The Holiday

Well, in spite of everything, I'd say we had a great holiday. We had a freak storm here Christmas eve. Mom and Pam left work at 6pm (an hour early) to try to get home. At 10pm they finally made it to Weatherford from Fort worth(30 miles) and Brian and I called and got them a hotel. They finally made it home around 3ish Christmas day. Brian was supposed to go get labs and a neupogen shot Christmas eve, but we didnt get out on the icy roads. I had been giving the shots at home, but we were out. Christmas eve was a simple stew made with whatever I had on hand. I threw lots of veggies in it, including zucchini and cauliflower and I made mashed potatoes instead and homemade bread. It was a nice simple meal.

As tradition, the kids go to mom and dads Christmas eve. Zachy was vomiting but he went anyway and dad said Tony started during the night. Angie and Emi got sick Christmas day. Brian, Aiden and I have been so far spared. So, we didn't have the usual big meal but we still got together and had a nice meal with mom, dad, my sisters, brother in law and my sweet niece.

My kids had a strange mix of presents, but then again they are all different. Highlights were the puppet theatre, Aiden fave was a powerwheels 4 wheeler, Zachy loved his remote control monster truck and a DS, Tony loved his Barack Obama biography and legos, which was hilarious. Brian couldnt believe I bought that book, but to see how excited Tony was about it was priceless. I love that little democrat. Angie got a Barbie nail printer which we can't wait to try out and Emi just loved the candy in the stocking. I think Angie loved her robe from Pam the best. Lots and lots of books this year. And lots of pajamas. We didnt make it to Christmas eve candle light service because of the weather which was a bit disappointing, but couldnt really be helped.

Saturday we played games with the oldest two. Good ole yahtzee, a game called totally gross, and an almanac game. Brian felt pretty good, which I was thankful for. Some pain still, but not like earlier in the week.

January 4th is chemo again. I'm hoping to do something fun with the kids beofre then,I just havent decided what yet. We'll see how the weather is on my days off and how Brian feels.

Before and After

Last time Zachy was really upset by Brian loosing his hair, so this time Brian included him. This kid was super excited to shave his dads head. I just had to get pics. Tuesday Brian had to go in for a blood transfusion. I went in with him with all five kids. Every other patient there was elderly and seemed entertained rather than bothered by the kids like the nurses were. But, Zachy really wanted to see the process. I read the kids the biography of Charles Drew, the African American physican credited with starting the first blood bank for the American Red Cross and explained how it would happen. Tony, my puking child, stayed far away on the steps, but Zach pulled himself up a stool and I had to explain each step. HE was super excited and kept saying awesome. Brian has had various issues related to the treatment and this week he was in severe pain.
After the transfusion on Tuesday I picked up chinese food from the grocery store along with bowls and silverware. Its tradition that we go out for Chinese and then go look at the lights in San Angelo. Well, we weren't up for going out to eat and I don't think Brian could have handled the long drive and since we were in Abilene, we drove through the State School and viewed the lights there. It was a pretty impressive exhibit, and they had a theatre set up along with Santa and a concession stand, but we just did the drive through. Brian was in so much pain he was not exactly nice to me, and he was in near tears. Later when we got home, he told me he was very thankful that I kept our tradition.
We're trying very hard to keep things as normal as possible for the kids. We're having a great holiday. Since the weather is bad today, we are staying in. I was supposed to go out to the store to pick up stuff to make Aunt Estella's chicken. Well, we are having stew instead since I have all the ingredients for that. There's a fire going and we are listening to "A Cricket in Times Square". Tonight the kids will go to mom and dads and then we will be up most of the night wrapping and assembling.

Snow for Christmas

Those of you who aren't in Texas don't laugh. It was 75 degrees yesterday and today, SNOW! The kids were so excited.

Here we go again

Well, I am sitting down for a minute before I begin tackling the laundry. I came home yesterday to find the dog asleep on the laundry. The dirty muddy stinky dog. I didn't even ask which kid let her in I just threw her out and threw the clothes back in the dirty clothes. I didn't have the strength or desire to be upset about it.

Brian found out Monday that his cancer is back. There was one mass they were really concerned about so he started chemo tonight. His new port was placed about 7pm. He called me about 8:30 high as a kite and still in recovery, then he called me again when they started the chemo and he had to go after he started slurring his words. He has to do three days of chemo in the hospital. I'm trying really hard to have a good attitude and to keep praying. It comes naturally for Brian but its hard work for me.

I got home about 8:45, then I had to get the kids home, Angie and Emi needed a shower, Zach was super emotional, and we buried Finneas, the fish. Tony finally quit crying over that about 10 minutes ago. We'll see if we go to school tomorrow. I usually have them in bed by 8:30 on school nights.

Tony was supposed to have his eye exam today and I completely forgot. I felt terrible about it when I remembered on the way home from the hospital. Hopefully, I remember to call tomorrow and reschedule. Won't be making my volunteer day tomorrow, doubt I will take Tony to boyscouts, but I should take Angie to dance since she has missed two weeks already and her recital money is due. 127$ for two costumes--ridiculous. Lets just pray that they either fit or are too big. Last time I had to get both costumes alerted.

Katie is coming tomorrow to help watch the kids. Something that I am completely grateful for. She's such a sweety. I didn't have to ask, and she didn't make me feel guilty, so I guess I'm doubly grateful. We're taking it one day at a time, trying to continue to make the kids our first priority, and downplaying this as much a possible. Brian and I refuse to let it this consume or define us.

I'll blog when I can, but it probably wont be as frequent for a while. I guess that laundry isn't getting done tonight. I still need to get Aiden to go to sleep.

Finishing my update.

Where to start? Well, I picked Angie up from school after her UIL meet. I know that she made it to the finals in oral reading, so that means she was somewhere between first and sixth place. They make us wait until 6 week assembly time to find out about ribbons or medals etc. Remember the ole school meets and the 5$ for lunch. Well, my daughter "forgot" about it and used the couple of dollars extra I gave her. They told me they weren't sure yet if she would be on the early or the late bus, but they'd call me and let me know, so I sent some cash for an afternoon snack. Well my child informed me that she ate a pickle and a candy bar for lunch and bought a water. She came home with half the water still in the bottle. Upon further interrogation, I learned that she was actually too nervous to eat. So, we had a chat about the brain working better when you "feed" it and I learned that it might be nice to send a blanket with a girl who's in a dress because buses are cold. I also learned that it might be nice to slip some peanut butter crackers or a granola bar in her pocket now and again.

While I was waiting for Ang, Tony and I hung out in the car(it was less than thirty minutes and our roads are really muddy right now). Yesterday, we read the Lewis Carroll biography. I was asking him what other biographies the school had, and he came home today with the Martin Luther King, jr bio and the Mark Twain bio. As he's telling me this, he looks in his backpack and golly gee, he had left one in his desk. So, in we go. We stop at the tree for him to show me his ornament he proceeds to entertain several teachers. He's quite funny and naturally I hear, it must be a riot at your house. I don't say much because no one believes me when I tell them that he is my quietest kid. He mostly entertains others and at home he goes with the flow and is pretty content not to be in the spotlight.

Oh, I forgot to mention that he got an expander on his teeth yesterday, so he drools alot and talks with a lisp, which only makes him that much funnier. He says his official language is gibberish, and that I am his personal translator. It comes off in 14 weeks and I am counting the days. Next week he gets to go for his eye exam. Brian asked me when I was going to be done "nerding our son up."

Tonight we read the Gift of the Magi by the fire. Tomorrow I will read something more their level, just to keep them guessing. Did they get it? well, not really. The language is a bit difficult, but Brian and I explained it as best we could.

They had a seminar at the school on kids and the internet and cell phones etc. I thought it was pretty good info. We also had our Health advisory council meeting. I'm pretty excited about this even though I have no idea what to do with it. They gave us some info and suggested we search and see what the "big" schools are doing. Its a pretty neat concept. It is required that every school have one, and that it be parent run and a majority of members be parents. We are supposed to evaluate the health programs at the school--from employee health, to health ed, phys ed, nutrition etc and suggest programs to offer parents, suggest curriculum changes etc. Our council is made up of the counselor, the nurse and surprise surprise, the three moms that also signed up to be volunteers in the elementary school. We wrangled one of the jr high moms into it that was at the seminar. But the three of us arent dealing with certain issues yet. Of the three of us, I have the oldest kid and she's 8. So, any suggestions please email them to me.

Thursday update

Well, I stayed home from my volunteer gig today since several of the teachers/kids are gone for UIL today. I said my silent prayer for Angie that she stays calm. I am so proud of her. She had 600 spelling words to learn (she took that test Monday) and I know that she could spell all but 36 of them without any problem. I bought her a pocket dictionary so that she also knows the definitions of all 600 and the part of speech. Brian and Pam will both admit that they are terrible spellers so Angie and I had lots of mommy/daughter time working on this. We tried lots of learning styles, but the method that worked the best was letting her quiz me first and then I'd quiz her 10 words at a time. She would closely study the words trying to catch me getting one wrong. SO, now and then I'd misspell one on purpose, especially if it was a tricky one. But, I will admit that I did misspell emperor wrong the first time. Today is music memory and oral reading. She says she's struggling with the oral reading because she has to remember to read and not recite, AKA she has the thing memorized. I'm pretty proud of the music memory as well. She can now site 16 classical pieces my name and composer.

It got my wheels turning on what to memorize next. The month of December is going to be christmas story classics. We already listened to and audioversion of the Dickens classic, and I bought a book bundle which I plan to start after we read through the original Christmas story from the bible. In January the kids have asked that we study instruments so we are going to work through a study of the orchestra which will hopefully be followed by a trip to the symphony, and in GT the oldest two are to pick and artist to study. Tony has picked da Vinci and he told me he plans to paint the Angie Lisa. Angie is still thinking about it. She has to think and analyze. Everything is a major decision. So, we'll see. If the weather permits, maybe we can squeeze in an art museum trip. That's something I've never done either.

Pam is getting in to the swing of things with her girl scout troop. She will admit she has no organizational skills, but she is really creative. We talked yesterday about not focusing on what she or I might like or even what the girls might like, but rather what they need. So, we are planning for January, a first aid class (Mom, Pam and I are all basic life support instructors) and then we are going to do a safety day, which will include an intro to self defense. We decided that when we look at workshops etc that are offered, we shouldn't look at wow Austin sure does alot, but rather we should try to figure out how to give our girls here the same opportunities. Next year is going to rock. This year is the testing the waters year.

I signed up to be a member of the schools health advisory council. So, tonight as part of our first meeting, I will be attending a seminar offered at the school to parents. This one is on kids and technology and includes keeping kids safe in areas such as the internet. Should be interesting. I think this committee could do great things, so I am curious to see how this goes.

I'll post more about the kids later. I need to go get Zach from school and then we are off to buy some bookshelves. I'm getting all the books out of the closet and putting the toys in!

Christmas Pics

Kid Update Part two

I know, I know, I already did a kid update this week, but there are a couple things I need to write down before I forget.
This week I took Tony to the orthodontist. I really don't get alot of alone time with him. The other kids I seem to manage it more, but they come to me, him I have to seek out. At home he's often quiet, reading a book etc, but you get him by himself and he is hilarious...but first, the reason we went.
The oldest three kids recently had their dental checkups and Angie and Zach were in the no cavity club. Tony, well, he had 12 cavities. The dentist adviced us to take him to the orthodontist because maybe his bite was a factor. So, I made the appointment. I have alot of respect for Dr. Oliver, and he seemed to remember me, granted I've only had my braces off for 3 years. So, he wasn't too concerned about the cavities, they are in baby teeth and he said that they are extremely small, but he does have a cross bite, which means some of the back teeth are over the top and some are over. He also said that his jaw is small, but the only way to fix that is surgery but not until he's an adult. He may need braces later to close the gaps, but Dr Oliver says that's easy to fix. Tony is getting a thing called an expander though to straighten out that bite. I'll post more on that when it happens. Apparently it looks kind of like a retainer, and it has a key you have to turn twice a day.
So, Tony hears the word surgery, and he immediately starts crying uncontrollably. I start to pick him up and Dr Oliver stops me, and just holds him in the chair and talks to him. He's a father of four, but it still struck me as really sweet.
So, he's asking Tony what he wants to be when he grows up, and Tony tells him, a 'grossologist'. So of course, the orthodontist says "what's a grossologist?" and Tony says you know they study gross things, and if I find some moldy teeth I'll save them for you because I know you love teeth" At this point, I am about to fall out of my chair, because of all my kids, this is the one that definately WILL NOT be a "grossologist". He vomits at the site of his own blood or the smell of dead crickets and pretty much anything else 'gross'.

So, this school year has been really tough for me. Angie and Tony are both "labeled" as gifted and talented. I say labeled because they are in a small school so Tony is the only GT kid in his grade and there are two in Angie's grade. The other girl is Tony's age but she skipped second grade. So, their teachers grade them very tough. Tony had one "B" which was an 89, and Angie had all "A"s but two were barely "A"s. So, I alternate between being mad and being grateful. I've had a couple of teacher conferences. Sometimes, I debate whether to pull them out of school altogether and home school them. But, we've been studying at church learning how to stop and hear the word of God in our lives from the big things to the small, and I think I got my answer.

Last night was family night for the school book fair. I kept Angie out of dance last night, because my cousin is here visiting and she also had way too much homework to do, mostly UIL stuff. So, Brian and Tony went to cubscouts, and I took the rest of the kids to the book fair. I told them to be good and no running or screaming and they could each get a book (yes even the babies). So, they shopped for their books and while I waited in line, they sat at a table and had a cookie and punch. I might add that I bought 84$ worth of books, but that's what happens when you are a mom of five.

So, getting to my point: all week Angie has been talking about this cookbook she wanted. For those that don't know, she is quite a foodie, she loves food network, helping in the kitchen, trying new foods that other kids wont touch, and she drives me crazy with her constant critiquing of my meals. So, anyway, first there were 3, then 2, then only 1. So, last night we go to the bookfair, and she goes straight to that table and....no book. I can see on her face she is disappointed, but she quickly clears it and helps the other kids find a book. Then, her teacher comes over and hands it to me. She said she put the last one back and she was going to buy it for her if we hadn't.

And right there, I thanked God for showing me that even though I don't always like it, for whatever reason, my kids are right where they are supposed to be.

Kid update

So Brian and I are back from our two night stay in Wimberly. It was great. I was planning our next trip, probably for our fifteenth in a year and a half. It was much needed, we don't get too many date nights and its been three years since we went anywhere just the two of us, but most of the time thats ok. yesterday we came back to the chaos that is our life, and sadly, no laundry fairy came to fold the giant pile of clean clothes while I was gone. I'd post a picture of Zach sleeping in it, but its on Brian's phone. I've already designed my laundry room for when we finally build our house.

Angie is working hard on UIL. We've learned 300 words, but she has 300 to learn in about 10 days. THe list came out in September, and I wish they would have given it to us then instead of mid October. I'm sure other kids have been looking at it six weeks longer. I've been pushing her a bit, and last I pretty much washed my hands of it when she wasn't even trying. She's loving the music memory and oral reading. She has a field trip Friday to see the nutcracker and she wanted me to go, but parents aren't allowed. I think they could only get a certain number of tickets, but I was told that I could go to Gattiland with them. Uhhh, no thanks.

Tony didn't make the teams for UIL. His feelings were kind of hurt. He said he kept waiting for them to call his name, and they didn't. I felt bad for him. His poem was awesome. I kept telling him read it again, it was so entertaining, but I really don't think they were looking for someone who did voices and had the whole thing memorized so they could act out the parts. Maybe I should have made him do it "right", but I couldn't bring myself. I really need to work on helping him find his niche. He is so bright, but I don't think people see it, because unlike his sister, he's not a people pleaser, and he's always testing the boundaries. Next year will be better, they add a couple more events in 3rd grade.

Zach is well, Zach. No other words describe. We were working on reading, but I've taken a break. I'll probably start back up after the holidays. Its really stressful because he's a toot, but if I get the least bit frustrated with him, its uncontrollable waterworks. Angie and Tony didn't learn to read until kindergarten, because I didn't know any better, and maybe I'll have to do the same with him. Once the older kids learned, they just took off, so we'll see. He's such a good big brother. I love watching him play with the little ones outside. He's always so sweet and helpful. But he's a regular pest to Tony and Angie. Just this morning he was copying them and driving them crazy.

Aiden finally started pooping on the potty. We were starting to worry, but last week he just started doing it on his own. Yeah, only one kid in diapers. He's really a climber and a daredevil. He's finally beginning to get out of his fit throwing phase which is awesome. He may be ready for Tuesday school next year.

Sweet Emi. She's the baby, but she is growing up. Watch out daddy, this girl has a thing for shoes. I couldn't keep shoes on all my other kids at this age, but she wants to wear them 24/7. And to see her face light up and hear he ooohh and aaahh when she gets a new pair, priceless.

Well, I will update more later. That giant pile of laundry is calling my name, and we are shampooing carpets today.

Food Drive 2009

My boyscout
My boys

This year my mom helped out with the food drive. She set up a booth at the local grocery store to collect cans and then she went with Tony door to door to collect. It was a huge success. I just hope that the boys learned a positive lesson from it. Mom was kind enough to take a pic for me, but wasn't quite sure how to use the camera. You can tell its Tony though, so thats all that matters.

Den Leader

Ok so I get confused as to whether he is a den leader or a pack leader, but for the next big montly meeting his den is doing a skit. The boys wrote it, so it involves Native americans and a bear, so this week they made customes. Brian cut out the brown paper bag vests at home and let the boys decorate them at the meeting. Next week they are working on sound effects.

This year has been kind of hard on him because of the lack of parent involvement and he has 10 7 year olds, but I hope that at the end of the year he can look back and be proud of what he's done.

Pam finally got her girl scout troop up and going. pray for her. Right now my moms house is really full on Tuesdays. They had a rally and signed up 16 girls from first to fifth grade, but didn't get them any leaders. So, Pam said they could meet with her troop until they found someone. Last week they worked on Operation Christmas child boxes, and this week they are making placemats for Thanksgiving dinner at the soup kitchen. She's a bit overwhelmed.

The new addition

Well, Emi is ready to transition out of her high chair and into a booster, unfortunately, our table only has 6 chairs and we are a family of 7. So, Brian decided to hire someone at a woodworking shop in town to build us a bench. Its not varnished yet, but Brian told him to make it big enough for four adults. Its massive at seven foot long. Brian said we had room for another kid. I told him that if he wanted to have another I wouldn't hesitate to. Then he says "so you want to?" and I say, "I'm gonna have to think about it, I'm not sure." Too funny.

Kid Update

Well, looking back at a few posts, I see that I haven't done an update in a while, if ever. So here goes, keep in mind this may be a long post, after all, I have five.
Angie is doing well. We had a couple of rough weeks with school, but after a parent teacher conference things seem to be going much better. Right now she is preparing for UIL. Third grade has 5 competitions, and she is in three. I think she would have done them all, but her teacher made her choose three, and frankly I am thankful for that. I'd much rather her concentrate on doing well in a few, than have her spread herself too thin. So she is doing Spelling, Oral Reading, and Music Memory. Spelling consists of 600 words to memorize, so I've been quizzing her on about 25 a night. For oral reading, she is reading, Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout would not take the garbage out by Shel Silverstein. Music memory, which she is the most excited about, consists of memorizing 16 classic pieces. THey play a short portion of it, and the kids have to name the composer and the piece. I'm thinking about downloading her cd to my mp3 because there are a couple of songs that I don't care for.

For UIL Tony's grade just started practicing this week, so they haven't named teams yet. Tony is also reading a Shel Silverstein, the one about a the crocodile that goes to the dentist. He reads it very well, but we have to remind him not to dance or add stuff. There are only 3 events for 2nd grade, so we'll see if he does any. right now he is in bad need of a haircut so he has a mad scientist look to him. His hair is like his dads, it just grows bigger not longer. Reminds me of when we were in college and Erick and Brian decided they were going to grow long rocker hair, and they just grew big 'fros.

Zachary is going through a big growth phase right now. He is pretty emotional sometimes. He keeps bringing things home, such as grasshoppers, to have as pets. We were working on reading skills for a while, but I'm taking a break while he gets through this emotional thing. He misses a sound and its these huge tears. I want him to love to read and learn, so I am just reading to him for now. He's such a good big brother.

Aiden is somewhat potty trained. I think Brian is going to lose his mind if he doesn't get it soon. He's pee trained, but not poop and it doesn't seem to bother him one bit to walk around with it in his pants. He has definately been the most challenging in this area. He'll be 3 in Jan. and our first three were all trained by now. He loves following Zachary around, doing flips, and his speech is improving every day.

Miss Emi is growing up. She's her brothers' shadow. She has no problem making her needs known, so at 17 months, she is just now really starting to talk. I guess it beats Tony, who didn't say one single word until 2 1/2. She says please and thank you, and since she is going through a biting phase, she has mastered the word sorry. One of her favorite words is "crab", for the hermit crabs that Pam keeps as pets. The kids have to "walk" the crabs, which is basically an excuse to let them out of the container, and Emi goes crazy. She loves it.

We finished our Texas Naturalist book, and since we are focusing on UIL right now, I am just reading stories at night. Right now we are reading My Father's Dragon, a Newberry winner written in 1944. I just ordered the second and third book of this series. I missed out on reading so many good books as a kid, its nice to get a do-over.

We missed two weeks of bible study, but were back this week. It went pretty well, until Aiden had to go to the bathroom, and Emi's scream could be heard throughout the entire church, so I missed about half of the bible study, but Brian really enjoyed this one. We were kind of at each other before, but its amazing how it lifts you. I love hearing about what the kids learned. Zach is in a class with his age group and Angie and Tony are in a class together. They actually moved Tony up because they thought he'd get more out of it, and one of the gentlemen bragged about how he aways knows the answers. Tony says he feels kind of like he cheated because he really learned them from watching the kids bible video we have.

Brian had to get in on the fun too

Brian dressed up as a wizard and read to the pre-k class. It seemed to be a hit. I came up with the two little ones just to get a few pics. I wish I could have got a picture of Emi's reaction to her dad. She wouldn't come near him and if he tried to come near her or she had to go somewhere, she'd move in a big cirlce away from him. Hilarious!

Trick or Treat

Tony the dashing young pirate
Originally a dinosaur, Zach says he's a wingless dragon
Ladybug
This year I decided not to spend alot of money on costumes, so I borrowed some from a friend. Her kids are grown now, but she sewed these for them when they were little. I made the antennae for Angie's. I love these outfits. Oh, and the kids got to wear them to school as part of say no to drugs week.

More pics of the falls

McKinney Falls

Friday I stayed home and finished up my final paper for my English class. Mom and dad picked the oldest three up and took them to McKinney Falls State Park in Austin. This was our first time there. I came up Saturday with Aiden and Emi. I was pretty surprised to see a wooded state park so close to the city and I probably would have never found it without the GPS. From our way, you pass through downtown Austin and head toward the airport. I have to admit that I haven't been in or through Austin in a long time. This park would be a perfect place for us to bring the 5th wheel if we wanted to take in the sites, museums etc.

Mom and dad took the oldest on a guided tour before I got there. Mom said that is was supposed to take an hour to an hour and a half. With them being the only people on the tour, it took two and a half hours. She said the ends wanted to know every plant, butterfly etc. My kids can now identify every plant and tree there and at least three different monarch butterflies by pattern. The lady giving the tour thought she'd give the kids the scientific names of the plants. She ended up getting a history lesson out of that. We recently read a book on Texas naturalists and many plants are named after who discovered them. So, when she told the kids that a certain plant was cassiva lindheimerii, she got a full lesson on Ferdinand Lindheimer, the father of Texas botany. Tony also have her a full report on the box turtles. My mom said the volunteer was very knowledgable and kind of surprised that she learned a few things. Too funny.

We had hamburgers when I got there and then went for a long hike. Emi did awesome. Angie was a nervous wreck being so close to the ledge with the little ones and she didn't seem to believe me when I told her that I'd take care of them. I was shocked that we walked across the creek with five kids in tow. It flowed over solid rock was only a few inches deep, but it was slippery.

That night, the kids and I read the magic treehouse book, A Good Night for Ghosts. I think I love these books as much as the kids. This particular one was about a few New Orleans Ghost legands and mainly Louis Armstrong. This trip we slept in the camper. It wasn't all that comfortable, but it was still nice. It is so good for the kdis to be away from technology, TV etc and be bored. I brought a football, and a few dumptrunks and books. Brian would have been so proud to see Tony and I toss a football. At home, he shows very little interest in being outside or any kind of sport. He's actually getting to where he can catch, and he had fun. Too bad someone didn't get a pic of it.

McKinney Falls Camping Trip

I made it a goal for this school year to do something with the kids at least one weekend a month. So, last weekend we took the kids to Sea World. Might as well make us of those season passes. If I've taken Emi before, she wasn't walking. Aiden hasn't been at least a year, and he was in aww. It was perfect weather for it. We didn't get to see Shamu this time, but saw the sea lion show and the seasame street show. See my slide show for pics. We stayed until dark. After dark they have scary stuff and the kids aren't ready for that. Frankly, neither am I. They were exhausted. Thanks to mom and Pam I had plenty of help that day and Pam and I managed to play nice.

My class is done. I'm just waiting for grades so I an update and more pics post after I get home from work on Tuesday. I took a PTO day this week, so I get to pretend to be a part timer.

Sea World October 2009

Random update..my usual

I'm on week four of my five week class, so I hope to be posting more pictures soon. Its going ok. Some of it I have enjoyed some of it not so much. Hopefully I can hold onto my "A" but I can live with myself if I make a "B". Brian's been making fun of me, because I've been hard on myself, but I feel like I could do better if I just had more time. I've had papers that I could revise for better grades, if I just had time. Oh, well. I'm taking the next session off. It covers thanksgiving and Christmas, and I want to be able to enjoy the holidays. Plus my work denied my tuition reimbursement, so I can't bring myself to fork out the money for tuition right before the holidays. We'll see if I continue. Its hard to balance everything.

Still volunteering at the school. Loving it. Signed up to be on the Health Advisory Council as well. It only meets 4 times a year. But I'm excited about this. Will post more as it develops.

We are enjoying church. The people there seem to be impressed by the kids. They are getting it. Remembering scripture, remembering stories. Its great. I was going start reading from the bible more to them, I just have to figure out what they did with it. If I don't find it by Friday I will buy another one. Love my bible study. The nursery is going a bit smoother. Emi still cries alot. But she's fine once we leave and then cries again once she sees us. The last two weeks, Aiden has marched right in there. This week he gave the lady a hug and a kiss on the mouth and asked if he could come back next week.

School is a struggle right now. Mostly for me. Not impressed with the teachers or their grading. I think they are nit picky and not giving the kids much feedback. Angie made a 76 on a math paper and it was all stuff like not boxing the answer, making her f's wrong etc. Tony made a 76 on his 6 weeks spelling review because he capitalized 24 of the 36 words. So, I had a visit with Angie's teacher, and once I finish my class I plan to start sitting in on both angie and tony's classes. The teacher said she would work on giving Angie more positive praise and this week she seems less stressed. She is so hard on herself. The kids are fine, but its gonna be a long year for me. Trying to figure out what we need to work on at home.

Trying to be more organized instead of jumping around so much. Right now Tony is working on getting his conservation badge for cub scouts so we are reading about historical Texas naturalists. He is in heaven. They've been begging me to do a chicken mummy for a while. I bought everything yesterday. I've been putting it off until the weather got a bit cooler. I'm dreading the stink. My friend mummified a fish, and she said it didn't stink too bad, but we don't have a garage, so we'll see.

Thursday they had a going away party for Zach's teacher. She was the sub for the regular teacher who had a baby a week or two before school started. She was a cute little short older lady and I liked her bunches and Zach did too. THen Friday was homecoming and each grade had a float. Guess who forgot her camera and her phone?

Been trying to work with Zach since school started on his letters and sounds. I was hoping to start some beginner reading. But he has been completely resistant. Well, we are finally starting to get somewhere. Today when we did our flashcards, he only missed 3 or 4 letters. So proud. We started sound alike words a little because he's really into this rhyming thing right now, but I think we will move to sight words soon.

Inks lake camping 2009.

I got more pics but unfortunately they were on Pam's camera so they ended up on HER facebook page. You can see the tents etc in the background, but the water pics are on hers.

Redneck Girl Likes to Cruise in Bubby's pick up truck

Hopefully the Bellamy Brothers song is going through your mind right now.

Update of last two weeks

Man, I can't believe that its been two weeks since I've been on here. The kids are approaching the end of the first six weeks of school. They all seem to be doing well. I've been trying to work with Zach on reading. I have lots of reference materials and we just aren't getting very far at all. Six weeks and we have 3 letter sounds. He's learning at school and was so excited to get "homework" of practicing writing his name. I offered to print him some papers where he could trace words and letters and I was informed that mine wouldn't be as good as the ones from school. Brian says that he may just be an average student and that I am going to have to learn to live with it. Well, I think, not. He's very obstinate, but I refuse to accept that he's average.

I mentioned before, but I love our produce coop. They are trying to expand to provide chicken beef etc and they have different kinds of classes and get togethers like nutrition classes, bread baking classes and in october they are having a family day with different organic and free range vendors with sausages, raw milk ice cream, cheeses, apples and a pumpkin patch. THis sounds like fun, and I'm kind of sad we can't go because its my parent's 35th wedding anniversary. Not that I'm into any of that stuff yet, but a chance to sample it all sounds fun.

In November, Brian arranged for my mom to watch the kids for a couple of days and we are going to a cabin in Wimberly. We stayed there for our 10th wedding anniversary, and I'm excited about it. Each cabin has its own above ground pool and hot tub. Brian loves the hills. I hope the coffee shop is still open. They had amazing homemade granola bars. Frankly, I need a couple of days away.

Into my second week of class and its going better than expected. I admit it is hard to budget the time away from family etc to work on it, but I could have really benefited from a class like this my first go round in college, although I doubt English 1302 was taught this way then. So far, I have 100's on my first three quizzes and a 100 on my first assignment. Not too shabby for a mom of five trying to juggle family and a full time job. But I'm not ready to get cocky yet. My paper at the end is a big chunk of my grade.

Last weekend we went to Inks Lake and camped. It had its good and bad moments. The first two days were good. Brian was there to help me with the kids. After that was difficult, and I ended up coming home. Its hard. Sometimes its like having two families. The oldest three can and want to do things the youngest two can't, and when I'm by myself neither group gets to do what they want. I've vowed to start finding ways to improve this. I want my kids to have fond memories of growing up in a ginormous family, not memories of never being able to do things because of the babies etc. Will try to get some pics up later.

Still working the dave ramsey plan. Will have to post as we make real progress. Paid off a credit card in September. Two to go. Not sure how far we get this month. WE are replacing our 15 yr old dryer and having the house leveled.

Missed our bible study this week because I was at work. Its Anointed Transformed Redeemed: the story of david. It is so good. I'm telling you they are talking right to me. I can't wait to go next week.

Well,this blog is mostly focused on the kids, well because they are my focus, but I do have a couple things to put in here.

First we are loving our organic produce coop. I'm thankful for a supportive husband that doesnt mind going to pick it up every two weeks, and we have been very pleased with the amount and quality of stuff. The coop has message boards so people are kind enough to post recipes for things that I have no idea what to do with. I just want us eating more fruits and veggies and if its here I'm so cheap its not going to go to waste. Plus there are things that I just don't normally buy, like raspberries, but the three youngest kids sat down and ate the whole carton.

We started taking the kids to Pam's church on Wednesdays for TEAM kids. Its been a bit rocky, but I think we are going to stick with it. Its at a baptist church, one place Brian and I never saw ourselves. Last week they had the kickoff at the park. The kids played for about ten minutes and they said lets gather around and say the blessing and then we'll walk up and have hotdogs. well we gathered around and the skies opened up on us. It was kind of funny. SO, they broght the food to us and the rain whipped into the covered pavillion.

My kids huddled up together shivering and eating their dogs. SO, this week, we dropped them off at the church gym and went to take Aiden and Emi to the nursery. Brian was upset that we just left Zach so he went to check on him and he was just fine. So, the nursery was pretty rocky. Keep in mind Aiden and Emi have been with no one except us, my sisters and my parents. So, Pam snuck out, I snuck out and Brian snuck out last. They said Aiden adjusted pretty quick and the lady actually does a "class" for their age. You know bible songs and such. They said Emi never got used to them, she was holding a baby a blanket an elmo and something else and she kept trying to get Aiden to hold her. We all went to I think it was a "women's" bible study since there were two men, but Brian didn't seem to mind.

The lesson they are doing now is awesome. I'll have to post more about that later. But they were talking straight to me. Let me tell you all the inadequacies I feel we laid before me.

Today I volunteered for a couple of hours at the kids school. Yesterday they gave me orientation of the copy machine. Don't laugh, but that thing is complicated. So, today I made copies then I went to the first grade class and worked one on one with a little boy on reading. Then they went to recess and I went to a second grade class (not Tony's) and helped read AR questions and helped a little girl with reading. I'm loving it. Hopefully I make a difference, plus I get to see my kids and the teachers etc.

Well, time to go get Zach and then off to the library to return some late books.

Grandparents day at school

So, today was grandparents day at school. Grandparents were invited to come up and have lunch with the kids and they had a huge cake for them. Angie called and asked my dad to come and originally he said he couldn't but between her and my mom he was kind of guilted into it. So, he had lunch with Zach and then stayed and had lunch with Angie and Tony. I signed up to be a parent volunteer, so I was at the school filling out the paper work to get my criminal background check (not that I'm worried, I am a nurse so its part of the job) and decided to stop in for a picture.
They went with class shirts this year. Each class is a different color and they wear them Fridays and field trip days.

Man, I love my dad!

Dance

Yesterday Angie started dance. We took last year off for a couple of reasons. Her old dance teacher retired to take care of her husband who was diagnosed with MS and sold her studio. The girl who bought it is very young so I wanted to give her a year to figure things out, plus we weren't sure how Brian's health was going to do. She didn't seem to miss it at first, but this year she asked if she could do it again. She said she wanted to take a year away from gymnastics to see if she missed it or not. She said that since its something she's always done (since age three)she didn't know if she really liked it or was just doing it because she always had. She really wanted to take ballet, so she's taking ballet I on thursdays, and the children's broadway class after. We have to drive all the way to brownwood so I figure we should make it worth our while. Most of the girls are a year younger than her and seem to go to the same school. You can tell all the moms know each other and have that competitive thing going on with each other.

Angie's teacher is young and kind of strict, but I think I'm going to really like her. She wants to teach them from the beginning correct posture and she has to tell them frequently backs straight, butts in. It's so funny to watch these girls, some of them get really caught up with checking themselves out in the mirrors. Miss Amy said that Angie was a good student, and she is. She listens well and picks up on the steps quickly. After she said that her feet hurt, but she really liked it.

Here's some old recital pics as well. She took tap (that's the sailor outfit). That recital dance was super cute. They had this sailor music, and started out swabbing the deck with mops. The red outfit was a jazz routine to rockin robin. Not as cute, but it was so funny watching angie at the recital. She kept trying to get the girls next to her to do the steps right.

Happy 5th King Zach

Zachary Has been talking about his birthday for at least two weeks now, and today you would have thought he was a king. Brian let him pick what he wanted for dinner and he said "cake". Well, Brian told him no and his response was "well you did say "anything". So Brian asked him what he wanted with his cake and he chose homemade pizza. This really is one of Brian's specialties. Then we sang happy birthday, opened presents, and THEN had cake all in the order Zach chose.

When we had one kid she would get about 25 presents for her birthday, now that we have five, they get about 5 per birthday. But it really doesn't matter, I am always so proud of how appreciative my kids are. I think he showed the most interest in the five dollar slinky.

Brian picked up a powerwheels truck for 20$. Its a little banged up and dirty, but I really need to get a picture on here of him driving it. Aiden wont ride with him because he goes too fast and drives all crazy, but Emi gets in and he wraps his arm around her and takes off and she has about a 1000 watt smile.

Just for kicks I thought I'd post a couple of his first birthday photos too.

Happy 5th Birthday Zachary

First Week Down....

Well, the first week of school is over. It went better than I expected, but we all know that I am a worrier. Zach loves pre-k. He's absolutely glowing when I pick him up at 11:15. He wishes that he could stay all day like Angie and Tony. He has three friends, two of which we knew from t-ball. One of the mom's said that her son comes home really excited about the games he and Zach play at recess...rockets seems to be the current favorite. Zach told me that his teacher let them dress up and act out a book she read. She's sends home a newsletter about what they are studying and I like that.

I had made a list of all the things we were going to read about at home this month, but quickly scrapped it when the kids came home with homework the second day of school. Spelling, reading, and math for both. For example I had put on my list for the kids to read two magic tree house books this month. Well, we finished the one we checked out from the library, and they brought home two this week.

Next week is busy for us. We pick up from our produce coop, Angie starts dance (and i still need to buy shoes), the boys (I mean brian and tony) start scouts and I think we are signing Zach up for soccer. That boy needs an outlet. We also have open house at school.

Aiden and Emi are enjoying having some time with us. They get to hear little kid books and watch little kid shows. They are getting really close and its so cute. Little E is developing her own personality, says something new every day and continues to crack us up.

Too Funny!!

So, now and then I hear people say things like "I can't believe you let your kid eat...." Don't you know that they aren't supposed to eat_____ until after age two?" But after you have two kids, frankly, you just have to pick your priorities and let certain things go. The older kids are so sweet and always eager to share with the little ones, especially when they come at them like a velociraptor.

But sometimes, little ones find their own way to get things you'd never let them have, but that they want. Take exhibit "A" for example. Emi hiding behind the couch drinking a rootbeer.

First Day of school

So, these aren't the best pictures, but I was informed that it was impossible to smile a real smile with a giant pack on the back. I think I had more trouble getting up than the kids and Zach was understandably tired since he was up until almost 11:00I had the kids in bed by 8:30, Angie and Tony were finally asleep at 9:00 and Mr Zach was still up at 10:30 talking to either himself or his imaginary friend. That boy talks alot.

So we had some drama this morning. NOTE Zach's old, almost too small motorcycle shirt. I had laid out a perfectly acceptable new blue polo shirt that was ok when I asked him on Saturday, but this morning oh no, not good enough. Yes, I realize that this was just a stall tactic, but yes I did cave and let him wear one of his favorite OLD shirts to school.

Angie and Tony settled right in and we took Zach to his class. He settled right in as well, asked politely for a puzzle and went to work. As we left, someone turned on the waterworks, and I'll just say it wasn't me.

Back to School

The new shoes are bought, the school supplies are packed in backpacks and I have loved reading everyone's posts and entries about back to school, especially on facebook. Most people are excited to have their kids back to school. Me, well, I have mixed feelings. I don't like my kids being one year older, I don't particularly care for the monday through friday grind and the homework every night.

But, back to school brings some good things. Back to school, for us, is like other people's New Years. Its back to budget, back to schedule, back to healthy eating, back to exercising. I really could go on and on, but those are our main focuses this school year.

Starting September 4th (its the closest to the 1st and when we get paid), We are dedicating one of Brian's paychecks to debt, and one to savings. We are super excited about trying this.

The schedule part is obvious. Up everyday before 7, kids ready for school, pick Zach up at 11:30, Angie and Tony up at 3:30 after GT then homework, dinner bed..blah blah. Pam is doing girlscouts for Angie and Brian is doing boyscouts with Tony. Then there's church (which we have to find) and dance for angie. Oh, and working 3 days a week still.

As for healthy eating, I made our meal planned for the month already, and I mailed our checks for our organic produce coop that we are joining. THis is a huge work in progress for me, teeny tiny baby steps. I have to talk myself into spending 5.60 for a gallon of milk, but I have no qualms about throwing a bag of m&m's and fritos into my basket. One of the local churches has a walking track, and I'm heading there after dropping the kids off starting Monday. And its back to the work gym after my 12hour shifts.

And we wonder why I am not ready for back to school.

Fiesta Texas

I may get pictures on here later, I may not. I like to use disposable cameras for trips like this. That way I'm not worried about the camera getting lost, dropped, wet etc. I worked Monday and mom took the older kids down Monday night and stayed at the Holiday inn since she had a free night stay to use. BRian and I came down Tuesday with the babies.

Our plan was to get up about 7 and leave by 8 so we'd be there shortly before after opening. WEll, I was exhausted from working and driving home, so we got up around 8:30 and were on the road about 9:30. SO, we got there around noon. WE waited to meet up with the gang, so Brian and I rode the teacups with Aiden and Emi. The kids had a blast, but those rides make Brian ill. Give him a big ole roller coaster and he's fine, but anything that goes round and round and he is green as a gourd. I later had to ride the carousel without him. THankfully Pam was there to help with the little ones.

SO, we met mom and the kids for lunch. They were super pumped. They had most of the kiddie rides 2-3 times each. Then, Angie tricks me into getting into the front seat of the log ride with her and we were soaked. I wish I would have thought to put on my water shoes. The kids rode some more rides, Aiden was too short for most of them, but we did get him on the gully washer which he loved. WE took the bigger kids on the roadrunner express. I thought it would be like the runaway mine train but it ended up being a bigger roller coaster. TOny was crying and he said he felt tricked.

Then we headed to the water park. THis was a bit stressful for me. Emi was completely fearless and so was Aiden. Next year will be better. SO, the bigger kids rode some slides with Pam and Brian and mom and I worked hard at trying to keep up with the babies. It was neat to see the looney toons characters. Zach had to give everyone we ran into a huge hug.

THey were so sad to leave. Mom rushed them over to the ferris wheel because Zachy really wanted to ride it and apparently there were several more kid rides over there. They were exhausted though.

And everyone crashed in the car except Emi, who took a 30 minute power nap and then was awake the rest of the time. She has traveled in the car the least of my kiddos and does the worst. Its not horrible, but its not great either.

Pictures from the Coast