Family Day!!!

Today was SO SO SOOO much fun!! It started with Ruth, Alex and I going to the CF farmers market, hitting a garage sale and picking up a Step 2 slide, then during rest time teaching Ruth lesson 6 of learning to read (and she LOVES it by the way, she even sounded out her first word unprompted, "ME")  and when the twins woke up we took off and drove around, went to see Keith's dad, went to the park and played, and went to supper with my mom/dad in law. We were all so worn out that I don't even want to get off the couch! It was a truly blessed day. Even though Keith had to work part of the day and will be working all evening and into the night, it was still fun to spend what time we had with him.
He and I stayed up talking until midnight last night and the kids were up A LOT due to falling out of bed and colds, but I had such a good evening with Keith that it didn't bother me to get up at 6:30am with the baby. Isn't it funny that when we are enjoying life we have a more positive outlook and things don't get to us as easily? If Keith and I didn't have such a wonderful evening, I am sure I would have woke up grouchy and started my day of little sleep with a poor attitude. I think I need to pray more about remembering to enjoy the small things in life. ;)

Bring on the Rain....

Whew!! That was some storm! Alex LOVED it so much! I sat on the couch in front of the window and he watched with delight as the rain came down, the lightening danced across the sky, and the thunder made me sing "What a Mighty God We Serve..." as Keith and I agreed I would never tell the kids I am afraid of storms. They will figure it out one day, but for now they think its neat since Daddy loves them. Kelly asked, "Mommy, what was that?" every time the thundered cracked. KJ just smiled and mumbled things I couldn't understand. I was SO thankful it ended just as bedtime came. How does someone become afraid of storms? Nothing ever happened to me. No tornados, no anything when I was a child. Nothing ever happened to me personally to make me afraid. To others, YES. I have had friends lose houses, cars, everything in tornados, and even just high winds. So maybe I have a healthy fear due to their fear. Regardless, God is in control and He will keep me safe if it is in His will. So Bring on the Rain......

We are perfect alright.....

Perfectly sick!!! My hubby went to Seattle last week and came home with a head cold. Then, he passed it to the kids (as I wouldn't go near him) and they passed it to me. :) Now, I passed it to our poor baby. Its his first sickness, and he is only 5 1/2 months old. I have missed 2 back treatments this week mainly due to my cold. You know the kind, where you will be sitting there and suddenly drip, drip, drip! You think, "Where did that come from?" Your neck hurts, your head hurts, your eyes are going to swell shut. And worst of all with me, my attitude changes. I get short tempered. I have 0 patience. I just want to close my eyes, not respond to "look mommy!!!" one more time. SO, with sickness comes LOTS of prayers that I don't hurt their feelings or make them think I don't like them or don't want to see what they are so proud of doing. So I will take a deep breath (HA!) and continue my day (hack, hack) and be thankful that nap time is actually happening today. (Reason I didn't blog yesterday) Bedtime is only 5 hours away... :)

Wasting Money

My hubby and I have been discussing ways to cut back to be able to pay more on our mortgage every month. The first time was to not go out to eat as much, which includes Sunday lunches with the family. We spend an average of $20-$30 every Sunday. Thats $80-$120 towards the mortgage. And that is just 4 days a month! The kids and I have a tendency to eat out 1x a week, so about $10 more x4 weeks. Keith goes out at least 2x a week, so $6 each time, or $48. Keith and I tend to get our supper out in the evening at least 1x a week, and its usually Pablos, so $17 x4 weeks $68 per month. Going out to eat is expensive!!! Add up all that Ive mentioned and it equals over $250 we can redirect to the mortgage payment!!!!! INSANE!!!
that being said, the kids and I played outside in the water last night, and I insisted I turn the water off myself. Guess who picked up the yard and forgot to turn the hose off for 12 hours? Think how high the water bill will be this month?

I havent sewn since Ruth was born. An occasional mend or hem, but not a real project. Well, I thought it was high time that changed!

Can you guess what this is?

 How about now?

Is it clicking yet? Its a nursing cover!!! And best of all? it cost all of $2 to make!!! I am SO considering starting a business making these. Normally it would cost more like $10 to make, but I hit a HUGE sale on fabric and was able to do it for less this time. My niece Abby was here and helped me make it. She was in charge of the pins and making sure I didnt sew my hand to it. :) I MAY have sewn my finger, one time....

The Weekend is almost over.

I LOVE the weekend. It means Keith is home, we get to see the family, we get to DO things as a family. We play outside, go to the store, just spend time together. The best thing is I am not the only one in charge. I can say "go ask Daddy" and he can tell them no for once. ;) Daddy can change a few diapers or fill the sippy cups, again. I have a wonderful husband because he is willing to give up his free time to spend time with us. He could be spending time doing a hobby, or relaxing by himself, or anything really. He even took Ruth and the twins to the store so I could have time to myself while the baby slept. He gets up with the kids at 6:30 (yes they are getting earlier) and lets me sleep in. I appreciate and respect him. He truly is the love of my life!!!

Peaceful if only for an hour...

My hubby came home from his week long conference in Seattle. Sick. He has a head cold/sinus issue. But, he is wonderful and took the twins and Ruth with him on an errand he had to run, and since Alex is taking his morning nap, the house is quiet! 1st time in a LONG time. Do I not like noise you may ask? I don't mind it most of the time. I love hearing the kids laugh, play, dance, sing, play the drum, knock over the blocks, things like that. I don't care for the crying, screaming, he hit me, she touched me, but I know that comes with the joys of kids too. I just LOVE having a quiet house when I am all alone and listening to the traffic go by, the birds singing, the fridge kick on, the dryer running. I LOVE to read a good book with a cup of hot tea full of sugar (which I can not have until I am done nursing since Alex reacts to Caffeine as thou I hooked an IV full to his arm). In fact, here I go to enjoy the book I just borrowed from my mother in law. ;)

Its Friday!!!

My hubby comes home today!!! Know what that means? I can put Alex to bed tonight and leave the house if I want to!!! ;) Its the small things in life that make me happy. Will I go anywhere? Probably not. But, I have the option. Then he can listen to them play in bed for 2 hours and I can pretend they went to bed like the little angels that they used to be. I REALLY want a date night with the hubs, but we may have to wait a couple more weeks for our schedules to allow it and my back to be ready. Its ok, at least he will be back home. We kind of miss that guy. ;)
Kelly made a discovery yesterday. She found out that mommy keeps all the snacks in the house in a drawer. One that she can reach and open. She didn't realize that that drawer squeaks when its opened and that mommy has excellent hearing (sometimes) and knows when she opens it. I caught her with a tootsie roll in her mouth last night, still in the wrapper and half chewed up. Hope it doesnt hurt as it passes thru! I could have made her spit it out, but it WAS cute after all and I did clean out the now empty drawer this morning after she opened it and found a full PEZ dispenser....

What one may consider a gloomy morning in July...

I LOVED today's weather!!! very cloudy, low humidity and a cool breeze. The reason? I took the kids to see my nephews last T-ball game of the season. It meant no sunglasses, no sun block, and no sweating on my part. ;) We had such a good time and my back did very well sitting on the bleacher, even when I had to nurse Alex. yeah!!!! A HUGE PTL!! What is wrong with my back you may ask. Well, where to begin. ;)
When I was a freshman in High School, I had bad low back pain. my mom took me to see the Dr, he ordered an MRI and we found out I had a bulged L5-S1 disc and the entire lumbar region of my back didn't bend. I went thru physical therapy and kept living my life with the help of an occasional Aleve. In college I decided to major in Horticulture and LOVED the physical work of the construction side. I tried to keep up with the men I worked with (I failed miserably) and ignored my back pain daily. The November before I got married I got a job working in a mail room of a bank (winter = no job for most landscapers). Well, those bags and boxes of mail are HEAVY. One day I picked a bag up and "pop" went my back. I attempted to keep working for a few months but the pain got too bad. Had another MRI done and confirmed I had a bulged L3-L4 and L4-L5 and a severely herniated L5-S1. I had a steroid shot done and it lasted long enough for me to take a good nap. I suffered for over a year staying in bed a LOT and couldn't work until 1 day I got out of bed and felt another "pop" and had the worst pain of my life for over 2 months. I couldn't lay, stand, sit or move in a good spot. On a scale of 1-10 my pain was 10 at all times. Then I saw a commercial for the DRX-9000 machine.
 Sounds high and mighty doesn't it? I saw commercial after commercial advertising this treatment for a week and finally called about it. I went to stay at my sister Carla's house for over a month and she took me to my daily treatments. I had improvement!!! I felt better enough to get to go back home and heal. Within a year my back felt better than it had in years and we started having children. With Ruth it got even better. Then the twins gave it a good punch, but I bounced back with just some daily pain. Then came our little surprise Alex. The whole pregnancy I had severe sciatic pain to my toes in my left leg. I couldn't stand up straight. I thought it was just due to being pregnant and kept pushing. On my 29th birthday, I rolled over in bed excited to start the day when I felt a big "pop." Oh. No. Not again. I got out of bed in the worst pain of my life. I didn't know what to do. I had 4 children, with one being only 3 months old and I could not move. My husband was leaving town for a week that night for work and couldn't cancel. I cancelled my birthday party and stayed in bed all day. The pain grew and grew. My mother in law took 2 of my kids the next day to help, but by the end of the day I was in the ER getting a shot for the pain, and a prescription for Vicodin. This story could go on and on, but within 2 weeks I found the DRX-9000 machine here in our town and started treatments again. 33 treatments later (2x the normal amount) I am doing better than I have in over a year and am doing rehabilitation 4x a week to attempt to correct the miss-curve in my spine. PTL!!!!!
God is using this experience to draw me closer to Him and teaching me to lean on Him completely to get thru everyday. I couldn't keep a positive attitude or outlook on life without Him. I know He will not give me more than I can handle, and I am also learning to ask for help or accept help when it is offered to me. God is so GOOD!!!

The "Perfect Family"

I get this all the time. oh! You have 2 girls and 2 boys! The Perfect Family. Yeah, I would have to agree, I think its the perfect amount, and I love them completely so I would consider us the perfect family because I think we are done having more kids. (Saying I THINK since I've said this before...) ;) BUT, no family is truly perfect. We all have our flaws, our areas of needed improvement, strange habits, etc. So I choose this name for my blog because I know we are not "perfect," really. But I am happy with us and have a slightly sarcastic sense of humor at times so just go with it. :)

I've always bragged on how well my kids go to bed for naps and bedtime. well, its finally come to bite me in the butt. My strongest willed child, Kelly, has now decided that its fun to get out of bed and get KJ up and jump on Ruth's bed for at least an hour despite Mommy coming in and putting her back in bed multiple times and getting a spanking. (Yes, i spank my kids. If you don't like it then don't read this.) I even called my mother-in-law over last night since my husband is out of town for the week. Kelly seemed to sense this and as Wanda pulled in the driveway Kelly went to sleep. Regardless, I NEED those 2 hours of quiet every night to be a better Mommy the next day. So pray that they return to talking for 20 minutes in their beds soon then drifting off into a deep, all night sleep again, ok? (again, sarcastic humor, I am not really dumb enough to think this is a realistic option. :) ) Ok, rest time is almost over. Bring on the unbearably loud kiddos again!!