When Is It Time To Write Another Blog?

. . . when I lay in bed from 11-12:30 last night thinking about what I would write if I had the energy to get out of bed. I almost got up, but made myself go to sleep instead.

I've wanted to sit and blog, but life has just been too crazy.

Kids were sick.

Extra cuddly and falling asleep everywhere.

There are only six days left of school. The school is having fun ABC days for the last 26 days.

M=Mismatch Day was my girl's favorite day by far.

Then I got sick. Couldn't function "well" for 2 days.

I had to function, because I am M-O-M and I don't have a choice. The girls were wonderful and helped lots. KC did his best to get home early and let me go to bed.

The hardest thing about having sickness in our house for a couple of weeks, is just getting back into things. It just doesn't feel normal around here yet.

This morning was the first time in a week that I was able to make a grocery trip. We were out of almost everything.

I'm good at going everywhere with my kids. Can't afford a nanny, so that's my only option. But I was dreading the grocery store with all three boys this morning. I had a feeling that it wasn't going to go well, and the boys ... well, they proved me right, unfortunately.

Cameron was asking for a cookie before we walked in the front door. So we went to the bakery counter and the boys happily each took a cookie from the nice lady.

I got my fruit and veggies.

Then I rounded the corner to go down the first aisle and Emmitt started crying. Cookie gone.

Then I got to the second aisle and Castiel started crying. Cookie gone.

Then I got to the third aisle and Cameron ran ahead, babies both screaming, he almost took out a lady.

I got the sympathetic looks and the looks that I should be doing something, but I can't carry two babies. And if I pick up one, the other one would just scream louder. Trust me. Lose, lose situation.

Emmitt cried until I had him home, in his highchair and ate an entire peanut butter sandwich. Then pointed asking "Mo" (translation: more) And I wasn't starving them and running late, it was only 11am at this point.

Castiel hasn't stopped crying the entire day.

I blame the 6 teeth trying to surface at the same time.

We made a New Meal tonight. Yes, Castiel cried all the way through. Zoe wanted to study her State Capitals and play this song over and over. Emmitt, for no apparent reason said "mom" over and over about a hundred times with a bass mouth, a hinged lower jaw "mom, mom, mom, mom, mom".

Not the most relaxing dinner.

So I poured myself a glass of wine. I spilt a little on the counter and I hear Zoe "can I lick it up?". Seriously?!?

This whole day has been an out of body experience.

The meal got 4 stars. I really liked it. Saw this review after dinner was already in the oven. "I could not in all conciousness serve this recipe as is to my family....at 1000cal/70grams fat per serving!!!! I made the following changes,I used fat free sour cream,98% fat free/low sodium cream of mushroom soup and 50% fat reduced bacon bits, I did not serve all the sauce." I don't believe in cooking with fat free ingredients. Personally, I think it destroys the taste of food. It made me feel a little guilty serving it to my kids, but they are active and it's not like I'm going to make it for them daily. BTW, my kids loved the sauce!

Doesn't look too appetitizing in the picture. Chicken breast, bacon, cream of mushroom, mushrooms, sour cream and rice. Zoe said it would have gotten more stars if I added more bacon.

Quiet house. Wrote my blog, so quiet mind. Enjoying my second glass of wine. I'm going to paint some more ACEO's until KC gets home. And KC has the next two days off :)

Things are looking up already!

I'm going to add a couple of cute kid moments that I am enjoying.

Castiel: He looks at his shirts now to see what is on it. He was really excited about the doggy shirt and the Thomas the Train shirt. It's great just to see him noticing things like that. And he asks about them with his "eh?".

Emmitt: I have caught him lying. He blamed Castiel for hitting him in the head, but I saw the whole thing. He realized I had been watching and dropped it pretty fast. He had hit himself with a toy and pointed at Castiel and started crying. It's started already!

Cameron: He has me reading "Where the Wild Things Are" nightly, for the past week. He is starting to take over, since he is memorizing it. I love that he comments on the same pictures, the same way, every time. Like the giant bird that is climbing the tree. "Birds don't climb, they fly."And he laughs every time at the monster with the big nose.

Audrey: She wakes up randomly, usually around 10pm and sleep walks. She came out of her room "Are you going to put me to bed?" I just went back in and tucked her in ... again :)

Zoe: She is concerned she might have breast cancer because her boobs have "lumps" in them now. I asked her if they both did and told her they were just growing. "Then if your boob feel like lumps, how do you find a cancer lump?" I thought it was a very good question :)

I love having kids. I know I complained about my day, but I wouldn't change the bad days . . . it just makes the good ones better :)

I'm Glad the World Hasn't Ended :)

I have a lot to do and plans have been made. My kids need a chance to grow up and I need to be able to enjoy every moment of it . . . I do not have time for the end of the world.

On a sad note.

I didn't even know the end of the world was predicted for today?!?

Lately I feel so behind on current events. Too busy with life to sit down and watch. I don't know if that's a good thing or not.

I feel like Facebook keeps me up-to-date for the most part.

Facebook friends told me about the Rapture Parties going on last night. I felt kinda bad that I didn't have a "last hurrah" with my kids.

But it looks like I have time for the next last hurrah.

Facebook was also where I found out about Bin Laden.

It was the end of the night, and I went to shut down my computer, checked Facebook quick and told my husband to turn on the tv "I think they got Bin Laden".

Our problem is, we don't watch LIVE tv. We tape everything on the DVR, because it's impossible with 5 kids. We don't even attempt to watch our shows with them up.

So when there are BREAKING NEWS stories, we typically miss them.

I really have to start turning on the news more often!

So I want to thank all my Facebook friends for letting me know what's going on in the world.

Even if it is a story of a crazy 89 year old and his predictions :)

She's Growing Up.

I've been having a debate with my 10 year old for about a year now.

It started in the Spring of last year.

She wanted to shave her legs.

I wanted her to stay my little girl  :(

I wasn't ready for her to take that step last year. She accepted defeat well and continued to be that little girl, even if it was for one last summer.

It started up again a few weeks ago, as the weather started to warm up.

She got me to cave. I agreed that when summer started, she could start shaving.

She is cursed by dark hair, as am I. I remember wanting to shave my legs before my mother let me. I started in 5th grade and I remember being embarrassed before that.

Then I noticed that she was only wearing her long dresses, otherwise she was wearing fun pattern tights to hide her legs. She was wearing capris instead of shorts.

I realized something.

I don't want my little girl to be embarrassed by her body. I don't want her hiding. I feel that it's important that she feels comfortable in her own skin.

So last night I plugged in the electric razor.

And tonight, my baby, shaved her legs for the first time.

Tears ... because I know this is only the beginning of a lot more "big girl" things.

I want her to know that I am here to talk to and that I am willing to listen to her. That I will be open to the "new things" in her life.

As her mother, I just want her to be happy . . . always.

This may sound silly, but with her being my oldest . . . this was a very big step for me.

But it was worth it to see the smile on her face :)

O-Oh!

Words, or at least pieces of them, are being heard from the twin trouble-makers.

Their favorite word by far is "O-Oh".

I hear it in many forms. "O-Oh." "O-Oh!" "O-Oh?" "O-Oh!?!" and "O-Oh?!?"

They are the same word, but they have very different meanings.

"O-Oh." - - - "You said no, but I am anyways."
"O-Oh!" - - - "I just took this anyway from my brother and he's really mad!"
"O-Oh?" - - - "I dropped that, could you pick it up for me?"
"O-Oh!?!" - - - "I know I threw that at you while I was throwing a tantrum, and I'm still really mad, but I want it back?"
"O-Oh?!?" - - - "Oh, you didn't want me to pull all the kleenex out of the box?!?"

I can't tell you how many times a day I hear those words.

I have also found the words very useful. I can be looking everywhere for Emmitt. Calling his name over and over, with no answer.

All I have to do is yell "O-Oh" and he can't help but respond to that. I'll hear a faint "O-Oh" back and find him in a corner, under a bed or in the bathroom.

This technique has been used many times :)

They really have to get more of a vocabulary, but they are understood . . . much of the time :)

 "So you didn't want us to completely destroy the toy area before bedtime?"

"O-Oh, because we did!"

Getting Comfortable :)

Sick cuddly twins don't always want to share mommy.

Most times, they have no choice.

So they spin and push and fight for space.

And it only stops when they both find comfort.

Zoe found this hilarious and grabbed the camera.

6 Down, and Me Trying To Stay Healthy!

Cruel Midwest weather. You sweat us out for a few days. And then just take it all away!

But we definitely had fun in the heat while it was here.

Zoe came home from school on Thursday and KC told her to go change and she could clean the pool. Her little ears heard swim in the pool and how could daddy say no. It was in the mid 80's. Water a little chilly, but that didn't stop them :)

Audrey can finally touch the bottom of the pool. No more water wings!

The day before the pool, we had the sprinkler out. Zoe wanted to see if the twins would like it.

Emmitt backed out to watch from a distance. Castiel froze. Didn't like it but couldn't figure out how to get out, so he just stood there until Zoe saved him.

 We had neighbors over as soon as the water was turned on. And some of the neighborhood boys rode their bikes down the sidewalk through the water. I love summer.

Then, we had a tornado warning, cold weather blew in, and never left. It is cold out there now :( A 40 degrees decline, so cruel to the kids . . . and ME! I can't just say "Go outside and play!"

Then the girls started throwing up out of nowhere.

Cam continues to be sick.

Twins are now sick.

I had all 5 kids home on Friday. But it was a lay low kind of day. You would think I'd be super busy, but I was bored.

No one was eating, so no cooking needed. Just the occassional attempt at keeping down toast and cereal.

All the kids laying around. Watching tv. Reading books. Taking extra long naps.

Aside from the extra laundry, yuck. I have had it pretty easy.

So I decided to do some caulking.

It started because ants were getting in by the front door. So I caulked them out.

Since I had my caulk gun going, I continued on to the bathtubs, toliets and sinks. I even re-caulked the backsplash in the kitchen.

Nice and new white caulk :)

Then I got a call for a house showing.

I hope that the new caulk will help sell the house!!!

That was yesterday.

Today, we had to get up and going. House showing from 9-10am. Quick breakfast, clean up and out the door.

Since the kids weren't feeling well, I plugged in a movie and drove around on a hunt for some garage sales.

Some EXTREME garage saling was done today!

 Twins scored 10 pairs of pants, 2 tshirts, 2 long sleeves and a GAP hoodie

Cam scored 7 pairs of pants, 2 shorts and a tshirt

 Even Eli scored a GAP hoodie (couldn't pass up 25c)

I also couldn't pass this up for $3.00, we had 1 already, so we are ready for a hike in Owl Canyon with the whole family :)

Also got the Heffalump Movie on DVD and an old fashion cash register.

All for a total of $12.75!!! Most of the items were only 25 cents, some 50 cents :) My kind of garage sale!

Maybe I'm not an Extreme couponer, but I'm definitely an Extreme garager saler :)

And now KC has come home from work early . . . SICK!

Sigh. How Can It Possibly Be?

Mommy mourning. It's great to see how they've grown and thrived from the tiny peanuts they once were, but I just wish there was a "slow down" button. Try to enjoy every moment of your children's lives, because they grow up way too fast :( It makes me sad and happy all at the same time.

Before you became a part of my life,

It was hard to imagine life with 2.

But now that I have you in my life,

You make everything better times 2.

Second Extreme Couponing Trip

Still figuring out all the deals. Not going completely extreme yet. I'm happy with my one paper of coupons and not running out for 4 more. I have read a couple of coupons wrong, so be careful, it can mess up a great deal fast.

I'm just being careful not to buy things that I won't use. Getting what I would usually pay full price for feels pretty good.

Another one of my Mother's Day surprises was from Audrey. She went out to get the Sunday paper for me and separated the ads into 3 piles.

Mommy doesn't want, maybe wants and definitely wants. I thought it was very sweet.

Zoe said that they wanted to cut all my coupons for me, but didn't have time because they were too busy making me pancakes :)

CVS: (Spent 19.50 and have $11.00 for next shopping trip)

Net price: $8.50

Best Deals: 2/$1.98 Xtra, 4/$5.70 Shout, Fantasik & Windex, 3pks/$2.00 gum

Walgreens: (Spent 15.30, but after rebates and $5.00 next purchase, I made $$$)

Net Price: Made $2.66

 Best Deals: 2/$3.00 Glade Oil Candles, Free SunBurnt, Free Carefree, Free Nexcare Bandaids

Jewel: Spent 5.96 in clearance bin

Got invites for Cam's birthday party 50c, John Frieda 99c, Vitamins 1.99ea

I have met some fellow couponers already. It's easy to spot them, because they have the same items in their carts. I met one lady at CVS with her entire binder of coupons. We talked for a bit. She gave me two tips, couponmom.com for coupons and cvs Sunday sales start on Saturday night, I believe she said at 5pm. 

Also, if there is a great deal and none of the product on the shelf, ask for a raincheck! I have 2 rainchecks for absolutely FREE products, I just keep them in my envelope and check every time I go back. I'll get 2 bottles of bodywash and 5 (3pks) of bars of soap . . . with a family of 7, we go through all that really fast!

I need to go to Menards for Deck Wash this week. Need to wash my deck and I can get 4 bottles of it FREE with rebate. Another $10.00 savings.

Once I started looking for coupons, I have found them everywhere. I even noticed a pegboard full of them in the liquor department at Jewel. Never noticed them before, but they are there :)

HAPPY COUPONING EVERYONE!