other.

30 days - What I'm thankful for - Day 9

2011-11-09T22:28:00.000-05:00

Day - 9
Today I am thankful for my camera. With that camera I am able to capture moments in time that will always remind me of the good memories that were made in that moment. I am so thankful for the thousands of pictures I can go back and look at and the thousands more I will capture.

When I look at this photo, I'll always remember 4 1/2 month old Declan making growl sounds while he gnawed on Sophie the Giraffe's head... :)

Alexander - "I'm thankful that you homeschool me."

Cameron - "I'm thankful for my bed. It's comfortable."

Wyatt - "I'm thankful for the big van!"

Zayne - "I'm fankful for my monkey PJ's."

I'm pretty sure Annabella and Declan were thankful for the lubies they got in the mail tonight from one of the deal sites I ~~stalk~~ frequent.

30 days - What I'm thankful for - Day 8

2011-11-08T23:32:00.000-05:00

Day - 8
Today I am thankful for the patience I have gained over the past several years. Today was a very trying day over all. I have not been feeling well, the children were acting up a bit and my husband isn't here. I was able to keep my cool and deal with them appropriately despite the frustration of the day.

Alexander - "I'm thankful for chapstick. My lips are chapped."

Cameron - "I'm thankful for milk. It makes me big and stroooong." said in a long drawn out growl accompanied by muscle flexing

Wyatt - "I'm thankful for cups. It would be hard to drink stuff without cups. Right?" lol

Zayne - "I'm fankful for Owange Juice."

I love those kids. They sure do keep me on my toes.

The Duggars - My take on it

2011-11-08T16:22:00.000-05:00

I'm sure most of you have seen the buzz all over the internet and TV about The Duggars expecting their 20th child. They have made their lives public and always publicly announce their new pregnancies, so obviously they are leaving themselves open for just that much more scrutiny, judgment and criticism. I typically try not to judge people in general, even those who are on TV (I do have my feelings about Kate Gosselin though, but lets leave that for another day). I've seen a whole lot of negative reactions to the Duggar's latest baby announcement.

Here is my take on this whole Duggars expecting baby #20 thing. I'm a little torn on my feelings about it and I'll explain why. The negativity kind of saddens me. I know the kind of hurtful things my husband and I have heard and we only have 6. I'm sure they fully understand by now that being so public they will without a doubt have to deal with the negative comments. But even when you don't know the people, it still stings a little. I also feel that there are so many good things about them (the way they raise their children, their kindness etc.), so some of the harsh reactions are a bit much. They do not live on government assistance of any kind and their children are all well taken care of. I may not fully agree with how much the older children care for the younger children, but on the other hand, they have several adult children they are still fully supporting, so helping with the siblings is "a small price to pay" (for the lack of a better term) for them still being taken care of (Yes, some of them have jobs, but they are not fully supporting themselves yet.). Plus, in larger families, that's just how it is really. Everyone takes care of eachother and I don't know if I could really say that's a bad thing. Their children are learning life lessons that can only really be learned coming from such a large family. I don't believe for a second that the parents don't take time to give them all some sort of individual attention. I really believe they do.

I can't even pretend to understand the religious aspect of their lifestyle. Being atheist myself, my husband and I having a "lot" of children has nothing to do with any kind of religious belief or obligation. However, regardless of their reasoning to continue to have children, it's their choice. It's their life. I firmly believe that people should be left to live how they choose if someone else isn't paying for it and they aren't wronging or hurting people. If she was having all of these children while on government assistance, I'd have a whole different view *cough* Natalie Sulemon *cough*.

Now here is the other side of how I feel about this. Where I am torn. She is 45 and her last pregnancy put her and her 19th child's life at risk. As a mother, I look at my children and the thought of leaving them without a mother makes me feel so deeply sad. I would never want to do anything purposely that would increase the chances of me dying sooner than later. I feel that if I had gone through what she did with her 19th child, I would have made the decision to stop, for my children. For my family... So I kind of feel it might be a little selfish to have more. But I also understand that they truly feel they are living for god and following what they are supposed to be doing. I understand on a personal level the desire to have more children as well. Who am I to tell them they are wrong? I know people have opinions about me having more children, but it's my desire and my choice (Well, my husband and I's choice lol). If money were not a concern, I'd probably have several more. I have had healthy pregnancies and healthy deliveries.

Since when have we become the uterus police anyway? I see the same people who adamantly support women's reproductive rights, saying some pretty harsh things about her having another child. It feels a little hypocritical to me. If we should have the right to have abortions and easy access to birth control, why shouldn't we also be able to choose to have as many children as we wish? Assuming they are taken care of. I already previously stated situations that I'm all about being the uterus police lol. (Abortions are risky too after all.) ALL of those are rights we should have as women, to make the choices we feel are right for us and our bodies.

To sum it up, I'm happy for them and I'm a little scared for them too. I would have likely made a different choice. I sincerely hope everything goes well with her pregnancy and the baby and her come out of it healthy. I obviously do not know them, but I would be terribly sad to see something happen to her. I wish them the best.

I do want more children, but not that many, don't worry ;).

30 days - What I'm thankful for - Day 7

2011-11-07T23:15:00.000-05:00

Day - 7
Today I am thankful for my right and ability to homeschool our children. My husband financially supporting us enables me to be able to stay home to raise our children and in turn homeschool them as we have chosen to do. Watching them grew physically and intellectually right in front of me each and every day fills me with joy and pride. Watching them thrive in our homeschool environment confirms to me that homeschooling is the right thing for us right now.

Alexander - "I'm thankful for my family being great."

Cameron - "I'm thankful I get to share a bedroom with Alex."

Wyatt - "I'm thankful we live somewhere that it gets cold now."

Zayne - "I'm fankful I have toys!"

30 days - What I'm thankful for - Day 6

2011-11-06T23:42:00.000-05:00

Day - 6
Today I am thankful for the very few people in my life who truly and genuinely love and care for me. This has particularly stuck with me today because of hearing about hurtful things family members have been saying about me. Some fabricated, most skewed and all entirely unprovoked. I appreciate those in my life who love me the way that I am and would never think of being hateful toward or about me. Over the years I have realized this is rare and something to never take for granted.

Sometimes that word doesn't mean a whole lot...

Alexander - "I'm thankful for the medicine that is supposed to help me grow." (He is Human Growth Hormone Deficient and receives injections 6 days a week)

Cameron - "I'm thankful for my bed."

Wyatt - "I'm thankful for a mom that works so hard."

Zayne - "I'm fankful for Annabella's little kitchen!" (He has been playing with her birthday gift non stop lol)

30 days - What I'm thankful for - Day 5

2011-11-05T20:11:00.000-04:00

Day - 5
Today I am thankful that my husband was able to come home to be here for our daughter's 2nd birthday. He has to leave again tomorrow, but it was wonderful to have him here to see her excited about her gifts and make a huge mess with her cake!

When I asked the kids what they were thankful for... They all answered the same thing. They are all happy Daddy was here.

Annabella with Daddy while everyone sang Happy Birthday.

30 days - What I'm thankful for - day 4

2011-11-04T22:00:00.000-04:00

Day - 4
Today I am thankful for the heat in my house. It's pretty cold out tonight and I am baking my daughters birthday cake. I was starting to gripe about it being hot in here and it made me feel kind of bad thinking about the people who don't have a home at all or can't afford to have the heat on. Looking at it that way makes it being a little too hot in the house and having to open the back door, a lot less of a problem.

Alexander - "I'm thankful we're not homeless." (What is this kid a mind reader or something?)

Cameron - "I'm thankful for my DSi."

Wyatt - "I am thankful for Super Mario 64."

Zayne - "I am fankful for my dog." (His stuffed dog)

30 days - What I'm thankful for - Day 3

2011-11-03T23:38:00.000-04:00

Day 3
Today I am thankful for my Keurig! I know it's silly, but I LOVE that thing and I'm very thankful I am able to own it. My husband and I purchased it as a gift to each other during the holidays last year and we have both thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm a bit of a coffee addict!

The mug says it all!

Alexander - "I'm thankful that we live in Connecticut now. Now we can see family."

Cameron - "I'm thankful for the food that you find that I'm not allergic to." (This one kind of made me sad. I feel so bad for him.)

Wyatt - "I'm thankful for my brothers and sister!"

Zayne - "I'm fankful for my awesome shoes!" (lol)

The 2 little ones have had a bit of a rough say. I think they hate everything today... lol.

Why are your hands there??? No Really, Why are your hands in your pants again!?

2011-11-03T12:42:00.000-04:00

I am the mother of 5 boys (For now anyway. I'll probably end up with more BOYS lol)... WHY must at least one of them have their hands down their pants at any given moment of the day!? I suppose Declan doesn't really count yet, he doesn't even know where his pants are...

(I'll clarify for any of the pains in the behind, beforehand... They know not to stick their hands in their pants in public and they DO have manners despite the depiction of this entry :P)

Oh the things my daughter will have to endure. The endless sight of pulling, tugging and adjusting. The amusement of bodily functions. The urine on the toilet seat, The urine on the damn toilet seat!!! The poor darling. But really... being the only girl, she's a tad bit spoiled too! And lets not talk about the fact that her brothers have her thinking that farts are the funniest thing eva!

The hands in the pants... The answers I hear when I ask the pointless question of "WHY are your hands in your pants again!" usually range from "I don't know" to "My balls were stuck to my leg.". Yet, I still ask. Those type of answers don't even phase me. Overhearing conversations of the size of their latest poo or how loud their burp or fart just was, doesn't either. I think the combination of having several boys, being married to a Submariner and just not being a prude, has made me pretty easy going in that respect. When they are being exceptionally gross I'll tell them to cut it out, but a little excitement over the size of a poop, I can deal with. They know not to talk about that stuff in public, around other people or at the dinner table... so I can live with that!

Boys are kind of gross, really. But they are awesome!

30 days - What I'm thankful for - Day 2

2011-11-02T23:15:00.002-04:00

Day - 2
I am thankful for my children. I am so beyond fortunate to have each of them. They are my whole world and every single day I think about how very lucky I am to be their mom. They are beautiful and challenging (In a good way!). I can't imagine life without each of them in it. I love them with everything I have.

Alexander - "I'm thankful for all of the nice things I have. I know I'm lucky to have them."

Cameron - "I'm thankful for the food Grandma and Grandpa brought for dinner."

Wyatt - "I'm thankful for my warm blanky." (His RockerByeBaby blanket)

Zayne - "I'm fankful for my baby!" (He has a new BOY "doll")

Annabella would likely say M&M's... she got those after she peed in the potty today! :)

I'm pretty sure Declan would probably still say boobies... or maybe fingers... he's really digging those lately.

30 days - What I'm thankful for - Day 1

2011-11-01T19:21:00.001-04:00

I'm going to do the 30 days of what I am thankful for and blog what I am thankful for each day this month. With the holidays coming up, I think it's nice to focus on the good things! I'm going to try to include the older 4 boys in this as well :).

Day -1
I am so thankful for my husband. He has given me our amazing kids and he loves us endlessly. He's not here right now (booo Navy) and I am painfully aware of how much better life is with him around. I love him. He's the best Daddy, an amazing husband and even though he drives me crazy sometimes, I can't imagine life without him. We met this time of year, years ago, so that makes the holidays just that much more special.

This silly candid shot shows the REAL us... That raw happiness we still have, only better now! We have 6 children to share and multiply it with.

Alexander (9) - "I am thankful for my big family."

Cameron (6) - "I'm thankful for Wizard 101!"

Wyatt (5) - "I'm thankful for you and Daddy."

Zayne (3) - "I'm fankful for my pirate book!"

Ohhh Cameron... LoL.

I bet if Declan was capable of verbalizing what he is thankful for, he'd say "Boobies"...

Annabella would probably say "Emmie"... she's been squishing that poor dog with love all day lol.

A little catching up with some photos!

2011-11-01T15:25:00.000-04:00

Last night was Halloween, so I figure I better catch up before fall is gone!

As a lot of my readers know, every year we do the pumpkin patch thing. Since my husband is not deployed, but was away, we had to fit it in during the short time he was home. We always do these things as a family if it's possible. It's really important to us. He couldn't be here for Halloween, but he WAS here for the pumpkin patch :).

Waiting for Daddy to come home so we can go!

The Pumpkin Patch :)

Annabella walking with Daddy <3.

Looking for a good Pumpkin.

Alexander

Cameron

Wyatt

Zayne

Annabella

Declan

All of my loves <3.

I thought this was really neat to photograph :).

Here were the kids on Halloween!

I will not do it anymore!

2011-10-01T00:31:00.001-04:00

I will not feel bad about saying something positive about my husband, myself, my kids or my family in general again.

Why can't people be positive? Why can't we say something GOOD without someone trying to bring us down and accuse us of implying something about them? When it had nothing to do with them!? I think it often comes down to insecurities. I mean that in the most non-snarky way possible. That's my only guess. Otherwise, why would people respond negatively to something positive you say about your family? It doesn't make much sense to me.

I will not apologize or feel bad anymore. If I am saying something good about my family, I have no reason to apologize and I wont let people make me feel as if I have to. When I speak of myself or my children in a positive light, it does NOT mean I am implying anything negative toward you. Ok? I refuse to focus on the negatives just so I don't say something that can be turned into something it isn't. It's just down right silly.

What the heck am I talking about you ask? I am speaking of several things or occasions, but "the straw that broke the camel's back" was within a post a friend of mine made today. She asked about child "leashes" (her wording) and if people had used them, why or why not etc. I answered honestly. I don't use them, so I said so and I said why. We're attentive and the kids all listen and stay with us, so we've never found a need for them. That is why we don't.... I said something positive about my husband, myself and my kids... but that is because it was my answer as to why we don't use them and it was the truth. What I said was what I meant. Nothing more.

I was accused of implying that people who use them don't pay attention to their kids and their kids are bad. I absolutely did not imply that. I didn't even THINK that. I never once said anything negative about using them at all actually. Just answered why *we* do not use them. I said something that (and I quote) " hits my nerves in ways that enrage me" . This person (and others) made several comments that made me feel like shit and had me this >< close to apologizing and messaging my friend to apologize for saying something that she might have thought I said to imply she was a lousy mom for thinking of using one or that her child is badly behaved. But I stepped back and looked at it again. This is exactly what I said...

I wont use them and have not personally found a need. We go to busy places and my kids know they have to stay with us, hold our hands etc. I've never lost a kid. We're very attentive and they listen well, so we just have never had a need to leash them lol.

This one response, answering the questions (If I used them and why or why not) "enraged" someone. I truthfully feel what I said did not warrant that kind of reaction. I said something positive about my family in a response to a question. After reading what I said and her responses that I feel were a little dramatic/harsh considering what i did say, again, I decided I shouldn't have to apologize. I didn't say anything negative toward anyone. I didn't even say anything negative about the child harnesses themselves. Saying something positive about my family does not automatically imply something negative about yours. As I stated above, I think it comes down to insecurities. I think in general, for you to take something positive someone says and assume there was a negative implication, you must have some degree of insecurity in that choice you've made (obviously this doesn't fit all circumstances). I am not saying this is any rude way either. We ALL have decisions we've made and other things we are insecure about. I could understand people being angry if I said something negative about the harnesses or people who use them, but I didn't. I've run into situations like this many times before and I always feel bad, send messages to apologize etc. Now, if I do actually say something to be mean, then hey, I SHOULD apologize. However, that was not the case here. BUUT, it all boils down to we have the right to say what we feel, state our opinions etc, so she has the right to say whatever she wants, but that also goes both ways.

Are my kids perfect? Of course not. Am I perfect? Definitely not. Do I pretend either to be the case. Absolutely not. Do I focus on the negatives or the "bad"? NO and I shouldn't. I mention things my kids do wrong now and then or things I screw up, but I'm not going to focus on them, I'm going to focus on the good things, as I should.

I've been trying to bring more positive into my life and I will not apologize anymore for saying good things about my family.

If my friend is reading this... I sincerely hope you didn't take what I said as a negative implication toward you or your child. I think you and your husband are amazing parents and I don't doubt for a second you wouldn't make the right decision for YOUR family in this and all situations. I was answering your questions, nothing more.

The "Steps" of a Military Move

2011-09-28T01:29:00.000-04:00

This is not going to be a post to give any actual real help, but it will be factual and surely a little (or a lot) tongue-in-cheek.

Step 1. I've got orders!
Or do I? Were you penciled in or do you have hard copy orders? Well, if you have hard copy orders, then you actually have orders, if not.. you don't actually have orders. So lets assume we're talking about hard copy orders... You have orders! This is the start of the whole (often) not so pleasant process. Congratulations! You now probably have a couple of months until you move. Yeah, yeah... Your friend's, friend's, aunt's, daughter's husband's, brother is in the Army/Marines/Navy and had their orders 9 months before they had to move. It's possible, but lets face it, do you really think you're lucky enough to have that kind of notice? Probably not.

Step 2. Setting up the move
Now you get to deal with the flakes at the move office who may or may not be really helpful. Either way, they are your go to guys! (like it or not). You have to choose the dates you wish to move, wait for them to contact you and tell you whether that is available or not and then rely on them to set you up with a moving company (make sure you stay on top of it and call them often!). They will get you hooked up with one of the crappiest movers available (Fact! They don't pay well so the good companies wont move for the military) and they will not expect these movers to confirm your dates until about 7 - 10 days before the move. Convenient huh!?

You can choose to do a DITY move, which is a huge pain in the ass and you can also choose to do a partial DITY move, which we always do. We take a trailer with things we need/don't want the movers touching. Those options also need to be taken care of with the move office (yay...)
.
Step 3. Setting up housing
Now this part varies depending on the route you're taking. Renting/buying in town or military housing?You mist decide that (like.. RIGHT AWAY) and start acting on it. You should be working on this at the same time as working on your move set up. If you want to live in housing (it is convenient after all) then you must provide them with your orders, the date you'd like to move in and what you want in their housing area. In some places this is easy and they have plenty open, in others you'll be put on a waiting list. If you're choosing to rent or buy, well... you're an adult and you should know how to do that part.

Somewhere in here, don't forget to give your notice to your current property facilitator (hah, I like wording it that way!) if you rent, that you'll be moving.

Step 4. Pack out day!
This is assuming you chose to have the military hire movers for you. Yay! People you've never met in your life and will probably never see again in your life, are about to touch EVERYTHING in your house! Better yet, they are about to touch it all and throw it into boxes doing what they call "packing". What "packing" really mean is they will dump your drawers into boxes (photo evidence below!) that also contain assorted things from various rooms (likely not properly wrapped) and tape it shut. They'll even put the empty tape roll into the box if they reach the end of that roll! So sweet huh? THEN, they'll improperly label it! (like.. It'll say kitchen and be full of toys!) Please, PLEASE make sure your house is clean and organized before they do this. If you don't, your dirty dishes and garbage will be packed. Make sure you set aside anything you absolutely would be heart broken if it is lost/stolen/broken and don't let them touch it. Things do get stolen and you're one of the very few lucky ones if you walk away without things broken. The lead packer will inventory all of the boxes on a sheet and leave it with you for the actual driver who will be picking up and driving your stuff.
Note: FEED THEM. If you don't, they'll pack your stuff even worse than you already have been. Also have drinks readily available, because well.... if you don't at least have water for them... you're an asshole.

Step 5. Loading day!
That day has come! The day they will load up your entire life, into a huge truck and drive away with it! That sure gives me the warm and fuzzies, how about you? The truck driver will inventory your furniture and anything not packed in a box. His crew will begin to take everything out of your home to load. Probably banging it off walls as they carry it out (our last movers weren't too bad though! We've had some BAD ones. Our packers did suck, however.) and then will sit it on the ground outside while they figure out what is going where, to efficiently pack the truck. It's pretty cut and dry.... it's a long day of watching people take away everything you own.
Note: FEED THEM. If you don't, they'll pack your stuff even worse than you already have been. Also have drinks readily available, because well.... if you don't at least have water there for them... you're an asshole. They ARE carrying your crap out of your house after all.

Step 6. Travel to your destination and wait for your stuff!
I hate this part, mostly because you don't really know how long your stuff will take to get to you. I have a friend who her stuff just sat in New Mexico because there were no drivers to bring her stuff to her destination... It just SAT THERE.. for like over a month i think. Some people do plan fun stops during their moves. We are more of the "get it over with" kind of people. We aren't fond of hotels (since they cost us an arm and a leg with 6 kids and 2 dogs) and we don't enjoy the long hours driving, for the same reason previously stated. Get to your destination, get to your new home and be ready for your stuff to be delivered. If you are waiting on housing, then your stuff will be put in storage, I personally avoid this if at all possible! I just want my stuff and want to settle in as quickly as I can.

Step 7. Delivery day!
Yes! Your stuff is here!!! Your life is pulling up out front and is about to be unloaded into your new home! Go ahead, do a little happy dance, odds are the happiness won't last long once you start seeing damaged furniture coming through the door, so enjoy it now while you still can! They will unload everything into your home, probably banging up walls with furniture as they move it in and loading boxes in everywhere making it almost impossible to move inside your home. But it's ok, your stuff is here! YAAAY!

Step 8. Unpacking
This is The. Worst. Part. You will open box after box of improperly packed things (see Step 4) and find broken items and damaged furniture along the way. Hopefully not too much. It's like Christmas in the twilight zone.. or something. This unpacking thing I do fast. I want to be settled, pictures on the wall and no more boxes within a week. Which, I usually am. The huge mound of boxes and paper you have to try to find a place for is the best part! Settle in and be glad it's all over for a couple of years... maybe a little more.. maybe less... lol.

Yes, I know people who are not in the military move... But the average non-military family does not move that often. We've PCS'd 4 times in the past 8 years... also moved twice locally. So 6 moves in 8 years.

Adventures of a Homeschooler aka A Family Day out!

2011-09-27T19:24:00.000-04:00

Today was one of those days that reminds me why I love homeschooling! Yesterday we did extra work (2 days worth) to free up today for a field trip! A few days ago my parents bought us a family membership to Mystic Aquarium as a housewarming gift since we just moved here to CT and live about 15 minutes from it (I have some entries to make about he move too. Need to get to that!). What better gift could you give a homeschooling family with 6 children!? It's perfect!

After lunch we were off to the Aquarium. Despite growing up in the North East, I had never been to Mystic, so it was exciting for me too! We spent nearly 2.5 hours there and the kids absolutely loved it. Well, Declan slept the entire time, but what do you expect from a 3 month old, right? The other 5 though, they had a great time. The Sea Lion show was cute, we saw a Beluga that was apparently aggressive (It was jaw clicking at a baby through the glass lol) and the atmosphere of the indoor tanks was nice. Besides the yellow jackets that kept flying around the youngest 2 in the stroller while we were outside, it was a great day!

Here is some photographic evidence of how much the life of homeschooled children sucks!

Mystic Aquarium in Mystic, CT.

Sea Lion show!

Hands on learning!

Sharks!

Sea Turtle!

She loved it :)

You can SEE him learning :).

African Penguins!

The Marsh

Beluga Whale!

"Heeeeey guuuuuuys"

This is what Declan thought of Mystic! lol

I've realized something lately.

2011-09-01T10:24:00.005-04:00

As we get ready for our big move to Connecticut, I've realized that a lot of people around here really like my family. I don't care for South Carolina in general, but I'll miss some of the people we're leaving behind. More than any other location we've moved from so far.

As we're doing our last "things" like pediatrician visits, vet visits etc. We're telling them that we've moving. My heart breaks a little leaving behind the Nurse Practitioner my kids have been seeing since we moved here. She is amazing with the kids and is just a really wonderful woman. When we told her last week that we were there for the last time, she had all of us come into her office so she could give all of the kids and Tony and I a hug and tell them goodbye. She actually had tears in her eyes and said she'd miss us. She sees people come and go all of the time working in a Navy clinic, but she bonded with my family enough that it actually struck emotion in her to see us going.

Last week when Tony went to buy dog food at our Dog Groomer's store he told them that we'd bring the dogs in for one last grooming before we leave. When the owner heard that, not only was he sad because he adores my dogs, but he gave Tony a hug and said he'd miss us.

This type of thing has been something we're seeing a lot now that we're preparing to leave and telling people. To see that some people are genuinely sad to see us go is actually really touching to me. Even the manager at Target who has been friendly over the past 3 1/2 years showed honest sadness.

I'm sad to leave. Not only because I'm going to miss my house, but because I've come to realize that there are people here who truly care about us. It's a good feeling and makes the move that much harder at the same time.

I've been very sad knowing that when we decide to have our next baby that I can't be a patient at Charleston Birth Place. It might sound silly to some, but I love the women there. I loved everything about them with my pregnancy and delivery of Declan. I honestly feel a great sadness not being able to deliver there again.

Moving so often is tough. Once you make connections, you have to move on to somewhere else. I know thousands of military families all go through this. I know it's just part of this life. It's hard and we all give up a lot. I'd like to think it makes us stronger and makes many of us value the friendships we have, that much more.

It's time to move on again. I'll miss all of you we're leaving behind.

TimberDoodle Review - ImagiPLAY Buddy Blocks

2011-08-27T00:56:00.006-04:00

Here we are again, another review for our favorite homeschool curriculum site, Timberdoodle! My 21 month old daughter Annabella and I recently had the opportunity to review ImagiPLAY Buddy Blocks! I have to admit, I was a bit excited to review a toddler item this time, since we haven't before. Anyway, on to the review ;).

First I want to talk about the blocks and storage case themselves. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality and durability. They are made of rubberwood, (which I already know is tough because that is what my entire diningroom set is made of) they are splinter proof, the paint is on well and they appear to be coated in a clear finish which makes them that much more durable and splinter proof. They are of far better quality than some alphabet blocks we own, from well known company I shall not name, that primarily makes wooden toys.

When we received these blocks in the mail, I gave them to my daughter and she sat down playing with them for nearly half an hour. I was very surprised by how interested in them she has been! Between putting them in and out of the case and the different animals/animal pieces on the blocks, she has had continued interest in these for nearly 2 weeks now.

Annabella is still figuring out the actual puzzle aspect of the blocks and I can see that it's really making her think. My 3 year old (JUST turned 3) son absolutely loves them as well. The puzzle aspect is pretty easy for him, but he's still thinking and really enjoying them.

Overall I'm very happy with the ImagiPLAY Buddy Block. They most definitely surpassed my expectations and both my 21 month old daughter and 3 year old son are getting a whole lot of use out of them. Much more than I had anticipated. I feel this is a great product to keep their growing brains busy!

The ImagiPLAY Buddy Blocks are also incorporated in the Complete Toddler Curriculum which is full of great educational toddler products. Don't forget to "like" Timberdoodle on Facebook!

As a member of Timberdoodle's Blogger Review Team I received a free set of Buddy Blocks in exchange for a frank and unbiased review.

And the tears started flowing... My Silver Fox

2011-08-18T16:34:00.007-04:00

I came across this video this morning in the midst of my Verizon Wireless Drama. I laughed... I cried... and I laughed some more... while crying.

To see Anderson Cooper ~~who I will forever have dirty thoughts about even if he might not like women~~ giggling uncontrollably while serving up a pun filled commentary making fun of actor Gerard Depardieu, was just about the best thing I could have seen on a stressful day. Freaking Hilarious.

Verizon Wireless Woes

2011-08-18T11:00:00.016-04:00

Update: 8/19/11 We were put in contact with a wonderful store manager who did the right thing and helped us out. We're done with Verizon and have moved on.

Update: 8/18/11 We were told by 2 tech's that since I could make calls it didn't really matter if voice would drop constantly and I'd have to keep calling the person back. Because I was still able to actually make calls. This is the last straw for me.

Small Update: 8/18/11 6pm EST. Not really much of an update, but I thought I'd put it in here anyway. Now they have opened ANOTHER trouble ticket and said that they escalated it. This is the THIRD time we've been told that we had an "escalated" trouble ticket. They are still doing nothing different than they've done the past 3 months to resolve this issue. So, to sum this up. They are continuing to give us the run around. I'm not backing down.

I will attempt to make this as brief as I can.

We've had an ongoing issue with my line that Verizon Wireless has not resolved/fixed for over 90 days now. I lose voice constantly. Sometimes I can't even make it 2 minutes without voice loss and having to call the person back. It often happens repeatedly.

We have tried 5 different devices (a couple different models/makers as well), ruling that out. It is clearly not the device. Over the last 3 months we have bent over backwards doing EVERY SINGLE THING tech support has asked us to do. Multiple devices, multiple sim cards, us marking calls etc. We all know it is not the hardware.

The network people keep coming up with theories and each one has proven to be wrong. At one point I was told that when 4G opened up in our area it would probably go away. It has not. At this point, the tech support and network engineers have told us that there isn't anything different for us to try. We've already been to the top network engineer in the area and back. My line continues to be a major issue and since VZW can't fix it, we have decided it's time to move on so we can get service that works properly. To give you an idea of how bad the issue is, in about a 20 day period there were about 500 voice losses/drops. This is documented with VZW. They had me marking the calls, this is how we know how many there actually were. Verizon Wireless refuses to let us out of our contract without paying the ETF (Early Termination Fee) for the issues, despite it being ongoing with no resolution for so long. This service is absolutely unacceptable and there is no reason they will not allow us to terminate the contract without paying the ETF. This issue is their fault, not mine.

SO, since they are refusing to help for that reason... We decided we wanted to exercise our right as customers as stated in their Customer Agreement to cancel our contract without paying our ETF due to them changing our contract and it having a material adverse effect on as as customers. They raised our regulatory fee. Here in the paragraph below.

Can Verizon Wireless Change This Agreement or My Service?
We may change prices or any other term of your Service or this agreement at any time,but we'll provide notice first, including written notice if you have Postpay Service. If you use your Service after the change takes effect, that means you're accepting the change. If you're a Postpay customer and a change to your Plan or this agreement has a material adverse effect on you, you can cancel the line of Service that has been affected within 60 days of receiving the notice with no early termination fee.

This is where the CS rep got dirty. She said that because it is stated that those fees can change, the above paragraph did not cover us. However, I do not see where it states the regulatory fee is excluded, do you? I don't. Here is the paragraph she cited below.

What Charges Are Set by Verizon Wireless?
You agree to pay all access, usage and other charges that you or the user of your wireless device incurred. For Postpay Service, our charges also include Federal Universal Service, Regulatory and Administrative Charges, and we may also include other charges related to our governmental costs. We set these charges; they aren't taxes, they aren't required by law, they are kept by us in whole or in part, and the amounts and what they pay for may change.

Again, I do not see where the regulatory fee is stated to be excluded from the changes that have a material adverse effect on customers, allowing us to terminate without an ETF.

Now, there IS a part in the contract that specifically states that it is NOT considered a material adverse effect. Which would exclude it from the paragraph that states that a change they make to your contract that has a material adverse effect allows you to terminate without paying the ETF. The section citing the regulatory fee, does not state this. The below quoted paragraph is where they specifically exclude something from being a material adverse effect.

Am I Eligible for Special Discounts?
If you're a Postpay customer, you may be eligible for a discount if you are and remain affiliated with an organization that has an agreement with us. Unless your discount is through a government employee discount program, we may share certain information about your Service (including your name, your wireless telephone number and your total monthly charges) with your organization from time to time to make sure you're still eligible. We may adjust or remove your discount according to your organization's agreement with us, and remove your discount if your eligibility ends or your contract term expires. In any case, this won't be considered to have a material adverse effect on you.

It is absolutely reasonable to conclude that the regulatory fee is in fact considered a material adverse effect on the customer when the fee is raised. With it being a material adverse effect it allows the customer under the Verizon Wireless Customer Agreement to terminate their account WITHOUT paying the ETF, as it is not stated to be excluded in the contract.

Verizon Wireless is refusing the adhere to their own contract with us. All we are asking is to be released from our contract without paying the ETF so we can get properly working service elsewhere. That's it. I just want a reasonably reliable line and VZW is clearly unable to provide this for me, despite us paying our full bill every. single. month.

To add insult to injury, last night, when my husband asked to terminate our contract without paying the ETF because of the serious line issues being unresolved after 90+ days, he was flat out lied to. A manager told him all he had to do was go and have our numbers ported elsewhere and then they would remove the ETF from the account. My husband called CS back to confirm this and was told that is absolutely NOT how it's done. He was blatantly lied to and it could have cost us nearly $700 in ETF's had he not called back and found out she lied to him. This is one of many lies we have been told over the past 3 months. As customers of 10+ years, this is disappointing on so many levels. We don't just WANT to leave VZW, however with them being unable/unwilling to fix my line, we don't see how we have much of a choice.

Below are screenshots of the contract with the previously cited paragraphs marked. Click on them to view them larger.

Life as I know it.

2011-08-15T22:17:00.003-04:00

Hi, it's Tony. I have not written a blog for Sarah in a while, but I feel its time to add another one of my entries to get some stuff out in the open. This will most definitely not be the normal type of post you expect to see on her blog.

This blog entry is different because it is all about her. She never talks about her self, or how awesome she is. She never talks about the great stuff she just did or got for herself, because well, she doesn't care about her self the way that she cares about US, Her family. Sarah is the most amazing mother and wife a person could ever dream to meet. She is kind, loving, and selfless. She can go the entire day with out a drink of water, or a bite to eat because of the time and effort she is placing into our kids. She is AMAZING.

When it comes to being a mother, her picture should be in the dictionary next to the word. Everyday, while I am at work, she is here at the house, being mother, nurse, teacher, chef, dog sitter, wife, navy wife, friend, the list goes on. She doesn't stop. Today I called her from work, and asked what she was up to. Like I didn't know the answer. She replied she was working on the first day of homeschool with the boys, and how much they were already doing. She told me of their excitement to get started and how much their little faces were lighting up on the lessons they were getting. Now this made me melt at work. She already had the kids excited to learn, fed the baby, cleaned up from breakfast, and got the 2 smaller ones playing together nicely, so she could put on her teacher hat, and all done before noon.

Being a teacher is not all she is good at. I am one of the proudest fathers in the world. My children are so well behaved that people in public go out of their way to tell us how great they really are. I may have a part in this, but it is most definitely a small part. When I am on duty, at work, at the store, the kids are not with a baby sitter or day care, they are with mommy. The behavior they have learned, the respect for others, and their things, and the respect for us as their parents is mostly due to her. I couldn't ask for better children, and I think this is why we have 6, with no end point in sight.

And now comes the last part. The part of being my wife, and more impressive, putting up with me and my sh*t. I am not perfect. I know this. I can be a real a**hole to her sometimes, I can have my lazy days, my sit there and work on android all night days, and my just plain off days. But good or bad, she loves me, and takes care of me. She doesn't give up on me, she stands her ground and waits for me to come back to her, and apologize because I was being silly or mean. I love her, and she loves me unconditionally. She rocks my world in every aspect, and I still ask myself from time to time if I really deserve such an amazing woman. I know that I don't always tell her enough, but I feel I am the luckiest man in the world, and most definitely will be annoying her for the rest of my life. I already have visions of being the little old couple in the walgreens, looking at what little items we can afford to get our grandchildren.

This post was for Sarah. I wanted everyone to know how great she is, and how much I love her for being an amazing wife and mother.

I love you Sarah.

Tony.

3 years ago today

2011-08-15T20:14:00.005-04:00

3 years ago today, our 4th son Zayne Elliot was born ♥. He is crazy and stubborn and cute and has a GREAT personality and... he's amazing :). I had him at 5:19 pm on August 15th 2008 and he weighed 7lbs 7ozs. Happy Birthday Zayne! We love you!

Here he is at 1 day old and 3 years old!

You Know You're A Mom When... Part 1. (Toddler Edition)

2011-08-07T22:14:00.005-04:00

You know you're a mom when...

...you are entirely not phased by a text message from your spouse on the other side of the house, telling you about your toddlers giant poo.

...you walk around the house in the afternoon eating a bowl of cereal that happens to be your first meal of the day and you're simultaneously picking up toys and vacuuming the floor.

...bowel movements and dirty diapers are discussed in your home on a daily basis.

...farts and burps are humorous.

...you always have an audience while sitting on the toilet.

...you can't remember the last time you took a shower from start to finish without being interrupted at least once.

...at least one of your children eats more than half of your meal every time you try to eat something.

...you've retired your nice purse and just keep your wallet and other essentials in the diaper bag.

...you don't even question that sticky/wet/dirty spot and just clean it up.

...bribes are an acceptable form of getting what you want.

...the 5 second rule is more like a 5 minute rule.

...no matter how much of a clean freak you are (or aren't? lol), you can find a kid's hand print on a wall SOMEWHERE in your house.

...you have a snack you really want to eat, so you hide it and sneak around the corner so you don't have to share.

...it is suddenly quiet and you get nervous and quickly go find the kid/kids to make sure nothing is wrong.

Alex-ism

2011-08-06T01:21:00.002-04:00

I REALLY need to keep up with a "crap my kids say/do" series on here. At least one of them is absolutely cracking me up on a daily basis with something they say or do.

Today, Alex referred to something as "easy as pie" and then stopped and said "Well... If you make pie from scratch, it isn't really easy. So I don't understand why they say that."

The thought they will sometimes put into something like that cracks me up lol.

A Humbling Little Life Lesson for the 9 Year Old

2011-08-05T23:11:00.004-04:00

This evening our oldest son, who will be 9 this month had a little bit of a lesson that to me was a bit satisfying and a little bit amusing.

My husband and I decided that dinner would be salad with chicken in it. Tony had bought a good salad mix with spinach and all and some good fixings for it like sliced almonds, dried cranberries, raisins etc. We cut up a fresh rotisserie chicken to top it off with.

When Alex realized we were having salad he griped about it because we had salad earlier in the week and he's the one child of mine who doesn't particularly like it. He eats it because our children are expected to eat what we make and he knows it's healthy, but he would rather not. This time, instead of reminding Alex that it is what was going to be for dinner, so that was that, Tony told him if he didn't want the salad he'd have to make himself something on his own then. Alex liked this idea and decided he'd make himself a chicken sandwich with the chicken we had for the salad. Tony sliced some of the chicken thin for him to use.

Because Alex was having a sandwich, Wyatt wanted that instead also, so Alex made 2 chicken sandwiches with lettuce and cheese on them. Watching him struggle a little making them was cute. He got crumbs all over the counter and floor of course, so I informed him that he'd also have to clean the mess he made.

We all had our dinner and when the boys were done, they all wanted a little more to eat. One of them suggested a slice of bread with peanut butter for each. Alexander, feeling like a confident big boy volunteered to make that also. He took out the regular bread and Cameron's special bread and then got the peanut butter and almond butter for Cameron. Since we use all natural peanut butter that has to be mixed Alex started to get a bit frustrated trying to stir and spread it. We told him to keep going. He finally did finish and served it to his brothers who were patiently waiting forever for these slices of bread!

Wyatt, darling Wyatt only took 2 bites and said he was full. Alex immediately became irritated and exclaimed how hard it was for him to deal with the peanut butter and how he couldn't believe Wyatt was going to waste it after he went through all of that work. I swear I could see the light bulb light up above Tony's head and he swiftly used that scenario unfolding before us as a lesson, for all of them, but especially Alex.

Tony said "It upsets you when you work hard making food and someone doesn't want to eat it?" Alex's response was "yes", of course. Tony proceeded to ask him if it would be even more upsetting if he had cooked a whole meal with pans and everything, again Alex said yes. Tony explained that it's upsetting and hurtful to us when we try hard to cook them good meals and they complain about it. Alex didn't say much, but you could see it was making him think.

After the kids were all done with their food I told Alex to go ahead and clean the mess he made. I showed him how to use the attachment wand on the Dyson and overlooked him vacuuming up the crumbs, which took him far. too. long. When that was done, I told him to go ahead and vacuum the carpets while I wiped down the counters and table. It was obvious while he was vacuuming that he didn't want to do it anymore and he was getting physically tired. He told me that it was hard. I smiled and reminded him that I do all of these things every day, typically at least a couple of times a day. He didn't say anything, but I could tell it had him thinking again. The kids are all expected to help with age appropriate chores, but those chores are usually cleaning their playroom, bedrooms, making sure their bathroom stays reasonably clean and putting away their laundry after I have folded and sorted it. Alex is also responsible for feeding the dogs. Other than that, since they are all young, the rest falls mostly on me (my husband does help though). Hmmm, I think it's time to teach a couple of them how to sort their laundry and use the washer and dryer.

Alex came back to me a little bit later and said "You really DO, do a lot of work every day mommy. I already know you do a lot... but, I mean... it's hard." I think this life lesson today may have put some things into perspective for my not really so little anymore, boy.

Internet friends ARE real friends

2011-08-05T00:20:00.007-04:00

Things have been a little tough on me emotionally, lately. Tony finally getting orders and them not giving us a whole lot of time to set up our move, prepare the house etc. has been the biggest stress. Then realizing how much we're giving up during this move has been really wearing on me. Because of the cost of living, we don't have much choice but to live in military housing in CT. To top it off, the area of housing we want to live in has no availability, so we'll be stuck in a place I don't want to be. We'll have no yard, no fence, no playroom for the kids... all things we have here. Giving up my comfortable home is really weighing heavy on me. (I know it sounds silly, but the kids and our home is what my whole life revolves around.)

We're in a rush to find a renter for our house here that can move in when we'll be leaving. Then Tony finds out he needs a waiver for the condition he has in his leg (veinous reflux), which is just another hurdle thrown in front of us. Thankfully yesterday he received a temporary waiver, unfortunately that means he has to deal with more waiver crap in CT, but it's something at least. We also have not heard from movers yet who the Navy is supposed to have contact us to confirm our move dates. This is just a few of the bazillion other stresses involving this move that are weighing on me right now. Many are Navy related, some of emotionally related to how this is going to effect my children again. I feel guilty they have to give up so much too.

Here is where I get to my whole point of this blog entry. When we move we wont have room for both our large diningroom table and eat in kitchen table (since there will be no eat in kitchen where we're going) so I was looking around for a long folding table to use for the kids homeschooling so that we aren't using the diningroom table that we need to eat on for school also. I found one for a really great price recently and was trying to quickly save money to order it. Last night I looked at it again and the price had jacked back up by almost $150 and was almost full price again. I was so upset because that means I couldn't afford to get it. It's important to me because it will really help the kids having a solid place for school that isn't dual use. I whined about it online before I went to bed.

Today, 4 people we know online through Tony's android developing paypal'd donations to us, to help us buy this table. They had no stake in it, there were no strings attached, they aren't our "family" or "real life" friends. They are our internet friends. They cared enough about my family that they wanted to help us out with something that was important to us. We didn't ask anyone for anything and they took it upon themselves to chip in out of the goodness of their hearts, because they knew it would help. Another person we know hunted the internet trying to find me a better deal, he even emailed the company trying to get them to sell the table at that lower price. They are all amazing. They are real friends.

Over the years, we've had people make kind gestures like this and it never ceases to amaze me. It reminds me there really are kind people out there who do care about others. It also solidifies my reasoning for helping other when we can as well. If we all try to do something small for someone else now and then, it can make such a difference.

Do something kind for a stranger. No matter how big or small it may be, it might just completely make their day and maybe even improve their life in some way, even a small one, like this has ours. Even a kind word or a shoulder to lean on can make a world of difference.

Thank you all so much.

I couldn't be any more lucky

2011-08-04T23:52:00.010-04:00

It's that time again!

2011-08-02T00:01:00.002-04:00

It's World Breastfeeding Week! Did you know it's celebrated in more than 170 countries worldwide!? Soooooo, I will once again share this PSA!

I am now breastfeeding baby #6 and I am so glad to be doing it. It's what I have boobies for! I'm far too lazy at night to worry about bottles and it makes things a whole lot easier not having to pack bottles when we go out. I really do look at it as more a convenience than a burden! Glass half full? Maybe. But, between the benefits and the many conveniences, the occasional rough spot or inconvenience is well worth it to me!

Breastmilk: Never Been Recalled

5 Reasons Babies Are Gross

2011-07-07T23:35:00.006-04:00

This my friends is 5 Reasons Babies Are Gross. What? They are! They are gross, needy... and the best thing ever.

1. They shit their pants. I mean, come on... They Poop. In. Their. Pants. Gross.

2. They PEE in their pants. *see second statement above.*

3. They spit up on themselves and you... and everything else.

4. They drool on themselves and you... and everything else.

5. They burp and fart, on you, at you, in front of anyone... and anywhere.

Despite the above reasons babies are gross, they are beautiful, adorable and perfect. Which probably makes all of the gross stuff a whole lot easier to deal with ;).

This was brought to you by the letters O, M and G and the words "Epic" and "Poop-splosion".

Earlier today, as I started to nurse Declan, he had a massive diaper explosion all over himself, inside of his blanket. After I cleaned up that disaster (The Governor even considered declaring a state of emergency! Ok.. not really, but still....) I began nursing him again and he promptly peed a huge amount (He's not even 8lbs, where does he keep all of this stuff!?), right out of his diaper, onto the front of me, soaking my pants. This is a scene, while not common, is also not new to me at all, being a mother of 6 children.

Even the worst poop disasters don't stop me from just loving babies and wanting more though ;).

My Whole World

2011-06-28T20:14:00.002-04:00

I took this photo today of all of the kids. They really are my whole world <3. I love them more than anything.

Happy early 4th of July everyone!

My Birth Center, Water Birth of Baby #6

2011-06-23T23:52:00.001-04:00

I had such an amazing experience from start to finish with Charleston Birth Place. I had to write my birth story as soon as I could <3.

My husband and I decided on using the Birth Center right away after finding out that we were expecting #6. It took a few months of waiting on DHEC to grant the waiver for me (since I was having my 6th. Stupid SC laws). From the beginning, the experience at the Birth Center was a far cry from what you get with any OB office. It felt personal, the midwives are amazing and the atmosphere is always comfortable. You never have to go in for a prenatal appointment and wait around for an hour or two or more, just to be seen by a Dr. who doesn't even recognize you from one visit to another. Everything about it was just, pleasant. So, I sit here and ask myself how I missed out on this for my first FIVE kids!

On to my birth story...

Declan Cash was born June 23rd (today) at 4:40pm, weighing 7lbs 4ozs and was 20 inches long.

For the past 3 days I had been having regular moderately painful contractions. I was dilating and effacing, just slowly. Today after going into the birth center to be checked again for progress, they decided to have me come back to have the baby. I was 6cms and 80% effaced. I was contracting and still making slow, but steady progress. The Birth Center usually does not break your water, but they thought that might be just what I needed and left it to me as an option. We agreed on Tony and I going home to get things ready and heading back around 1:30 pm-ish.

We returned to the birth center roughly around 1:45 pm. After talking it over for a few minutes, I decided to have the midwife go ahead and break my water because I really did feel Declan was ready. That was done sometime around 2 pm or so and I was dilated 7cms and was 90% effaced. It helped make the contractions a little more productive. I got into the tub (and by tub, I mean huge awesomely amazing jetted hot tub) shortly after to be more comfortable. I can tell you, laboring in the tub really does make the contractions a lot more tolerable! I have a pretty high pain threshold and I have always handled labor and child birth pretty well, but this was nice!

I really wasn't too uncomfortable until I was close to being ready to push. When I did reach that point I only spent probably 20 or so minutes with the gnarly contractions. I wasn't doing much pushing at first because I didn't like the pain, but then I got a grip and realized if I'd just push, it'd be over faster! (duuuh) After a short bit of real pushing, I delivered Declan into the water, in a squat, forward leaning, with my midwife Laurie and my husband Tony behind me to guide him :).

No unnecessary medical interventions, no uncomfortable monitors hooked to me the whole time, no unnecessary IV, no medications.... Completely natural and it was perfect. It took him a few minutes to perk up, but he was moving and looking around at us right away. He's perfect and gorgeous and amazing, just like everyone of his brothers and his sister have been, before him. We're in love with him just like we are with every one of our kids. The baby and I were doing wonderful after the birth and were able to leave the birth center just 4 hours after he was born. I LOVED being able to come home and not be stuck in an icky hospital all night!

Here is my little public Thank You to Lesley, Judy and Laurie, my midwives over at Charleston Birth Place. They make CBP such a great place to go through the journey of pregnancy and child birth. I feel so lucky to have been able to have the experience I've had, with them along the way. Not to forget the rest of staff, Renee and Mary, they are wonderful as well!

I'd also like to mention I have pretty much the most amazing husband in the world. He is so incredibly supportive during labor, so patient and attentive. I'm so grateful to have had him there with me through the labor and birth of another one of our children. I love you, Tony.

His arrival home...

How to Draw the Life and Times of Chester A. Arthur - PowerKids Press - Timberdoodle Review

2011-05-23T23:10:00.002-04:00

My oldest son Alex, who is almost 9 years old, has been reviewing How to Draw the Life and Times of Chester A. Arthur for the past week, for Timberdoodle, which is part of the A Kid's Guide to Drawing the Presidents of the USA Complete Set.

Here is a little rundown of what this book covers. As the title states, there is information about the life and death of former President Chester A. Arthur. Including details ranging from where he was born, to his military service, to where he was buried after his death. The book is small, coming in at 32 pages. There are 13 chapters and each chapter has a drawing to complete in the end, with 8 steps to follow, to do so.

The writing about the Chester A. Arthur is easy to read and understand and has the pertinent information covered while not becoming boring, long winded or redundant.

The art portion done in steps, is easy to understand and easy enough for the child who may be a less less gifted in their are skills ;). It is however, still enough for the child more gifted in art as well.

Alexander's thoughts: "This book taught me a lot about Arthur, but it wasn't boring and the drawing made it even more fun. I like it."

Mom's thoughts: I feel these books, especially the whole series would make a great supplement or filler in your History curriculum. I do not personally find them to be enough to use on their own for History, but I also don't believe Timberdoodle recommends them as such. I definitely give this 2 thumbs up as a fun supplement!

Right now this full set is selling on Timberdoodle for $195 and the original full price is $1060.50. That is such an insanely low price for 42 books! If I had the money right now, I'd personally own the whole set. Go here to receive Timberdoodle's free catalog and don't forget to fan them on Facebook!

As a member of Timberdoodle's Blogger Review Team I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a frank and unbiased review.

The Kids Raised Butterflies!

2011-05-15T13:09:00.007-04:00

I decided a fun spring Science project for the kids to do besides growing the different plants we are growing right now, would be to raise some butterflies! Painted Ladies to be exact! Remember, it's already been warm here in SC for a while now!

They really enjoyed watching the metamorphosis from tiny caterpillars into beautiful butterflies. Along with being able to physically watch the whole process, I also explained it all to them each step of the way and showed them more detailed videos and pictures of what was actually taking place. Hands on is so much more fun than reading about it!

We released them today and all of the boys enjoyed watching them fly around the yard in the wind. Zayne ran as fast as he could to keep up with them so he could look at them more, each time they landed. Alex said he was a father and when I laughed he said "I am! I raised them!" It was amusing.

The tiny Caterpillars we started with.

The Butterflies the day after they emerged from their cocoons.

One of the butterflies after we released them today :).

My Mother's Day - Reflecting

2011-05-11T23:31:00.000-04:00

This past Sunday was Mother's Day. It was our usual lazy Sunday around the house for the most part. My husband did make me a dinner with a bunch of my favorite foods, which was very sweet and I appreciated it very much. No extravagant gifts (we can't afford it and that's not what it's about for us). My boys all sat down and made me cards themselves with cute drawings and adorable little notes. The big difference this Mother's Day was that Annabella was VERY sick. She was vaccinated at her 18 month appointment on Friday and by that evening she had a fever and was miserable. Saturday morning she was so bad that Tony took her to Urgent Care and it turns out she suddenly had an ear infection that was not noticed at her check-up. She was sicker than I've really seen any of the boys. She spent the whole weekend laying on me, not wanting to eat and with me having to force her to drink even just a little bit. I was really worried about her and felt so bad for her.

I was a little bummed out spending my Mother's Day that way. However, thinking more about it this week, this is what it is all about. This is what being a mom is. I am their boo boo fixer, their comfort when they are sick, where they go just for hugs... This is what both Daddy and I are here for. There would be no Mother's Day, without me being a mother. THEY are the reason I have my day. I am very lucky to be able to call them my children. Each one of them are an amazing gift that my husband and I are so fortunate to have.

Instead of being disappointed that I didn't get to have a better Mother's Day with 5 well children, I am reminded that this is what it's about, the good and the bad. I am their mother when they are running around in the sprinkler happy as can be and I am their mother when they are vomiting all over the house. I think we all prefer the good, but I'll take every bit of the good AND bad, to have them as my children.

This Little Quiz Was Pretty Much Spot On!

2011-04-11T21:35:00.005-04:00

I ran across this Mothering Personality quiz this evening. I was surprised at how accurate it actually was for me! Below are the results I got.

The 'Know Thyself' Mother
INFJ (Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling)
"I believe the joy of motherhood is self-discovery-for them and for me."
Sensitive and family-focused, the INFJ mother looks for and encourages the unique potential of each child. Self-knowledge may be her byword. Her aim is to help each child develop a sense of identity and cultivate personal growth. In fact, she may value the mothering experience as a catalyst to her own personal growth and self-knowledge.
The INFJ mother spends time observing and understanding each child. She is drawn to intimate conversations and seeks a free exchange of feelings and thoughts.
Sympathetic and accommodating, the INFJ mother strives to meet the important yet sometimes conflicting needs of each family member in harmonious and creative ways.
She is conscientious and intense as well. Probably no one takes life and child-raising more seriously than the INFJ. She approaches mothering as a profession requiring her best self.

Strengths
Connecting one-on-one with each child.The INFJ mother listens, observes, and reflects to develop an understanding of who each child really is. She "knows" her child and desires a close relationship. She connects and keeps in touch with each child as a unique individual.
Providing her children with emotional support.The INFJ mother is sensitive to her children's feelings, not shying away from helping them deal with even their heaviest emotions. She seeks to smooth out the rough edges of their experiences with a comforting presence and her broader perspectives.
Profundity.Focused on understanding values, spirituality, culture, and society, the INFJ mother provides awareness and insights into the subtleties and lessons of life beyond a child's immediate experience and questions.
Creativity.The INFJ mother can dream up unusual, fun projects her children can do to occupy their time and enrich their day-to-day experience, such as fantasy games to play, theme parties, or special snacks to make from healthy foods.
Struggles
Details.The INFJ mother may gravitate toward the idea of getting the family and household organized and in order, only to exhaust herself with nitty-gritty follow through. Regular baths for small children, weekly laundry, daily meals, picking up clutter, and ongoing repairs can be overwhelming.
Real life vs. the ideal.Because she lives with an ideal in her mind, the INFJ mother often has unrealistic expectations of herself and others. She may feel inadequate and critical of herself when reality falls short of her ideal.
Giving too much.The INFJ mother may be prone to over-accommodation and self-sacrifice as a way to maintain family harmony. She struggles with the ramifications: a child who is too dependent and a mother who is depleted and resentful.

Our Little Visitor

2011-04-09T23:03:00.005-04:00

A couple of days ago while looking out into our backyard I realized there was a young Wood Duck trying to get out of the yard. I'm not really sure how she got into our yard since we have an entirely fenced in yard, with a 6 foot privacy fence, but she did. I assume this was a she anyway, it was young, but didn't have any of the characteristics of a male wood duck (no start of a crested head or anything). There are several man made ponds in our development, so there are lots of ducks and swans around, I am just not that close to one of the ponds, so it was odd she was over here. I let the kids get a look at her from a good distance since she was absolutely terrified of us and I took a few photo's before trying to help her get out of my yard.

I opened our gate and tried to kind of coach her that while while she was flailing terrified of me. Instead of going out of the gate she pinned herself between pieces of the disassembled rubbermaid shed me have leaning against the fence. I could have grabbed her, but since I'm pregnant, I was worried she'd bite me and manage to get me sick somehow. Instead I decided to call animal control to come get her for me before my dogs went out and hurt her. My lab is very timid, almost too submissive really, but I don't know if her natural instincts would kick in with a duck and didn't want to take that chance! The animal control officer was very nice, got a hold of her and checked her out. Since she appeared to be uninjured, he took her in a pet carrier and brought her to one of the ponds around here. I'm very happy about that!

I took this opportunity to teach the kids about Wood Ducks! They were able to get a look at her and were able to get a better look from the photo's I took. I did research about them online with the kids, showed them the differences in the appearance of males and females. I read to them about how they migrate, how they live, what they eat etc. It was a nice little lesson for them.

It's amazing how little everyday experiences can turn into fun lessons.

Daily Word Problems Grade 1 Math - Evan-Moor - Timberdoodle Review

2011-04-06T23:36:00.005-04:00

My 6 year old son and I were given the opportunity by Timberdoodle to use and review Daily Word Problems Grade 1 Math. This was particularly exciting for my 6 year old because he LOVES math. The workbook is 110 pages of various math word problems. Addition, subtraction, graphs, simple charts, reading and writing number and words, counting by 2's, 5's and 10's, fractions, time, money, measuring and cute illustrations to go along with the word problems. It has everything. There are even facts about the animals in the word problems.

The content of this workbook is thought provoking, stimulating, but not too difficult while still being challenging. There are some illustrated visual aids for children who may need them. My 6 year old is very much a child who can do math problems, even multi-step problem in his head, but my older son is more of a visual learner, so I do like them being there. My son found Daily Word Problems Grade 1 Math to be fun to do and it wasn't frustrating on my end because the questions are worded in a way he could understand them and understand what he needed to do to solve them. I personally like the entertaining illustrations. They add a little something to the questions and I do not find them to be distracting. I think they make the book a little more fun! I also love the addition of the facts about the animals as does my son. It's just that little extra bit for an eager learner, especially one who loves animals.

Daily Word Problems Grade 1 Math is a workbook I'll be glad to purchase and use again for my younger children. I don't really have anything negative to say about the book. We are really happy with it overall.

Daily Word Problems Grade 1 Math is incorporated in Timberdoodle's 1'st Grade Complete Curriculum Package as well as available for purchase by itself. This workbook as well as hands on kits, educational games and a whole large selection of other educational materials and curriculum are available on the Timberdoodle website or in their Free Catalog.

As a member of Timberdoodle's Blogger Review Team I received a free copy of Daily Word Problems Grade 1 Math in exchange for a frank and unbiased review.

In Our Children's Eyes

2011-04-06T11:19:00.005-04:00

My husband and I are not perfect. We each have our flaws, plenty of them, but our children are all still young enough that they think we are Superman and Superwoman. We're amazing, the best looking people in the world, the smartest people who know everything, the people who can do everything right and make everything right. To them, we're pretty much perfect. That's a lot to live up to! We do the best we can to be everything they see us as and we surely fall short, but they never seem to notice that.

Sometimes they will tell me I'm so beautiful or I'll hear them talking about how daddy has such a great job even though we don't like how much time he spends away. My son Wyatt, on more than one occasion has said to me "Mommy, you know everything right? You're really smart right?" I tell him I don't know everything, but I'm smart. I always get a little laugh when one of them says something like that.

When they are punished, they are angry for the time being. But later, they will tell us they know we punish them because we want them to grow up to be good people and not do the wrong things. It still shocks me when they say something like this to me. They actually get it. Times like that, I'm reminded that in all of my flawed ways, I must be doing something right.

They are normal kids, they fight with each other, they talk back on occasion, they try to get away with not finishing school work, they don't always clean up their rooms or playroom when they are supposed to, but at the end of the day, they are really amazing kids.

My oldest is going on 9 and I often wonder how much longer Daddy and I will be perfect? When will he start thinking we're his enemy, trying to ruin his life and make him unhappy? When will he see that we aren't perfect and we don't know everything? It's inevitable, this I know. They will all eventually view us differently than they do now. I just hope that when that time comes, we will have done enough right, that while they realize we aren't perfect, they know we did our best in every way and that we have always loved them more than words could ever express. In the end, that's what I hope for. We want nothing more than to raise them to be healthy, happy, productive adults. We want them to be good, kind people with goals, to be driven and to know the sky is the limit. We also want them to look back and have fond memories of their upbringing.

We still kind of want to be a little perfect in their eyes even when they grow up and know we aren't.

Daily Geography Practice - Grade 3 - Evan-Moor - Timberdoodle Review

2011-04-03T21:48:00.006-04:00

My 8 year old son and I were recently given the chance to review Daily Geography Grade 3 forTimberdoodle. Daily Geography Grade 3 is a pretty good size workbook consisting of 160 pages. Within those pages are easy to understand maps, questions to be answered by using the maps and toward the back is a word glossary, which is very useful in my opinion. In addition the the workbook portion, the back of the book contains transparencies of each map that would come in handy in a group setting, if you happen to own an overhead projector

The book teaches your child how to read simple maps, how to use a map key, compass rose, map grids, map scales, geography vocabulary and geographical facts. It's a great tool to teach these skills without being too rigid or boring. My son has actually enjoyed using Daily Geography Grade 3 and did not find any of it too terribly difficult. He found the maps and directions to be clear and easy to understand

We will definitely use this book again in the future with our other children. Daily Geography Grade 3 is a great additional to our 3rd Grade curriculum. Can't beat curriculum that our children actually enjoy, right!? My only minor criticism is that some of the artistry on the maps and map keys could be more clear to make them a little bit easier to understand.

This book is incorporated in Timberdoodle's 3rd Grade Complete Curriculum Package, As well as being available to be purchased on it's own as a supplement. Timberdoodle has a large variety of educational materials, educational games and all sorts of hands on kits that you can see on their website or in their Free Catalog.

As a member of Timberdoodle's Blogger Review Team I received a free copy of Daily Geography Grade 3 in exchange for a frank and unbiased review.

Exciting new little adventure

2011-03-21T23:32:00.003-04:00

For a while now I've been seriously considering adding a foreign language to the kid's homeschool curriculum. Recently I became more serious about it and my husband and I decided on Spanish. We knew we wanted to add it sooner than later because the younger they are, we know the better they will pick it up. We decided we wanted to get Rosetta Stone, specifically the homeschool program and I started to make a little savings for it. When I found out it was on a decent sale, I scrambled to get it before the price goes back up! Thanks to some family chipping in, we were able to get it! The kids and I are pretty excited!

I really think this will be a good investment in their education and future. I would love for them to become fluent and maybe even move on to other languages as they get older! Becoming multi-lingual would be amazing. I wont get too crazy yet though, we'll take it slow with Spanish and go from there ;). I think adding this into the regular curriculum and keeping it fun, will give them great odds of picking it up well though!

I have it all installed and set up for each of the older 3 boys to start tomorrow. I'm just a little bummed that it can only be installed on one computer. I guess they'll just do their lessons 1 at a time while the others are doing other work :).

How could I not?

2011-03-18T15:10:00.005-04:00

How could I not want to have a bazillion of my husband's babies!? He's absolutely one of the best Daddies ever. Of course he's not perfect, none of us are, but he's a great father and really does try.

I look at all of the little things he does and I'm so grateful for our children to have him. They will have so many good memories of him when they grow up. He rolls around on the floor with the boys, helps them with video games, teaches them how to play football and baseball, reads to them, hugs them, tells them often how proud he is of them. He brushes our daughter's hair, he plays with her on the floor with her little blocks and baby dolls, sings to her, he picks her up when she just wants her daddy told hold her. She is such a daddy's girl already at 16 months old. This morning I listened to him sing one of his silly songs to her as he brought her downstairs for breakfast. He does this all of the time, despite having a terrible singing voice. She loves it! It makes her smile and laugh. It always makes me smile too.

He's a real father and man. He changes diapers without hesitation. He cooks meals for them. He gets up in the middle of the night when they have a bad dream or they are sick. He gives them baths and showers. He tells them he loves them, hugs them and kisses them all of the time. He carries the diaper bag, even if it is covered in pink skulls... He does everything. The most important of all, he truly loves them with everything he has.

My husband tries so hard to provide for the kids and I the best he can. Money is tight and things can be tough, but he always finds a way to make sure we have what we need. Providing for our family is the most important thing to him and he does a great job. We're always taken care of. We might not go on vacations or get to eat out often, but those things aren't what are important. We have what we need, the children have all of the curriculum they need for their schooling and we have each other.

I am thankful to have him for all of these reasons and many more. I hope he realized how much I really do love and appreciate him, because I do.

The Loves Of My Life

2011-03-14T13:29:00.002-04:00

They are my everything ♥. I can't wait to meet #6 ♥.

Morals and Values and then Religion, or the lack there of. A Secular Upbringing.

2011-03-11T21:40:00.004-05:00

This is a subject I felt compelled to write about after a conversation with my sister. Having strong morals and values and raising your children to have strong morals and values, does not have to mean you or your children have to have Christian values (or any other religion for that matter). They do not have to go hand in hand.

Not being Christian or religious people has been a thing that has often gotten my husband and I looked at in a negative way. We have had a range of different judgments from comments to silent but obvious disapproval. We are not religious but we respect those who are. We always appreciate when we get that respect in return. It's very unfair and even a bit hurtful when people assume that we can't possibly be raising our children to be genuinely good, moral, well rounded people with great values, if we aren't instilling Christian or religious values into them. That is a very judgmental and close-minded thought as well as being flat out wrong.

My husband and I have very strong morals and values. We do not have them because we fear God's judgment or because we believe that this is what the bible says, so we will follow it. We are the people that we are, because we expect it of ourselves. We take our marriage seriously, not because we were married under god, but because our marriage is a contract and promise we made to each other to remain faithful and to be there for each other through good and bad, thick and thin. We treat other well, we try to be kind and we try to do good deeds. All of this we do because it is what we feel is right. We don't have to be religious to be good people.

When it comes to raising our children, we do not have to teach them all of the things that are right and wrong from a religious standpoint. We do not have to teach them how to behave, how to treat people or how to act from a religious angle. They don't have to believe that we are supposed to be good people because that is what God expects from us. They can believe that it's just the right thing to do. As they get older, we can teach them how to have good judgement, to try wait for marriage to have sex, not to do drugs, not to drink etc. without having to do so with religion.

We do not think it's wrong to be religious and this is not by any means an attack on religion! We do not think it's wrong to raise your children that way. It is just not what we personally believe in for our family and we do not believe our children will be any less moral, any less respectful or any more likely to do wrong than those who are raised with a strong Christian/religious background. Religion does not equal Morals and Values. There are seemingly religious people who do terrible things and Atheists who are amazing people. Making rash judgments based on religion or lack of religion alone is unfair to everyone. We may not be cookie cutter homeschooling parents or the cookie cutter parents of "lots" of children that many people envision, but we have children who are smart, obedient, respectful, kind and genuinely caring toward everyone. It's not about the Christian or religious base to the upbringing of a child, it's about what the parents instill in them as a whole, Christian and Secular alike.

With all of that being said, I do not discourage my children from learning about Christianity if they choose. My oldest son has asked questions and we've given him a Children's Bible as well as more in depth background on the Christian religion and beliefs. We will do this with any religion they want to know about. They are free to choose their own path and discover their own belief's or non-belief, if that's the case. We even purchase our homeschool curriculum from a Christian company (Timberdoodle) that incorporates some Christian material in their curriculum. We just adapt it to a more secular teaching and choose alternatives for the very strong creation based materials, like Science. We are not against Christianity, we just don't set out to teach it as fact, when it's something that we don't necessarily believe to be.

I'm sure much of this blog entry mildly pains my religious father lol. Sorry Dad!

My "attack" on the High Fructose Corn Syrup Is Safe In Moderation Ads and others

2011-03-10T20:22:00.007-05:00

I'm sure many of us who watch a little TV have seen one of the defense ads for High Fructose Corn Syrup. "It's safe in moderation", "It's the same as sugar". The statement that it's safe in moderation is absolutely true, however what they do not tell you is that High Fructose Corn Syrup is unnecessarily in so many foods! Most of the time unsuspecting consumers have no idea that they are purchasing product after product with High Fructose Corn Syrup in it.

As a parent of a child with severe food allergies I read every label of everything we buy and even labels of things we don't buy, out of curiosity. It is mind blowing some of the products you'll find High Fructose Corn Syrup in. Bread, so many brands and types of bread have it as an ingredient! WHY??? It is completely unnecessary. You have to actually look for bread without it. Canned stewed tomatoes (we do almost NO canned food, but that's a topic for another day!), several brands have High Fructose Corn Syrup in them... WHY? Seriously, it doesn't freaking belong in stewed tomatoes! I think you get where I'm going....

Many families who are not hardcore label readers can be very much unaware of how much High Fructose Corn syrup is actually in their daily diet. When it's an unnecessary ingredient in so many everyday things you wouldn't expect it in, how are average families only consuming it in moderation!? They aren't. THIS is my problem with the defense of High Fructose Corn Syrup. It's just flat out in too many products that it does not need to be in.

Lets not forget the alternative names they are using for it on labels now, such as "Corn Sugar".

Now, my other rant while I'm at it. Cereal commercials marketed toward our children talking about how healthy their cereal is, pointing out the great things and neglecting to mention the not so good (of course they do, they are trying to market their products! lol). Yes, your cereal has vitamins! BUT, it also has large amounts of sugar, artificial ingredients and artificial food coloring. Some also have High Fructose Corn Syrup. Hmm, so how about those vitamins? There are many options that don't have high volumes of sugar, has natural ingredients and NO artificial food coloring. Those are the options we go for. This is a big gripe of mine. Marketing your product as healthy, highlighting the one healthy aspect (Vitamins, Whole Grain etc.) while it's loaded with a bunch of other things that are lousy. It sort of feels like false advertisement in a way to me.

Wordless Wednesday: The Best Daddy I Know

2011-03-09T20:27:00.001-05:00

That day I said would never come.... It did...

2011-03-03T23:20:00.004-05:00

Yesterday was "That day" that would never come. The best part about it, I was actually excited!

Probably 2 kids ago I said that I would NEVER have more kids than we could fit into an 8 passenger SUV or mini van. I would NEVER own a passenger van. It just wasn't going to happen. 6 children was my limit regardless of how I felt about having more. That was it. At the time, I clearly didn't realize that I wouldn't like having no extra seating and I clearly didn't realize that my strong desire to have more children would be, THIS strong. Here we are now, pregnant for our 6th and needing a larger vehicle because our 7 passenger van is soon to be too small. And you know what? Despite things not always being easy, we love where we are. We love the family we have.

Yesterday, "That day", we traded my husband's car in and purchased a 2010, 12 passenger Ford Econoline E-350 Super Duty XLT. Excellent condition inside and out, only 18k miles and still under factory warranty. We were able to get such an amazing deal on it, we just couldn't pass it up and we're thrilled! We are stuck with the Town and Country (when it's repaired from the accident) and Tony's car is old and needed to go, so this was perfect for us! Never had I imagined I would ever be excited about purchasing an Econoline, but I am! Things will be even tighter now, but we'll make it work, we always do.

Since we're driving such an "uncool" vehicle, we figure we should have fun with it right? I ordered a license plate frame that says "The Bus" "Big Families Rock!". I'm also trying to get skull family decals (instead of the ever popular stick family) for the back window. I'm hoping to make it obvious that it's not the base duty van, taxi or a business vehicle.

That day that would never come, did... and I'm happy it did.

The Adventures Of Parenthood

2011-02-25T23:02:00.004-05:00

Today was one of those days I had the ~~pleasure~~ misfortune of experiencing one of those many wonderful adventures of parenthood. My daughter, the gorgeous, tiny little princess that she is, painted a masterpiece in her crib... With her poop. When I walked into her room to get her up from her afternoon nap, there she was standing, smiling at me with her big huge grin. She was covered from head to toe in poo, her room smelled something fierce and she was reaching her little tiny hands that were completely caked with poop out to me, signaling she wanted me to pick her up. I said "Annabella what did you do!?" and then I couldn't do anything else but laugh. She laughed along with me of course.

After briefly assessing what I was up against, I ran into my bathroom and started running the water for a bath, then ran back into her room to get her to the bath as quickly as possible. I picked her up around her middle, holding her out away from me, trying not to let her touch me. I cringed as she was patting my arm with her poop covered hand and hurried her into the tub. I had to soak and scrub her for a good half an hour to get it all off of her. The scene in the tub was something out of a twisted horror movie. Trying to battle the poop down the drain so I could rinse out the tub and properly wash her was a task in itself. I swear it was crawling and swimming against the flow of water! In the end, I won and she was clean!

Am I surprised this happened? Of course not. I've been down this road before. She is #5 after all. I couldn't possibly be mad about it either, she's only 15 months old. The whole fiasco was easily avoidable, though! She has taken her diaper off on several occasions already, but luckily without disaster, until today that is. My husband and I both know that she HAS to be in PJ's or a onsie when she's in bed for a nap or for the night, to successfully avoid any diaper incidents. He put her down for her nap in a diaper only. He was just asking for trouble doing that. I bet she was even thinking that! He did change her sheet and clean up her bed when he got home from taking our 2 year old to the Dr. though (Poor guy has an ear infection), so it was alright.

Lets face it, poop, pee, spit-up, baby food etc. It just comes with the territory. It happens to the best of us. I'd like to flatter myself and say that we are pretty good at avoiding this type of disaster, but even so, it happens now and then!

This poop disaster today fondly reminded me of the massive poop-splosion this same child had all over me right before we were about to walk into Barnes and Noble when she was a few months old. I was breastfeeding her in our van, before unloading all of the kids to head into the bookstore. She just... exploded... in her diaper. But it didn't stay in her diaper. She made a mess all of my jeans. I always have a change of clothes for the babies, but not for myself. It was bad enough we had to drive all the way home just for me to change and drive back to the bookstore. At the time it was a little irritating, but looking back, it really is funny.

I could probably write an entire book just about the baby mess disasters we've had with our kids so far. Ahhh, the adventures of parenthood!

Random Act Of Kindness

2011-02-25T13:53:00.005-05:00

I just wanted to write a quick little positive note from my day.

I realize that there are still genuinely thoughtful people. Today I received 3 small gifts from my baby registry (Bumpkins Organic Bibs, an 8 pack of cloth wipes and a Raz Baby Teether). The woman who sent them to me I have never met. In fact, I've had very little conversation with her at all. She is a member on a military support site I moderate and was looking for some help with ideas of things to get for a pregnant friend of hers. All I did was offer a few ideas, give my thoughts on a couple of her ideas and linked her my registry when she had asked if anyone could show her theirs. That was all I did. I did nothing spectacular, but as a thank you, she bought those items off my registry for me. I find that gesture to be so incredibly thoughtful and kind. She had no obligation to do that, but she did. I was almost taken back by it, only because it was just such a sweet thoughtful thing and she doesn't even know me! That is a genuinely thoughtful person. I just really felt the need to acknowledge this random act of kindness.

My registry is more of a shopping list for myself than anything. I've always made one so I can go and order things as I can afford them and it is convenient for my mom to go and order things from for her new grand baby. I'm not having a shower or anything so don't think of it as much more than that, just a convenient tool for me and my mom really!

I've had a few people who have done kind things like this for me over the past few years. When I was having my daughter a few friends I only know online, sent me things. Not to sound sappy, but little things like that always touch me because I'm reminded of how thoughtful some people can really be. I hope all of them know how much I have appreciated their kind gestures as well.

I Think The Stress Is Crushing Me

2011-02-24T15:09:00.005-05:00

I'm sitting here typing this while I watch my boys do their school work and watch my daughter play with her toys. This past week and a half has been a huge whirlwind of stress and it's making me physically sick. Today is not as bad, I spend the past 2 days crying because our tough vehicle situation was made worse last week.

On Tuesday the 15th around 9pm, Tony was in a fairly bad accident. No one else was involved. He lost control, went off the side of an on ramp and while regaining control, ended up in a hole big enough for the whole van to go into. Thankfully he was not injured, but the van is pretty banged up. After a week of drama with that, they have decided not to total the van even though it has 13 - 14k worth of damage. They are valuing the van at over 20k (It's a 2008 town and country) this is dealer resale value, not just flat out what it is worth. I am not happy about it, but Geico is doing what they want to do and there is nothing I can do about it.

This whole thing makes our already sticky vehicle situation worse. We were already concerned with being upside down on the van and needing something larger and now, the value loss because of being in such a bad accident is going to make it absolutely impossible for us to trade it in. Despite paying for full coverage, they only cover $30 a day for rental, it's roughly $70 a day for a mini van. We're paying the difference to have a van right now and we also found out we only have rental coverage for a month. Between waiting for it to be started and the repair time, it will be well over a month. So we wont have any rental at all for a decent period of time while it's still in the shop. We can't afford to be paying the difference for a van anyway, so we need to return the van and just get a car that wont hold my family probably today or tomorrow. This whole van situation alone has been completely wearing on me. We would have been far better off if they had totaled the van, because we have gap insurance. Now we just have one more obstacle to deal with while trying to find a way to get a bigger van. Between money being so tight and us having this large car payment on a vehicle which is going to be too small for us, I'm feeling pretty helpless right now.

I'm being crushed under the weight of the vehicle issue, knowing my husband's PRD (planned rotation date) is August and we have yet to get orders, knowing we have 5 months to get the house sold and it's not even on the market yet, not knowing if housing at our next duty station will even have anything big enough available for us, not knowing what our next duty station will even be yet and the upcoming move, right after this baby is born. We're going back to sea duty, so he will likely be deploying and I need a vehicle big enough to transport all of my children safely by myself. Lets not even talk about the fact that his car probably wont even make it to the next place we go anyway. I know, I know... A big pitty party you see. It just all feels like the weight of the world to me right now.

I have lots of emotions going on right now. I'm angry, resentful, sad, desperate... I'm angry with myself because I didn't find a way to make sure we didn't end up in a tough spot. I'm sad that I'm not doing better than this for the kids. I'm resentful of everyone who has someone to turn to, whether it be a shoulder to cry on or financial help from parents or family. I know it's ridiculous to be feeling resentful of that. We've always done it on our own, I've always done it and made whatever the situation is work. I've never liked to or wanted to ask anyone for help. This time I'm scared because I don't have any idea how we're going to make it better. This one time, I wish we had that person or those people to turn to and ask for help. We just don't. I'm feeling a little desperate. I know that eventually we'll figure something out, we always find a way. I just don't know how it'll happen this time. I'm very lucky to have a husband that is always positive about these things no matter what and doesn't stress about it. I'm just having a hard time with it.

As I'm finishing this, I'm looking at my daughter who is walking around with the tiny sunglasses that belong to one of her baby dolls, on her face. It's hysterical. They always manage to make everything feel better, if only for a few minutes.

In all of this, I am incredibly grateful that my husband walked away with no injuries and I am blessed to have every one of my children. In the end, we all have each other and that's what truly matters. I know this. I just need to concentrate on that and get out of this funk of stress I'm buried under.

The Breastfeeding Booby Trap That I Avoided

2011-02-11T17:31:00.007-05:00

I know breastfeeding isn't for everyone, but I hope this will be helpful for someone dealing with what I have.

My daughter was born a pretty good size baby, weighing in at 8 lbs 2 ozs and she was around 19 1/4 inches long. I exclusively breastfed her just as I had planned too. By the time she was a couple of months old she was below the 10% in weight and they had me do weight checks. She ultimately dropped below the 3% but was still growing well. It was suggested that I should supplement with formula because maybe she wasn't getting enough or my milk wasn't good enough for her etc. I had been through a similar situation with my 4th son. I truly felt she was getting enough milk and that the milk my body was making for her was exactly what she needed nutritionally. Despite me increasing how much I nursed her she remained below the 3% in weight, she was however still growing well otherwise.

I am her mother, I am an experienced mother and at this point, I feel comfortable going with my intuition. I introduced solids between 7 and 8 months. She still nursed often and ate solids 2 - 3 times a day. She remained below the 3% for weight (they called it the 1%... whatever). She breastfed and had solids (refused cups, bottles or anything other than mommy) until almost 14 months old. At that time my milk supply was suffering because I am pregnant for our 6th. She finally took to a cup and has been drinking whole milk, a little bit of water and eating 3 meals a day. She's quite the eater, I must add!

At her 15 month appointment earlier this week, she weighed a whole whopping 18lbs and is still below the 3% despite the whole milk and large appetite. She's healthy, growing well and quite beautiful as well ;). So, my point in this is, I didn't let anyone let me doubt myself, doubt my experience or doubt my mothers intuition. I knew she was getting adequate nutrition from my breastmilk and did not supplement when it was suggested. She is just a small girl like I was. I am only 5ft tall and before having 5 children I was thin. This is just who she is!

I am very thankful the Nurse Practitioner our children see has confidence in me as a mother and did not give me a hard time at all when I did not supplement. We don't always see eye to eye, but overall I am very fond of her.

Suggesting that the mother must not be making enough milk, that their milk must not be adequate or that the baby is even allergic to the others milk (this is SO rare that it's ridiculous that it's suggested as often as it is.) are huge traps so many mothers, especially new mothers get caught in! The best thing you can do is arm yourself with information. Do your research, educate yourself and don't doubt your ability. There are truly woman who can't make enough milk, but this is rare and not NEARLY as common as woman are led to believe. The times that I felt my supply may have been lacking, More Milk Plus was something I felt really worked. Pumping, nursing more often, mothers milk tea, more milk plus... there are so many options to increase your supply! Just don't give up :)

I've said many times before, mothers intuition is amazing. I *knew* Cameron had food allergies despite drs. blowing that suggestion off for years. He was diagnosed with a ton of allergies when this Nurse Practitioner listened to me and sent him for tests, even though she didn't think that was the case either... but she listened to me! With Alex, I *knew* he had a growth issue when he went from being a large toddler to nearly falling off the charts. After 18 or so months of seeing an endo he was diagnosed with Pediatric Growth Hormone Deficiency and is now on HGH therapy. When you feel in your gut there is or isn't an issue, don't let drs. blow you off or scare you.

Delving Into The "Uncomfortable" Questions

2011-01-28T15:43:00.004-05:00

My husband and I have always agreed that when the kids started asking the "uncomfortable" questions about their bodies, where babies come from, sex etc. We would always answer them truthfully and age appropriately, of course. We also agree that we want them to feel comfortable enough to come to us when they have those types of questions. This is one of many subjects, where we differ from our parents who were a bit more "old school".

Another thing we have always agreed to do is teach our children the proper, technical names for their body parts, including their sex organs. The boys all know they have a Penis and girls have a Vagina. So will Annabella when she's old enough to understand. (This even helps make your child less likely to be sexually abused.) This is something that I have always felt is important to do.

Last night Alex, my 8 1/2 year old son, had an interesting question for me. "Mom, what are the balls for on a boys private parts?" I was a little taken back because he sort of asked out of the blue. I told him "The outside is your scrotum and the balls are called testicles." His reply was "Yeah, but what are they for?" I answered "They are part of what is needed to make a baby when you grow up." He was satisfied with that answer. A little later he asked if I could get him a book that explained all of that stuff or find something online. I have no problem doing that, so I started searching for an anatomy book that wasn't too old for him and didn't go into too much detail for him. I'm sure for many, what I don't find to be too much detail, would be way too much for them. We're all different of course.

Alex is a pretty average 8 - 9 year old boy, but he is relatively mature when it comes to matters such as this. He doesn't get squirmy or uncomfortable when he asks or is given the answers. In fact, at 5 years old he asked me how babies get out of the mommy's belly. I told him honestly. I explained there are 2 ways out and what they were. That is also when and how I explained to him why girls have different private parts than boys (Since he already knew that they are different). Well, the explanation was in regards to them coming out. He has yet to have the conversation as to how they get in lol. I'm sure that's coming soon enough.

I had a few different anatomy books suggested to me by friends. After looking at those suggested, I ultimately I chose the book The Way We Work by David Macaulay. It doesn't look to be too far over his head, but it can also grow with him. The reproductive stuff aside, Alex and his brothers are very curious and inquisitive about many aspects of the human body and how things work. This is right up their alley. My friend who suggested this particular book has her Masters in Biology, so this is sort of her area and she really loves this book. I imagine if she loves it that much, it has to be worth a look! From what I have seen of the book online, it really looks great and I'm excited about the different Science lessons I'll be able to get out of it over the next several years.

This is just the beginning of the tougher questions my husband and I will be asked and we are both on the same page as far as how we'll handle each subject. I think we're ready for it. As ready as we can be anyway!

A New Journey - I'm Excited!

2011-01-26T21:29:00.005-05:00

I previously mentioned that I was waiting for South Carolina DHEC to approve the waiver for me to get my prenatal care and give birth at the Charleston Birth Place. They state that women who have had 6 or more pregnancies can not have care at a birth center.

http://www.scdhec.gov/administration/regs/docs/61-102.pdf

D. Professional Care
1. Limitation of Services Offered by Birthing Center: (I) In order to be delivered in a
birthing center, the woman and/or her infant shall exhibit no evidence of:
a. Severe anemia;
b. Diabetes mellitus;
c. Symptomatic heart disease;
d. Severe hypertension or preeclampsia;
e. Renal disease;
f. Thrombophlebitis;
g. Multiple gestation;
h. Active herpes (within one week of delivery), syphilis, or HIV positive;
i. Placental abnormalities;
j. Premature labor;
k. Intrauterine growth retardation;
l. Fetal disease;
m. Previous caesarean delivery with classical incision;
n. Desire for transfer;
o. Anticipated macrosomia;
p. Breech birth;
q. Six or more (nonmiscarriage or nonabortion) pregnancies;
r. Polyhydramnios or oligohydramnios, or chorionitis;

A couple of weeks ago I finally found out they did grant the waiver! I am really excited about this. While natural birth and giving birth are not new to me, being able to have prenatal care and hopefully give birth in such a wonderful environment is! The facility is beautiful, the birthing rooms are amazing and the staff are all great. I am now hoping that everything goes smoothly and I am able to give birth to this baby there. Not being hooked up to monitors and being able to move freely throughout my labor as well as having access to a huge birth pool to labor in will be so nice!

On February 15th I have the usual 20-ish week ultrasound with the OB that the Birth Center consults with and then my second appointment at Charleston Birth Place after that. I am 19 weeks today, so I'll be 1 day shy of 22 weeks at the ultrasound. I'm sure they'll confirm he's (still) a boy at that time as well.

This is a new journey I'm really excited to be on. I'm thrilled that we're having another baby and I really love the life my husband and I have together with our children. Here's to hoping everything goes smoothly!

Timberdoodle Review - Critical Thinking Press - Mind Benders A3, Mind Benders Beginning Book 2 and Mind Benders Beginning Book 1

2011-01-15T19:07:00.019-05:00

My older 3 boys and myself were recently given the opportunity and pleasure to review 3 workbooks from Critical Thinking Press by Timberdoodle. The titles we reviewed are Mind Benders A3, Mind Benders Beginning Book 2 and Mind Benders Beginning Book 1.

Before I go on, I just want to stress that these products and others that you can find at Timberdoodle are not only for Homeschooled Children but are also great Supplements or Summer Work for Conventionally Schooled Children. There are not only Books, but there are Educational Games, Puzzles and many other fun Hands On Activities, Projects and Items.

Alexander, who is 8 has been using the Mind Benders A3 for grades 3 - 6.

Alex has found Mind Benders A3 to be fun. It really makes him think and utilize his deductive thinking skills. Alex finds satisfaction in riddles and the like.

The workbook contains only 14 problems to solve but it does have Examples and Answers in the back, which is helpful if you want to double check that it's being done correctly.

The workbook is very simple and only black and white. This can be a good thing for easily distracted children. It may make the book less appealing to some children, but for it's age range I think that's less of an issue. I would like to see more problems in it and some diversity in the type of deductive thinking problems. All of the problems are the same style. Overall we like it and would use it again.

Cameron, who is 6 has been using the Mind Benders Beginning Book 2 for Grades 1 - 2.
Cameron has enjoyed using Mind Benders Beginning Book 2. He likes a challenge and finds satisfaction in being able to answer problems without using the chart!

The workbook has 42 problems to solve. The back has Answers which are helpful to look at if you're unsure if it's being done correctly or not. The last couple of pages in the book also have a few sample activities from other Critical Thinking Workbooks.

The workbook is very simple and only black and white. This can be an upside for some children and a downside for others in this age group. My son is more interested in the brain work and less interested in the graphics, so this is not an issue for him. I would definitely like to see a little diversity in the types of Deductive Thinking problems. Although each problem is different, the style is the same and can feel a little repetitive. We would use this again.

Wyatt, who is 4 has been using the Mind Benders Beginning Book 1 for Grades PreK - K.
Wyatt likes Mind Benders Beginning Book 1, but he has not found it as interesting as his brothers. The problems do make him think, but are not as engaging to him.

The workbook contains 43 activities. The back of the book has the answers which is helpful if you're unsure if the activities are being done properly or not.

The workbook is very simple and black and white only. This can be an upside for some children and a downside for others. My son at this age would definitely have been a little more interested at first glance if there were some colors and graphics. After beginning the activities he was more interested. He was clearly satisfied when he successfully completed them, which was nice to see. As with the other 2 books, I would like to see some diversity in the types of Deductive Thinking problems. A little diversity in the style of Deductive Thinking problems would make it feel much less repetitive. However, I do feel it was effective in it's intended purpose and would use again.

We already use the Complete Curriculum Kits and the large selection of fun curriculum to add to it that Timberdoodle has available is something we really love and appreciate. Timberdoodle has a great selection of Homeschool Curriculum, Supplemental work for Conventionally Schooled Children and Educational Games that you can see online or in their Free Catalog.

As a member of Timberdoodle's Blogger Review Team I received a free copy of Mind Benders A3, Mind Benders Beginning Book 2 and Mind Benders Beginning Book 1 in exchange for a frank and unbiased review.

Looks like it's boy #5 for us!

2011-01-15T12:56:00.005-05:00

Last week we went to Small Wonders Imaging to get a gender determination ultrasound like we did with our last 2. The woman Holly who owns this one is such a nice woman! I love having her do ultrasounds for us. She was even so kind and gave us a free 3D/4D ultrasound! She was very confident that baby #6 is a boy. I'd love to have another girl, but I'm happy! Maybe we'll have a girl next time, right? ;)

I still can't believe we'll have 5 boys! I love all of them so much! The kids are really excited to have another sibling <3

Here is beautiful baby #6! Remember, 16 week babies still look like Aliens! hehe

As the year comes to a close

2010-12-31T10:43:00.003-05:00

Today is December 31st, 2010. As 2010 comes to a close I think about this past year and the year to come. This year has had it's ups and downs as does any year. Over all it's been a good year and we had a nice surprise finding out we're having our 6th baby :). I think I am more worried than excited about what 2011 has in store for us. We move, my husband goes back to sea duty and we'll be having another baby and our current vehicle is too small. Moving and going back to sea duty is something I'm honestly not looking forward to. I'm almost a little scared to do the whole sea duty thing again. We'll have 6 children and my husband wont be around much. It's hard doing it on my own. We're hoping to get orders to CT, so I can at least be near family. I would definitely look forward to that. That's another scary thing though, we don't have orders yet and we still don't know where we'll be moving to this summer. We need to try to sell the house and the sooner we have orders the sooner we can plan. This is one of the things I really dislike about this lifestyle.

With that said, I'm hopeful. I'm hopeful this will be a good year and things will get better for us in one way or another. I'm hopeful we'll get the orders we're wanting and I'm hopeful something good will happen for us as far as our vehicle situation goes. I'm very much looking forward to welcoming a new baby :). I'm looking forward to watching my children grow and learn and I'm looking forward to the new adventures we have to come. Maybe this will be our year.

I don't make resolutions, but I do have some goals. I want to be more optimistic. I want to be an even better mother, wife and homeschooler. I want to take more time to see the good in people and I'd really like to find a way to help us with our financial situation.

Happy New Year Everyone. Take care of yourselves, be thoughtful of others and give as much love as you can :).

Really easy and yummy Snickerdoodle recipe!

2010-12-23T17:56:00.004-05:00

I wanted to make cookies that My son with allergies can have. He's allergic to eggs, but they are hard to avoid and luckily it's a minor allergy for him.

These snickerdoodles were very easy to make and they taste great! I doubled the recipe and made probably 5 dozen cookies.

Ingredients:

1 cup butter (softened)

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 large eggs

2 3/4 cups flour (we used organic flour with no Barley because of my son's barley allergy)

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons sugar

3 teaspoons cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Mix butter, 1 1/2 cups sugar and eggs thoroughly in a large bowl.

Combine flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl.

Blend dry ingredients into butter mixture.

Chill dough, and chill an ungreased cookie sheet for about 10-15 minutes in the fridge.

Meanwhile, mix 3 tablespoons sugar, and 3 teaspoons cinnamon in a small bowl.

Scoop 1 inch globs of dough into the sugar/ cinnamon mixture (I actually scoop out a small amount with my hand and roll neat balls).

Coat by gently rolling balls of dough in the sugar mixture.

Place on chilled ungreased cookie sheet, and bake 10 minutes.

Remove from pan immediately.

Don't they look yummy? :D

This is not my recipe. I found it on food.com :).

This is who I am

2010-12-21T21:31:00.003-05:00

I'm a mother and a wife. I'm many other things within myself, but my life is centered around being the best mother I can be to my children and the best wife I can be to my husband. I suppose it means those are the things that define me. Right now, at this time in my life, I am okay with this. Every decision I make and everything I do I think of my children and my husband. I feel like that is how it's supposed to be.

Christmas is 4 days away and I'm loving every moment of the Holidays with my children. I am so proud when I ask them what Christmas is about and they answer "Christmas is about family, friends and giving to others." This is what I've always wanted them to get from the holidays. They love receiving gifts of course, every child does! But they are not greedy and they definitely don't feel entitled. This makes me so happy. They enjoy giving to others and they enjoy making other people happy. I have always and will always want to instill this in them. Giving feels so much better than receiving. That's why we give, even when we don't have much to do so. This is not just during the holidays, but all of the time, as I feel it should be.

I live to see the magic and innocents in my children's eyes during this time of year. Everything is just more magical. My wish for them is to be happy, healthy, gentle, kindhearted human beings. I want them to grow into just good people. This comes back to where everything I do is about them. Something I have always said is, I am shaping the future, as is every parent. Everything we do or don't do, has a direct impact on the adults our children will become. I want to do the best I can to hand the future amazing individuals. I know I'm not a perfect mother or a perfect wife, but I try my best. I put all of my heart and soul into all of them.

I'm passionate about the choices my husband and I have made for our family. Despite opposition or negative feedback about some of those choices, such as homeschooling, we know we are doing what is right for our family. Different things work for different people and this is what works for us. All of our choices were not generally the easiest path, but they have so many positives for us.

I'm a rocker mom, an eco-friendly mom, a free thinking, offbeat mom, a homeschooling mom... You get the idea. This is who I am :).

Pediatric Growth Hormone Deficiency

2010-12-20T23:41:00.004-05:00

Pediatric Growth Hormone Deficiency... This is my oldest son Alex's final diagnosis from his Endocrinologist. He's been seeing an endocrinologist for close to a year and a half for his obvious short stature and late adult tooth eruption. The Dr. took his time and did everything by the book to come up with an accurate diagnosis.

Alex is nearly 8 1/2 and he's about the size of a 6 year old. The past 6 months or so him being so small has really started to bother him. Everyone thinks that him, Cameron and Wyatt are triplets. When we say he's 8, people act shocked. Recently you can see the look on his face when those things happen, it obviously bothers him quite a bit. He also wants to start HGH therapy very badly despite his fear of needles. He said he's willing to be tough if it'll help him grow. This is a long term therapy. Roughly 8 - 10 years of daily injections, 6 days a week. It will definitely take some getting used to.

To have a diagnosis makes me happy and sad at the same time. I am glad to have the diagnosis finally, but I am sad that he has a deficiency. I do realize how lucky we are that my children's issues thus far, are very minor in the big scheme of things. They are all healthy and happy.

This is one situation that we didn't have a fight with Tricare! I wanted to actually make sure I pointed this out, because more often than not I have to fight with them about something. They approved this in one day. Thank you Tricare.

I intend to sort of document Alex's therapy on my blog, maybe monthly? We'll see how that goes. Right now Alex is 8 years and 4 months old, 46 1/4 inches tall and 48 lbs. Hopefully he'll be starting his therapy before the first of the year.

Wordless Wednesday - Favorite Things!

2010-12-15T11:23:00.005-05:00

Punk Rock girls baby or todd... RockerByeBaby $35.00	CUSTOM Waldorf knotty blanke... sunflowerradia... $28.00
SALE-Cupcake Crayon Holder-1... KateWDesigns $12.00	Cupcake Crayons - Lil Doodl... LilDoodlers $11.95
First Birthday Tutu Onesie-O... LCBags $24.99	30mm Pink Cupcake Resin Cabo... delishbeads $3.95
Rocker Hot Pink -wrap aroun... RaeGun $15.00	Set of 6 Felt Play Food Stra... babyboofelt $7.50

Generated using Treasury HTML code generator by Whale Shark Websites.

A lesson in life and compassion

2010-12-14T16:40:00.003-05:00

My husband and I always try to make donations or help people whenever possible. Whether it be scraping together money for someone we know needs help, anonymously dropping toys at the doorstep of someone who can't afford gifts for their children for Christmas or just paying for someones coffee or a meal to brighten their day. Even when we're having a hard time ourselves, we always try to do something. We've involved the kids before by having them get together things to donate, but this holiday season I wanted to get them a little more involved. As much as we can for their age anyway. Alex is 8 1/2, Cameron is 6 and Wyatt is approaching 5. The other 2 are still just too young to understand it.

After thinking it over for a few days, I decided that I would take the boys to the dollar store and load up on some hygiene items to donate to the family shelter here, Crisis Ministries. Before we went, I discussed what it means to be homeless with them. Cameron wanted to buy them beds and homes instead of hygiene products and I told him if we could afford to, I would do it in a heartbeat! We're having a bit of a tough time financially, so my budget for this wasn't big, but we managed to get 30 toothbrushes, 30 bars of soap, 2 boxes of laundry soap and 3 bags of sanitary pads! I thought that was decent for $25! The boys were actually very anxious to "bring the stuff to help the people who need it."

On Monday we headed out to bring the box of stuff to donate to the shelter. By the time we arrived the donation center was closed, but we called and the woman in the shelter was very nice and just had Tony and the boys go right into the back of the family shelter with her to bring it in. She brought them into a common area with tables that had many people inside, some with small children. She told everyone that the boys had made a large donations of soap, toothbrushes and things like that. Everyone said thank you and applauded the kids. Tony had the boys wish them all a Merry Christmas and some of them shook the boys hands as they walked out. The appreciation they showed the boys really touched me. I'm tearing up right now thinking about it. I don't know if it's pregnancy hormones or what...

The boys walked out looking as if they felt accomplished. I could tell it had an emotional effect on Alex. But I'm glad it did, I wanted them to feel compassion for the people who had to be there and needed those items they donated. I talked to the boys when we got home and they all said it made them sad to see so many people who were homeless and needed to be there, but it made them feel good to give them things they need. We discussed how we all want to do more when we can and what types of things we plan to do. I couldn't have asked for them to get any more out of this experience. They took from it exactly what I was hoping they would. They have a little more understanding of the circumstances some other people are facing and they have compassion for them. To see the compassion such innocent little people can have is really amazing. I want them to hold onto that.

I had Alex write something for me about it.

The season through their eyes

2010-12-08T11:38:00.005-05:00

Last night we all took a trip to the James Island Festival Of Lights. It's a really beautiful light display that even makes us adults feel happy inside. They have a little train ride around the park, fire pits to roast marshmallows and Santa to go visit and take pictures with. We decided to go on a Tuesday evening to avoid crowds and it also happened to be very cold for here in SC, around 34 degrees. We bundled the kids up and headed on out there despite the cold. There was no wind, so it wasn't too bad at all!

I spent most of the time just watching the kids and seeing their faces light up looking at everything. When we roasted the marshmallows they acted as if it was the best treat they have ever had. As we walked through the paths of the park, their eyes sparkled as we passed the displays. They would point out the different lights with such excitement. We all walked over to see Santa. The older 3 boys were so excited and jumped right onto his lap to tell him the 1 thing they all really wanted for Christmas. Cameron wants a real jet pack of course!

After visiting Santa, we took the train ride through the park and the kids were the most excited I've seen them in a very long time. All 5 of them had smiles on their faces and they looked all around at everything in amazement. Zayne kept telling me he loves me and smiling at everything. Cameron kept pointing out displays to me and Wyatt did the same with Tony. Alex sat quiet with a big smile on his face taking it all in. Annabella kept laughing and giving daddy kisses. In those moments I realized this is what it really is all about. We were together, enjoying the sites as a family. We were all happy and carefree. For those moments none of us had any worries. We were all just happy to be there with each other, happy to see all of the beautiful lights and for that time feeling the magic of the season that us adults often leave forgotten in our childhood. We were all just happy and content. Our children make Christmas exciting for us every year. We love to see them excited about the lights, the decorations and the music.

Last night, my husband and I saw the season through our children's eyes. It was beautiful. Their innocents is inspiring.

Christmas Pictures

2010-11-30T12:05:00.008-05:00

I wanted to share the Christmas Pictures I took this morning of the kids with my blog readers! :)

I convinced my husband to help me on a whim before he had to go to work! Hah! I'm ~~a pain in the butt~~ spontaneous like that. I think they came out pretty cute!

Christmas Picture 1

Christmas Picture 2 - Laughing

Each of them alone

The Fight Is On... Apparently.

2010-11-29T16:04:00.006-05:00

I am going to be blogging along the way as we deal with the issues we've been having here at Naval Health Clinic Charleston. This is my way to sort of keep record and maintain accountability.

This complaint explains 2 different incidents I have dealt with recently and have been unable to make a complaint about at Naval Health Center Charleston. There is no ICE form or any feedback forms available online or at the clinic to do so. This is proving to be very frustrating for us and now we're being forced to go up the chain of command to look for resolution. I was instructed to write up this complaint.

Do they REALLY? I think not.

This is my complaint about the unacceptable substandard level of care I have received at Naval Health Clinic Charleston.

On November 19th, 2010, I had an appointment at Women's Health for a prenatal visit. I was there for more than 2 hours past my appointment, which would not have been too much of an issue to me if there hadn't been few patients and multiple staff sitting/walking around chatting, literally doing nothing.

It took more than 20 minutes just to check me in because my file was such a mess. My name was wrong in multiple different ways (spelling, name etc.) on every single item in the file. The woman checking me in had to go over every single item and redo all of the labels. This is an issue that was previously brought up by the ultrasound tech on October 28th, 2010. She physically walked my folder over to one of the staff and pointed out that my file was a mess. In more then 3 weeks time, no one fixed that file.

When I finally saw the midwife and addressed the very long wait and lazy staff I witnessed. She told me to get used to it. I was also given the worst, most painful pap smear I've ever had and I've had 5 pregnancies, so this isn't a new adventure for me.

When I was ready to checkout. The woman in the office that does the checkouts left me sitting for roughly 15 minutes while she chatted with an AD female CG member (I overheard a personal conversation). That is when I got up and said something to a nearby HM, expressing how displeased I was. He was the first kind staff member I had dealt with that day and promptly took me into his office to get me checked out.

While waiting to checkout, I was looking over the paper they had given me to hand in while being checked out. They had my blood type wrong. I find this to be just about the most unacceptable thing I have encountered in all of the issues I've had with this base clinic over the past 3 years, due to it being a dangerous error. This is my health and well being. It also makes me very concerned and very uncomfortable. I question and doubt the integrity, reliability and professionalism of the staff. This concern extends beyond just this department. I have serious concerns with the whole Naval Health Clinic Charleston.

On November 17th, 2010, My 12 month old daughter, Annabella, had her 12 month well baby visit in Pediatrics. Two male corpsman were in the room to get her vitals and stats. One did the physical work and the other, HM2 Bin**** sat down writing it all down (except for when he measured her head). My daughter is very scared of the staff at the clinic, to the point that when they touch her, she cries and screams. HM2 Bin****, was very rude to me about this. He asked me several times if I could make her be quiet as well as rudely asking what her problem was. He was clearly very flustered by her crying. When he stood up and measured her head, he was rough with her as he did it (and took an incorrect measurement as well). The other corpsman remained professional and even cheerful despite her crying.

When my daughter was weighed, HM2 Bin**** commented with a very apparent rude tone, that she had dropped on the weight chart, while scowling at me. My daughter is healthy and just thin. Any health issues were ruled out and she is very nutritionally sound. I did not appreciate his obvious disapproval, when he does not know the medical history of my child and he is not a Dr. This was also not my first encounter with this extremely rude and arrogant corpsman, HM2 Bin****. I absolutely will not let him touch or go near any of my children again.

The final issue I would like to address in this complaint is the fact that there is no ICE form available online for Naval Health Clinic Charleston on the https://ice.disa.mil/ site or the www.med.navy.mil/sites/chas/ site as of today, November 29th, 2010. There are no feedback forms available for Naval Health Clinic Charleston whatsoever. The email to the HMC that is provided, I've never received a response from.

On November 29th, 2010, my husband EMC Lay***, went into Naval Health Clinic Charleston to ask about getting an ICE form. Of the multiple personnel he spoke with, no one had any idea what he was speaking about. He was only given the generic opinion card, that I am attaching this complaint to. I find it absolutely unacceptable that there is no way to make a formal complaint without having to take it up the chain of command.

Sarah Lay***
757-***-****

The Base Clinic Strikes Again

2010-11-19T20:02:00.003-05:00

I am one of those military dependents who try to see the best in the military facilities and yet, I'm let down time and time again with poor care in one way or another. Today was another bad day at the military clinic and it was the last straw for my husband and I. We're switching to Tricare Standard and will pay to choose civilian providers come Monday.

I'll try to make this story as short as possible. I waited almost an hour past my appointment just to be called back. Now this alone was irritating, but would not have bothered me too much if they were actually busy. There were hardly any patients and all of the staff, including the drs and midwives who were seeing patients were taking their sweet time getting to patients, laughing, bullshitting with each other... you get the picture. When I was called back for my weight, BP and to be checked in, it took around 20 minutes just to do that because they had my file so messed up. Every paper had my name spelled wrong in various different ways. The woman had to re-label every single paper in my file. When I was finally put into the exam room, I waited a while longer in there.

By the time the midwife came in, I had been waiting nearly 2 hours past my appointment time. I told her I was unhappy about this and she pretty much told me tough shit and to get used to it. We went over my blood work, she asked some questions and she went on to do the most painful pap I've ever had. It was terrible and I've been having cramps since.

After that was all said and done I had to go check out. The woman who does the check out was sitting there having a good old time chatting it up with an AD female Coast Guard member. Finally after waiting for 15 minutes listening to them enjoy a personal conversation, I stood up and told the HM1 in a nearby office I was about to blow up on someone. He was actually very nice, despite my obvious frustration and what I can only imagine came across as bitchiness. While he was checking me out, I realize the paper sitting there waiting to go into my file had my blood type listed as O+... I am B+!!! I told him this and had him note it on that sheet of paper, but I still have no idea if it is correct in the rest of my file or not. The file was so messed up, I will not be surprised if it's wrong in there as well. For me, that was the final straw. Having my blood type wrong in my medical file is dangerous! It's also scary.

This facility is nothing but chaos. When you ask people where you need to go for something, they every time, without fail, send you on a wild goose chase (thus far in my experience). No one knows where anything is, no one knows the procedures for anything and most of them are painfully lazy.

I am currently waiting to see if DHEC here in the state of South Carolina will grant me a waiver to use the Charleston Birth Place here in North Charleston, SC, because they have a rule about women who have had 6 or more pregnancies not using birth centers. It's a terribly outdated law and I'm the 5th waiver they have asked for. The others were granted, so I'm hoping mine will be as well. We were waiting on this to switch over to tricare standard, but now, we're switching regardless. It's so frustrating to me that the majority of my experiences with the military facilities have been very negative. I know many others who share the same feelings.

Here's to hoping DHEC grants my waiver!

Our Tradition

2010-10-22T19:10:00.010-04:00

Every year, my husband and I take all of the kids to the pumpkin patch before Halloween. Wherever we are living, we always find a place we can take the kids to pick out pumpkins. It has become a family tradition of ours and we all look forward to it every year. It's always a really great time for us to spend together. My husband and I love seeing how excited the kids get every year! Today we had planned a family day for us all to go to the pumpkin patch and then later the Aquarium (we have family passes we want to take advantage of lol). We didn't tell the kids what we were doing and they were all very excited when we got there. I really enjoy the time we all have together. It makes me happy.

Here are some pictures of our pumpkin adventures.

I love my family so very much. I'm so lucky to have each and every one of them.

The Focus On Bullying

2010-10-20T10:57:00.003-04:00

I'm blogging today for all of the kids who are being bullied. Not just the kids who are bullied for being gay, but those being bullied for ANY reason. The bullying crisis is finally getting attention, but the attention is specifically on the bullying of gay teens because of the publicity the recent suicides of gay teens is getting (one of them never came out as being gay, but he's still lumped in there). I'm glad there is a focus on the gay aspect, there absolutely needs to be more acceptance and tolerance. However, I feel as if the rest of the kids/teens being bullied just as badly for other reasons, are being forgotten about. They deserve people to fight for them too. The kids who are bullied because they aren't cool, because they dress funny, because they aren't as attractive as their peers feel they should be, because they are shy, because they aren't an acceptable color, etc. etc. etc. They ALL deserve to have someone fight for them too. How can a change truly be made when we're all preaching the acceptance of only one group?

Teen suicide is not new. Teen bullying is not new. Bullying to the degree that it is now, was even happening 10+ years ago. I lived it. Back then cyber-bullying wasn't even a crime, it didn't even have that name. Death threats I received via AIM were dismissed by the police without a second thought. I am so grateful that this terrible, often criminal bullying is finally getting public attention. However, it needs to have focus on all of it, not just 1 group being bullied. The straight girl who is dragged into the school bathroom by a group of girls and sexually assaulted just to humiliate her or the straight boy who is beat nearly unconscious just because he dresses different. Do they not deserve the same support and outrage for what is happening to them as the gay teens are receiving? They absolutely do.

We need to stop making them feel alone! So many of these teens already feel alone and now they are still not getting the support for their situation because they aren't gay. How is this any better than what people have done to the gay kids? It's not. The kids and teens who are suffering right now need our support. Every one of them. Not just one group of them. They ALL need to know that we will fight for them, they ALL need to know that we want to make a change and they ALL need to know that people care about them. Now is the time to give the support and fight for them all. They deserve what I did not have when I was in their place years ago.

To every one of you who feel alone right now, who feel like it's not worth going on, who feel like things will never get better... It WILL get better. I will fight for you. I love you. I was in that place as a teen. I went through it all during middle school and highschool. My schools had stuff who turned a blind eye to it and when my parents confronted the school it made everything worse. There are many things that happened to me that my parents never knew about because I knew I couldn't tell them or it'd get worse. I was dragged into bathrooms by girls and sexually assaulted to be humiliated. I was pushed down stairs. I had my hair pulled. I was spit at. I was called horrible things. I had rumors spread about me regularly that had no truth to them. I was kicked and punched. I was threatened on the internet. My highschool boyfriend and I even had a web page dedicated to us. I could go on, but I think you get the point. There were so many times I had wished I was dead. There were many times I seriously contemplated suicide because I thought it would never get better. The bullying and harassment was so bad that my parents pulled me out of school.

The day I signed out, a couple of the staff told me "Maybe if you tried to fit in a little, things wouldn't have been so bad." Thank You Mr. Brian S. Bentley and Ms. (Mrs?) Michelle Letendre, who are STILL part of the administration there at Diman Regional Vocational Technical Highschool, for making me do it on my own, because I just didn't try hard enough to fit in. You turned a blind eye because the popular students that bullied me were.. well.. popular. You let many of us be tortured. That's okay though. I went on to get my diploma, I've gone on to make the life I've always wanted for myself. I have used my experiences to make me a stronger, better and more compassionate person. I love who I am today and I'm in a much better place than a majority of the people who made my life so bad back then. Perhaps you should look back at all of the things you have let happen to students in your school and lets those things make you more compassionate people.

I am living proof that it gets better. What some of you are going through is not what your life will always be! You will go on and do great things. I found the strength somewhere and you can too. I'm so glad to be here and to watch my children grow. I'm so glad to be here to experience life. I'm so glad to be here to see it. You need to be here to see and experience all of the great things you have in store, whatever they may be. I want you to be here for it. It gets better.

"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans" - John Lennon

2010-10-09T16:59:00.010-04:00

"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans" - John Lennon

This is the quote that came to mind this morning. Great quote huh? I thought so. Anyway... lets get to why this quote came to mind. First thing in the morning my husband made a quick run for some coffee. He not only brought home the coffee, but also a pregnancy test. He handed the test to me, much to my confusion and told me to go take it. I wondered why. We've been very careful and had been planning to have another baby in a few years, maybe after he's done with sea duty. Right now we're very upside down on our van, which is only a 7 passenger and we could use to be a little better financially. Overall, waiting was the best choice, so that's what we were doing. So, I go pee on this test, while snickering at my husband. There's no way I'm pregnant of course. I wash my hands and start to brush my teeth and I looked over at the test assuming it's little digital screen will read "NOT PREGNANT", because after all, why would I be? DUH. Much to my surprise it read "PREGNANT" holy sh*t! I walk out, probably with my jaw on the floor and handed the test to my husband. He just laughed and said "I knew it!"

*insert record scratch halt here* Hooooold on! I didn't think I was pregnant, why did he think I was pregnant? I asked him this. He pointed out my recent fatigue, nausea, complaining that the dog stinks even though she's had 2 baths this week alone and last, but not least, me wanting to eat pickles and peanut butter (yes together) out of the blue a few days ago. Now, why did these things not make ME think I was pregnant? Well... we weren't trying. We tried for the other 5. Possibly being pregnant was just not something that I even thought about.

After we discuss my being oblivious to these symptoms, I insist the test must have been defective and that he needed to go get another one. He ran out and bought a pack of generic "answer" tests, ya know.. to keep it cheap and all. I took another test probably about 1.5 hours after the first. I barely had enough pee, but I did it! I was determined the first test had to be wrong. After 3 minutes, this second test also indicated that I am pregnant. So here we are... most likely pregnant for #6.

On one hand I'm scared because he'll be going back to sea soon and we are going to have a tough time figuring out how to get a larger vehicle (because of being upside down on the van). On the other hand I'm thrilled because I really wanted more children! My husband is sharing the same feelings. We're happy/scared/excited/confused/thrilled/worried/ all at the same time. I know realistically this also means we will catch flack and get rude comments because 6 children is just too many to a lot of people. We hope that people can find happiness for us as well. We love our children and we care and provide for them well. That is most important to me. We are truly lucky.

We are a true example of "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans".

Surprise!

If all goes well. We may have another member in our household come June 2011 :).

What have they done to me!?

2010-10-07T10:01:00.003-04:00

My little spawns have turned me into a mushy pile of... mush. How do they do this? They are masters of manipulation, those sneaky little buggers. If they were to get any cuter, I would just melt into a pile of goo and forever be rendered useless. These children can go from making me want to rip my hair out, to being so unbelievably, sickeningly sweet and adorable. Even my baby daughter is a master at this. I believe it's quite possible that I have the most cute/adorable/sweet/awesome/loving/caring/amazing/smart children on the planet. Seriously.

I type this as my 11 month old daughter is chewing on the tail of her stuffed cow and banging together 2 toys, thinking it's the coolest thing anyone has ever done, my 2 older boys are doing school work and my 2 younger boys are playing together. They are all being so sweet and it's peaceful in my house right now. This is one of those mushy moments. I look at those 5 little stinkers and think to myself "How could I possibly be done having children?". I just can't. We have a while until we can have any more (finances, vehicle situation, The Navy etc.), but I know I'm not done. If I am to believe I have a purpose, this is most definitely it. Being a mom.

Last night my husband and I had one of those moments where we had a good reminder of just how sweet our children can be. He went to the kids rooms to check on them shortly before we went to bed. Wyatt, our 4 year old, had his stuffed dog and stuffed bear (who he HAS to sleep with every night) carefully tucked in beside him, each with their own little blanket. We were completely mush. It was just so absolutely sweet and adorable. Then, this morning, while breastfeeding my daughter in her nursery, she looks at me, smiled a big smile and said "mama", then went back to nursing. Again, completely MUSH.

What have they done to me? What have they done to us? Whatever it is, I don't mind at all.

Something has to change

2010-09-29T10:43:00.004-04:00

There has been a lot of talk lately about the suicides over being teased (or tortured to more accurately describe it) about being gay. It absolutely breaks my heart. Being a teenager is hard enough and then to be bullied to the point that taking your own life is easier than going on, is so terribly awful. There is something very wrong with this. The bullying that goes on now is a far cry from the innocent teasing of long ago. A person's sexuality should not matter, regardless of who they are. Some of the most wonderful people I know are gay. Being gay does not make them any less than those who are straight. They are people and absolutely no different in that aspect. Who you are attracted to and who you love does not define who you are and does not make you any less, any different or any less worthy of respect and basic human rights. I will never understand why to some people it is such a big deal. I just can't wrap my mind around why, in this day and age it is such a big deal. We're all different, yet we're all the same. Why not embrace individuality rather than shun it? Why not embrace people for who they are deep inside and not for who they choose to love? Being gay or homosexual, whichever you prefer to call it, is much more widely accepted now, but we still have a long way to go.

What it all comes down to is there needs to be a change. Bullying needs to stop. Schools need to have a NO TOLERANCE policy when it comes to the serious bullying so many students have to endure. This thought extends beyond just the bullying of gay students. Many teens are bullied just as bad for various other reasons. It is NOT okay and something needs to be done to protect these kids. I was one of those students bullied to the point of feeling that ending my life would be easier. I credit a lot of my strength to keep on going to my boyfriend at the time. It may sound a bit silly, but he went through the same things and we were there for one another. I was lucky to have that one person at the time to help keep me strong. Being followed around the school, hit, beat on, teased, thrown down the stairs etc. was so incredibly hard. Even 10+ years later, I look back and it pains me to think about it. Back then, even the death threats I received via the internet were completely disregarded by law enforcement. Perhaps my experiences helped shape the person I am today, making me a more compassionate and tolerant individual. I am grateful for the positive that came from such negative experiences. However, I am one of the lucky ones who walked away from it okay in the end. Too many do not.

Parents, teens, schools, cities, law enforcement etc. all need to take a stand against this. This bullying is far more than innocent childhood bullying. It is down right cruelty. I have made efforts to try to become part of some sort of support for teens who go through this and have yet to really get responses back from the organizations I have contacted. There needs to be more support out there! The support that there is available needs to be better about responding and accepting help from those wanting to give it and be part of making a change.

Something has to change and we ALL have a responsibility to make some kind of effort to help. Whether it be teaching our children tolerance or being a shoulder for a hurting teen. Even if you don't think it effects you, this is something that effects everyone is some way, shape or form and we need to fix it. It's time for a big change.

I'm doing my part, right here at home, starting with my 5 children.

Beautiful

2010-09-28T20:03:00.005-04:00

This evening we had one of the beautiful sunsets we see here from time to time. I decided to take a few photo's. Beautiful sunsets like this and my children are the 2 things that can most often make me sit back and see the beauty that is around me. If only for a moment, I can see the beauty in things I often overlook and see details that I may have never seen before. During the sunset I studied the sky and looked at the details of the clouds. Things like that are just amazing sometimes. I need to take the time to stop and see the beauty around me a little more often. Maybe that's the answer to everything. My children are so happy and they see the beauty in everything, everywhere.

Different stages of the sunset this evening.

Finding my place

2010-09-04T23:48:00.000-04:00

I've been struggling with finding where I fit in. Now don't get me wrong, I'm happy to be who I am and I'm happy with being different. I am happy with where I am as a wife and mother and the choices I've been making. So, I'm not struggling with anything in my little world, but I'm having a really hard time finding where I fit in, outside of my little world.

I've always been somewhat of a black sheep in general and have struggled with finding people I really click with. I'm finding this to be an issue even in the homeschool community. I've talked to many really nice homeschoolers. My problem is, I just don't really fit in with most of them either and I want to! So far, almost every homeschooler I've met or talked to are very religious. That does not bother me at all, but I've found that when they realize we are not a Christian family, it makes some uncomfortable and some others tend to shy away. I'm not put off by people being very religious or anything like that at all, I'm just not religious myself. I've noticed people who are starting to homeschool will reach out to others instead of me, even if they have less knowledge to offer in regards to schooling because of the religious aspect. I know it's not on purpose (now and then people will flat out judge me openly for my non-belief, but not too often), but it still bums me out a little bit. The Christian base aside, we're all doing the same thing! Educating our children. I know people want to talk to who they can relate the most to, so I can't fault anyone for it.

Here I am, still looking for my place. I have very unique ideals, views, opinions and beliefs. I fit into both sides of almost everything. I wont give up on finding where I belong though. I know there has to be others out there who feel this way as well.

The ER, Urgent Care and Starting Over

2010-09-03T09:21:00.007-04:00

Last night we had a bit of a scare with Cameron. He broke out in terrible huge welts all over his mid section, thighs and neck. They progressively got worse pretty quickly. Tony took him to the Emergency Room and they were quick about taking blood, getting him on an IV, heart monitor and giving him meds to get control of the allergic reaction he was having. He was given Prednisone, Benadryl and Pepcid. The Pepcid spiked his heart rate to 165 and made him feel really sick. After they gave him meds for nausea and got everything under control over the next few hours he started to get better. After spending the night in the ER, he was discharged early in the morning with a prescription for Prednisone, Benadryl and an Epi Pen.

This afternoon Cameron's face started to break out in welts. I gave him both the Prednisone and Benadryl as instructed. Within an hour his whole face was swollen in welts and it was spreading quickly all over his whole body, so Tony brought him to Urgent Care (Nasan Medical, which is an AMAZING clinic!). He was again put on an IV, medicated, put on a heart monitor etc. We do not know what is causing this severe allergic reaction. The Dr. at Nasan suggested it it may be the second stage of his allergic reaction from the day before (I've never heard of that, but I'm not a Dr. so... who knows) which we think could possibly be a mustard allergy. They got control of his reaction, like they had the night before in the ER and discharged him after him spending the afternoon in their clinic.

This whole situation breaks my heart and frustrates me at the same time. My heart breaks for Cameron. He has been stuck with so many needles and pumped full of medication the past 2 days. I am frustrated because we don't know what caused this reaction. And VERY frustrated because his allergist (National Allergy, Asthma, & Urticaria Centers Of Charleston, P.A. - Patricia S. Gerber, MD.) is terrible (in my opinion) and has completely blown his allergies off. She has been so dismissive and very NON-proactive about everything, that we were already requesting a new Allergist before this mess happened. All of the tests they have done we have had to request. They did not even bother to run a blood allergy panel without us requesting it. They are the specialists, we shouldn't have to ask them to do their job. This whole severe mystery allergic reaction solidified to us that looking for a proactive allergist is the right choice. Not to sound dramatic, but my son could have died. He was close to going into anaphylactic shock. Things could have been so much worse and we don't even know if this is over yet. It's scary. I'm scared for him.

As much as I dread adding any more to Cameron's laundry list of allergies, we NEED to find out what is causing this as soon as possible. This is the most severe reaction he's ever had. This is dangerous. We need to start over completely with a new allergist and all new allergy panels.

This was Thursday night when the welts started. It become much worse than this. Today, his reaction was worst than the first night.

If one more person refers to us as "John and Kate plus 8"...

2010-08-27T22:31:00.004-04:00

If one more person refers to us as "John and Kate plus 8" I quite possibly may throw something at them. It's just stupid and people use it as what they think is a comical insult. Quit it already! First of all, my husband isn't a gigantic walking douche like John Gosselin and secondly just about the only thing I have in common with Kate is the fact that we both have a Vagina. We don't have 8 kids, I was pregnant and gave birth to each of mine individually and TLC doesn't follow my life, which was and still is, far more entertaining than theirs *zing*. And ANNDD... While I am a bit of a clean freak, I'm not a control freak who treats my husband like a child. ~~On second thought, he's pretty douchey, so he deserved it.~~ Each time I hear it, which has been quite a few times at this point, I get just that much more irritated. News Flash people! It is not original! Many more have said it before you. If you want to throw what you think is a witty insult out there as you pass us by, try coming up with something that is ACTUALLY witty. Maybe even something funny. As a matter of fact, please come up with something truly humorous so I can at least enjoy your insult! I'm cool like that, if it's funny I'll laugh!

Kate, who I once defended, now nauseates me for many reasons. So being compared to her, even if it's just by some random idiot trying to make a funny, is pretty offensive to me.

There you go random rude strangers... If you want to say stupid crap to me/us PLEASE come up with something original, ok? Just an FYI, "Are you trying to be like the Duggers? *har har har*" and "What are you trying to get a TV show?" have already been taken.

These poor deprived Homeschooled children!

2010-08-27T17:42:00.005-04:00

My kids must really be missing out, not going to "real" school... or are they?

This week we made 2 bookstore trips to look at, read and buy some new books, transfered plants that they grew from seeds into pots, looked for and studied vascular plants, looked for and found moss to study and made a homemade barometer.

But seriously, this week went really well. The kids are doing great with all of their work and they're having a great time while doing it! I couldn't really ask for any more than that :). We've had lots of hands on Science, looked at some books on weather at the Bookstore and bought some more "fun" reading material.

Our second trip to Barnes and Noble this week.

The kids plants. This will be an ongoing project because they are growing cress that they will have to care for and can eat later! (This is for Cameron's curriculum, but they are all involved.)

The older 3 boys looking for Moss. (For Alex's curriculum, but they are all involved.)

Please excuse our redneck Barometer... That's the only glass bottle we had that we were willing to empty out the contents lol. (Cameron's second experiment in his curriculum, but again, they are all involved.) PS. That's a balloon, not a condom.