Happy Birthday Mally!! and Happy Thanksgiving!!

There is one room in the house that I really feel at home in. It is a tiny little room with no closet. It is one of the only rooms downstairs that has a light. I call it the book room b/c it is where we will keep all our books and games. We have 2 full bookcases in there but still most of the books are piled up all over the floor waiting for "real" shelves. Even in the midst of the mess I like to be in there, looking around, moving piles, thinking of what it will look like later.

My books have been packed for so long and it's nice to uncover them. Tonight I had a chance to look through my granddaddy's Bible while I was in there. Here is something he wrote in the back....

"Do not set in motion if you can not control it. ----- This thought came about in regard to rolling a tire down hill toward someone's house." 10-13-91

I laughed as I read this. I can just imagine that "OH NO!!!" feeling as he was trying to chase down an out-of-control tire.

My mother-in-law had a great idea. I had too many towels and not enough space to store them. So we pulled out my serger, cut them in 1/4's and finished the edges to make new dish towels and wash cloths. Ta Da!! Why didn't I think of that before?

The Swish and Swipe

Ok, I'm moving closer and closer to the flylady thing everyday even though I thought I wouldn't. I've adopted the Swish and Swipe routine. If you're not familiar with it, basically you swish the toilet every morning while you're in the bathroom and swipe down the sink and countertop. This keeps the bathroom nice and clean everyday until your big cleaning day in there. So for the swipe part of it I made these wipes. It's a modified version of my homemade baby wipes. They work great. I'll just have to be careful not to get them mixed up!

1 roll of Viva paper towels cut in 1/2
1/2 C. Lysol cleaner...or Pine Sol or Mr. Clean or whatever.
1 1/2 C. water.

Mix the liquids and pour over the paper towels. Store in an air-tight container. Pull out the cardboard tube after an hour or so and pull wipes from the middle. Easy!!

Yay! The torn up part of the roof is fixed! Now the house is sealed up for the snow. There is still much much to do as far as that part of the roof is concerned, but the part we tore down is fixed.

2 more doors are completely done. That makes 3 in all.

I bought a closet organizer thingy.

I filled up the new bookcase. It helped but it just won't do. We'll need to build shelves that go across the whole wall.

I had #1 empty the chest in the kitchen to take downstairs. We'll put a tv and movies in it.

My nephew is staying with us a couple of days to help us out. Honey is putting together another bed downstairs.

New cabinets MONDAY!!!

My mother-in-law totally reorganized the pantry. It was such a mess.

My father-in-law used his big saw to cut 10 rolls of paper towels in 1/2. I use them to make baby wipes. Now I won't have to fight with the knife and do it by hand.

Snow tomorrow night!!!

Happy Birthday Birdie Pie!

Really it's not till Thanksgiving day but I'm pretty busy between now and then so I thought I'd write about her now.

She'll be TWO 2222!!! Meaning she'll not be one anymore. sniff, sniff. Pretty pretty baby girl. I'm so glad she's mine.

~She's very girly but can hold her own against her brothers.

~She doesn't play with toys. Just now is she interested in something other than what I'm doing. Now she likes dolls and the kitchen set.

~She's a great talker. Very clear and easy to understand.

~She can be a bit sassy.

~She hates peanut butter.

~She has great manners. .....Well that is if she likes you. We'd had some trouble with friendliness.

~Her favorite words..."hold you please. Juice please."

~She can count. She stays on track up to 9 then runs out of numbers and starts over in no particular order.

~She always wants Meggy to hold her hand in bed. For good reason, she falls out of the bed often.

~Funny hair. One layer is curly, one layer is straight.

~Potty chair? Not a chance!!

Since she doesn't care for toys and she has more than enough books, it's very hard to think of a present for her. I don't want to buy something just for the sake of buying something. I've ordered a new childrens' Bible that I've been wanting them to have. She'll like it and her siblings will enjoy it too.

We'll have Thanksgiving at Emo's and I'll take over Nana's pasta salad for her. That's her fave. We're making a pink cake with a pink "2" candle. This is our first b-day in our new house.

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!!

Yesterday

I made a big crockpot full of taco meat for a full day of family. We had 9 extra besides our own 11. It also fed the neighbor who wasn't feeling very well. We even have left overs!

CT had 2 indoor soccer games. Won one, lost one (barely). Indoor soccer is fun to watch.

Honey and his dad got a lot of work done on the roof. Progress!

Got a free bookshelf from Craigslist thanks to my brother-in law and sister-in-law.

I baked a bunt. I've never done it before b/c I didn't have one of those pans. Things have changed.....I got one at Goodwill for $2. It came out perfectly.

I helped LB make 2 cream puff pies. Yummy.

Called a Wingboy a couple of times cause it was his b-day. They might come after Christmas!!! Happy Happy Joy Joy!!!

Bathed Baby Boy in the sink. I got all wet.

Jes put a rock in his ear and it wouldn't come out.

I talked to my g'mother, my dad, and my step mom. I miss them.

Mil took the girls to Savers and bought them new clothes. We're going to a benefit tea and have to dress up. With Thanksgiving that means I'll have to dress up twice in the same week! Unheard of.

I ate way too much sugar.

Baby oil and a bath did the trick. The rock came out! Good idea Dad.

My big kids went to a game night at church with my nephews. Big fun. Their team won. We got new hats and shirts.


Today...

Tea party.

Packing up part of the kitchen to get ready for cabinets.

Loading up my new bookshelf.

Minimal cooking.

Gotta go outside and play before the snow hits Wed.

Top 10

I love making new schedules. I have to do it ever so often when we outgrow our current one. It is also fun to look back at my old schedules and see how we've changed throughout the years. I have lots of them. Now since I have so many more to manage my schedule must be more detailed than it used to be. I have to write everything down!

I'm toying with the idea of starting the flylady thing. I've played with it for a long time off and on, reading on the web site and getting the e-mails. But this time I might do it for real. I need the book. My library has a few copies and the last time I checked it had several holds on it. I guess everyone has the same idea.

I start my new schedule working by praying and asking God to define my priorities. Here is a list of my new top ten priorities for my little ones. I call it my "Top Ten For Tots"....

1. Pray for them. Night time is usually my best time for this. Sometimes I'm too tired though so I can't always count on it. I pray for them as I'm folding their clothes. A new for me is praying for them when I tie their shoes...praying that they will have what God calls "beautiful feet that bring good news", praying that their feet follow ways that are firm, and that they will not stumble. I'm not in a hurry to teach shoe tying.

2. Smile and be cheerful for them. Set the example for joy, peace, and thanksgiving. Enjoy my work. "Where there are no oxen the manger is empty, but with the strength of an ox comes an abundant harvest." (I like this Proverb.)

3. Read to them. Not only for the sake of reading but also for the sake of sitting and cuddling and spending quiet time together.

4. Recite Scripture and memorize together.

5. Teach them meaningful work.

6. Play with them/Listen to them. My little ones are easy to play with but big ones can be too. I like to read the books my girls suggest to me. Or to watch a movie that they like. My older son is a huge game player and the only way I have a chance against him at foosball is to make him play one handed-left handed. He likes to show me his coin collection and where he puts certain coins. All of my kids like to chat. I'm trying to be a good listener.

7. Take them outside. Oh, this is hard! I tend to be a stay-in-the-house type. Being outside is good for me and it delights my little ones when I watch them show off something new.

8. Help them love others and put others first.

9. Teach them good manners.

10. Hug them and kiss them and touch them!

Lots of these will overlap. I won't cover it all everyday. But having an official list to look back on will help keep me on the right track and remind me to keep working when my days seem to spin out from under me.

More later as our new schedule takes shape....

New Duties

Working on a new schedule and making some changes.

Here's our new kitchen clean up list:
Bird: collect and throw away napkins

Mayfee Boy: clear the table

Jes: wipe table and high chairs

J-Man: put away left overs and take out the trash

LB: Clean all appliances

CT: Dry dishes and wipe counters

Lane and Meggy: They will switch off. One will do dishes and clean the sink while the other one is official overseer and floor cleaner. The overseer part of the job is helping the little ones with their responsibilities and checking the whole kitchen when everyone is finished. They've decided to switch out every other day.

Everyone helps unload the dishwasher.

Speaking of kitchen....The new cabinets and counter tops come the Monday after Thanksgiving! It'll only take 4 days of installation. Then we can finish unpacking the kitchen!

I've decided that it's time for me to tackle the whole chicken. Not boneless skinless. The whole icky slimy thing. My daughter jumped in, "Mom, last time you tried this you told me to remind you next time that it is a bad idea." mmmmm....I think I do remember something like that. But anyway, it seems like I should be mature enough to handle this without feeling like I'm going to lose my lunch down the sink.



I bought two. They sat in the fridge for a couple of days while I worked up my nerve. I took them to the sink and all the chicken juice (ewww!) ran down to the end of the bag. So I grab my scissors and cut the plastic. Somehow it squirted BACKWARDS onto ME!! I don't know how that could even happen. Where's my apron when I need it?

I washed them in the sink and took a peek in the business end. I know from experience that turkeys have bags of extra stuff in there (guts, I guess) that you're supposed to take out. The last time I cooked a turkey, I didn't know that. I cooked it in there. Who knew? Well, I wasn't going to fall for that again and I didn't know if chickens had guts in there. I know that you can put spices and such in there but that was just more than I could do.

I read the directions, seasoned them.... although I don't know why cause we're not going to eat that skin part anyway...and stuck them in the oven. MMMM....yummy smell in a couple of hours and when I took them out they looked much better than when I put them in.

I took them to the table expecting to hear the "ooohhhs and ahhhhs" especially from Honey who likes chicken. I gave him the knife and fork. He poked around on them for a minute before he broke the news: They're upside down!

Man, there's more to cooking a chicken than you'd think.

Cute Boys

The other day #1 dressed 6yo, 4yo, and 3yo up as pirates complete with face paint! Who could resist getting the camera out?

A few days later we gave Zekey a bath in the sink. He is so adorable!!!

Unpacking pictures makes me so homesick. I pull one out and remember where it was in my old house or remember when we got it. It's hard to think of where to put them in this house.

I rudely called up my friend at the dinner prep hour. She was gracious as always even with dinner on the stove and crying toddlers in the background. She's one of those rare friends that I can always count on and she'll talk to me whenever. Ahhh, a voice from home. That helped so much.

I did have a nice visit with my neighbor. She gave me some more info on the church that I was looking for and chatted in the front yard. I like this neighborhood.

There's some sort of fun night at Honey's school tonight. He took the big kids, except CT. He's also taking pics. So it's just us here with sleeping little ones. A nice bath night I'm thinkin'......

Please pay attention everyone! This little guy's lungs do not work on their own and the doctors have come to the end of what they can do. Job has had cancer and about everything else under the sun. He has been fighting battles since he was four and now he's about ten. He, his parents, and his sister are now waiting for God to do something amazing and keeping in this fight. Please pray for a miracle in Job's body. If you feel for him and his family, copy and paste this onto your own blog to really get prayers moving. They are powerful and God knows what's going on down here, even if we can't see a way out. Here is his website: http://www.caringbridge.org/ar/job/

Click here to watch the video of his journey on Windows Media Player. Testimonial (revised 2006)
Thank you for reading.
Sandy

Don't Bother!

Have you ever read of those ladies who claim to save so much money on their grocery bill? Oh yes, they can feed a family of 6 on $50 a week including all cleaners, diapers, and paper goods. They clip coupons, shop several different places, and then some actually take a picture of what they bought for nearly nothing and post it on the internet so the rest of us can envy their thriftiness. Ok, if you're taking pictures of your groceries you have way too much time on your hands.

Well, after seeing all the ads and coupons in my huge Sunday paper I decided to give it a try. I have always raised an eyebrow to this coupon thing anyway b/c the only thing that has a coupon is a brand name item. Saving a whole quarter on the most expensive toilet paper in the store really doesn't help me out any. Well, I clip about 30 or so coupons. I write down all the sales and where they are on sale so I can ad match it at Walmart. I make my list and check it twice putting a fancy star beside everything I have a coupon for. I even grab a calculator (a first for me) for my shopping trip. I am ready to save some money!

Shopping at WM with my list, calculator, and coupons I finally finish. Know what? There wasn't one single thing that had a coupon that was a better deal than the store brand...even those items on sale. However, there were some things that I usually buy that were on sale somewhere else that I could ad match.

At the check out line I put all my stuff on the conveyor belt and separate the ad match items. When the lady gets to those things I start to go down the list. "These are 2 for $3 at Safeway" I tell her. She looks at me and says, "Do you have the ad?"

Do I have the ad?! Yeah, like I can balance 6 newspaper ads along with my list, coupons, and calculator! Besides, don't they keep those under the cash register? They did at my old store. "No I don't have the ad." She says, "You have to bring the ads with you or I can't ad match it." Unbelievable.

So now I wonder, do I still buy this fancy jelly or do I put it back and get the Great Value kind? The frugal part of me would put it back. But I can't do that to the folks lined up behind me or my hungry toddler in the cart.

I am convinced that the whole "save a million dollars in the grocery store" plan is a big hoax. It doesn't work. The fact is it costs a lot of money to feed 11 people and there is no way around it! Stick to the store brands and cook from scratch and leave the coupons in the paper.

Oh well, lesson learned. The good news is that my pantry is nice and full. That is a good feeling. I would've taken a picture.....but you know.....

Lane got her bottom braces this week. They look nice. She picked red and orange for Thanksgiving.

In the last 2 days LB has lost 3 teeth!

With 9 kids, that is 180 baby teeth to lose.

You can't believe how quiet it is right now. All I can hear is my clicking keyboard. I forgot what quiet really sounded like. Kids are in bed and Honey is downstairs unpacking something. Shhhhh.....


Here is a bit of trivia for ya. When a storm is predicted, what do people stock up on the most?

POPTARTS! Can you believe it? Not water, poptarts! How funny is it that people think poptarts are a meal?

We went to Sams yesterday and took Jes. He is COW and definitely knows how to play it up. "Since I'm COW can I......?"

We were almost done when he spots the poptarts. "Dad, I like these." "Dad, since I'm COW can we buy them?" Dad is a push over. We got poptarts.

The other kids meet us at the door and helped unload. They spot the poptarts and say "Hey, is there a storm coming?"

My new door is already getting a workout. Children that didn't know I existed minutes earlier suddenly find themselves drawn by an invisible force to my closed door. I guess they can't stand the thought of being left out of whatever is going on behind that door. Since it isn't on hinges yet I just lean it in the opening. That leaves a pretty big crack, not to mention the door knob hole.

So Mayfee Boy comes to door and starts talking to me through the hole and peeking in the crack. No need to bother knocking, he can see and hear just fine. I'm trying to listen and to persuade him to go in another direction when WHAM!
my door hits the floor!

He looks at me, genuinely surprised. Big tears. I brace myself for the crying of the babies that I'm sure he just woke up.

He looked so sorry and sweet that I felt sorry for him. And, wonder of wonders...the babies slept right through it.

Why is this taking so long??

I wonder if the unpacking will ever end. Seems like this should've been done in a weekend and here we are 2 weeks later with boxes still around. One problem is that there isn't a place to unpack stuff. No shelves even for towels! Where did people put their towels before we moved in? Honey has lots of shelves to build for towels, blankets, and books, books, books.



Another problem is that the bathroom still has the nerve to get dirty when I already cleaned it 2 weeks ago! The babies still think they need to be fed! Why does life still go on when I'm so busy? Can't we take an unpacking break??

Today

Can you believe we already have enough stuff for a garage sale? Why did we bring so much junk? Here's my advice for the day: If you're thinking about moving...DON'T!! All of a sudden we have 3 microwaves. That's 2 too many for me. So I listed one on craigslist.com and it was gone the next day and I was $25 richer.

Fun indoor soccer last night. We all took lunch boxes with chicken pitas and sat in the bleachers and did the wave.

I changed COW to COD...meaning child of the day. With 7 kids in the COW rotation, it took too long for everyone's week to roll around. Today LB is COD (Actually I still call it COW, cause cows are cuter than fish). I wrote her a note to put on her bed for a surprise. Today I'll let her help me around the house and maybe price some g-sale junk...I mean "treasures".

We got a door! Actually several. Enough for the whole upstairs. They aren't hung yet, but it is nice to lean it against the opening and pretend we have a little privacy. I also have internet access in my room. Much more convenient.

My boys have been busy busy busy hammering and using up the wood we tore down from the roof. They made "speeders" to float in the creek behind the house. 6yo tied a big string to his and we took it back there to see if it floats. Success! It was the first time I'd been back there. Nice trail to walk on with babies or dog. Apple trees hung over the creek and we picked a lot to take home. I do like this area. What is lacking in the house is made up in the neighborhood.

Today...
school
chicken pizza
apple crisp for breakfast
Honey gets off work early!
lots of laundry
more unpacking
g-sale pricing

This neighborhood is full of kids. Knowing that we'd get lots of trick-or-treaters, I went out special to buy candy.....on purpose. Not one trick-or-treater!