7 Quick Take Fridays

1.  Late Night Swimming

It is such a cool feeling to go swimming at night!  So, last Saturday night after Jay and I returned from our Psuedo date night, we all hopped in the pool.  It was late for the little ones...around 9...but it was special!  Luke loved it!  It turns out we were sharing the pool with the tree frogs who probably didn't like to have their nightly croaking interrupted!  Jay and Luke watched the tree frogs throat puff up with air and then let out it's familiar 'croak' over and over!  Jon acted as 'frog protector' to make sure Peter and Luke weren't too rough!

I think Luke's favorite part of night swimming was catching sight of a couple of bats flying around!  He keeps asking if he can go 'swimming with the bats' again:)

Luke and Jay with the tree frog

2.  He Said/She Said

While we were swimming in the pool.....
Jon:  One of the tree frogs jumped in the pool!
Me:  It's swimming in the pool!?!(insert slightly panicked voice!)
Jon:  Yes!
Me:  I'm just warning you that if it touches me I'm going to scream like a girl!
Mike:  Hate to tell you, Mom, but you are a girl....

3.  Earwigs...a.k.a known as 'pincherbugs' at our house

These yucky bugs are just everywhere this year!  I think it's all the extra rain we have had.  Jay got some spray to put around the doors so at least we won't get them in the house.  But...just, eww!  That's the one thing that stinks about summer..bugs!

4. Well...maybe not all bugs!

Luke:  Mom, do you like dragonflies?
Me:  Yes.
Luke:  I like dragonflies...and frogs.  Dragonflies and frogs are my friends.  (said with big eyes and a super cute grin:)

Dragonflies evoke lots of memories of the older boys when they were little running around the yard catching dragonflies in a big pail and covering the top with a basketball...lol!  When we homeschooled for a couple of years, we even did a graphing lesson with the different colored dragonflies they caught:)

It seems so long ago!  sigh......

5. Washing and Drying Like a Boss!

I was whining sharing my frustration over our broken washing machine a month ago and my dryer with the broken door that only worked with duct tape placed 'just so' and, even then, opened up at some point during the cycle making the laundry process that much longer and more difficult!  

Anyway....we finally bit the bullet 3 weeks ago, after a week of lugging laundry over to my Mom's, our new washer and dryer arrived first thing in the morning!squealllllll!  They work so well!  It takes a third of the time to dry the laundry load!  And everything works without duct tape!  Amazing:)

We decided to go with a high efficiency top loader washing machine.  I love the look of the front loaders, but we had a lot of issues with the doors...and some leaking...and the stupid rubber seal around the door that ripped(twice!) and is super expensive to replace!  I was torn...especially by those shiny red front loaders(!)...but in the end, the top loader felt like the right choice for us.

The best part about the washer and dryer is that they sing!  Well, they don't really "sing", but when the load finishes it doesn't 'beep'.....music plays that sounds like a jewelry box.  The sound is so pretty and it makes me happy! 

Who knew that the way to my heart was appliances...oh, and furniture!  I like that, too.  (An all day shopping trip with a healthy budget is definitely right up there as well!)

6.  Speaking of Appliances....

My parents spoiled me for my birthday and got me a new double oven range because our old one had lots of issues!  We had changed over from oil heat to gas heat 3 years ago using our tax returns because of the crazy cost of oil(best.decision.ever!)..so I was able to get a gas range!  Love it!

7.  A Real Date Night!

My parents gave us a surprise babysitting offer on Monday night so that we could go out to dinner!  We left a little after 6 and were back a little before 8...because we are tired people!  When we got back, my parents were surprised to see us and told us we could of stayed out longer.  Honestly, we couldn't!  I was exhausted!  

It was great to have a little alone time!  

Even better, Jay had a gift card that a generous patient had given him to our favorite restaurant...The Pasta House.  I had butternut squash ravioli with chicken and Jay had their incredible steak tips with red wine sauce and 2 baked stuff shrimp.  We split a tiramisu for dessert! 

Sooooo yummy:) 

We are looking forward to a (mostly) laid back weekend!  Hope your weekend is fabulous!

Clutter and Goals

I'm feeling better today than I did yesterday, thankfully.  My head is still sore from the migraine and I feel extra sensitive to light.  I don't feel so sad that it's raining right now because it is easier on my eyes!

Before the migraine hit, I was starting the enormous task of cleaning out my room and closet.  It's definitely a project and a half.  We just have too much 'stuff'!  Our house is already full of people!  Add in everybody's stuff (both used and unused) and it's all just too much to organize!

Organization is always something on my mind and at least once a month I can't take it anymore get inspired to deep clean one area of the house!

My room is the black hole of clutter.  Honestly, whenever someone doesn't know where to put something or something needs to be stashed away out of site...into my room it goes for weeks(or months..or years!) at a time!

I mean, really, if someone doesn't use something for years(!) isn't is time to get rid of things!(And, yes, honey, I'm talking about those physical therapy books you haven't cracked open since grad school!)

Are you wondering what my latest inspiration for clutter cleaning was?

On Tuesday, I worked in the morning, which always leaves the house even crazier than usual.  In the early afternoon, I dropped off Ellie and Sarah for the afternoon at a church activity and picked up a co-worker's 7 year old daughter for an hour and a half because she didn't have a babysitter.  Since our visitor didn't have the girls around she had to settle for playing with Luke and Kate.(which didn't hold her attention.)  And, since she was in a new house she was, of course, curious and wanted to see what was behind all of these many doors that contain our large clan!

It should be noted that our visitor is an only child that lives with her mom....which is a very different dynamic than our house of 10!(i.e., way less 'stuff').  Some of the notable comments made by our adorable guest were:

guest:   "Why are there toys on most of the floors?"  
me:  "Because we have a lot of little kids who like to play in different rooms and we do one big clean up at the end of the day.(the extended answer is really....most of a clean up...except the family room because I don't have to look at it at night!  That room gets cleaned for company.)

and....

guest:  (following me into my bedroom when I needed to get a diaper for Kate)..."Don't you ever make your bed?"
me:  "Yes, but I had to work this morning and haven't got a chance to."(and my inadequate self started to rear her ugly head!)

guest:  "Are you a neat freak?"
me:  "Not really."  (But, thinking in my head, "Ummm....no.  Did you really have to ask?")
guest:  "My mom is a neat freak.  I'm glad we don't have so many people in our house so that she had all these messes to clean."

...I'm sure she's glad, too!lol

Once our guest left, and my tired and unorganized self tried to take care of a crabby baby, a needy 3 yo, Peter, and manage to start dinner with none of the older kids home to help, it was a struggle not to just give in to feeling like a complete failure and be discouraged.  So, I pulled out a couple of old friends that are in the form of books that give advice for parenting and organizing for the large family:  A Sane Woman's Guide to Raising a Large Family by Mary Ostyn and Large Family Logistics by Kim Brenneman.

I'm trying to get some fresh inspiration for the old clutter problem.

I need to simplify...I need to figure out ways to make our budget work better....I need to be more sacrificial so I can lose some weight...and I know that in some ways they are all tied together.

I wish I could just have Suze Orman or Dave Ramsey just come over to my house, go through all the financial muck, and tell me exactly what to do and how to do it!  Oh....and I want it to be easy and stress free, too!:)

It's not like we're is some terrible spot or anything, but I'm just tired of somehow managing to squeak by(often by borrowing from Peter to pay Paul), and feeling anxiety every Friday when I play, "How to try and make the money stretch everywhere it needs to go and figure out who can wait until the next pay week!"

Honestly, it's exhausting..and stressful.

Have I mentioned stressful, yet?

I am a firm believer in God's Providence.  We have gotten through times that we never should have with some fancy money shuffle work, a surprise gift, or an offer for unexpected help.

I know that I have to do my part as well, though, and I'm just not as organized as I could be with keeping track of our money.  And I'm definitely not good with making goals with our money because there's never much left over!(and what is leftover just usually gets sucked up by that car repair or medical bill we weren't expecting!)

Anyway, if I'm not making sense then I blame it on the effects of the migraine!  Focusing on words doesn't feel good yet!

I'm trying to take baby steps...on clutter, finance, and personal weight goals.  I'm trying not to have a self-defeatist attitude and give up before I even get started because, honestly, all three of these areas feel impossible to get a handle on!

It's a good thing that "With God all things are possible."(Mt 19:26)

Unexpected Slowdown!

Sorry I'm so silent this week!  It's been a little crazy and I still seem to be struggling to get into a summer routine.

And today, I ended up with a migraine at lunch time after a mostly productive morning working on my bedroom/closet and playing with Luke and Kate. (Who continued to play in my room while I cleaned, making messes right behind me!)

Because I did not plan to get a migraine at lunch time(ugh!), I ended up with a room that was even more messy than I started with!  You know how cleaning goes...you drag stuff out and make piles to 1. give away, 2. throw away, 3. recycle, 4.put away where it belongs.  So, I was left with many piles!

Thankfully, after some couch time and help from Sarah and Ellie with the little ones, I can function a little!  A couple of piles got put away and the rest will just have to wait until tomorrow.

Sorry...short post today because my head just hurts and it's hard to think!:(  Thankfully, I don't get migraines too often!

Tomorrow will be a better day:)

Psuedo Date Night

Since we have been married quite a while(twenty years), and have a gaggle of kids, getting alone time doesn't happen all that often.  Since I wasn't able to get grocery shopping done during the week, and Saturday went by in a blur, Jay and I headed out on Saturday night with Kate in tow to get the shopping done.

So...grocery shopping was a Pseudo date night since (a) we were (mostly) alone and (b) we were out of the house and (c) we stole a couple of quick kisses in the aisles to make it more romantic..lol.

I even had my hair all fancy in a ponytail!...lol

Kate tried to get a little wild with the whipped cream!

The store was really quiet, too...bonus!

While pseudo date nights are better than nothing, we are definitely way overdue for some real date nights!  Our family's schedule is always so busy, and we are always so tired, that the energy it takes to plan, get ready, and actually get out of the house just seems beyond us!

I think I'm turning into a 'mommy blob'.  What is 'mommy blob' you might ask?  I think it happens when the big part of my life as mommy/mom takes over all the rest of who I am.  When my baby seems more like an appendage than a separate person because it's still hard to leave her for long....and the other kids have needs too that seem never ending!

Does anyone else go through that....especially SAHM, attachment parenting moms?  I find that it's so hard to transition into leaving the littlest one after almost never leaving them for that first year.  I've gotten a little better at leaving her for a couple of hours during the day to go to work once a week and occasionally to go shopping or to appointments for one of the kids.  It's still not so easy at night.

Because I've had back to back emotionally clingy babies, it has been a long time since I've had more than a few stolen moments to feel like I am my own person.  One month from today(Luke's birthday!) will mark 4 years of non-stop nursing.(between Luke and Kate..although getting Luke to wean took forever!)  Luke is still an emotionally needy little guy...which is fine...just his personality.(I have a couple of other kids that are like that, too:)  It's just challenging to feel like I'm meeting everyone's emotional needs and still have anything leftover for Jay....or myself.

I know this is a phase of life and I keep reminding myself that someday I will miss this.  I think some extra grown-up time is definitely in order, though!  For this week I will take the moment that was given to us....

So, that was our "date night"...sort of.:)

What a Week!

7 Quick Take Friday

O.M.G....this week Monday felt like Friday!  Thank God we made it to the end of the week!

1.  Peter's Mystery Illness  

This week has been focused on Peter and his fever/turned stomach virus/turned rash, which led to the correct diagnosis of Lyme Disease.  He wasn't feeling 100 percent over the weekend and started vomiting on Monday.  He was worse Tuesday which led to a doctor's visit, which led to an ER visit.  After an exam to rule out appendicitis and a bowel obstruction, the dr. gave him some anti nausea meds and Peter finally  stopped throwing up!  We went home thinking fluids and rest were all he needed.

Until...he woke up the next morning sporting red circle rashes on his face and torso.  More circles broke out over the hour between calling the dr's office and getting to the appointment!  Since Mike had Lyme Disease years ago with the same symptoms, it was no surprise when the doctor confirmed that Peter had Lyme Disease.  I'm so glad we know what's wrong and, after 4 doses of antibiotics, Peter is feeling much more like himself!  He keeps singing the Doc McStuffins song, "I feel better, so much better...." such a cutie!

This was a picture of Peter on Sunday...obviously under the  weather since he fell asleep in the middle of the day in his hammock swing!

2. Party Weekend

Last weekend was party weekend with the official graduation party for Mike and Andrew on Saturday, and then a birthday party for my sister on Sunday!  June was such a busy month!  I was hoping that July was going to be a bit quieter...hopefully, the way it started isn't an indication of how the rest of the month will be!

3.  Pool Fun

With the sun finally deciding to show up, we have spent a ton of time in the pool!  It is so great to enjoy our backyard!  I even got Kate to go in the pool with me...and Luke is swimming around the pool with his floaties without hanging onto to anyone or the side!  Check out the picture of Luke and Jay having fun playing on their "noodle boat"!:)

4.  July 4th

Since Peter is still recovering, we kept the 4th really laid back.  We had a cookout with my parents, grandfather, sister and her friend.  Then we came home and played in the pool for a long time.  The 4th is still a tough day for Jay after, what he calls, "The Incident", that occurred on July 4th 2 years ago.  This year was easier than last year, but there is still some healing that has to take place.  I think he said it best when he told me he was walking outside with a very crabby Kate yesterday morning and he realized that if things had turned out differently, he would never have even met Kate since I was only a few months pregnant with her when "The Incident" happened.  

A very sobering thought, indeed!  Thank-you, God, that everything turned out "o.k".

On a lighter note.......

5.  Sibling Love

Ellie loves her baby sister!

Kate adores Peter!

And these two....I can't say enough about!  Luke loves his baby sister!  He is so kind and gentle with her....even when she isn't being so gentle!  Kate adores her older brother, too!  She wants to do everything he does!  In the next few pictures, Kate wanted a Popsicle just like her brother but when I went to put her in her high chair she threw a fit.  She wanted to sit right next to Luke!

Look at the way she watches him!  I love it!

6. My 'Right Hand Girl'

Sarah has become such a huge help in the kitchen.  She just steps in and helps with dishes and cooking without being asked!  I am very blessed!

We like to watch Master Chef, and after an episode where they made a lemon meringue pie, Sarah wanted to try and make one herself.  We decided to make it for the 4th of July at my mom's.  She did a great job!  It looked great and it tasted even better!  I should have taken a picture while it was still all intact...luckily there was still some left to give you an idea of what it looked like!  You can tell by the weird shape that people have been sneaking in the fridge and cutting off small pieces all day!  

Super yummy...good job, Sarah!

7.  Kate

Can I just say how much I love this little cutie!  (I love all my kids....she is just the most photogenic right now!)  Every day is a new adventure for her and she is so loved by all her siblings!  I just love how she slept the other day...."posing" in her sleep:)

Here is hoping for a relaxing weekend filled with lots of family time...and no doctor or ER visits!
Happy Weekend:)

Joining up with Jen for 7 Quick Take Friday!

An Afternoon in the E.R.

You know how I just mentioned in my last post how I was hoping July would be a slower month...umm, yeah, not so sure.

I spent the second day of July in the doctor's office and then the emergency room because Peter had been vomiting off and on since Monday.  Tuesday morning Peter vomited every 30 to 45 minutes.  The doctor was concerned with the color...it was gross, I won't share!...and sent us to the emergency room to rule out appendicitis or an intestinal blockage.

Peter was sooo miserable.  I felt so bad for him.

Jay met me at the E.R.  Peter vomited(again) just as I got to the hospital.  I had left the house prepared with a bucket, bleach spray, and a roll of paper towels!  Unfortunately, I have had past experiences of kids getting sick in the car without being prepared and did not want to repeat those memories!

(The worse was when Ellie was about 8 and I was bringing her to the doctor's because she had a fever and a sore throat that turned out to be strep.  Just as we got to the office, she vomited all.over.herself!  It's one of those moments when you look at the situation and think, "Oh, crap, how the heck am I going to fix this?"  Luckily, I had a bag of maternity clothes that someone had returned to me weeks a while before and I was too lazy to hadn't gotten around to removing it from the car.  So, Ellie wore a maternity t-shirt that I tied at the bottom around her waist and I used another shirt to try and clean up the mess a little!  The joys of being a mom!)

Anyway, Peter had been extremely agitated when we were at the doctor's office.  He felt terrible, we were stuck waiting almost an hour before they got to us, and he was moaning and groaning in rare, special needs style.  No amount of shushing or distraction stopped the very loud vocalizations.  Understandably, the physicians assistant that examined him wanted to send him to the hospital.  It was difficult to figure out just how much pain Peter was in because of his limited speech and ability to answer questions.

Ironically, at the hospital he was an entirely different kid.  He was still vomiting every 45 minutes but there was none of the groaning.  In fact, when the doctor came in to examine him, he was asleep.  He actually slept through her exam which was a blessing because she could hear bowel noises and poke and prod his belly, which he had no reaction to.

So, two hours, a little anti-nausea medicine, a little pedialyte(which he hated!), some "regular" water, 2 more hours and we were able to go home.  I knew he was perking up when, 45 minutes after having the anti-nausea meds Peter jumped off the gurney and started rifling through the cabinets in his room saying, "No more doctor water(pedialyte).  Need a cup!"  Which he found and filled with bottled water I had in my purse!

Poor Peter was all worked up on the drive home.  He got very obsessive about which highway he wanted me to take home.  He almost worked himself up into a full blown temper tantrum, which I haven't seen in a while.

Then, when we got home, he wanted to eat since the meds were making him feel better.  But...he wanted hot dogs.  Ummm..no!  Then, he got all worked up about having a pear.  Against my better judgement, I gave into him.  Thankfully, it stayed down.  He is still pretty miserable, though less so.  Hopefully, tomorrow will be a better day!

Jay and I are really overdue to spend some alone time together!  I didn't realize that an afternoon 'date' in the E.R. was going to be it!

I was really hoping July was going to be a less stressful month!  Hopefully, this isn't a true representation of what July has in store!

Welcome to July!

Welcome to July!

Wow....what a crazy June we had!  This last weekend was no exception!  A fun all-afternoon and into the night graduation party for Andrew and Mike on Saturday and then a clam boil with my family on Sunday to celebrate my sister's birthday!

The planning part of my brain is sooooo tired!

I put up the July calendar last night.  For the most part, it looks much more laid back than June!  At least for now:)

It is a dreary, rainy day here today.  We've had quite a bit of rain lately:(  Thankfully, there was a break in the rain for the boys' party on Saturday!  Hopefully, it isn't going to just be a rainy, muggy summer:(

Ironically, as much time as I spent at the grocery store at the end of last week, I have to go back today to get groceries for the rest of the week!  We don't have a big refrigerator, so even fitting the food for the party was quite a feat!  Despite all the food everyone ate all weekend, the kids still expect to eat this week!?!

Well, that sums up our weekend!  Here's hoping for a more relaxing July filled with fun summer memories!