what's this "mother's day" thing???

i wonder why God didn't liken himself to a mom... aren't they like the best things ever???  that's just my thought today on mother's day.
i have, hands down, the absolute best and perfect mother for me in whole entire universe.  hands all the way down.  no contest. 
let me tell you 30 reasons (for each year of my life) why she's the best:

1. she's patient
2. she's kind
3. she does not boast
4. she is not self-seeking
5. she is not easily angered
6. she is truthful
7. she always protects
8. she always perseveres
9. she always loves
10. she's a nurse
11. she loves my dad
12. she loves my kids
13. she's full of help
14. she's my biggest cheerleader
15. she believes in me
16. she has great faith in the one true God
17. she's the best prayer warrior... she really prays without ceasing
18. she's athletic
19. she pushed out 4 wonderful babies and raised them with my father
20. she never gave up on marriage
21. she's optimistic
22. she's stubborn
23. she's a good role model
24. she's really encouraging
25. she's a great cook and baker
26. she is a nice grandmommy
27. she loves babies.  she's a baby-hog.
28. she's healthy
29. she always knows the right thing to say
30. she knows how to pinch a penny!

something else:  HER mother!  my granny is so wonderful and great.  i could almost duplicate the list above for my granny.  my mom definately IS her mother's daughter!!!  my granny is not a nurse though.  instead she is a great wife and mother as her career.  my papa, her husband, died at an early age and my granny's self-sufficient nature blossomed as she became a widow.  she was forced to be independant and strong even though it seemed like the odds were stacked against her.  papa was a business-owner.  granny was his right-hand man.  together they ran their store like a well oiled machine.  after he passed, she didn't have his income, but since she's so practically minded, i don't think she had too hard of a time making things last, wasting not and wanting not.  she's great like that!  the other unique strong characteristic of granny is her competitive nature.  she, like my mom, is another biggest cheerleader.  she wants, more than anything, for her children and grandchildren, and great-grandchildren to WIN (unless she's playing a game against them, that is)!  and boy does she like to play a game!!!  any game!!!  her favorites are card games (like pineochle) and word games (like scrabble). 

i can't put into words how extremely grateful i am to have these two women as mom-models for me.  i can't even begin to express how thankful i am that i have both of them in my life right now.  what is this "mother's day" thing???  it's a day to express this sort of gratitude.  to reflect on the mothers in your life.  to take a little time to tell them "thank you".  so go ahead... give a little shout out!


Don't "like" me on facebook... you can't find me there.
Try to remember, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

things that i teach and/or say to my kids

1. there'll be days like this
2. flush and wash
3. do it the first time you're asked, the right way, with a happy heart
4. yes ma'am
5. listen for my voice
6. no fighting, no biting
7. if you wanna live here, you need to learn how to follow the rules.
8. get along
9. tv rotts the brain
10. do unto others as you would have them do unto you
11. outside excercise is great medicine
12. laughter is the best medicine
13. hugs, not drugs!
14. pop/soda rotts your teeth
15. your mouth bacteria eats sugar and poops acid
16. choose to do what's right (even when it's hard)
17. protect and respect
18. serve others
19. others first, self last
20. ladies first... ALWAYS
21. jesus, others, then you
22. i love you
23. don't drink the butt-water
24. don't leave for later what can be done now
25. be responsible:  don't leave something for someone else to do
26. be respectful.  always.  to everone. 
27. honor others.
28. don't shake the baby!
29. do what jesus would want you to do
30. life is like a box of chocolates

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

car seats, can't fit 'em all in... can't throw 'em to the curb...

so, i just randomly decided that surely someone has thought of a solution to fit three car seats in a vehicle... since, in our state at least, kids have to use a car seat up until the age of 7 and/or EIGHTY POUNDS.  (we go with the age 7 part because well, it's there.  i think it's actually like the forward facing rule where the child needs to be at least age 7 but also a minimum of 80 pounds...  that's never been spelled out for me though and they change the laws on these things every other year, so i feel law-abiding enough that i know at least part of the law.  with a law of such length (7 years is a LONG time to sit in a car seat -or booster), i'm sure that lots of families struggle with the issue of fitting 3 car seats in their vehicle.  i mean, i know great big SUVs used to be the craze, but gas prices are almost to $4/gallon... people are changing their ways!  it's not ridiculous to have three kids under the age of 7!!!  minivans are nice, but they aren't wide enough to fit three car seats in without either breaking your arm trying to buckle them in, or breaking the seats trying to smash them close enough together!
anyway, all that rambling to say that i did indeed find a car seat solution.  it's called the "Sunshine Kids RadianXTSL Convertible Car Seat" and it claims to fit up to three of these even in a 4-door sedan.  wow eh?  so, i went to search out the cost and the practicality of purchasing new car seats JUST to make more room. 
apparently they're supposed to retail at $289.  so... that's completely impractical.  however, they are on sale on a couple different websites, down to $89.  that's also rather impractical just for some room, but when comparing it to the previous three digit number it looks appetizing.  but, of course both of the sites that have it "on sale" are out of stock! 
(i roll my eyes at this)
whatever!

in other news.  boo said "r" yesterday.  that's exciting.  now we just have to practice switching all the words with "r" in them to what they should really sound like instead of what they willy do sound like currently. 


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

monday menu #9 for 2012

it's funny that this is my NINETH  menu of the year... the first week of MAY!  but that's what happens when you're due to have a baby the 10th/11th week of the year!  as my last gratituesday post explained, the past 6 weeks have been taken care of with people's generosity and frozen prepared meals that i thoughtfully stocked our freezer with. 
anyway, so for the 9th menu of the year:

• hawaiian chicken sandwiches (the ones with chicken patties, pineapple slices, and swiss cheese.)
• breaded pork chops (those good ones that i found, made, and now they've been taken off that website for some reason.  all i remember was egg, buttermilk, italian bread crumbs...), with this great invention i heard of called green bean fries (you dip fresh green beans in egg and bread crumbs and then bake them).
• cheeseburgers, baked beans, corn, and french fries.
• tacos
• crockpot italian chicken over bow tie pasta and broccoli
• sour cream noodle bake (i think this is the recipe a great gal brought our family for dinner.  totally delish!  the kids ALL loved it!!!!!)

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

gratituesday : frozen meals

well tonight i finally made a meal for my family... from scratch... for the first time (i'm pretty sure) since buttercup was born.  oh my holy giminy moses!  i am SO SO SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO thankful for the friends and family and strangers that brought us meals!!!!  and i am also so very thankful that i was smart enough to fill our freezer with meals for me to pull out and make with one swift movement. 
i can't tell you how frustrating it was for me to make dinner with a baby that seems like all of a sudden needs held ---because it's dinner-makin' time.  and that same baby also will need fed right when there's 3 things boiling on the stove and a beeper beeping because the bread's ready to come out of the oven. 
freezer meals are so wonderful!  so are friends that bring meals.  THANK YOU SOOOOOOO MUCH if you were a dear friend that did that!!!  and thank you Lord, for helping me plan ahead. 
now though the freezer's empty and i need to have the strategy of a supermom.  please pray for me in the days ahead that i might perform miracles and make dinner nightly like i used to.

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

5 weeks

today sweet buttercup is 5 weeks old.  she's also a month and 4 days old.  she's also very cute and sweet. 
[insert 5 week pic here]
but she's not the only one in my life!

wolfie started martial arts at the beginning of this month.  she has karate on monday and wednesday from 7-8.  she's doing extreme martial arts (xma) on tuesday and thursday, which is like a jackie chan type of gymnastic/martial arts form from 5-6.  on friday she's learning some other gymnastic type of funness and a weapon's class (2.5 hours of 3 classes: 4:30-7).  on saturday she has a class of self defense called krav maga from 10-11.  all these are helping her get into shape, but also teaching her some good self discipline and respect.  next month (i think) she's going to narrow down her classes to one or two of the arts to pursue. 

binkins lost another tooth.  she's reading like a pro and is super excited to dig into chapter books finally.  she LOVES to hold her sister and help out in any other way, especially if it means not doing what she's supposed to be doing. 

jones was the little red hen in his kindergarten visual arts performance.  it was really cute.  unfortunately i didn't get any good pictures, but i was there, so i'll just testify to its cuteness!  he's reading early reader books and unlike his two big sisters, doesn't get frustrated with it.  he's great!!!  also jones started t-ball the week before buttercup was born.  it's a hoot to watch 4-6 year-olds learn the sport.  they all clock out almost simultaneously after about 30 or 45 minutes.  but he's learning and they're improving. 

boo has cut naps out of her day now for sure.  she needs quiet time but doesn't do very well at it either.  she has started sleeping in 'till about 8:30ish, but she doesn't go to bed early either... i don't think it's really that healthy, but i can't force the girl to sleep!

starboy loves being a big brother.  he likes to boss his baby around, but he also absolutely LOVES to kiss and pet her.  all the kids really like to hold buttercup.  starboy is going through a rough phase and we're adjusting our training methods with him.  he's a good, sweet boy, but he's learned quite a bit of stubborn naughtiness somewhere (i can't imagine where though!)
[insert pop and i pic here]
otter pop and i have little bit been looking for a home to buy.  it may be 6 months up to 18 month until we get one, but it doesn't hurt to look around and see what's out there. 

i'm still really juggling around the mom duties and staying sane, but it's getting better each week.  all the running around is new and crazy and i certainly don't love it, but i do it and then we scrounge for dinner each night because that's what i SHOULD be doing... 
[insert dinner pic here]
so, on to that... dinner... because that is what i should be doing right now!

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

4 weeks post partum and 4 weeks old

Total weight gain: i  weighed myself at my mother-in-law’s house last week and I was down to my approximate pre-pregnancy weight.  that would be about 20-30 lbs over what i should be as a normal healthy 30-y-o woman .

Maternity clothes:  currently I’m finding myself in between maternity clothes and regular garb.  I haven’t changed out my wardrobe yet, so I’m still sporting around my summer maternity ware happily because I don’t get to wear it much and it doesn’t look that bad on me right now.  I think this next week I’ll do a switcheroo of my closet though because my summer maternity ware isn’t very voluptuous.   

Stretch marks:  they sure look funny now that they’re not all stretched out.  My belly is at a very jiggly stage.   I am planning on loosing approximately 20-30 pounds and wonder what it’ll look like then!!!    

Sleep:  i sure love to sleep on my back and all stretched out again!  Oh… it feels glorious!  I can sleep however I want and it is so comfortable!  I sleep from about 10pm until about 3-4-5am each night interrupted.  At about 3-4-5am I have a little whimper wake me and I gladly wake right up and feed the whimperer.      
Best moment this week:  I got my birth pictures back (via a slide show).  It was so amazing to watch the show and reminisce the birth of sweet princess buttercup.  Otter pop and I have watched it several times almost every night since we got it.  Wow.  What a great way to preserve such a miracle memory!!!!

Miss anything:  I miss my moving belly.  I love having the baby on the outside of me, but I love being pregnant and I already miss that big kicking squirming belly to rest my bowl on.  J
Movement:  the only movements I get nowadays are bowel movements.  And they’re rather regular. 
Food craving:  wow.  YES!  Peanut butter!  Peanut butter and graham crackers to be specific, but peanut butter on waffles will work, as will peanut butter and jelly sandwiches…  It’s really rather weird.  I’ve never liked peanut butter.  But I do now, and I think I might have to give it up!

Anything making you queasy or sick:  nothing abnormal.
Gender: female.
Labor Signs:  nothing.  Well, I am bleeding a little still.  But just barely and I don’t think that’s a labor sign anyway. 

Symptoms:  no more heartburn, no contractions every day (or any day), no large and heavy pregnant belly, no sore back from the large and heavy belly, no cervix pain with (or without) the contractions, no energy loss, no butt-hook, no shortness of breath, and no complete lack of motivation almost all of the time (or any of the time), no swollen ankles and feet...  nothin' worth complaining about.  In fact, nothin’ at all!!!
Belly Button in or out?  in
Wedding rings on or off? on.  Happy or Moody most of the time:  happy, but with twinges of unexpected and unpredictable grumps throughout each day.  This is one thing that HASN’T changed in the past two months.  L 
Looking forward to:  the journey of mothering 6 fine children!  So far it’s been great!

My biggest adjustment has been managing my time.  Since I was diagnosed with major butt-hook for the last 2 (at least) months of my pregnancy –getting worse and worse as the days went by--- I’m not having a hard time sitting down to nurse my babe every 4 hours.  In fact that’s been the easiest thing to do.  The thing I’ve had a hard time doing is anything else.  I just have still been in the butt-hook groove of sitting and cuddling and hanging out with my wee ones on the couch.  That is, until about a week and a half ago when I realized what kind of slump I was in and started working on it.  Now I’m trying to find the happy medium where I’m productive with the time that I’m not boob-hooked and where I don’t get so wrapped up in getting all this stuff done that I haven’t been able to do for months and realize I have several little ones around me needing guidance, training, and lovins.  And then to beat that over the head for me, the weather has also warmed up (greatly… as in the 80s) and the outside work is now calling my name too… and the outside play.  So, I’m trying to write up a list of things to-do each day and get them done AND get some play time in as well.  It just doesn’t seem like there are enough hours in my day…  crazy how things can turn around in just a month’s time.

So now onto the 4-week-old part of this post:

Buttercup lost the top part of her hair this past week.  It, literally, came out in the wash.  I was giving her a bath and swiped the washcloth over her head to wash her hair and off swiped the hair instead of whatever it was I could clean out of it (as if it even NEEDED cleaning!!!!)  I was so sad –and shocked!  I just wanted to un-swipe it back on.  Seriously.  L

Buttercup has really started sleeping even better at night and then waking up with some major happy face.  It’s so adorable.  We all love to gawk at her smilin’ face and smile back and giggle at her.  She’s a doll!  The past few nights she’s stretched her 6 hours out to 8 and even 9…  it’s nice of her and I appreciate it. 

We had  a baby shower this past week.  It was given to me by a dear friend who I love so much.  It was the most fun party I’ve ever gone to and it was great that I knew everyone there!!!  I love parties like that… they’re never like that though.  But this one was.  It was great also because we didn’t sit around pretending like we’re ladies and such… we all got to make sweet buttercup some onesies.  You heard me right.  We made onesies at a baby shower!  I tell you, this party-throwin’ lady is AWESOME!  Anyway I left feeling totally blessed and loved… and then the next morning it hadn’t warn off.  I just had a great big smile and a happy warm and fuzzy feeling inside of me.  It was great.

buttercup is nice and alert.  she likes to have her "awake" time although she's still sleeping for the majority of the day.  she has beautiful big, alert eyes that are starting to focus in on objects.  it's cute.  she knows who i am and finds me when i'm close enough for her to see.  i like that. 

i have had to start using two wipes on a few of buttercup's diapers... so that says a little something about her growth.  right?

And then last, but certainly not least, as buttercup hit her 4^th week birthiversary she (and we) welcomed a new member into our family: Buttercup’s little cousin was born!!!!  Yeah for cousins being born!!!  It was a special delivery 4 weeks after buttercup and nearly identical ---well, very similar I guess--- birth stats.  It’s great to see pictures of a ‘nother newborn weighing almost the same and measuring out almost the same as my not-so-newborn (comparatively at least).  We’ve seen pictures, but even better, we (buttercup, otter pop, and i) get to meet her in person in a few days.  ---I know this because I’m writing this post as we drive to see her… I just am going to post it when I should have -2 days ago.  So, I’ll make sure and get pictures galore of the two sweet cousins together.  How exciting!!!

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