the shift has hit the fan

we got one of those jumpy things out in our back yard.  that's what jones calls it.  it's a trampoline and we all love it.  except maybe starboy, i don't think he's been introduced or even seen it yet.  otter pop had a guy at work that needed some fixing done to his van door.  in trade for the work (that took my mr. about an hour), he gave us his trampoline.  i guess his kids are all grown and gone.  yeah for that!
the kids got sick over the weekend.  sophie had all of 'em except starboy on saturday night so that we could go to the football game.  i had woken up at about 6 to get goin' that morning so i was SACKED OUT and didn't hear her call the phone three times at 1 in the morning.  she woke adejay and told her to keep calling and she headed over to our house with sick boo.  boo had croup.  she was coughing and hardly breathing.  we gave her a breathing treatment and kept taking her outside.  then sophie left and i had her sleep on my chest while i sat up.  i didn't really sleep the rest of the night because i was listening to her breathing to make sure it didn't get worse.  she woke up again at 4:30 and we did the breathing treatment and went outside some more.  the moon sure was glorious...  anyway, she went back to sleep the same way.  at about 6:30 i finally zonked out with a krinked neck only to be woken  back up by starboy at 7.  so, i got him up and fed him and then gave boo another breathing treatment around 7:45.  it was a rough day on sunday, but we didn't do anything.  we had plans for a friend of otter pop's from work (and his wife) to come over for dinner and we completely forgot.  thankfully they called and asked we if could do it next week.  the rest of the kids came home around 2 and jones was coughing like crazy and sophie said he kept complaining about his ears.  i thought i'd take them all to the dr. the next day but boo slept soundly and jones seemed to be much better too.  both of them were complaining about their noses that weren't working (that's how they say they have either a runny nose or a stuffy nose).  but everyone seemed to be alright.  aleemay got up during the night and barfed, but begged to go to school saying she was fine now.  anyway, the girls got off to school and we didn't schedule any dr. appointments.  after lunch i needed to run and get groceries for the week.  i took starboy and aleemay and got my meat and dairy stuff and came back home.  then i headed to the second grocery store and was halfway there when i realized that i was about to die.  i had been feeling shakey and achey all morning, but i thought it was from the coffee.  i ate some food before i headed to the first store and it just wasn't helping.  it occured to me on the way to the second store that it was more than shakey and i felt like i had a fever.  when i felt my forehead i remembered my temperature was really high that morning...  and then it felt like i got hit with a ton of bricks, and my stomach started feeling woozy... so i turned around and went back home.  and laid down. 
otter pop took care of me and the kids and the house for the rest of the day.  when he laid down he said that he didn't feel well either.  we all had a pretty good night i kept fevering all night.  my temp was still up this morning and i still feel pretty shifty today.  i'm laying low.  we cleaned the house this morning because it looked like a tornado hit it.  i've got to get back up and make some lunch and clean the kitchen better... i think i'll pop a few more pills. 
starboy has a snotty nose, but he's ok.  aleemay and adejay seem to be fine.  aleemay has a small lingering cough. 
maybe i'll take another short nap.  pray for us. 

Try to remember, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

just soya know

i have written two blogs in the past week that got lost in cyber space when i was ALMOST finished writing them. 
we got a new computer that is hard to get used to and i accidentally push wrong buttons all the time on it.  so... that's that.  sorry about all the lost news.  here's one for the ladies... (and gentlemen.)
i'm excited about my dinner menu i just made with help via this site! 
tonight: angel hair and chicken pomodoro with ceasar salad and garlic toast.
tomorrow: biscuit bacon chicken casserole with crunchy zucchini sticks.
wednesday: crispy oven-baked pork chops with apple glazed carrots.
thursday: texas fried chicken and cheesy twice baked potatoes.
friday: crockpot chili alongside cornbread.
saturday: 2 main dishes = white pizza with chicken and basil.  and 1/2 pepperoni pizza 1/2 hawaiian pizza.  side of baked stuffed mushrooms.
and sunday we're inviting some guests over for: steak, ginger stir-fry broccoli, and baked potatoes, WITH carrabba's chocolate dream copycat.
now perhaps you can share in my excitement... 
here's a recap of those two lost blogs (of what i can remember)
the first one was filled with cute blurbs that i've been able to giggle about coming from my little tots (but mostly jones, he's a real kick in the pants!)  it was being finished off with a few books that i've read recently, or am reading.  i re-read the giver (my all time favorite) and shared the book with my eldest daughter.  then i checked out number the stars (by the same author: lois lowry), and flipped (a recent book-made-to-movie).  i'm reading charrolete's web with aleemay during quiet time.  i'm still working on the book by james dobson called bringing up girls and suggest raising a modern day knight for all those parents of boys out there.  another must read for EVERYONE that's ever been born is taking charge of your fertility by toni weschler.  reading level perfect for girls of all ages (although cycle savvy is more appropriate for girls ages 10-20), and boys age 17+.
the second lost saga was a better update of our family findings.  starboy's been walking.  he got another first haircut.  he cut his third tooth (upper left) on saturday.  he FINALLY said mamamamama.  he also said hot.  he has about five words now.  three of which are babble.  we're also working on signing with him.  he refuses to participate, but he'll say please on YOUR chest with a big smile.  so he gets it, but not quite.  bsu had a big shindig on saturday.  i took jones, aleemay, and adejay.  we had fun.  then otter pop, a friend, and i attended the game (in tailgate fashion) that evening.  i made three batches of cookies for the fun time and everyone raved over them.  adejay had her drama production on thursday.  it was cute.  it was a musical and her group did the worst out of all of them.  she said that the main guy knew his parts though, so i guess it was a bad case of stage fright.  i videoed it and took some pictures too.  we found a friend that has three kids the same age and genders of my bottom three.  we went over to her house and played on friday.  that was fun.  their oldest reminds me of orry's geniusity.  he was reading at age 2.  he doesn't like all the fun things that jones enjoys but they still get along fine.  (not as well as orry and jones, mind you.)  boo's little companion is a spit fire... the more they get used to each other the better they'll get along i'm sure.  and we'll have to keep a close eye on them.  and then the little guy and starboy are a good match too, mostly because of their family placement.  hm... i can't think of too much else. 
i need to post some new pictures, so maybe i'll get around to that some time soon.  we've been better at praying for you all.  especially little aye zee.  we're concerned about his bowels and digestive system, but are taking it all to the Lord in prayer.  --not much else really we can do, from here.
well, this has taken entirely way too long (with SEVERAL interupting breaks), so i'll close with a famous line:
a famous line.

Try to remember, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

monthly blog.

Current mood:aroused i've found that i like reading blogs in bullet-point style.  or lists.  so, i thought i'd give it a shot and see if i like writing 'em that way too.  here goes:
156.  the girls, aleemay and adejay, have gone through three weeks of school now. 
157.  they both are still REALLY enjoying it.  they both have made friends.
158.  i've been working really hard with my three at home, especially this past week.
159.  starboy is a walking baby.  he usually only gets 10 steps before falling down and speed crawling to his destination. 
160.  starboy got another haircut.  this time i buzzed him.  it was with the longest attachment but it still looks really short.  i think he looked cuter with it long, but it was growing down over his eyes.
161.  we had a group parent teacher conference with both adejay's teachers and aleemay's teacher this past week.  i like their school.
162.  my lover turned 37 yesterday.
163.  he didn't get any older...
164.  jones' maturing SO much with his older siblings gone each day.
165.  sophie's been on vacation since aug. 28th.  she comes home tomorrow. 
166.  i refused to let her dog stay at our house, so we've been going over there every day for the past almost month.  it's good to know that i CAN get out every single day.
167.  i'm gonna try and get out even when she comes back home.  i just won't neccesarily get out to her house... but maybe some other family (ie. aunt diane's, debbie's, reece's kelly's, etc.)
168.  we're having a family movie night as i type this.  last week we had a family dance fest.  i like this idea...  the dance fest ROCKED!
169.  i got 10 free photobooks this past month and i need to complete eight more within the next couple weeks.  i feel like maybe i don't take enough pictures for this to be feesible??? 
170.  i found two little tomatoes on my plants i got off craigslist several months ago.  i got four free starters.  two of them got killed by my kiddos. 
171.  our house still isn't 100% painted, but it sure looks nice.  my brother, i'll call "trent" came over and trimmed our shrubbery and that made it look 200% better!!!!!  thanks "trent"
172.  starboy has two teeth, that may be news to some.
173.  boo's hair is almost down to her butt.
174.  adejay wants a haircut.
175.  i don't think aleemay has really learned much in school yet, except socially... which makes me feel like a good homeschool teacher.  (especially since i only taught her for about three months last school year.  ---and they weren't the last months, they were the first ones... before starboy was born!)
176.  i had the B E S T keepers of the home meeting on monday.  i can't rave enough about it.
177.  i joined a bible study at out church.  we're doing an intense study on discipleship.  i signed up to be a disciple leader... and am praying for someone to disciple...
178.  we don't have couches and we really like it that way.  we hosted a big get together (with four families) and it was still fine.  this may go along with my anti-materialism tangent... but i am so happy that we can live without couches and live happily.  i don't feel like ANY of us feel like we're missing any furniture. 
179.  life is good.  i love my family.  i trust in God. 
180.  maybe that last one should have been three.  maybe i don't really like the bullet style to write as much.  good to know.
181.  oh yeah.  i haven't used shampoo or conditioner on my hair in almost a month.  neither has otter pop.  i'm pretty sure my hair is detoxed...
182.  i also stopped using chemical deoderant.  i'm pretty sure my armpits are also detoxed... but they stink.  but nobody seems to notice except me.  and i usually try to put some natural deoderant on before i leave the house.  otter pop never uses deoderant (natural or unnatural) and he hardly ever stinks.  only after hard labor if he hasn't showered in a day or so.
183.  high fructose corn syrup is in lots of things...  i read an article that made me never want to eat it or feed it to my kids EVER AGAIN.  however, i can't find this article online, so if you want info email me and i'll just brief you on it.  it is, in my opinion very ALARMING!
184.  this is about enough...  peace out.

Try to remember, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

adejay, in one million words (or less)

Current mood:hungry

one of adejay's teachers sent home this assignment for us parents:  describe your daughter in one million words, or less. 

adejay is probably the most unique young lady I know.  I realize we are all unique… but some are more unique than others.  adejay is one of those.  She is very empathetic, sensitive, and sweet, but at the same time she doesn’t care what others think of her.  She has a deep passion for living and yearns to do what is right.  She has four younger siblings and they all look up to her in everything she does.  Because of that, she has grown very mature and responsible.  She helps out SO MUCH at home.  Her siblings really adore her!  (so do her parents!)

adejay loves to sing, write music and poetry, horses and wolves, clothes and fashion, sports, action, competition, friendship and making friends, pleasing others, spending quality time with others, arts, crafts, reading, and her family.  She has a hard time with people who purposely do what is wrong… therefore she is quite judgmental. 

adejay is a very bright girl.  She has been home schooled for the past two years and was doing really well.  In those two years I think she developed much independence.  We didn’t dig into science as much as she would’ve liked, but she did really well in all her subjects.  She felt like she struggled in math, and therefore hated it, but I think by the end of our home schooling she gained some more confidence in her arithmetic.  Because of past experience in public school, adejay was anxious for school to start, kind of excited, and kind of nervous.  She expressed to us that she was going to focus 100% on school work, using her recess time for fitness building, and she just wasn’t going to worry about the social aspect.  She has been pleasantly surprised with the kindness that others are showing her at school. 

I love adejay’s style.  She is modest and rad!  I love adejay’s funk.  She is so fun to be around.  She really likes to talk.  Boy can that girl talk… and talk… and talk!  She likes to make other laugh.  She likes jokes and pranks.  She likes to compete and win.  I really like that.  J 

adejay lives in a family of seven individuals.  She is the firstborn in every aspect.  She is socially dominant, highly intellectual, and extremely conscientious; also she is less open to new ideas, and prone to perfectionism and people pleasing.  Her next sibling is six years younger than her.  Her youngest sibling is almost 11 years younger than her.  adejay has a special relationship with her nana (paternal grandma).  Every year, for the past eight years, they have gone on a special vacation after school.  Every January they start planning and getting excited.  Sometimes it shows in her school work that she’s not completely focused, but we’ve discussed the repercussion to that and hope that won’t be the case this next year. 

We’re excited that adejay was accepted into this school and look forward to working with you and her through this transition in her life.  We hope you enjoy her for the time that you get her… we’ll sure miss her around the house!

Try to remember, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

first day of school!!! first day of school!!!

Current mood:fabulous

the girls started school this past week.  it has been so different, but we all love it!  aleemay is in the morning kindergarden class.  "aige", her lifelong friend (up to this point) was also placed in the same class...  she just LOVES it.  as she got off the bus the first day, she turned to her daddy and asked, "can i go again tomorrow?!"  she has met lots of new people.  it's disheartening some of the "naughty" stories she sees.  we were talking to her about her behavior when otter pop reminded her to stay away from the naughty boys.  she looked at him in all seriousness and said, "oh no daddy.  jones stays home.  he's not old enough to go to school yet!"  we couldn't contain our laughter.  aleemay really is a good little unit.  one morning, not too long ago, she came in my bedroom while i was doing my devotions to tattle on adejay for doing something like throwing something at her (i don't remember specifically what it was).  i was distracted and annoyed because i really don't like the kids to tattle on eachother.  ---we've been working on them talking through their conflict and handling it safely on their own by using WISE choices--- anyway, i told her, why don't you go throw it back at her (in my sarcastic and distracted way).  she said, no mom.  and i asked, well why not?  and she replied, "because two wrongs don't make a right."  i had to stop what i was doing to tell her what a wise choice that was and give her a big hug and kiss.  what a gal!
adejay really loves school too.  she has had some pretty bad experiences in public school and was mostly anxious with a little excitement and a little fear in regards to going back to public school.  she's grown up a TON since she was last in the school setting though.  she's learned a lot and i think it's been really good for her to be taken out of such a social setting for the past few years.  anyway she tried out for choir and show-choir.  (i think show choir might be something like a broadway musical class???).  we were really bummed when she didn't make either of them.  she had a good outlook on it though.  1st of all they just told her they didn't have enough spots for her, which she understood  but 2nd she later that day found out that those that were in either of the choir classes weren't able to take art class.  so she ended up being really happy that she didn't make it because she loves art!  she's been coming home each day with happy stories to tell and it's been fun to chat with her each evening about the day.  both girls will talk and talk and talk about what happened in their days.  i like that.  i hope they don't sink into the "nothing" mode when asked about their day...  it's a delight to see their love of school!  adejay has been internally struggling about her popularity at this new school.  she made the switch at a very good time seeming that 6th graders make moves to new schools in every school in our district.  6th grade moves up to middle school so there are LOTS of new kids in her class.  she's baffled at how many of the know her name and want to be her friend when she's never met them and stuff.  anyway, she keeps coming home and telling me that she's trying to make good choices and do what's right but all these kids know her name and she's afraid she's going to turn out popular and what do i think...  it's so funny.  i had to remind her that being popular isn't always a bad thing.  (in all of her previous schools the popular girls have always been so mean to her.)  being popular just means that lots of people know who you are.  there's really nothing you can do about being popular other than being yourself and letting your character speak for itself.  i love that girl.  she's something else!!!!!
jones' doing well at home.  we haven't started a school routine for him yet because we're still just trying to iron out the kinks of this new schedule and stuff.  there already has been less fighting (of course) and it just is nice to have 3 at home to myself each morning.  when aleemay gets home at 12:30ish i have her sit down and eat lunch with starboy and myself while jones and boo start in on their quiet times.  it's been halfway successfull.  after our lunch i put starboy down and try to sit and read with aleemay (and jones if he'll be quiet).  after quiet time i usually let them have some play time while i try and get dinner started.  by the time adejay comes home we have a peacefull and playfull house that she can sit and do homework to. 
starboy cut his two bottom teeth this last month.  he took a few steps the day before yesterday.  he is so fun and playful, but such a homebody.  he doesn't like strangers at all!  he says dada and papa and dog.  he loves to wave and mimic hand motions.  he LOVES to give high fives.  he screams a lot...
there is probably so much more to report but i'm going to cut it off here.  this is enough to chew on until next time. 

Try to remember, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."