Quotable Mondays

Because I had such a tough week with one particular child I give you some funny quotes today...

"Everyone should have kids.

They are the greatest joy in the world.

But they are also terrorists.

You'll realize this as soon as they are born,

and they start using sleep deprivation to break you."
-- Ray Romano

"We spend the first twelve months

of our children's lives

teaching them to walk and talk

and the next twelve telling them

to sit down and shut up. "
-- Phyllis Diller

"Experts say you should never hit your children in anger.

When is a good time?

When you're feeling festive? "
-- Roseanne Barr

Shout Out Sunday

My life is now forever changed because of this website I found.

It would drive me bananas when I watched a tv epidsode and never knew what the song was they were playing. Unlike movies, tv does not have credits roll for the music.

"What Is That Song?" is a very cool place, or at least I think so. You can look up songs on tv shows, movies, even commercials. Another place on the web where we can waste our valuable time.

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Knock, Knock.

Who's There?

Knock knock jokes are big in my house right now. I am getting a little tired of hearing the same joke over and over sooooo I looked up knock knock jokes for children.

Here are a couple sites I really liked.

Kid's Turn Central and Jokes N Jokes.

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With summer holidays FINALLY upon us we will be traveling to and from the lake. It's close to an hour and my kids are usually really good but I thought I'd look for something fun for them to do while on the road.

I have young children so it has to be something we can all play.

MomsMinivan.com has great suggestions, games, and activities.

For the older child(ren) there are some neat games like battleship, counting cows, how to make a cootie catcher, etc. The younger kids could play car bingo and I can print out whichever sheets I want.

For the younger crowd I love some of the suggestions on this page. The baking sheet idea with magnets is a great idea and I can tell you from experience a flashlight goes a long way with 3 year olds.

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My blog feature this week is "It's A Beauty Filled Life".

Jennifer is a fellow Twitter buddy and we discuss real hot topics like chocolate cake and cookies. Her writing is witty and funny. Go on over and check it all out, tell her who sent you too!

Have a great Sunday and if I am quiet this week it's because I am on the beach soaking up some sun! I just may have to get twitter on my cell though, withdrawal is not pretty.....

Your Gonna Miss This Moment

It's been a tough week.

I do not want to repeat all that went on. Read my previous post and you will have the just of it.

I am terrified of when my kids become teenagers!! I cannot handle their attitudes now.

So what will I miss?

Hmmmm....

nope...I'm blank!

As per Pam's suggestion I think I'll switch it up somewhat.

I will not miss feeling angry at my children.

I will not miss feeling awful about my parenting.

I will not miss the out of routine feeling even I have with school ending for the year.

And....

I will not miss this house when I finally get to go up to the lake next week to stay at our little shack.

Sorry it's so blah this week. It's been exhausting mentally and I am ready for bed soon.

Now to go read everyone's moment so I can cheer up.

Maybe....

So the morning has already gone bad.

Why oh why do I have a stubborn-I-think-I-know-everything 6 year old?

Trust me, I have tried explaining to him that I am not out to get him by setting rules...they are for his safety.

I have tried explaining that I am his Mother and I love him and only want the best for him and sometimes that means he cannot have what he wants.

I have tried explaining that I do not have the time to fight with him about every little thing because his siblings need me too.

I have tried.

And yet I feel as if I have failed...badly.

I thought after a good night's sleep {them not me} that things would work out today...but oh no...it started all over again.

I have taken things away, screamed, yelled, cried, prayed and still I have no clue what to do.

I am scared if I do not get him "reined" in before he is older...it will be ugly.

Yes, I do not want to break his spirit but his spirit is breaking mine.

So what to do?

Let us hope that this is just a phase.

I guess I should be happy he is not a bad kid, just a stubborn-I-do-not-have-to-listen to you kid. I guess I should be happy he is healthy and thriving as any other 6 year old should.

Maybe I have the issues.

Maybe I need more sleep, too bad no one can help me in that department.

What Lies Ahead

Confession time.

I'm scared.

Terrified actually.

I'm worried about what summer will be like with four kids one of those children only 8 months old, a double pack of trouble with two 3 year olds and of course the emotional-not-in-a-routine-becasue-summer-holidays-are-here 6 year old.

Last year was much easier when baby was in utero, I even braved the beach a few times on my own. But it is a new ballgame when you have a little one crawling around everywhere and is 21 pounds so carrying him constantly is not in the cards.

I'm probably freaking out for no reason but considering this a "real" moment of honesty. I'm sure there are times when any of you Mommies wonder how your going to do it.

Yes, Daddy is home for four days in a row and he may take some time off still BUT I still have four days where I have to keep them all busy and hopefully having fun.

So off I go to plan. I want to have a stash of "oh I have not seen this toy in so long" toys to pull out on the rainy days. Music is always a hit around here too and I have a new French CD waiting to be opened.

Please do not recommend trips to the library or I will send my children {all of them} with you so you can discover what it's like to go there. Very stressful for me!

Recommend wide open fields, parks, and places where they can yell their cute little heads off and were good!

Right now I am waiting for the last child to rise out of bed {I'll give him till 8:00 am} then we are off outside as soon as baby hits the hay. We have a pool to fill up, a garden to weed, Mom has to fit a workout in there and a birthday party this afternoon. All this in some very hot weather.

We will enjoy it all I'm sure, I just wish I has some sleep to go along with all of it.

Wordless Wednesday

For more WW participants go here.

Tackle It Tuesday

This weeks tackle was a big one for me. I decided to tackle my van and not just the usual cleaning of it but the seriously dirty parts.

For instance.....my console is removable and I could see crumbs and twoonies {$2 coins for you non-Canadians} peeking out at me.

I had to remove it first...that took awhile to figure out.

This is what I found...ewwwwwww

I cleaned, I scrubbed, I disinfected and also cleaned the carpet all around the console and this is the result.

That took me a half hour and I still had to clean the rest of the carpet. I used a microfibre cloth and a spray bottle so it took me a couple of hours to clean. I wiped down EVERYTHING..seats, cup holders...oh the grossness of cup holders.

Once again if you know my children, you know exactly who sits in this spot! I found gum {post chewed} and lots of it, a half eaten orange...ewwww...and something else that might have been a piece of melted chocolate bar.

I scrubbed, I cleaned, I disinfected......different view but here is the end result....there were spills right down to the floor but they are gone now.

I wanted to switch the baby and Sasha around so I decided to lift up the seats and clean under there.

Before:

After:

So this is what my van looks like without car seats...interesting.....

Finally, after two hours of vacuming, dusting, scrubbing, and disinfecting I was done and everyone's seat was where I wanted it and the floor was finally clean.

What are you tackling this week? My sister is tackling 28 today.....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOOTS!!!

Take a visit to 5 minutes for Mom and get inspired!!

Quotable Monday's

Deal with the faults of others

as gently as with your own.

-Chinese proverb

Shout Out Sunday

This post is up late because it has been a hectic day since 6 am. My baby is fussy and Mama is still not feeling 100% either. My throat feels as if it's closing, I am sweating even in the AC due to the humidity and my night was too short {thanks to my throat and coughing}...enough complaining there is linkage to do.

First a shout out to all the Dad's out there.

Happy Father's Day!!!

For the first time ever I have no cards nor gifts for my Dad or husband. I am ill and that's my excuse, plus I did not see a card on Mother's Day so I really don't feel too bad about not having a gift or card.

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One thing I will do for my husband {and my Dad} is cook their favorite meal on Father's Day. My Dad loves the full brunch so he is getting pancakes, eggs, sausage, toast, homemade jam and dessert in about an hour.

My husband love his meat, especially his steak. The wilder and rarer the better. I refuse to let him eat rare wild meat. But we eat so much elk that tonight I am treating him to some beef steaks on the bbq. He loves rice rather than potatoes and that makes it easier on me.

I like to marinade my meat whether wild or not. Here are some very quick-easy-and-I-probably-have-the-stuff-in-my-pantry meat marinade recipes. I love Cooks.com because most of the recipes are simple and fast.

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When I was pregnant with the twins I did not sleep alot because I was soooooo uncomfortable. I spent many hours reading, watching CNN {Anderson Cooper ;)}, and surfing around online. I spent many hours here. At least I was making my mind mush by playing Bejewled or something!

Puzzles are good for you brain and when your pregnant with twins you need all the help you can get.

"Jigsaw puzzles are excellent brain training and co-ordination improvement tools and are quite fun! In particular, they develop your abilities to reason, analyze, sequence, deduce, logical thought processes and problem solving skills. These types of puzzles also improve hand-eye co-ordination and develop a good working sense of spatial arrangements. In schools and other training establishments, jigsaw puzzles are extensively used as learning aids." from http://www.brainhealthandpuzzles.com/

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The blog I want to feature this week is "Dominique's Desk". I love this post of how she tackled her sons Thomas The Train's. Go check it out.

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That's it....I have to run and get everyone dressed and out the door for brunch. Have a great Father's Day.

Your Gonna Miss This Moment

Lastnight we finished up our oldest son's Baseball season. At this moment in our lives we only have one child who is old enough to participate in organized sports...but this fall..yikes I'll be living in my van with everyone wanting something different, dance, gymnastics, skating, and hockey.

I enjoyed our first year of Baseball as did my son.

He hit the ball like a trooper,

he understood the game and it's rules,

he ran as hard as he could,

and he was a great team player

always wanting to help set up and put everything away.

I love watching this young age play, before it gets too competitive {with the players and the parents.}

I'll miss this for sure.

I'll also miss how my younger children seem to enjoy going to the games and occupy themselves with other children.


Soon it will be "Mom, I'm bored when do we go?" but hopefully not too soon!

Head on over to Pam's blog and check out other participants.

Waiting On Summer Vacation

I only have one child in school but if feels like school is dragging on.

I am ready to go enjoy our little place at the lake.

I am ready to leave the house for more than a few hours and enjoy the outdoors as a family.

BUT, we just cannot plan a day away until he is done school and that is not until next Friday?

For those of you out there that are on summer break what have you been up to?

Wordless Wednesday

I cannot

any longer deny

the fact

that there are snakes

in my yard!!!!

{squirming as I look at these photos of a snakeskin my husband found in the grass}

For more WW participants (or sort of wordless like me :))

check out 5 minutes for Mom.

Tackle It Tuesday

Another Tuesday means another tackle accomplished.

The weather here has been extremely hot and humid. I don't like to complain after our very cool spring so yesterday I decided to do some yardwork and bear the heat. I did most of it in the morning but left the hardest part for the afternoon, not sure what I was thinking!

No before shots because my camera was in the van which was with my husband.

Here is an AFTER shot of areas in the grass that needed to be reseeded...EVERY dang YEAR. {Another gift from our basset hound along with sleepless nights! }

I waited till the very hot afternoon to rake these spots...{dummy} and just about passed out. Thank goodness for air conditioning...oh yeah..ours is not working right now.

I just came in the house, sat on our leather chair and just sat still, very still.

In the morning, the twins and I weeded our rock path...not my favorite job but it has to get done every few weeks. {Again no before shots and I may just have been to embarassed to show you the before..:)}

I also had a date with Ms. Jillian. I know I am ready to move onto Workout two I am just procrastinating. I also need to do this every day not just 3 times a week.

Tis the season for Lilacs. Beautiful, aromatic, lilacs.


These flowers bring me back to the days of my childhood. I picked some when we were at my Dad's place lastnight and the plan is to take some from his place and plant them over here.

Gotta go tidy up the house, get breakfast made and maybe get a workout in before we head over to my inlaws to enjoy their pool for the afternoon.

What are you tackling today? Join in the fun and get inspired by checking out
5 minutes for Mom.

Quotable Monday's

In some families,

please is described as the magic word.

In our house, however, it was sorry.

-Margaret Laurence

Shout Out Sunday

Everyone needs to go check out this post from Holy Experience. Sometimes we are doing so much for everyone else we forget about us, our soul and what it needs to stay healthy.

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I have referred to this blog a few times now regarding healthy eating BUT seriously this blog rocks if your looking for something yummy but still good for you.

Check out Mudballs. They sound delicious and they are on my list for later this week.


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I have a huge Rubbermaid container in my office full of recycable items we can use for crafts. Toilet paper rolls are an item that the kids just like to paint..especially with water colors because they blend into each other. BUT for Daddy's birthday I found this site and we made theses together.....

That is a Cop and Robber, Dora, and Marvin the Martian....if you know my children you know exactly who made what.

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And here is the blog I suggest you check out this week.



Found her through the Tackle It Tuesday's with 5 minutes for Mom.

That's it, that's all...Have a wonderful Sunday.

Who Matters?

Have you ever had someone not hear what your saying? They are looking straight at you and nodding but they really do not hear what your saying.

What I am asking is far different then when your children {or your spouse} disregard your words. I am speaking of a stranger or in my case a doctor.

How utterly frustrating it was to have a professional completely ignore what I was saying...especially after she asked me a question. When I take my child to a clinic due to illness I expect to be taken seriously and I expect the doctor assessing us to take my answers to their questions seriously.

I felt degraded as a human being when I left the clinic.

I questioned the prescription and the diagnosis...luckily it is not anything serious...at least I don't think so.

This happened twice this week with the same doctor but with three of my children so three different cases.

I am not upset with her lack of knowledge..I'll just go to another doctor. And maybe this doctor has much knowledge but she has a real problem communicating.

All I know is this week between my conversations with the doctor that treated me as if I was transparent and some other happenings I felt unheard, degraded and useless in a lot of ways.

Afterall even coyotes don't take me seriously.

But, it's all okay.

It really is.

It doesn't matter who on this earth will ever listen to me because I have comfort knowing I am heard by the One that matters.

If this all would have happened to me 3, 4 or 6 years ago...yikes..major meltdown. How things have changed!

Have a great Saturday.

Your Gonna Miss This Moment

We have a busy household with four children ages six and under. Alot of milestones are hit on any given day. It is hard to keep track of it all and when it comes time to post my YGMTM {Your Gonna Miss This Moment} sometimes I have a hard time choosing {or remembering}.

Lately, all I have to do is open my "To Be Developed" file folder on my computer. I scan the pics from the previous week and usually something pops out for me.

Like this.....

Have I ever mentioned before how I love my children's creativity?

Sometimes I wonder if this boy is for real?

What am I going on about?

The fact that my son found a facecloth to use as a boat cover and went upstairs numerous times to get just the right length of shoe lace for the ties, it is beyond me but this was important to him.

Determination this child has {also pure stubborness but we won't get into that :)}!

Creativity that has not been damaged by violent video games and bad tv.

Remember when he used toilet paper for bales on his bale wagon......

Creative....and I love it.

This boy also does nothing halfway.....

If he is going to play dress up of any sort you can trust it is to the truest form possible.

I will miss his creativity and his determination to make things the best they can be. I hope this never leaves him and I am pretty sure it won't because it is so much his personality. My firstborn who looks so much like his father but yet has so much of my personality.

Head on over to Pam's blog and join in on the fun!