lots of thoughts in my head

there are lots of different ways to educate your young ones.  public, private, home, and unschooled are the popular choices in america.  -not necessarily in that order.  we have the choice of which we will educate our children.
i want to point out though, that they are just that --a choice.  they are DIFFERENT.  you may think that one choice may be better than another choice... and that's one thing that helps in our decision making.  however, please don't teach your kids that they are better than other kids because of that choice you make.  please don't teach your kids that they are smarter than other kids whose parents choose a different education option.  also, please don't think that because of your choice that you are a better parent than parents that choose a different option.
i am part of a group of ladies that gather together for encouragement in godly womanhood.  we study and glean from God's word.  a large majority of women in this group choose to home school their children.  sometimes i get the feeling that they think they are better women and/or better moms because of this.  sometimes i get the feeling that others that choose something different than homeschooling are lazy, uncaring parents.  just because i get these feelings, do i believe this?  well, a part of me believes that they do feel so empowered by controlling every choice their child makes, that they are the most caring parents out there.  a part of me believes that this control they have, makes them feel "higher" than other parents. 
i understand the different decisions though.  i truly believe that every decision has positives and negatives to it. 
i don't like to hear kids say things like, "i know this, that, and the other... 'cause i'm home schooled."  i don't like to hear, "you're weird, 'cause you're home schooled!" either.  i hate the saying, "well, you'll have to excuse my stupidity, i went to public school." 
the truth is, there are lots of different education choices just like there are lots of different learning styles.  some things that work for some people, don't work for others.  God made us all unique.  we are ALL different from each other! 

i have had an emotional last couple weeks.  maybe month.  my children's education spurs a lot of this emotion.  i'm posting this post to no one in particular and everyone, all at the same time.  please think about how your words influence your children's thoughts.  sometimes we, as adults, say something in jest --sarcastically.  our children hear those things and don't understand the humor.  a wise young lady once told me, "in every dose of sarcasm, there's 90% truth, with 10% smile trying to cover it up..."

"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." 1 Cor. 10:31

FIRE

i had another fire accident.  would you like to hear about it?  well, read on my dear friend...

yesterday was a FULL day!  we had one thing after another after another and then packed with several on top of each other to end it off. 

jones' last t-ball game was from 5:30ish to 7:30ish.  wolfie had martial arts at 7 to 8.  middle school mayhem (a big end-of-the-year party) was also yesterday from after school until 5:30.m  i also had to make and serve dinner somewhere in there... before the sports because there's NO WAY these kids of mine could wait 'till after 8 to eat!  plus, 8:00 is bed time.  it was a school night. 

so, here's how i had it planned.  i would make dinner and have it ready by 5.  serve it to the littles at 5, jump in the car at 5:20 with a plate of dinner for wolfie.  we'd fly to drop off wolfie (early) and make it to jones' warm up for his game.  aren't i good?!  see... i'm getting the hang of it!!!

anyway, i turned on the oven to 425 to preheat while i whipped up the meal (mexican lasagna).  i had the skillet on top of the stove top, which isn't normal, but it was a clear work space, so i used it.  as i was whipping, i noticed the smoke coming from the oven, and i cursed at myself for not cleaning up that mess in there... AGAIN!  it's been smoking gross smelling aroma for the past two months it seems!!!  i kept working and it kept getting more extreme.  so i glanced down at the window and saw some flames...
oh crap!  so i opend it to see how bad they were... or something.  i'm not sure why i opened the door.  to see if they were real???  and they got higher.  so i shut it.  and i told the kids there was a fire in the kitchen. 
binkins went around and opened all the windows/doors and rallied the little ones.
i opened up the other doors and windows.
jones continued to fight with his shoe.  he was trying to get his cleats on. 
i tried to decide what i should do.  if i open the door again, the flames will be fed more oxygen.  if i don't take care of it, it might just ruin the oven.  what other options do i have???
so i flipped on the fan for the _____ (loss of word) option and then opened the door.  woops.  lots of smoke.  bigger flames now.  i turned around to see what the kids were doing in binkins "rally the little ones" emergency evacuation.  binkins, boo, and starboy were all gathered together in the middle of the living room with their fingers in their ears.  totally ready for what they knew was next.  (yes, it's embarrassing that they know what's to come -fire alarm- when mom starts a fire!)
i told binkins to take them all outside instead. 
jones continued to fight with his cleats.
the smoke started to get really bad.  it was getting heavy in the kitchen.  that's when i noticed my sweet sleeping babe in her bouncer on the counter.  so, i picked her up and placed the bouncer outside too and told binkins that she was gonna have to watch her for a bit.  no opposition there!!!
then i rushed back inside.  i knew i could figure out what to do.  even though every decision thus far was stupid... i'm not stupid!
so i got the fire extinguisher.  and i blew out the fire with it. 
and then jones came up to me with his shoe and asked me to untie the knot.  it was just too tight for him.
and we all lived happily ever after.  except wolfie didn't go to martial arts.  and nobody attended jones' game except for buttercup and me.  and then the aftermath of the game... well, that'll have to wait for another post!

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

my backside

boy i am BEHIND this week in my blog posts.  let me tell you why.  in bullet format.  because that's my favorite way.

• the boys got sick last thursday night.  all night.  midnight on.  all over.  the good part: they conveniently waited a laundry cycle before getting sick again each time.  starboy ended up sleeping in the bathtub because he just really couldn't understand the leaning into a bucket or running to the toilet thing.  unfortunately i'm just not as quick as i used to be, so after three beds made it to the wash i became a brilliant thinker with the bathtub.  the plus to my brilliance? it was closer to our room, so i was quicker to get there, and it was closer to the toilet, so i didn't have to run him as far.  bonus points for brilliance? no.  none.
• i had a retreat up in the mountains with a bunch of wonderful God-loving women who deeply desire to draw closer to Him and His plan for their lives.  friday night through sunday.  it was awesome.  i felt horrible leaving sickies at home, but was reassured by my husband that EVERYTHING would be just fine.  which they were.  the boys didn't have any more sickness that had to be cleaned up.  boo threw up saturday night.  i came back sunday.  it was just fine.  just like he said it would be.
• we celebrated adejay's 13th birthday on the 13th with a great big (a little too big) ice cream cake from dairy queen (reece's blizzard flavored).  it's weird that we have a TEENager!
• aleemay was sick and had to stay home from school on monday.  :(  starboy also started showing signs that he wasn't all the way over the sickness... or he caught something else.  he had a horrible cough...
• while getting up every two hours with starboy monday night to take him on a drive to let the cool air cool his croup cough, i started feeling sick.  i wasn't sure if it was lack of sleep or what... until the 1:00 drive ended and i up-chucked all of my innards.  the upchucking didn't really stop until about 6am... and then they started chucking out the other end.  i called the dr. because i was pretty sure i was going to up-chuck my baby too.  she reassured me that all was ok as long as i keep trying to keep liquids down.  so i started drinking as much as i could.  even though it was all coming out simultaneously.  at about 4pm i felt strong enough to walk from one side of the house to the other and then back.  but that wiped me out, so i didn't try it again until about 8pm.  it was a really rough day.  to make it worse...
• otter pop and adejay were also sick.  they both felt awful (just as awful as me, i presume), but otter pop didn't throw up at all (just felt like it) and adejay only threw up once... so i left them out in the living room to "supervise" the others.  (the littler ones).  aleemay didn't feel horrible, but i didn't mind letting her stay home again with the condition of the rest of us.  boo didn't complain about being sick... she just enjoyed the endless movie selection and the endless choice of cuddle buddies.  and then starboy.  poor starboy.  he is just really struggling in feeling well.  just miserable.  still lots of diarrhea and achy body and fevers on and off.  he was a great little sicko to be sick with.  he cuddled and slept closest to me a good part of the day.  so who's left?  well jones.  he wasn't feeling a bit sick.  he felt just fine.  however, i couldn't let him go to school since i knew there was no way over the moon that i (or anyone) could pick him up... and since leaving your child in care of a school all day is ok in some states... i just couldn't do it.  so he stayed home and complained of no breakfast, lunch, or dinner... all day long.  :(  i think he found some apples to chew on.  maybe some carrots too.  i dug out a kiwi for him once.  and he said something about cheese sticks and pepperoni.  ...actually i'm only being a little sarcastic.  it's all true.  but at about 3 (ish), otter pop asked me what was for lunch too.  and then had the audacity to suggest tortilla soup.  thankfully i had some in the freezer.  so not only did i pull through in great-wifing, but also got an award for the best sick mom ever because they (whoever "they" were that ate it) actually got dinner!  --i just didn't get up for any of it.--
• wednesday at 3am i woke up and felt like normal human again.  and everyone else must've too because everyone went to school and work.  !!!!!  however, i missed my wednesday hair post because i was so busy disinfecting the house and doing load after load after load after load after load after load of laundry! (and you could double that sentence.)
• so, today, thursday, i am finally caught up.  i even made a grocery list and meal plan for the next week and a little bit.  i bought the meat-portion of the groceries already too.  i had to take a quick (hopefully quick) little break so that the little ones could rest their weary heads... so here is my quick break to type this little diddy up.  we're not really all well.  jones in next to me coughing his head off and starboy
• i'll try and get a gratituesday post off for you all to endure too.  i also have a hair post to catch up with... when i get a round tuit.

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

saturday adejay artday 2

this isn't really supposed to be a once/month post, but since i lost my camera, i couldn't take a picture of her selected artwork for the past month.  and then i'll apologize ahead of time for the quality of this picture.  it's the rough draft, kinda.  she drew another that was not on lined paper and a lot larger and better... but her name was grafted at the bottom, so i suggested we just use this one.
anyway here is her this week's piece:

the return of the sun (9/28/11)

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

what is going on?!

so what's the deal?  am i a blogger, or just a wanna-be??? 
here's the deal.  i'm busy, ok.  busy doing what?  well... things i guess.

• i started watching 3 kiddos in the afternoons.  it's supposed to be mon-wed.  i have a 1,2,3,4,5,and 6 year old in the house from about 11:45 to about 4:30.  and from 4-whenever they get picked up, i add another 6 year old and a 12 year old.  busy?  it's alright.
• i started a new bible study last week and it rocks.  i love it!  i'd invite each and every one of you to come with me... if i knew you.  or if you were in the area.  i guess if you fit that criteria, get a hold of me so the invitation can be a bit more personal!
• starboy is pretty much 100% day-time potty trained.  he wears a diaper still at nap and at bed.  he communicates well when he needs to go and i haven't taken him.  hard work?  yes.  busy?  it's worth it!
• with jones in school, the district took out mid-day bus trips.  i have to go get him every day at about noon.  it's a huge change for me to get out of the house every single day.  HUGE.  i don't love it, but i love getting him home... so it's a wash.
• also, with three out of five kids going to school in the morning, i get to get up and ready and walk with them to the bus stop each morning.  if i'm feeling hefty, and the company is right, i extend my walk and get some exercise too.  it's been lovely.  i really enjoy it!  so do the little ones!!!
• i found my camera.  it was right where i left it... just back a little further.  buried a little.
• um... what else.  that doesn't seem like much.  oh yeah... i'm cooking a little baby.  that's hard work! 
• and on that note... i changed my wardrobe and broke out the maternity bag.  as i got dressed this morning, otter pop questioned, "what're you doing today?!"  ... uh, i guess i was pretty much wearing you-must-be-staying-at-home-all-day clothes...  oops.  (because i wasn't)
• my heart monitor caught an episode and reported it to the cardiologist.  *click the heart monter link to see what that's all about, or the an episode link to see my heart history story.*  they put me on a medication yesterday that is supposed to lower my heart rate and strengthen the pumps.  apparently, from what the nurse said, i had been having rapid heart races... i only had one episode... so perhaps the heart is having a hard time keeping rhythm.  (i always knew i wasn't made to dance)
• i've learned a few new recipes to try.  and have tried.
• i've thought of a million posts to update you all about... and forgotten most of them.

i'm really sorry.  i'll try really hard to be better about AT LEAST posting my weekly non-updating posts... (menu, gratitude, hair, food, and now that i have my camera back: adejay's art)  stay tuned.
Try to remember, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." 

monday menu -- leftovers all week long!

ok, so not really...  but kinda.  i'm not going grocery shopping and i don't have any roll-overs from last week.  i do have 2 things in the fridge that might last two meals, but we're gonna empty shelves (in the pantry AND the freezer) this week.  let's see what i can come up with.
well, how about I'LL see what i can come up with and YOU tell me what's on YOUR menu this week?!  that should be fun. 
who has a menu to share???  there's some great ideas over at my favorite meal-stealing-idea-site if you need help.  just share here too!  i'd like to freshen up with some new ideas in the upcoming weeks.

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

SICK!

well, here's what i get for not teaching my kids good hygiene.  jones brought home a small bug at the end of last week.  a small bug turned into a raunchy cold for EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US!  it's "just" sniffles/congestion, sneezing, coughing, achy body cold.  we were all sick yesterday.  sunday was the beginning. 
otter pop had to go to work this morning and all three kids wanted to go to school.  that's such a hard decision for me because i really want to stress to them the importance of education.  however, i really feel bad if they're the ones spreading germs to the other kids!  most of my kids are asthmatic and their colds last longer and harder than the average joe. 
adejay was tested for allergies when she was about 5. 

age 6

she tested positive for every single thing they tried in her and by extreme amounts, so she started getting shots.  it only took a year or so to see the improvement in her health.  before the shots she was missing school at least once/month.  after about a year of being on the shots and since (~7 years), she has maybe missed 3 days total for illness!
aleemay doesn't have allergies and has average health.  she gets sick easily, but can kick it in a normal time period.  she has asthma, but not as bad as the next two.  she missed one day of school last year because she was sick.
jones has asthma and i'd bet has allergies too, but when he was tested he came out negative.  i'm wanting to get him tested again, but am not really sure how to go about telling the first guy he didn't do it right...  he shows pretty much every symptom for allergies, so i don't know how he COULDN'T have them.  but anyway, he gets sick anytime he's near someone that might be sick or was sick or knows someone that's sick. 

age 2.5

and it knocks him out for at least three nights and makes him pretty miserable for three days too.  his cough will linger for about three more nights too.
poor sweet boo wasn't born premature.  now, that's not what makes her poor or sweet though.  she was born at 39 weeks at a whooping 9 pounds 5 ounces.  so if anything, that makes ME poor and sweet... what makes HER poor sweet is that not even a month into life she caught RSV and was in the neo-natal ICU. 

she only had to stay there a day/night because even though she's poor and sweet, she's a durn good fighter!  she spent another several days in the pediatric ward being their most precious and darling patient. 

a few months later (i'd have to get out the calendar/records to be certain), she caught it (RSV) again.  she stayed in the hospital for another nice stay while she got over it.  i believe she's been admitted at least one other time... but between her and jones, i'd like to think the nurses all know us well!  (they don't... but i'd like to think they do.  the doctors sure do!)
now we've got the starboy to talk about.  he has eczema real bad... but i'm about 95% certain that he has healthy lungs and airways.  he hasn't shown any signs of asthma in his almost 2 years of life!  (and trust me, if they have asthma... you should probably know by the time they turn 2!)  so, that's exciting.  i thought that maybe he slipped by this cold we have too, but when he woke up this morning his little nose was a snifflin'! 
otter pop has had asthma and i would bet allergies his whole life.  he's fairly healthy, but catches things quite easily.  he gets sinus infections super easily and really bad!  he's at work today because that's what he does... poor guy!
i was a healthy kid.  after elementary school i don't think i missed hardly any days for sickness, and probably only 1-2/year in elementary.  but once i got into this family, i'm not going to say that i'm even fairly healthy.  i get most of the bugs that everyone else gets.  i can usually get over it relatively fast... but it's so hard to not get sick.  we're a sharing family.  we share pretty much everything.  i know it's not a good habit, but it's who we are. 

so there's our family health report.  please pray for us ALL to kick this cold's butt!  please keep us in your thoughts.  AND... if you have a spare minute, you're welcome to come on over and clean up a square foot or two.  :D 

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

lame blogging since the break

i have been on a real lull with my blogging lately.  in a recent post, i explained that we were going on a little vacation and would be breaking for that.  well, we're back now (got back last friday), but we've been gearing up for school to start next week and have been souring our house because we've had such a 'lax summer. 
so, that's my excuse, not that i need one.
another excuse, not that i need two, is that i've been nurturing my baby in uterus quite a bit more than my computer time.  yes, that means that i'm pregnant.
:D
baby 6 is due around the middle of march in 2012. 
God has given us another little one.  He is good and His blessings never cease to amaze me.  He is faithful and i am so thankful for that!
jones, aleemay, and i think that it'll be a boy.  boo wants a girl.  the rest are undecided that i know of.  that's kinda a fun game that we haven't participated much in previously.  we have a great pattern going though (girl, boy -miscarried, girl, boy, girl, boy) so you can't ignore that fact...

anyway, i have several food posts piling up, because that seems to be what i think about most.  :)  you can skip on over to a new blog i created with my gramma's handwritten recipes if you wish.  she was an amazing baker and cook too! 


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