Here's November.

September.
October.

O.k. so far, I've ordered the photo cards (yesterday) and they've already shipped! Pretty fast turn around! I'll have them in a day or two and then I can focus on getting them labeled and sent to everyone. I love it when everything seems to come together! I also ordered the calendars just a few minutes ago. Allison whipped out the last few pages last night and this morning and then I worked on a few finishing touches. It looks great!

I've also finished half of the wash and because of an impromptu naked baby, I'll be steam cleaning the carpets right after lunch.LOL We have been working on potty training but so far the only thing he enjoys is being naked. He enjoys it so much that he's figured out how to make that happen all by himself. All he needs is a minute or two alone and he's streaking around showing us his favorite body part.lol I've decided that I'm going to steam clean all the high traffic areas since I need to work on some spots made today so I'm getting the big machine out.

I also worked with Evie this morning. We did some preschool focusing on the letter C, finished off some library books that I didn't have time to read, and played with playdough. That's another area that needs steam cleaned today. lol

I think I've decided to let the kids mess with the carseats and see if the van will work out or not. If they aren't happy, then I'll just plan on the tank once the baby gets here. I think that's fair.lol

I guess that's it for now. My lunch break is over and I've got some major work to do.lol

Lisa

More out-takes.

Here are some out-takes...

I think these two pictures are in the running for our Christmas cards this year. I would love for you all to post your opinions on which is better.



As you can see. I was able to get all the kids in the pictures, somewhat smiling and sort of facing the camera. I should get some sort of medal!lol

Lisa

My goals for the week...

One of my goals for this week was to get the house back together from the long weekend but the kids and I whipped that out this morning so I'll just check that as done.

Next on my list was the Christmas Photo. I'm still printing them all out and hope to have at least ONE photo that can be used. If not, then we'll try again tomorrow.lol I'm hoping that we'll have one good enough. I think two are promising but I really like to look at the hard copies before deciding.

Finish the Calendar! It has to be completed by Thursday for the discount. We're up to September and I think we can whip out those last few months today and tomorrow.

Finish most of my Christmas shopping by this weekend. I like to leave the little things, like stocking stuffers for the last minute but I usually have all my regular shopping done before Thanksgiving, except for this year. I really would like to have this done! I'll let you all know if this goal was accomplished or not.lol

A related goal would be to finish the Christmas list this week also. One of the reasons Isaac has too much for Christmas this year is that instead of having a list I've just been buying things that I thought he'd like or were cute.lol Without a list my budget can get broken easily! We're going cash only this year and I don't want to break the bank this year. In all of our marriage, we've never had a Christmas that we could afford. This is going to be that year! It would be such a blessing to not have to pay for these gifts for the next year and not be able to save anything for next year. We've already run into some snags but I'm just going to have a talk with the older kids, give them our budget and then let them do some re-accessing of their major wants this year.

I also need to sometime in the next week or two, try to figure out how we will fit everyone into my van.lol I need to get the new baby's carseat out and see how this is going to work. If it isn't going to work, then I need to try out the carseats in the Expedition. I really hope everyone fits in the van. I just don't like driving anything bigger. I'm majorly intimidated!lol I always feel like I'm taking more than my fair share of the road and that I'm going to take the side off someone's car or maybe their mailbox or maybe even a PERSON while driving that thing.lol This vehicle is a blessing and I may just have to get over the whole driving a tank thing but I'm REALLY hoping I can squeeze everyone into my little mini van. I mean, it SAYS it fits 7 people, right?!?!lol Eric really feels that I need to move up to the tank...lol but I don't remember it saying any where that everyone has to be comfortable...lol

Well, those are my goals. I have the basic stuff in my mind also, like laundry and such but these are the things that most need to get done on top of my regular duties. Have a great day!

Lisa

I just finished taking 46 pictures of the kids in their Christmas outfits and I may have two photos to use for cards and such.lol No, they aren't great pictures but I think that most of them are in the photo and some of them are actually looking at the camera and I'm not sure but I think that none of the kids in the picture are picking their noses. lol I'm thinking that in future pictures I'll have everyone sit separately and then I'll paste them all together in PhotoShop.lolol

Really, I think it should be against the law to expect families of more than two kids to poise for a group photo.

At least we have 44 photos of out-takes for the calendar. I'm guessing it'll be hard for Allison to decide which ones to choose, considering she has so many to look through.

Another thing, don't expect a child of 22 months to cooperate when you put him in winter clothes when it's 78 degrees outside. He spent most of the time saying, "Ow! Ow!." lolol

I'll post my favorite photo and maybe my favorite out-take once I've seen them printed out and can look at them together. My trusty PictureMate is churning them out right now.lol

Blessings,

Lisa

Today was a very busy day. I'm going to make this short since I'm as exhausted as I can get and still be upright.lol I started the day by deciding that I'd better get the groceries before I got too tired.lol Jon and Evie didn't want to go, so Allison, Isaac, and I headed off at 9 this morning. It was an expensive and long process. I won't go into detail but I just can't understand how one week my bill can be $180 and the very next week it can sky-rocket to $300 and I bought the SAME stuff! Yuck.lol After we got home, I noticed that my mom had called and so while the kids unloaded the van and put the groceries away, I called mom back to see how her trip to my sisters went. She said she had a good time and was hoping that I'd go to lunch with her. I said sure and off we went once everything was put away and everyone was ready. We picked mom up and decided on Golden Corral for lunch. I ate entirely too much.lol It's a buffet style restaurant and I guess I just didn't know when to say when.lol The kids really love this place and all ate really well. Luckily, they don't weigh you afterwards and charge you that way because Isaac felt like he gained several pounds from lunch.lol Mom and I decided to venture to Target after lunch and I was able to get a wreath holder for my front door and I also bought one of those animated lighted deer for the front lawn. I also got the littles some more pj's. I took mom home afterwards and we helped her hang pictures and stuff back on her walls since my brother repainted the house while they were gone. By the time we got home it was 4pm. I was so tired I wasn't sure that I could make dinner but I did get it done. We had Minestra soup w/salad, french bread, and fruit salad. So far, we've got Evie down for bed and I'll start working on Isaac after I write this. I'm afraid that I did too much again today and will probably pay for it tomorrow. I need to learn how to manage my energy levels better.lol Obviously, we did no school today or really anything except the groceries but it was nice to spend the time with my mom and tomorrow's another day. I have a lot of plans for this week and will post my goals tomorrow. I hope everyone had a good day!

Blessings,

Lisa

Here's our house so far. I think we'll need to upgrade the decorations for Evie's sake this year.lol

Christmas Calendar layouts 2007

August.

Christmas Calendar layouts 2007

July. I love the fireworks!

Lisa

Christmas Calendar layouts 2007

Here's June. I definitely think Allison is much better at this.lol Her collages just look better.

Lisa

My Menu for this Week...

Lunch

Pizza
Sandwiches


Dinner

Split Pea soup (didn't have it last week)
Taco Stuff
Porkchops w/noodles, salad, and sweet potatoes
Grilled Chicken w/rice, asparagus, and salad
Minestra soup w/bread
Baked Potato Bar w/salad, and steamed broccoli


I'm hoping to go shopping today but will go tomorrow if I'm not feeling up to it today. At least I've got the list ready.lol

Blessings,

Lisa

Yesterday we spent the day at the park. The little ones had a great time and really wore themselves out. It was nice to have Eric along as it's getting a little hard for me to keep up. The older kids probably would have rather stayed home.lol I know they are getting a little old for the park. I guess I need to expand what we do as a family but right now I feel that I'm doing all that I can. Maybe after the baby's born, I'll have more energy. When we got home, Isaac and I both fell asleep.lol I'm thinking that my energy is at an all time low right now. Nothing like passing out everytime I go out and do something.lol

Today was the second week in a row that Genevieve and I went to church. She has always had issues with places like this but I felt it was time to see if she could handle going yet. She's doing pretty good, although it seems to set her off for the day. The service is pretty loud and I'm wondering if she'd do better if it was more traditional but I was hoping that since Allison, Jon and Grandma were there, that it would seem more comfortable to her. Also, her friend Sammy goes there and she really likes seeing him. But the service is LOUD and I'm not sure it's the best fit for her. I'm hoping as we go each week she'll slowly adapt and be better afterwards. Eric stayed home with Isaac who is still recovering from the surgery and needs to stay away from illness. His face is looking better and hopefully there will be a good improvement once the spots have faded. This doctor does a much better job of covering the area and he thinks he has the right setting on his laser now. We'll see in a few weeks.

I'm hoping to take the family photo this week sometime.

I finally found a better doctor for myself! He may take me as a patient depending on how long it takes the old doctor to transfer all my records. I'm praying hard that they are sent this week. I called the hospital on Wednesday and talked to some really nice ladies who told me this old dr was bad news and they are the ones who found me this dr, who is supposed to have the best record in the whole hospital. I'll let you all know how things go if/when I get to see him. I went down to my old dr's and signed the release of records form the minute I talked to the new dr office.lol Can you tell I'm desperate? If you all could pray that they send my records this week, I'd be grateful! If it takes much longer, the new dr won't take me since I'm so far along. Boy is this stressful!

Genevieve has pronounced our outside decorations "boring." She feels that we need MORE decorations such as lawn creatures and garland for the house. I may need to go shopping.lol

I guess that's it. I've made the grocery list but don't feel well enough to go shopping so I'll upload the week's menu next and then go rest.lol

Blessings,

Lisa

Isaac discovers candy canes.lol We had to put all the candy on the top of the tree since this picture was taken. He was breaking each open to see what they tasted like.lol

If yesterday was a good day, then today was a great day. (I had the day off.lol) We have so much food left over that I won't need to cook for a couple of days, so other than the desperately needed wash, I didn't do a thing. Well, I got to do the fun stuff today. I didn't just lay around.lol I spent the day with the kids playing around. Eric spent the day on the roof.lol He and my brother hung the Christmas lights. I'll try to remember to take a picture later when it's dark. I'm not sure they're finished but they got the hardest part done today. Isaac discovered that the candy canes were not just for decoration.lol I got the cutest picture of him when he found a piece of one. I'll post it later.

I had the kids write the annual "What I want for Christmas list." Topping Jon's list was a potato gun, complete with a supply list and directions for putting it together.lol I'm not sure that even with this much research he'll get one. I don't think that he thought about *where* he could fire something like this without damaging property. He did have some other things on his list so maybe one of those will be under the tree this year.

We ended up going overboard with Isaac this year and I've decided to use at least half of the gifts for his birthday in January. I've bought Evie one of those Littlest Petshop sets for Christmas. We will probably get her some odds and ends for sets that she already has and that'll be it.

Eric and I have decided on Allison's gift this year, but she reads my blog so it'll have to stay a secret.lol

I guess that's it!

Blessings,

Lisa

Here, Isaac discovers the tree for the first time this morning. I'm glad we only use unbreakable ornaments.lol
Isaac and Genevieve "fixing" the tree.

He just loves the new shiny balls I bought for the tree.lol

Here, the kids are trying to figure out the complexities of the artificial tree.

Here is the completed tree.

This was how Isaac spent the day. I don't think he moved but once just to have dinner. Poor guy.

Thanksgiving in review...lol

Everything went well. We started the day by cleaning up and making sure the house was presentable. Eric went to get my brother, who spent the day with us. Then, I had the over-anxious kids get all the Christmas stuff from the garage. It was pretty funny, they were so excited that it was hard for all of them to keep focus. I don't know why but Isaac just wasn't himself yesterday. He spent the WHOLE day in my bed resting. You could just tell the little guy wasn't feeling very good.

It took the kids hours to finish the tree. It looks very nice and I'll upload some pictures next.

While the kids were working, I started the bread and made another batch of cookies. Really, everything went together without a hitch. After the kids had finished the tree, I set them to work on the Gingerbread Choo-Choo. They finished that right before Grandma and my sil and bil got here. When everyone got here, we set up the extra tables and chairs and ate. I was starving! Next time, I'll set the time for earlier in the day. I was thinking the extra time would be helpful on the cleaning front but really we just sat around waiting for 5pm.lol Everything turned out terrific and it was wonderful to spend the time with family. My sil is also expecting a new baby in May and we sat around discussing baby things. Luckily, neither of us want the same names.lol The guys did the dishes for us and that was so nice! I don't think I could've done one more thing once dinner was over. I ate so much that I had nightmares all night last night.lol Never again will I eat that much at one time.lolol Everyone stuck around until around 8pm just talking or playing or in Grandma's case, sleeping.lol All in all, a very good Thanksgiving.

Blessings,

Lisa

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

I hope everyone has a wonderful day! So far, I've got the bread rising, the roaster washed and ready for the turkey, and the house ready for guests. We're eating at 5pm so the kids are working on the Christmas tree right now and once they have that completed, we'll start working on a ginger bread choo-choo train that my mom gave us.

I have so much to be thankful for this year. God has blessed my family more than I could ever have imagined. I just want to thank GOD for all the wonderful things and people that He has brought into our lives this year.

May God bless you all!

Lisa

Pictures from my new camera. I'm still taking pictures for the calendar.lol Did I mention that it needs to be completed by Nov. 30th?lol I'm hoping to take the Christmas photo next week. I sure hope it turns out good. My plan is to put the best Christmas photo in the middle of the December calendar and then put all the out-takes around it. Should be fun! I also use the Christmas photo for our Christmas cards. I need to order those asap! Did I mention that I'm feeling a little overwhelmed?lol

Lisa

Christmas Calendar layouts 2007

Here's May.

Christmas Calendar layouts 2007

Here's Jon's month. He was definitely the hardest since he usually hides from the camera.lol

Christmas Calendar layouts 2007

Here's March. It's another birthday month so Allison is the subject du jour.lol

Lisa

Here's a picture from my new camera. Yes, her mouth is orange. lol She got into some orange soda and she's showing it today.lol

It's been a busy week so far. I'm hanging in there but have had to lower my expectations for this week.lol I keep forgetting that cleaning requires bending and I'm not doing so well in that area. It has been taking me twice as long to do EVERYTHING lately. I think to myself, I think I'll go get that great room clean and think it'll take me 5-10 minutes. Well, lol, it ends up taking me 30 minutes because I keep needing to sit down "for just a minute." I've got the living areas up to par and I'm just going to slowly go through the other rooms and just shut the doors on the rooms I just can't get to.

I've been able to make two different kinds of cookie dough and have baked one kind. I'll set the kids to making the sugar cookies today since that's the fun part and I'll make the pie. I'm not making the other two batches since I just can't do that much.lol

Isaac's surgery yesterday went great! They do things differently up here and they really make sure that they've prepared him before he leaves the hospital. Down in Miami, he would be really sick and alot of times screaming when he woke. Here they give him an IV after he's been put to sleep and it has anti-nausea meds, fluids, and pain reliever in it. When he wakes up, other than being groggy, he's raring to go! What a blessing! He was also in the first queue yesterday which meant getting his surgery first. He was in by 8am and that meant not sitting for several hours awake and hungry. That's a blessing. He's running around right now acting like his normal self, happy and hungry for the first time in a few weeks.lol

Eric bought me a new camera yesterday. We've been talking about it for a while and finally decided to bring one home and see if we like it. It's a Kodak Easy Share Z650. I looked at the Cannon's and the Sony's and just about everything else but this one was easy for me to figure out and it has GREAT zoom and it takes fab pictures! It was also pretty cheap for a 6mp camera. We paid $225 for it. I've already taken several pictures and I really like it. I have 90 days to decide if I'm going to keep it but I think that I'm already attached.lol

Well, I guess that's it for now. This week has been a good week and I have MUCH to be thankful for this year.

Blessings,

Lisa

Christmas Calendar layouts 2007

Here's the month of February. Allison really has a knack for this, especially the backgrounds.

Lisa

Christmas Calendar layouts 2007

Here is the first month for the calendar Allison and I are making. It's Isaac's birthday month so he's the star du jour.lol You all will have to tell me if the red-eye fix we did isn't right. We tried!lol

My Goals for this week...

Survive.lol

Ok, so I'm hoping for a little more than survival but it's a good place to start.

1.Deep clean the house. I'm already working on this and feeling a little overwhelmed. I'm going through each room, decluttering and cleaning. Not on the scale of Emily, (I doubt my baseboards will ever get a washcloth.lol) but really trying to make the house shine this holiday season. I hope to have most of my cleaning done by Tuesday night. Of course I'll need to do some surface cleaning before my guests arrive on Thursday but I don't want to still be cleaning heavy by then.

2.We are in the process of making the traditional photo calendar. It needs to be completed by November 30th to get the sale price from Snapfish. We figured out how to make collages with Photoshop and then only upload the one picture to the snapfish site. It's very hard work but Allison and I know how much it means to the extended family. Usually, we can only get up to 4 photos on a calendar page, but using photoshop, we can make a huge collage with many pictures and it only counts as one photo. We think the grandparents will like the new look.

3.Baking, baking, baking! I need to begin baking by Wednesday but would like to start on Tuesday if my cleaning is almost done. If I can start on Tuesday, I'll make all the cookie dough that day and then do the actual baking on Wed. Most of the cookie recipes need to be refridgerated so it would be great to have them done a day ahead of time. I also need to bake the pie since I won't have room for it on Thursday.

4.Thanksgiving! We're having our guests over at 5pm and I would like to have the house decorated by then. We usually decorate the tree and house on Thanksgiving so it would be nice if they all got to see how nice the house looks. This will be Isaac's first Christmas where he'll be old enough to get into trouble, uh, I mean "enjoy" the season.lol So I need to do some planning or this could become a disaster.

5.Take time to help the kids finish their lapbook. I would really like for them to accomplish this goal, although it may be hard with everything that needs to be done. I'm still going to give it a try.lol

I guess that's it for now. I'm sure that there are things that I've forgotten but I really need to get going! The first thing on my list is grocery shopping...

Lisa

Autumn frizz. lol

My Menu for this week...


I have no idea what we'll have for lunch.LOL We have plenty lying around and I'm not going to buy anything extra. Probably a combo of freezer stuff, boxed stuff, and fruit.(Maybe some canned stuff thrown in for good measure.lol)

Dinner

Spaghetti w/garlic bread and salad
Hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill w/french fries and salad
Split Pea soup w/french bread and salad
Pasta Carbonara w/steamed broccoli and salad
Turkey casserole w/stuffing, white sauce, and cheese on top and whatever leftovers there are from Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Menu

Turkey
Ham(from MIL)
Mashed potatoes
Sweet Potato Pudding
Stuffing
Gravy
Greenbean Casserole(from MIL)
Salad(from MIL)
Homemade bread
Lemon pie(from MIL)
Pumpkin pie
Cookie tray w/sugar, chocolate chip, oatmeal crispies, and candy cane cookies

We'll be having my brother, Mother in law, sister in law, and brother in law for dinner. It should be nice to have company! I'll need to be careful not to do too much but otherwise, it should be fun. I'll start cooking either Tues or Wed and try to get alot of prep work out of the way. Remember to put your Turkeys in the fridge today or they will be frozen!

Blessings,

Lisa

Where in the world did today go?! I can't find it for the life of me.lol I decided today to run one of my weekend errands because I haven't been doing so well on the weekends now that the kids have football on Saturdays and practice on Sundays. Just seems like by the time everything is over, I'm just too tired to do anything else. So off we went first thing this morning to Staples. I desperately needed to run more copies off from Genevieve's preschool curriculum. I made 124 copies that should last us a few weeks, then got some needed office supplies. We picked up some colored file folders, glue, a poster board for the Good Noodle chart, more finger paint since Isaac used up the last stuff, some bigger finger paint paper in hopes that he'll actually use the paper instead of my table, and something else that I can no longer remember.LOL We got home just in time to order the new Hands and Hearts Far East Kit, which I just got an e-mail stating it's already been shipped. Wow! That's fast! I made us a lunch of homemade pizzas and then started packing us up for the park. The park is kind of far from our home and I like to make sure that we are prepared for anything once we get there, as I'd hate to have to come right back home for something. We got to the park at noon and I figured we'd play for an hour and then we'd be ready for home. Wishful thinking.lol We ended up staying for 2 1/2 hours! Whew! The weather was just beautiful, not too cold but not too warm either. The littles were so happy to be there that they played HARD.lol I ended up meeting some homeschool moms there, just by chance and enjoyed talking with them for a while. I'm not sure if we'll fit in but it was nice to have some company. When we finally left the park, Isaac fell asleep before we got out of the parking lot.lol It's been 3-4 weeks since everyone was well enough to go and they really made up for it. We got home at 3. Since then, I've done some school with Evie, made the good noodle chart, and got some cleaning done. I've also been able to get a couple of loads of wash done and dinner started. We're having baked potato bar tonight.

I wanted to update on the GREAT SALAD EXPERIMENT. lol I made a salad with almost every meal this week and I noticed something. I was able to decrease the amount of main dish at almost every meal! Also, we all left the table full. I mean, I don't feel like dessert or snacking, full. Very worth the extra effort and I plan on keeping it on the menu from now on. My hope is that it will eventually have an effect on our waist lines and on our general health. I am just awful at making things low fat and my hope is that instead of needing to go "low fat", I might be able to offer enough healthy foods with our main dishes and fill them up with that.lol I'm trying to be sneaky.lol Well, I guess that's our Friday. Next week will be very busy with Isaac's surgery, my glucose test, and Thanksgiving. I pray that everyone has a wonderful weekend and that you all remember to put your turkeys in the fridge on SUNDAY!!

Blessings,

Lisa

Here are my youngest and oldest playing together. Allison loves M&M's so she was eating them for Isaac, who prefers Ghiradelli.lol

We finished our learning today by doing M&M math. Genevieve really got a kick out of this. I just used markers to make patterns that she was to recreate with her candy.

She was so proud of her work today. I love the look on her face!

Lisa

Here's Isaac sampling his art.lol

Today we used the Picture Book Activities curriculum that I got this week. We read the book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom because we've been working on the alphabet. After we read the book I had the kids work on forming letters out of playdough, while I began carving letters out of potatoes. After they had finished with the playdough, I gave them some watered down tempura paint in paper plates and let them do some stamp art. They LOVED this activity! They ended up painting for a good 20 minutes and even came back to it a couple of times before I cleaned it up. Jon wanted me to cut an apple in half to show the littles the star but both littles didn't understand the concept and Isaac ended up eating his side and Evie painted her whole side.lol After this we broke for lunch and will probably try doing a few more of the activities listed for this book later. One thing I've noticed about actually using this book is that the activities really only contain supplies that I really have on hand. The only thing I don't have today is coconut for the baking section and that's because my little ones don't like it, so we'll skip that activity or maybe just make the cookies without it.

It's been a pretty fun day!

Oh and yesterday I did finish making the cranberry relish and coleslaw. Hopefully they are enjoying it right now. The kids game was forfeited by the other team so they just had practice and we ended up having Larry's Giant Subs for dinner to preserve my sanity.lol Today's dinner is Ham and Bean soup that I've already got simmering on the stove. The older kids have PE in a little while and are working on the lapbook right now. So far, so good.

Lisa

More pictures of fingerpainting. Isaac wouldn't get out of his highchair until we gave him the paints and let him enjoy.lol Luckily, bath-time was scheduled for right after this.

Lisa

Today is BUSY! The kids got to work first thing this morning and were able to get some work done before we had to do some running. First, my cellphones came in the mail! I set them to charging and was so excited! My mom called at 10:30 asking if we wanted to come to lunch and I said sure! I picked Chick-Fila because they have an indoor playplace for littles and my littles really needed to get out and run off some steam.lol After we ate, we went to Kohl's. Now, I think I've only been there twice but each time I just went in, got what I needed and left quickly.lol This time, it seemed as though everyone needed stuff so I got to see most of the gigantic store.lol We left Allison in the women's section to look for some pants, as some of her pants are showing a lot of wear, dropped Jon off in the boy's section to find some new jeans, since he's grown an inch this past month, and my mom and I worked our way to the maternity section. Boy, was it puny.lol I found a new shirt that was 40% off and that was it. Then we looked at the strategically placed baby clothes right next to the maternity section. We found three really cute outfits for the new baby and some PJ's for Evie and Isaac that were on sale. My mom got each little a new outfit. I went and looked at their toy section and found some cute things for the littles. I found a Littlest Petshop toy that looked like it would be fun for Evie and I also found a lot of trucks and such for Isaac. He loved one so much that I couldn't even wrestle it away to pay for it, the lady had to scan it from his hands.lol Jon came back around that time with 3 pairs of jeans, size 16 with the adjustable waistband. Excellent job, Jon! He wanted to look for Christmas toys for the littles and I said sure, so we left him there and began our journey back to the front of the store to Allison. She didn't find any jeans, she's tall and thin and has a hard time finding a good fit. We did find some jogging suit type of pants with a cute pull over jacket type thing and a few shirts. Everything was deeply discounted and the store was quite busy for the afternoon. We waited for Jon and then paid. They gave me my mom's senior discount and I ended up saving an extra 15%! What a blessing! I didn't even ask them, they just asked if my mom was a senior and applied the discount. Once we got to the car, Evie asked if she could go home with mom and mom said sure, so off they went. Isaac completely forgot about everything we bought by the time we got home and everything got tucked safely in my closet.lol I finished setting up the new phones and the older kids started working on the lapbook. I really think they are both enjoying this project and I think I'll be putting more into their learning for the rest of the year. Now it's clear why the kids enjoy the science so much, it's FUN.lol

Now for the rest of the day...

I have to make cranberry relish and coleslaw for my dh's work tomorrow. They are having a Thanksgiving luncheon. And the kids have a football game tonight at 5pm! Yikes! They are very excited and are hoping to win this one. I'm sure they'll have a great time no matter what.

Blessings,

Lisa

Chaos! That was the order of the day today, although I didn't get the memo ahead of time.lol Boy, do I feel worn out. The littles were just so busy that I could hardly keep up. Isaac is red and green right now. Yes, I was watching him, he just wouldn't let go of those markers.

After a breakfast of fresh, hot pancakes, I started the day by finally opening up my new printer that Eric bought me. I printed out the older kids Thanksgiving lapbook and got them started. Then, I printed out Jen's veggie and fruit sorting file folder game. Isaac tasted each piece and deemed them; mmmm, good!LOL Genevieve was anxious to get some school done but every time I got something out for her, Isaac would have a temper tantrum. Finally, I gave him the markers so that we could get to work. He decided that his paper wasn't just right so he colored the table, himself, and his clothing, all while I tried to wrestle the markers away from him. Well, I still wasn't savvy enough to realize that this was the "theme" for today, so I took the markers and gave him his Do-A-Dot paints. He proceeded to paint my table and everything within "painting" distance.lol Oh well, I did do some work with Evie throughout this mess but I feel like I just ran a marathon. We learned about the letter C today and reviewed the letters that we've already done. She's really learning alot, in spite of Isaac, and I think that everything I've pulled together is working well for her.

OH, I finally received my copy of Picture Book Activities from Amazon's Marketplace. It took 2 days to get it used while it has taken me close to 3 months to quit waiting for it new from Amazon. It looks really good and I'm going to incorporate it into our week this week. I happen to have most of the books that it covers and am just going to pick and choose what we do in it. It is not what I would consider a full curriculum for preschoolers but it has some really fun activities in it. Here's a small sample of what it has... First you read the book listed, Corduroy, then you discuss the book, do an arts and crafts activity (button necklaces), then it has a cooking and baking exercise (button cookies), then a section called fun and games (a game called button, button), then Let's pretend (toy store), Music and movement (Teddy bear, teddy bear), play and learn (button play) and then a list of enrichment activities. Pretty cool and I think that it'll go hand in hand with her letter learning activities. She's really enjoying all the books we've been reading together and I know she'll love the activities.

The older kids have been working on their very first lap book about Thanksgiving. I got it free from www.liveandlearnpress.com . They are really enjoying it and hopefully will have it done by Thanksgiving. I'll post some pictures once they have more done.

Right now, the older kids are at PE and the youngers are watching Dora the Explorer to give me a break from the chaos of this morning.lol I'm thinking I just don't have the stamina that I used to have.

Well, that's about it for today. I'm hoping for a less urgent and rushed pace for the rest of our day. I've got some house keeping things that need to be finished and the older kids have some more work to accomplish. I think the littles will spend some time outside and then I'll get out the playdough or paint. (yes, I'm a glutton for punishment.lol)

Blessings,

Lisa

The first half of today has been spent catching up on all the things I couldn't do while sick. I never made it shopping this weekend, just felt too terrible, so off we all went. Now I remember why I usually do this on the weekend while the kids are with grandparents.lol My bill was huge! I'm not telling how bad it was but just imagine how bad yours would be if you had been in survival mode for three weeks and had just about depleted your pantry and your dh had been doing the shopping for those weeks.lolol If it wasn't on the list, he didn't get it and if you didn't specify how much you needed of a certain item, he got one. I'm NOT complaining. I was extremely grateful for his help, just trying to paint an acurate picture of my shopping today. The whole trip took 2 hours and the kids were great. Other than needing to sample whatever was there to sample, they really didn't add much to the bill. It was mostly needing to refill the pantry that made it so bad.

I found some Organic Kraft Mac and Cheese on the shelves today! I usually get Annie's but decided to try this instead. It's good! We are eating it for lunch now.

I also cleaned out the fridge when we returned from shopping. I usually do this each week but unfortunately, I let that go while illness reigned. It was quite a mess and I have a lot of dishes to wash after lunch. Another good reason for not letting things pile up.lol

I plan on starting the wash as soon as I'm done eating. At least I kept up with that. Then I'll begin checking the kids work from last week and scheduling out what they'll do this week. Pretty much, today's a wash for school but at least I'm feeling better today! Yes, that's right, I'm actually starting to feel better! What a blessing! I was beginning to think that the med's weren't going to work and this morning I could definitely feel a difference. Whew! It would be so nice to be back to my normal self.lol Now to begin hooking up my new printer and start putting together more things for the little's preschool and I'm thinking of doing a Thanksgiving lapbook with the older kids. Them getting excited about making butter made me think that perhaps they might not remember all the things we did when they were younger and they may enjoy and learn some things from going back and redoing those kinds of activities. It certainly wouldn't hurt.lol

Well, I've got PLANS and I better get started.lol

Blessings,

Lisa

My Menu for this week...

Lunch

Mac and Cheese
Chicken nuggets
Fish Sticks
Chicken soup
sandwiches


Dinner

Roast beef w/potatoes, carrots, onions and salad
Grilled Chicken w/rice, grilled asparagus, and salad
Taco Stuff
Ham and Bean soup w/french bread and salad
Baked potato bar w/shrimp scampi and salad


Salad is the theme of the week.lol I'm going to try to incorporate more veggies into our diets by adding a salad to each meal. I'm also going to continue adding a smoothie day at least 2x this week.

I really haven't done much this weekend. I've just been trying to feel better from this sinus infection and the antibiotics are taking their time in healing me.lol The kids had their game yesterday and I was told that it was a real nail-biter. They lost in double overtime but the kids said it was probably the best game they've even played in. I love that even though they lost, they still came home excited and happy about the game. I think the Y has really helped all the kids to just play and enjoy instead of being upset or worried about who's winning. Good job, Y!

I'll have to give my goals for this week some thought. I'm hoping I'll feel better soon and then I'll be ready to do alot more than I can right now. Well, I guess I know what my main goal will be...getting better so that I can take better care of my family.lol As is, for now, I'll be happy if I can get in my house-keeping and a game day this next week. I also want to accomplish more preschool with the littles this week. I've got some things printed out, so I'll just use those until I'm feeling better, then I'll go out and copy some more.

I hope everyone has a blessed week!

Lisa

Today was a pretty good day. I started the day cleaning. I needed to go through Evie's clothes and sort out the stuff she's outgrown and needed to organize her drawers again because they were a mess. I went through the house and did a surface clean and then I turned to focus on the kids...

I got some preschool done with Evie today. We worked on the letter B. She glued a paper bear together and learned how to draw balloons. We also added to our alphabet caterpillar. For her snack time, we made some butter. The older kids got involved with that project and it was so much fun to watch them! We've done this project at least 2 times in the past but neither remembered it and they were so excited about the different stages that heavy cream goes through to get to butter. After it became butter, they all sampled some on bread and were impressed.lol Evie wanted to do more but I have to admit that I ran out of gas. I've been battling this sinus infection for over a week and felt so bad I needed to lie down.

Isaac had a doctor's appt at 4 today. He has to have one prior to his laser surgery each time. Eric came home and took him. I was so thankful since I'm just feeling terrible. Isaac came back with a clean bill of health and will have his surgery on Nov. 21. This will be his 9th or 10th, I really can't remember right now. All I know is that it's way more than any small child should have to go through. I am extremely thankful for the children's hospital here. They are soooo good with him and he does so much better here than he did in Miami.

The kids have another football game tomorrow at 11am. They are very excited and will go skating right after the game.

I'm 25 weeks today! It's so exciting to be this close to being done! This has been a good pregnancy so far and I'm praying that my body can hold up all the way to the end.lol So far, so good.

We were finally able to order our new cellphones through Amazon and they should come sometime next week. It was such a pain but the cost was worth it. We got two Razr phones for a penny each and they are going to give us a $75.00 rebate. We went through T-Mobile and hopefully their service will be better than Cingular's. We had wonderful service down in Miami but as soon as we moved our phones were useless.

Our new couch is wonderful and has helped our family spend more time together. I find us gathering in the family room more and more often. It has been such a blessing!

I guess that's it. I'm so glad today is Friday. It'll be nice to have some help so that I can concentrate on getting better. I have plans for next week so I need to get better.lol

Blessings,

lisa

Healthy Version of Chicken Noodle Soup(LOL)

1 whole chicken
1 onion
1 celery stick
1 carrot
1 hand full of parsley

Boil for 1 hour. Remove chicken and debone. Remove the onion, celery, and carrot. Return chicken into the pot and add:

1 celery stick, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 cups frozen mixed veggies
2 small potatoes, diced
2 tsp garlic, minced

Add seasonings. 2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper, to taste.

Boil until veggies are soft. Add noodles or dumplings. Cook additional 10-20 min.

LLL Baking Mix

8 cups whole wheat flour
5 T baking powder
1 T salt
1-2 cup dry milk powder
1 1/2 cup oil

combine and use just like Bisquick. Add 2 cups mix to 2/3 cup milk and drop into boiling stew. Cook 10 min uncovered and 10 min covered, on low. Enjoy!

Lisa

Chicken Noodle Soup

(fast easy version, when you yourself are sick and don't feel like a huge production.lolol)

Place:
3-4 boneless chicken breasts,
1 celery stick, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 tsp garlic, minced
2 cups frozen mixed veggies (carrots, greenbeans, lima beans, corn, peas)
2 carrots, chopped
2 small potatoes, diced
3 chicken bouillion cubes
in a pot full of water.

Boil until chicken is done, then take out chicken and chop up. Add it back to the pot.

Add seasonings. I like a liberal sprinkling of Natures Seasonings and about 2 tsp salt.

Now, add your noodles, I like No Yolks brand and I add half a bag. If you are going to add dumplings, add those now also. I just use Bisquick most days for dumplings but Whole Foods for the Whole Family has a good recipe for homemade ones. Boil uncovered for 10 minutes. If no dumplings, then it's done! If you have dumplings, cover for 10 more minutes and then it's done. The soup will turn creamy with the addition of noodles and look like you added cream of something but really no milk was added. It's very good!

Enjoy!

Lisa

I figured I'd better post about today before I get so tired that I skip again.lol Today was also a crazy day. I woke several times this morning before it finally stuck.lol The last wake up was a phone call from my mom, she wanted to know if Evie could go with her to get her car fixed. I said sure and then raced to get her and everyone else presentable before my mom got here.lol So much for worrying about keeping up with Evie in the preschool front. I have plenty for next week, since we've been so busy.

I spent the day doing laundry, cleaning the house and making playdough for the swap bags. The older kids got all their school work completed while I worked and Isaac, bless him, kept himself busy with his Geotrax trainset. I took the kids to PE and then mailed the swap bags after lunch. Then Isaac and I spent some time together and before we knew it, it was time to pick everyone up. After getting the older kids, I stopped by moms to see if Evie was ready to come home. She wasn't but I took her anyway.lol As I keep saying, Evie makes a great only child. Too bad she's the third in our home.lolol

Now the littles are playing in the sand box while Allison keeps an eye out on them and I'm making homemade chicken noodle soup since I'm still not feeling well.

That's our very busy day. Not very exciting but very productive.lol

Blessings,

Lisa

Here's the rocker/recliner chair. I'm really looking forward to using this with the new baby!

Here's the new couch!

Yesterday just got away from me! I woke up later than usual and I had my dr's appt for 10:15, so by the time everyone was fed, clothed, and groomed, it was time for me to leave. I've been sick, so this is one appt that I was looking forward to.lol It went fine. The dr was happy with my ultrasound and he prescribed me an antibiotic for my sinus infection. Also said I can take any Tylenol products, like Tylenol Sinus or cold. I've never heard this before, but I'm thankful.lol

After I got home, my mom took Jon out to lunch for Sushi. He loves Sushi and she's the only other person who'll eat it.lol They had a great time and while they were gone Allison and I got the house ready for our "new to us" couch and recliner! We had to move some stuff around to make room for our old futon to fit in the library and we also vacuumed where the new couch was going. When mom and Jon got done, she came over and picked up Allison and Evie and took them to her house for the BIG MOVE.lol My mom has graciously given us her living room furniture, since she decided to redecorate and get something new for her living room. What an answer to prayer! We really needed something and have been saving for a new couch but to tell the truth, I was a little afraid to BUY something that little people will be using.lol If you only knew how much our little futon has gone through.

When the moving crew got to our house, they had quite the time getting our new couch into the house! My dad had to take the front door off in order for it to fit and I was so proud of my two older kids who, with my brother, were the ones who moved it into the house! It's one of those sleeper bed couches and was extremely heavy but they did it. By the time everything was done, it was time for me to make dinner. What a day! I made split pea soup and while it was cooking, Isaac fell asleep after all the excitement.lol

After dinner, Eric and I escaped for a few minutes to CVS for my antibiotics and to Publix for milk. It was nice to have a little alone time and not have to take someone little.lol Once we got home, I was done. Well, o.k. I did the dishes and then I was done.lol

I'll take some pictures of the new couch and upload it soon. It was a really good day and I'm so happy to have some furniture.

Blessings,

Lisa

Here is Evie's new hair do. She was in a goofy mood and this is the best of three photos.lol She loves her hair cut! She can actually brush it herself without the usual screaming and running away. Whoohoo!lol

Lisa

Here is Evie's work from Monday. The top picture is an ant, the bottom is an apple tree and in the middle is our alphabet caterpillar. I already posted Tuesday's work of fingerpainting and well Wednesday didn't go as planned.lol I'll write later.

Lisa

All is quiet right now. lol How's that for 6pm? We had a busy day of learning and then running around. First we did school, then my mom came over to drop something off and decided to take Genevieve with her. The older kids had PE today so it was really nice for her to have something to do. It was raining when I went to pick up the older kids so I decided to run by mom's to see if I could pick up Evie also. Well, we ended up staying for over an hour and we tired poor Isaac out.lol We were running late for the kids football game and needed to rush home for their uniforms and such but when we got home there was a message saying it was cancelled because of the rain. Hurray for me!lol We had left Evie at mom's because mom wanted to trim her hair, so off we went to pick her up. Isaac fell asleep and when we got to moms, Evie wouldn't leave.lol Mom had invited her to stay for dinner and she wasn't going to leave without it. So here I am with nothing to do but blog.lol

I made spaghetti for dinner early tonight because I was starving, so the older kids are taking turns doing their chores and playing outside. I have a doctor's appt tomorrow morning and hopefully he will give me something for this sinus infection. I'm considering hiring a Doula instead of trying to change doctors. I've heard that they are great for getting you what you want during labor and for keeping those darn nurses at bay. (You know, the ones who tell you to lie flat on your back during your whole labor and try to convince you that you don't need to go potty even though you've been able to tell when you need to go since you were 2.lol) I can handle this doctor during my pregnancy, maybe, but I know I don't want him to be in charge when I'm in labor. I still have time to decide for sure what I want but I'm trying to consider all options.

Well, Evie's home and I'm really worn out today so I think that it's time to get her settled down and me laying down.

Blessings,

Lisa

Here is our first foray into finger painting. As you can tell, Genevieve found the process quite disgusting.lol
Isaac, on the other hand, was quite a natural. I didn't even have to show him what to do. Of course, next time I'll give him a bigger piece of paper...lol

Here he is, before he got so messy that he had to be bathed.lol

Lisa

Here are the Cheese-topped Pork Chops. They were really good! I also did one chicken breast to see what it would taste like and it was good too! The kids said it tasted like Heavenly Chicken and I agree. I grilled the meat and then topped it with the cheese, then baked it in the oven. YUM!

Blessings,

Lisa

One of my goals for this week was beginning preschool with the littles today. After two temper tantrums from Genevieve and one from Isaac, I can safely say that we did preschool today.LOL We worked on the letter A and did a theme of Apples and Ants. I had a book that I bought from Kate from www.handsandhearts.com called Jumbo Fun with the Alphabet and I primarily used this today. Evie had a good time learning about apples and ants today. First we started our Alphabet Caterpillar with the letter A, then we put an apple together and I cut open an apple so that she could see what it looked like inside. I cut up the apple and that was her snack. We read the book The Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree by Gail Gibbons. We learned how to draw an ant and we drew them going up and down an ant hill. Then I brought out the paints and had Evie paint her own apple tree and ant. She used a lot of creative license in her drawing.lol We did a couple of other activities in the book that Eric copied for me on Sunday and then I ran out of things to do! Yikes! She's so gung ho that we tore through all that in less than an hour. She kept asking for more but I finally called a recess and let them in the back yard.lol My desperate hope is that some of my books that I reserved at the library will be in soon. I may have to do more than one letter a week just to keep her happy, which means Isaac will not be able to keep up. I guess that'll be o.k. it's not rocket science and the review from the books should help Evie to remember what she learns. My plan was to use this book along with the on-line curriculum from http://www.letteroftheweek.com/ to give her more to do but it looks like it still won't be enough. I'm thinking about joining http://www.enchantedlearning.com/Home.html to fill in her learning. I'm really surprised that I'm having this problem. When I tried preschool with her a few months ago she just couldn't keep her attention on anything, now I have the opposite problem.LOL Tomorrow we are going to do the Letter of the Week curriculum and also Little Hands to Heaven day one and two. I still want to go slow and let her guide me in how much to do each day. I'm thinking she may slow down once we establish a routine. We'll see. Isaac was happy to just go with the flow. He liked the markers the most and has the stripes to show for it.lol

While I was running around like a crazy person trying to keep these two busy, my older kids started a fresh week of school themselves. I checked their work from the last two weeks early this morning, then wrote out their schedules for this week. I'm having some accountability problems with the kids lately. It's really discouraging but I'm hanging in there. When the littles were sick two weeks ago, the older kids just quit working even though I didn't take them from their work. I really think they did it because they knew I was focused on the littles and they figured they could get away with it. Now they are paying the piper and it isn't fun for any of us. I'm really tired of these games.

I am trying to find a balance between home and school, littles and big, inside and outside activities, really, life in general.lol I've got the house figured out, now for the kids.lol

Well, that's it for now. I'm making QB's porkchops right now and I'm starving! I'll let you all know how they turn out.

Blessings,

Lisa

My menu for this week

Lunch

Chicken nuggets
Fish Sticks
Mac & Cheese
Sandwiches

Dinner

Cheese-topped Pork Chops (from Queenbee's blog) w/steamed veggies and rice
Roast Beef w/root veggies
Chicken Noodle Soup
Split Pea Soup w/homemade bread
Taco Pie w/toppings
Spaghetti Pie w/garlic bread


What can I say? Today has been one of those days where you WANT to get things done but just can't.lol We woke up to a very rainy-yucky kind of day. I had such high hopes, too.lol Eric and I decided that it was just too risky to take Isaac out in this weather so we began the wait game. I made a list of all the different errands that needed to be run, plus made my grocery list and did some research on the computer. Isaac spent the morning having temper-tantrums.lol The rain continued. Finally, Isaac fell asleep and we ALL breathed a sigh of relief.lol Eric offered to run some of the errands while I laid down since I'm battling a sinus infection. I took him up on his offer and he's out right now getting the groceries.

Eric also went to the office supply place and made copies for me and bought me a new color printer, since ours died and De'Etta said that the veggie/fruit sorting game wouldn't be the same without color.lol He also got me a three-hole punch since ours didn't seem to make the move with us. Don't know how that happened.lol I totally forgot to put file folders on my list for the office store so I think I'll just use the plain manilla ones I have here on hand. Won't be as colorful but they'll do. Still haven't made it to the cellphone store. I needed one about 3 times today while Eric was out but we'll live.lol I guess it'll keep our spending down since I was going to call him for more stuff.lol Guess that's been our day so far. Isaac is STILL asleep and Evie got out of the house for a while. It's been a pretty good day, even though MY plans were thwarted.lol

Blessings,

Lisa

Today was a busy day! We had some running around to do first thing in the morning. Allison flew off her bike last night and scraped both hands and bruised her knee and she had a football game at 1, so we went to Walmart to look for latex-free bandaids and gloves for her to wear during the game. I also bought our first pink outfits for the new baby!LOL We found the bandaids but they just didn't have any football supplies besides mouth guards, which I bought two of "just in case." By now, Isaac was DONE. So we quickly headed to the door.lol He cried all the way home and I wasn't sure about taking him out again. Eric took Allison to the sports place to find gloves and I stayed home and nursed my sinus infection and loved on my baby. They got home just in time to eat lunch and then we decided that we would take the littles to the game and if it was too much, I'd just come home and pick them up after the game was over. Well, the littles had a GREAT time and played on the playsets they have next to the fields and really enjoyed being out and about. I got to see the game and it was exciting! Allison and Jon's team WON! Pretty cool! Allison pulled the flags of one player and she also got to run the ball. Jon was very good at blocking the quarterback. They both had a great time and I was glad that we got those gloves. After the game, which I didn't take any pictures of because I didn't think I was going so I didn't remember to bring the camera (lol), we all broke up and went different directions.lol Both my parents and Eric's mom showed up to the game and they divied up the kids amongst them. My parents took Evie and my MIL took Jon and we got Allison and Isaac.lol Allison was too sore to do anything else and Isaac just wasn't well enough to go anywhere else. We came home and he went right to sleep and slept until 6 pm., about 4 hours. Poor fella. Eric and I cancelled our cell phone service and began looking for a new company. I think that just about ate up our whole day.lol We finally decided on T-Mobile and found the phones we wanted and then found them cheaper on Amazon, so we went through the whole process of picking it all out from there and then it didn't go through.UGH! SOOO frustrating! It seems to be a problem with Amazon, so we're hoping that we'll be able to try again tomorrow but we are also going to go to a store and see if they can give us the deal, if not then I don't know WHAT we'll do. Probably start all over again.lol After all that, we ate a dinner of takeout pizza and then bathed the littles and I did the dishes since Allison is all scraped up right now.

All in all, it was a good day and hopefully tomorrow will be even better!

Blessings,

Lisa

Today was an unexpected rest day for me.LOL My mom called and offered to take the three older kids to lunch at 11am and the mall today and I said yes!lol I'm still battling this cold, I'm not too bad but it still sounded wonderful to have my cabin fevered kids out for a while. I asked her to look for coats for the littles and she found really nice ones at JC Penney's, half-off. Evie's is pink and Isaac's is blue. Five minutes after they left, Isaac fell asleep on the living room floor watching Oswald. That was an unexpected bonus as he's been quite cranky. I left him there because I was afraid he'd wake up if I touched him.lol Anyway, he's still asleep and it's almost 3pm right now. Poor guy's had a rough 2 weeks. I finally moved him 2 hours ago so I could benefit from this empty-ish house and get some cleaning done. It's amazing how much can be accomplished when no one's undoing whatever you've already done.lol The kids just got home half an hour ago and are playing or working quietly in their rooms. They had a good time and I did too! I got out all the preschool stuff and tore out the things that need copying tomorrow and I downloaded a bunch of stuff. I also printed out a bunch of things for next week. I'll run all my errands tomorrow while Eric's home, just in case Isaac isn't ready for going out. He may need another sleep day.

Normally, today would have been park day but we had a cold front move through last night that is producing 20 mph wind gusts and with them just getting better I called it off. It was really nice of my Mom to step in and take them out today. I'm sure it was a real blessing to my kids also!

Lisa

Today has been a very relaxed day. The older kids are recooperating, so we took the day just to straighten up and get the house under control. We went through each room just picking up the general clutter that had taken over while I've been sick. It really wasn't too bad, which makes me think that the habits are forming in the kids. I got some laundry done and I made homemade waffles for breakfast and homemade pizza for lunch. I am so glad that I did my shopping last Friday but I think that the kids are getting tired of what's left over after a whole week's time.lol I'm going to try to run by the store today after I drop off the older kids at football practice. I would normally make them stay home because they are just getting over this illness but tonight is picture day so they really need to show up.

Genevieve is starting to get cabin fever from the 2 weeks she's been stuck at home, so she's been a bit of a handful today. Isaac's fever finally broke and he's as cantankous as he normally is while ill. lol It made for a good day off, just to focus on resting and finally getting rid of this horrible illness.

I'm hoping to make it to the office supply store this weekend so that I can get some lapbooking supplies. Also, I'm thinking of making a "Good Noodle" chart like on Spongebob. I'm going to glue uncooked noodles to a poster board for each good decision/or job made or done by Genevieve and Jon. I'm thinking Allison is too old and Isaac is too young but will leave room for him as he gets older. I really like the idea of focusing on the positive, instead of always reacting to the negative. This idea comes from De'Etta. It's taken me a while to get to the chart because I've never been a chart kind of person but what I'm realizing is that my two in the middle are very goal oriented and I think this will help them. I want the lapbooking supplies for Evie and Isaac. I'm also going to start more preschool with each of them. I've been waiting for a certain book but Amazon keeps pushing back the estimated delivery time and I'm just going to start without it.LOL So, my plan is to get a lot of copies run off of things I do have and really get started this next week. Evie especially needs this, she's been bored lately and that's never good.lol

Now that my home is where I want it to be, I'm going to be focusing a lot more on the kids. I'm going to be adding in a game day to make sure that we spend enough fun time together, just incorporating fun into our day. Evie's been playing chutes and ladders and candy land lately and is really enjoying those games, it made me realize she isn't so little any longer. That really opens up a lot of options in games and such. I'm thinking we'll play out the games we have and I'll stock up on some for Christmas.

I guess that's about it for now. I have to admit that I'm still sick so probably am not making much sense right now but would like to get these ideas down so that I can remember them.lol I am really looking forward to a normal week next week. Just to have the kids well and healthy will be a real blessing.

Lisa

Here is a picture of our newest baby! Well, it's a picture of the picture.lol The actual picture is extremely clear but this is as good as I could get with my camera.

IT'S A GIRL!!!

WE'RE SO EXCITED!!!

Everything looked great and I got some great pictures of my new little one. Everyone is so excited and we can't wait until we are well enough to go buy some pink things.lol What a blessing!!!

Lisa

Praises from this week:

My little Isaac is finally able to eat and drink again without pain. He's had a cracker, some grapes, and a yogurt this morning and that's the most he's eaten in a week. The poor guy's lost so much weight that his pants don't stay on any longer.

Isaac didn't throw up this morning! It was the first time in a week.lol

My dh was able to take two days off from work to help me on the hardest days. He's been working really hard since the move and for him to be able to take that time off was a real blessing.

My dh and I were able to spend A LOT of quality time together, nearly round the clock, for a whole week.lol

I was able to keep up with the laundry and most of the cleaning for the week. This was a biggy for me. Normally, I would have left it all for after we got better and it would have taken me a week or more to get us all back to normal, but this time, I made sure that I worked on it a little each day. What a blessing to be able to jump right back into our daily things without a huge clean up needed. The cleaning part was harder. There were many times when I almost threw in the towel. I mopped the kitchen floor a total of 6 times this week. 5 of those on the same day. LOL

I was able to fix a healthy dinner each day except for two days. That's just amazing to me.lol I used to be the "take out queen" whenever illness struck but this time I stuck to my guns and dished out good food. I even managed smoothies a couple times this week. As a side note, one of those take out nights was planned. We usually get something on Saturdays because it's too hard to plan dinner when the kids spend the day with my parents. Sometimes they come home fed and sometimes not, so we order when they get home for whomever's hungry.lol Also, it's nice to have a day off.

As you can see, I have a lot to be thankful for! This illness was awful but a lot of good came out of it. I would never wish for this to happen to anyone but to be able to face this with grace and patience was awesome!lol I never lost it or got upset about the lack of sleep or got so overwhelmed that I wanted to run away.lol I don't think that I've ever taken sleep for granted in a very long while but it was a good reminder to be thankful when I actually get it.lol I also looked at my chores differently than I would have in the past. I actually saw the NEED and instead of seeing it as drudgery I was actually happy to get them done to bless those who needed it. I had to wash Isaac's blankets a million times and the joy I saw on his face was a true blessing to me. He NEEDED those blankets and I met his needs. What a week!lol

Blessings,

Lisa

Update:

We're sick.lol Everyone except for dh, who got a flu shot, has gotten this. The littles are still struggling with this illness, that's why I'm writing this at 4:30a.m. Both littles are awake right now. Now I know why they are so miserable, this is a yucky illness. The littles both woke up with secondary infections in their ears on Saturday night and it was rough.lol This is the first time ever that I can say I'm glad that tomorrow is Monday. At least the doctor's offices will be open. The big kids are still at the early stages of this so they aren't too bad off but I know that Jon's going to need some major meds to get through this. He caught this on Saturday night.

Both kids played in their first football game on Sat. morning. They lost their first game but still had a good time. They had only had two practices before the game so I wasn't expecting a miracle but I'm really seeing a confidence in Allison this season. This season has been such a blessing. All their games are at home and most are on Saturdays. This is so unexpected but sooo welcome.lol

If you all could pray that we get well soon, that'd be great. Especially the littles who haven't slept in a week and have thrown up everyday since Tuesday morning. And Jon, please pray that he can get through this illness. He really worries me. Think of a kid with barely an immune system, who really shouldn't spend time with sick people and that's Jon. If this illness runs it's course and has no secondary illnesses to spring up in him, we're looking at a recovery time of 2 weeks, with a cough that will last a month. If he gets the secondary illnesses that usually occur in him, well, we're looking at over a month, with a cough that may last until Christmas. I wish I was exaggerating. A few prayers sent my way, would be great too. One good thing about getting woken up every 2-3 hours, is I'm staying well hydrated.lol

Well, all the littles are laying down watching t.v. and resting. I think I may try laying down too, although I'm not a good sleeper and my nose is stuffy and they will probably wake me about 20 minutes after I finally fall asleep. Boy, I envy Eric who can fall asleep at the drop of a hat.LOL

I really appreciate all the prayers and well wishes I've received. THANK YOU!!! I'm in survival mode right now, so I just can't write as much as I'd like but wanted everyone to know that you all are a blessing to me.

Blessings,

Lisa

My menu for this week


I'm making the menu now and shopping today because I'm not feeling good and I'm worried that if I wait, everyone will go hungry.lol Called the doctor and he said I'm on my own, there's nothing they can give me, so if I'm getting this, it could be a long week. Prayers still appreciated!

Lunch

Ramen
Sandwiches
Lunchables
Mac and cheese


Dinner

Crockpot "Rotisserie" Chicken, baked potatoes, and salad
Homemade Pizza, salad
Garlic-butter Parm pasta, steamed brocoli
Black beans and rice, rolls
Chicken Noodle soup w/dumplings
Salisbury Steak, mashed potatoes, green beans

If you notice, most of the things on this list are easy prep things that my kids can accomplish on their own if needed. I really feel the need to be prepared, just in case I get hit with this and feel better knowing that if at least one of us is standing, we'll eat this week.lol

My dh stayed home today and so we've declared our first "sick day" of the year. The older kids have been keeping themselves busy with fun stuff. Jon's been working on a "Rube Goldberg" contraption and Allison was working on finishing off a project that Jon was working on yesterday which was to make a "Post Office" for Genevieve on top of her bunk bed. It's quite cute and I'll try to upload a picture after my shopping trip. The littles are feeling better today. I had a feeling that they'd be o.k. but am glad that we got some meds for their noses. They did not sleep last night at all.LOL Eric was so nice to let me take a nap this morning. It's been a rough week and I really needed that nap.lol You can only take so much sleep deprivation and puke before you want to throw in the towel.LOL

My ultrasound is on Wed and I'm so hoping that I'm feeling well enough to go. I'd love to get a look at my newest little one. The last time I got a look, the baby was only the size of a peanut.LOL Have a great week!

Blessings,

Lisa

My dh took the littles into the doctors tonight and they feel that the littles both have the flu. Please pray that they respond to the meds that the drs gave us and that no one else catches this. The last flu I caught almost killed me and has given me asthma for the rest of my life. So far, I've been o.k. but if I start to have symptoms I'll call my OB right away. Maybe they can give me that anti-viral stuff, I'm not sure. Prayers would be greatly appreciated!

Blessings,

Lisa

I don't know if it's wishful thinking or not, but upon closer inspection of my little ones, I think that they may be feeling a little better today. This has been a rough one folks. I am soooo glad that I followed God's leading and completed all my laundry on Monday and Tuesday. I almost let it wait because I've been so tired. Well, if I had waited, I would be doing laundry for the next 3 days or more.LOL Instead, I'll be able to concentrate on getting these germs out of my home before they take root. I'm doing the sick laundry right now and will be able to wash all bedding involved and my futon cover by the end of today! What a blessing in all this sickness.

Also, the outside weather has warmed up nicely today and will actually be hot tomorrow so I'll let the littles get some fresh air while I sterilize everything.LOL Lysol, here I come!

Blessings,

Lisa

Morning came early for us today. At 5:00am I got my first child in my bed. Eric rolled out of bed and decided that getting to work early wouldn't be such a bad idea. I'm sure that it had nothing to do with the hacking, gagging child between us.LOL Believe me, if I could have gone early to work, I would have.LOL By 5:15 I had my second child in the bed. This one was hacking, gagging, and screaming. Eric left hurriedly.LOL By now, I had the song "10 in the Bed" playing over and over in my head except it was....

3 in the bed and the little one said, "I'm thirsty, I'm thirsty!"
Mom got up and got a drink.
3 in the bed and the littlest said, "A Ba-ba, A ba-ba!"
Mom rolled over and got a ba-ba.
3 in the bed and the little one said, "Cough, cough, cough. Hack, hack, hack."
Mom got up and gave her a drink.
3 in the bed and the littlest said, "Waa, waa, waa. Waa, waa, waa."
Mom stood up and rocked the child.
One in the bed and the little one said, "Gag, gag, gag! Gag, gag, gag!"
Mom ran over and grabbed said child.
One in the bed and the littlest said, "snore, snore, snore. cough, cough, cough."
Mom tiptoed out and took the other.
One on the couch and the little one said, "Why does HE get the bed?!"

LOLOL

So far today has not gone as planned but it's been pretty good anyway. Or maybe I'm so tired that the things that would make a day seem bad just don't trigger that thought in me.LOL Just picture an empty void where my head usually is. Speaking of vacuums... I have to say that I still love my Little Green Machine. So far I've sucked up Rootbeer and Vasoline.LOLOL Enough said.

Blessings,

Lisa

This has been one of those days that you just wish would end.lol Both littles are sick yet again. Genevieve has this nasty cough that made her throw up last night in bed and she's been sharing it throughout the house all day today. Isaac woke up with "the nose"...that just can't stop and a little cough that will probably be up to Evie's scale by tonight. I am praying that my older kids skip this one because this is the kind that just about kills Jon. I'm praying desperately that I'm immune.LOL

Really, the littles have been good today. They've been low energy and besides wanting a lot of snuggles they've been a fairly good bunch. I guess I'm just feeling discouraged by all these illnesses we've been having. I know that it's this new climate and the yo-yo weather. The kids just aren't used to it being hot one day and cold the next. This move has been such a hard adjustment in every way. I have to admit that I miss Miami like crazy. I'm trying to stay focused on the positive and the future instead of the past but days like today make it hard.

Now for the brighter side of things...LOL The kids and I were able to get the house back into working order and now it's just maintanence for the rest of the week. We're planning on making some tic tac toe mix tomorrow and the older kids had a great time at P.E. today. All my laundry is caught up and I'm going to get to all the ironing tomorrow. We're having spaghetti casserole tonight for dinner, which is Allison's favorite and garlic bread.Yum!

I'm revamping some of Jon's subjects and have been working on this for most of the day. He's going through the brain fog of adolesence and has been having trouble focusing on his work lately. He's also not been following directions and/or not completely understanding what he's supposed to be doing at any given time and/or not telling me that he didn't understand until Friday night when everything is due.LOL Now see, he's benefitting from my experience with Allison. Since I know that this is just a phase, I am just going to adjust his work for this period of his life and not torture him because he just can't meet my demands.LOL I'm going to be focusing on his quality of work, following directions, and making sure that he does things my way for a while. No use hitting my head against a wall until this goes away. I need to address the character problems that are causing this to happen.

Anyway, that's been my day. Long, but productive. Isaac just fell asleep on top of a video, so I'm guessing this is going to be a long night also.LOL Poor guy, I know he needs his sleep but I just wish he could've waited until tonight.LOL

Blessings,

Lisa

As you can tell from the pictures, we had a cold front move through last night. I had no idea until I went to let the littles outside this morning.LOL We did the lets change everybody into more appropriate clothes dance, while the littles squawked at the change of routine.LOL

We've had a good day. The kids got their work done and the littles played inside and out. I've made Heavenly Chicken for dinner and it's baking in the oven. I also made some Chocolate Chip cookies. The older kids were so nice! They helped me make dinner tonight. Usually, they rush out to play during dinner prep but today they just wanted to help. What a blessing. I've been so tired and it was so nice to get this time intensive meal done so quickly with the extra help.

I've got most of the laundry done, just one more load for the washer and the kids all got smoothies today with lunch. lol I guess that's it.

Blessings,

Lisa

LOL They love this trampoline.

Lovable, indeed. She's looks so grown up in this picture.

My two guys having a good time on the trampoline.

Here's my cutie.

I'm facing my first test. Energy was at an all time low this weekend and now I have to decide. Do I throw up my hands in disgust and throw in the towel, saying that I just can't keep up with the demands of this household? Or do I rally the troops and face this mess that I allowed to happen over the weekend? In the past, this wouldn't have been a question. I would have reconciled myself to the fact that no one could keep up with these kids and, really, why should I? They're just going to mess it up again. I would have told myself that I didn't stay home to have a picture perfect house, I stayed home so that I could homeschool the kids! So what if it took us 3 hours to find our math books or that we didn't quite get to science because I couldn't remember where I put the supplies for this week. I mean, science isn't THAT important.LOLOL I WAS tempted this morning but I guess God has been working on me because I am rallying the troops and will tame this beast of a house back into what we NEED it to be. An orderly, peaceful, inviting home to live in, where I'm not afraid of drop-in visitors or door to door salespersons.LOL

Goals for this week:

1. Get the laundry under control. I have at least 5 loads to do today and I need to make sure that I work on it Friday so that Monday won't be so much.

2. Make sure that each room gets a once over each day.

3. I need to make playdough and bread this week.

4. Give both bathrooms a deep cleaning.

5. Mop all hard floors.

I guess that's all. I need to keep it low key for this week. Genevieve's not feeling well today and I need to focus on the kids this week. I think that I can get all this done but my focus will be taking care of my children. I don't plan on making progress this week, just going to try to keep up.LOL I best get started making those smoothies, since I've already got illness in the house.

Blessings,

Lisa

Smoothies...

Here's my recipe for great tasting smoothies...

All ingredients are approximate.LOL

1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup yogurt
1 tbsp dry milk powder
1 tbsp sucanat
1 1/2 cups strawberries, frozen
1 banana
*sometimes we add frozen blueberries, about 1/4 cup

Blend until smooth and enjoy! It's high in calcium, vit C, and low in sugar.

Blessings,

Lisa