Keeping it Real....the rest of the week...

I've decided my life is normal and boring. Lol. It's just day to day mothering and cleaning up messes and doing chores and trying to enjoy the journey. Who knew?! I guess I really don't sugar coat things. I'm just enjoying them as best I can.

It's nice to know that I really am keeping it real everyday.

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Keeping it Real: Day Two

Really not much to report today. It was a fairly normal day. I have about a quarter of a tank of gas in my 12 passenger van and that has to last me through the week. (budgets are tight and it's over $100 to fill that sucker up!). The big kids rode bikes to school and I walked with the little girls the almost mile to their school with Camryn in a front pack and the little boys in our broken double stroller. It's a double umbrella stroller and the frame is totally bent, so it collapsed on me about 5 times during the walk. A girl in our stake let me have her old double stroller but of course I didn't pick it up until this afternoon so I just had to deal.

After we came home from our walk I fed the boys some cereal which Aidan decided to carry into the living room and spill all over my beautiful rug that I just got for my birthday and paid a pretty penny for thus reminding me why I can't have anything nice. Ever.

I dressed Camryn in an adorable new outfit and she had it on no longer than 2 minutes when she promptly spit up all over it. It was cute while it lasted. I just put her back in some pjs for the rest of the day. *sigh* Luckily, the rest of the day was pretty much as normal as could be. However, I did pick up a take and bake pizza because I didn't feel like cooking. Jeremiah was at school tonight (and last night...and tomorrow night) so if I didn't have to make a fancy dinner, all the better.

After dinner I decided to take my new (to me) double stroller (it's actually at least 10 years old) out for a stroll around the block with all the kiddos. After our walk we held Family Home Evening. We did it tonight instead of last night because of the debate, horrible reason I know but I really wanted to watch it and the kids were busy with other things and really it's no excuse... It was a fun lesson about being kind to others even if they aren't so kind to you. Somehow it turned into a silly song dance party and the treat was marshmallows because Liam was in charge. Julianna whined because she wanted be in charge of the music and then she whined because she wanted to sit next me and then she whined because she wanted to say the prayer....seriously! She is 7 and whines more than Aidan. It's a girl thing...or a princess thing.

So lastly, Julianna has been trying so hard to learn how to ride a two wheeler. I have been helping her at night before bedtime when everyone else in the house is quiet and I can set the baby down for a minute. Well tonight Camryn was really clingy and Julianna was really pouty because we hadn't found the time all day to practice. I know how important it is to her so with the baby in one arm I helped her balance and ran with her up and down our street. At one point Camryn became fussy so somehow I nursed her and continued to run up and down the street helping Julianna balance on her bike. I really don't know how I did it but would you believe that after all that practice Julianna was able to ride by herself! She was so proud of herself. I was so proud.

So now everyone is asleep, Jeremiah just got home and is working on a paper for his class and I'm sitting in the recliner thinking about what an awesome day it was. Even with the 2 mile broken stroller walk, the spilled milk, the spit up, the pizza, the nights without my husband, the nursing while helping my kiddo ride a bike....it was an awesome day.

Wouldn't trade the craziness for anything.

Just keeping it real.

Keeping It Real: Day 1 follow up

Did 2 more loads.
Paid the oldest $1 to finish the folding....bribery works people.

Just keeping it real...

Keeping it real: Day One

I keep getting comments from friends about how amazing I am and I just keep thinking, Seriously?? Where am I amazing?!

This isn't a call for compliments or anything but I realize maybe I sugar coat things too much?? I don't know what it is but I decided that this week I'm going to dedicate every blog post to keeping it real.

You all know that I have 7 kids. 7 crazy, noisy, awesome, insane children that I love with every cell in my body. Most days I love it but some days HOLY.COW it's hard and I'm failing miserably. They have all been home for the last 5 days...I'm ready for them to go back to school tomorrow. Doesn't that sound awful??

So here is what i have going today: Laundry.

One of those loads sat in the washer for 3 days straight, the other sat in the dryer for the same amount of time. I kept forgetting to take the clothes out of the dryer so that I could move the other one over to dry...ok lets be real I didn't feel like doing the laundry last week...so instead of just doing it I ran the one in the washing machine like 4 times so it wouldn't get all yucky. Am I nuts or am I nuts?! I finally got it all dried but now i have to fold it all and I have like 4 more loads still waiting for me!! I hate laundry. It's never ending and I'm pretty sure every time I wash and finish one load about 12 new loads appear. It's Magic Multiplying laundry. Just Add Water. Yuck! Gag me!

And as I write this from the blogger app on my iPhone I'm sitting in front of the tv watching Project Runway reruns while the babies nap, Liam is plays on the iPad, Ashlynne is visiting a friend and the other kids are playing together somewhere in the house. Oh and that laundry? It's still sitting in the middle of the floor waiting for me to feel like folding it.

Just keeping it real.

One Month...

**I've had this post written since September 25th (the day Camryn tunred one month) but our computer quit working for a bit and this post just had to stay in drafts till I got it fixed.**

Camryn Aurora, aka: The Little Princess, turned one month old last Tuesday! At her one month appointment she weighed 9lbs, 8ozs and was 22.5 inches long.

The last month has been crazy/wonderful. It's been a little crazy trying to adjust to Camryn's schedule and trying to keep up with the rest of the family schedule. It's been wonderful to have her here as part of our family and to learn and grow as a mom.

The first week went really great because Jeremiah was off work and took care of everything including making lunches, school drop offs, dr appointments, baths, diapers, bedtime, everything! After a week doing my "job" he said he couldn't wait to get back to his. It's kind of nice to know he realizes that I don't sit around watching tv and eating ice cream all day.

Since then it's been a little bit of a crazy roller coaster. Some days I'm totally on top of things and some days I'm barely hanging on. Jeremiah is back in grad school with classes on Monday and Tuesday evenings meaning he leaves at 7am for work and doesn't get home until 10 at night. He's also still teaching at ITT Tech on Wednesday evenings so on those days he doesn't get home until 11:30ish. So basically I'm doing it alone 3 days a week.

Between 3 different school drop offs, Ashlynne's cheer schedule and play practice, Brinton's Cello lessons and near weekly doctor appointments, Elise's activity nights, Julianna's girl scouts and dance class, Liam and Aidan's antics and nursing a baby on demand, I pretty much pour myself into bed every night exhausted from the day. Did I mention Camryn is a gassy, colicky, fussy baby for about 2-3 hrs each night?? Fun times.

I will say though that even though she is colicky I feel pretty lucky because Camryn is a fantastic night sleeper. She eats around 10pm and then sleeps until 4:30am, she eats again and then falls back asleep until about 7:30! It allows me to get a nice chunk of sleep each night. hallelujah!

With all that the chaos of family life I can honestly say the last month has been sort of a blur. I'm super grateful for the time I have in the mornings while Liam is at preschool to cuddle and enjoy Camryn. Well, that is when I'm not trying to keep Aidan from smothering her or laying on top of her or hitting her with a duplo Lego or trying to pick her up or trying to bite her toes or poke her eyes or whack her on the head or take off her clothes or.......yeah Aidan LOVES Camryn (half to death). All in all it really has been a fun month and I'm just totally in love with my little princess. You know what? Even though some days are long and insane and I'm somewhat sleep deprived (more from going, going all day). Even if I get annoyed and sometimes even angry and I just wish I could go to the bathroom by myself. Even when I feel like I've spent more time in my car than at home. Even when I wish bedtime would come faster (and it's still only 4pm). I love my family and I enjoy my crazy life. (most days) Bring on the next month!

Should've Stayed in my Pajamas!!

The last couple days I've stayed in my pajamas for far to long so I decided to make sure I got dressed nice today. I remember reading once somewhere that just because you are a stay at home mom doesn't mean you shouldn't get dressed for your job every day and for goodness sakes, wear shoes! I bought some brand new jeans at Old Navy on the clearance rack the other day for 97 cents (total score) and I paired them with my very favorite green cardigan.




I was feeling pretty awesome about myself until...




....yes that's what you think it is. It kind of smells like popcorn. 

*I looked at the photo and what did I see?! Popcorn poopy up and down my jeans!*. (haha I crack myself up!)

OH and just so you know it was also all over the couch, one of the decorative pillows, and Camryn's pjs.
OH annnnnd at the same time this was happening Aidan decided to undress and take off HIS poopy diaper and run around the house.  Fun times at my house this morning.

Maybe that's a good case for staying in my pajamas all day?!

My Week in Review...Jan 16-20

Monday: After an eventful day of shopping in Joplin with all of our kids we walked back to the car, loaded it up with all our Sam's Club goodies, strapped everyone into their seat belts, put the key in the ignition and.....nothing. Our battery was dead. So of course we had jumper cables right? Of course not! So we basically waited for the next 30-45 minutes asking every person that walked by if they had jumper cables and guess what? Who knew it was National Leave Your Jumper Cables in Your Garage Where They Won't Do You Any Good Day?! Finally we found someone that happened to have a brand new, never opened set of cables that he'd had sitting in his car for the last 2 years. Ummmm does no one 's battery ever die? Is it just us? Oh well, he saved us and we were on our way.

Tuesday: I didn't feel like cooking real dinner so I made the kids a lame pot of Kraft Mac N Cheese and let them eat all the snacks they wanted (healthy and otherwise) then I went to a class at the church which was ironically about eating healthier and making better food choices....then I went to McDonald's and bought a $1 Mcdouble and ate it in about 3 bites.

Wednesday: It was a good day. However, it was also a long day that dragged on to eternity. I stayed up way too late after the kids went to sleep catching up on Downton Abbey, Dance Moms and Project Runway (all of which I watch online after the kids go to sleep because I have no tv/cable)

Thursday: One of those days where I play chauffeur all day long. I did have a two hour play date with a friend in the middle of the day that broke up some monotony but other than that I spent the day in my minivan. (Notice how I said that *I* had the play date...you know play dates are really for the moms to get out of the house so they can speak to another adult once in awhile)

Friday: It's still mid afternoon on Friday so it's anyone's guess what will happen BUT my dishwasher thats been broken for over a month is now fixed and Liam told me this morning that he didn't want zombies to take me away, ever. Random, I know, but cute and sweet in his own little 3 year old way.

So thats my crazy life week in review. :)

What a month!!

You've probably been wondering where I've been. (note:blogger is being all screwy and this post came out all weird)

First there was Brinton's surgery and home coming and adjustment to all that. Small tasks, like eating, require lots of help because he can't bring his head to the food and bringing the food to his mouth by himself doesn't always happen so gracefully. He is dressing himself completely, walking all over the place, playing like a normal boy (as much as he can of course) and healing so wonderfully. He is such an inspiration.

The same day Brinton came home from the hospital Elise started mysteriously throwing up, which I thought was related to her asthma. She threw up every. single. day. for the next 28 days. She had test after test after test and no one could figure anything out (and no it wasn't an emotional thing...)I have seen so many doctors between Brinton's follow-ups and Elise's sickness that I don't ever want to see a doctor again. Finally, after a long trip and all day/all night stay at the Children's Hospital, they've diagnosed her with Idiopathic Gastroparesis. Basically, her intestines are "sleeping" and not able to digest her food along in a normal manner. They move really, really slow. What was happening was she was eating and since she couldn't move anything along, and she was so backed up, the food was just sitting there until she went to bed at night, when she would throw everything up. I. AM. SO. SICK. OF. PUKE. Luckily they've got her on some medicine and a new really strict diet and she hasn't thrown up in 4 days.*fingers crossed it sticks*

On top of that Aidan has developed the nastiest cough on the entire planet. It started a couple of weeks ago as a little cold and has now turned into these nasty coughing fits where he can barely catch his breath. Poor thing is so miserable. We finally got the dr. to give him some antibiotics and he seems to be doing a little better. (Just add his 3 dr. visits to the long list of doctor visits this last month)

And how do you think he got such a nasty cough? From his daddy.

So let's add Jeremiah to the nasty cough, repeated dr. visits list. He is going on week 5 of this, this...whatever it is. My poor, poor husband has the most disgusting, nasty, sickly cough in the entire UNIVERSE. His coughing fits have gotten so bad that he coughs until he literally passes out completly. Like 3 to 4 times a day!! Last week he passed out in the bathroom and hit his head so hard it was bleeding. CRAZINESS!! He is on medicine, too, but it really doesn't seem to be doing a dang thing. That picture, taken this evening, is a pretty good representation of what he has been doing the last couple weeks with every free minute he gets.

Ashlynne is healthy. Thank Goodness! She tried out for the school play last week and she made it in!! With a pretty big role! She is so excited.

Julianna had her Kindergarten Christmas Program a couple of weeks ago. She was so good! She knew all the words to all the songs and sang so pretty and so loud.

Liam had a little cold but he got over it pretty quick and he is back to the same old antics. He also got a hair cut because his curls were just getting way too crazy.

ME? Tired. Really tired BUT at least I'm healthy and holding up. However, I am so, so, so sick of taking care of sick people. I'm totally whining now but it's been like a month and a half. Thank goodness I never considered it as a profession because I would've made a HORRIBLE nurse. The last straw was when Elise came down stairs Saturday morning with PINK EYE! I seriously screamed. "KILL ME NOW!" (I'm so over dramatic)

So the way I look at it the Lord is planning on sending some really great blessings our way really, really soon and this is just the opposite of the "calm before the Storm"....the storm before the calm, maybe??
and now you know where I've been....

The Clock is Ticking...

So as many of you already know Brinton, my 10 year old son, is having a pretty major surgery on Friday and its weighing a little heavy on my mind right now. Actually, can I be frank with you? I get physically ill every time I think about it. My stomach gets all tied in knots and I feel like vomiting.

My heart hurts. It's so hard to find the words but I need to try because I can't keep burying my feelings and hiding from my fears. It's just so difficult to explain without sounding like I'm a whiny baby but I feel like the clock is ticking, like every hour is closer and closer to surgery time. Like every minute ticks closer to a new life. Like I'm running out of time.

I'm not trying to be overdramatic but this surgery is going to be pretty life changing for Brinton and for our family. He is going to be stuck in that stupid Halo for 3 months! Not to mention he will be trying to heal at the surgery site in his neck where they are doing the fusion and in his hip where they are taking the bone from, while wearing that stupid halo!! He'll have to learn how to function without being able to turn his head from side to side or up and down. He won't be able to sleep in his warm comfy bed because it's upstairs and on a top bunk that he cant get to with that stupid halo on his head. Aaarghhh! I just hate it. I hate it. I hate it.

My first instinct is to put on the strong, believing, woman of faith face and write a blog post about how wonderful everything is and how wonderful I am. It would be a lie though.

My next thought is to just write nothing, not acknowledge my feelings at all and still make everybody think that I'm wonder woman and I've got it all together. That would be a lie, too.

A more appropriate blog post would be an honest one. The kind where I tell you I'm a nervous wreck, I haven't had an appetite in over a week, I cry myself to sleep at night and I feel completely alone. I can't believe I'm about to put my son through this. What if something... No, I can't even go down that road right now.

And what about my sweet, sweet little boy? How is he doing with this? Why is he having to go through all of this at such a young age? This is his 8th surgery for goodness sakes!! When will it be enough?! When will the Lord finally say he's been through enough?

I'm terrified of the unknown. I'm annoyed because people assume they know but they don't really understand the enormity of the situation. This isn't just some quick in and out thing. Ug. Maybe I'm rambling.

I know I need to be strong but lately I feel like my emotions are on the surface and I'm about ready to boil over. I'm really hoping to find some strength at church tomorrow, right now I could use it.

Aidan Has Perfect Timing....

Monday was a beautiful day. The weather was amazing, the sky was a beautiful clear blue...it.was.perfect. I was feeling great because we had planned our family photos for Monday afternoon and it was obviously going to be a great day for pictures.

Until....

Poor sweet Aidan was going about his business, toddling around the house like he owned the place when he tripped on Liam's shoe and Wham! Whacked his head on the side of the fireplace. It started bleeding so fast and so much I could hardly keep enough pressure on it. The laceration was about an inch long across his left eyebrow and seemed to be gaping. After 15 minutes of bleeding I decided to take him to the ER to see if stitches were needed. Luckily, he escaped with some glue and three little steri-strips.

We headed straight home to get dressed for pictures laughing all the way....our pictures are gonna be fantastic! You know what? I don't think I'm even gonna retouch his eyebrow. I think I kind of want to remember that things aren't always perfect.

P.S. I'm writing this blog from my new blogger app...so far it seems pretty decent.

Raised from the dead....

So after my dumb cell phone decided to not work last night and after I threw a gi-normous fit and after I wrote a facebook status about it and after I dedicated an entire blog post to it I had this thought...."Put it back in the rice over night and try again in the morning" So I did it and lo and behold when I woke up this morning it worked! *tender mercies* *tear*

My music is gone from the ipod though. :( However, I'm afraid to connect to itunes to sync and get my music back because I'm afraid it will get all messed up again.

BUT YAY I HAVE A PHONE AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ding Dong My iPhone's dead....

BLAH! *sigh* and BLAH!

On Thursday I took Julianna to her dance class. We were running a bit behind so I decided she'd just get dressed in the bathrooms at dance rather then waste time getting dressed at home. So we get there and we go into the restroom and I set my keys and my cell phone on the floor next to me so that I can help her into her tights...next thing I know I hear "PLOP" and I think, what in the world was that? I look over and realize that Aidan has just plopped my iphone into the bloomin' toilet! Aarrrrgghhh! So I fished it out of the "clean" public toilet, dry it off best I can and then as soon I get Julianna into her class I raced home to put my phone in a bowl of rice to do some drying....



Fast Forward 3 days. I put it on the charger today and it kind of looked like it started but my calendar said it was December 31, 1969! It was ok though because my calendar was there, my contacts, everything EXCEPT that I had no connection. I left it on the charger a little longer and then the darned phone decided to reboot itself for some reason unbeknownest to me and now everything is gone! It's telling me to connect to itunes and that it doesn't have an IMEI number and it will only let me make an "emergency" call.

I've kicked.
I've screamed.
I've cried.
I've pouted.
I've cried some more.
But none of that is making my iPhone work again. :(

I know it seems so ridiculous BUT...10 reason's I'm freaking out about my iPhone being dead:
1. I can't get a new phone until April of next year, that's 6 months!
2. I don't own a home phone so the cell phone is the only way anyone can get a hold of me. When you have 6 kids you can't be without a way for some one to get a hold of you and vice versa. Did I mention I can't get a new phone for 6 months?
3. My calendar! Again 6 kids, 1 husband, 1 very busy momma. Long gone are the days when I carry a Franklin planner around EVERY appointment time, date, meeting, EVERYTHING was in that calendar. EVERYTHING. I guess I'm learning my lesson and I should've had some sort of paper record.
4. My contacts. I've had the same number for 9 years. That's 9 years of contacts. I had DIRECT numbers to all of Brinton's doctors. DIRECT NUMBERS. Do you know how hard it is to have direct numbers to countless specialists? Gone.
5. My ipod...now I can't listen to music when I work out
6. My apps...fun little diversions to keep my little Liam busy while I shopped. Oh well this one isn't so tragic but it was a nice perk.
7. MY CALENDAR!!!!!!!!!!
8. Words with friends and Facebook. Need I say more? And no I don't have countless hours to sit on the computer and play games or surf facebook. That was the great thing about my phone I could play on the go, or update facebook while I was doing something else. Blah!
9. Daily chats with my best friends. I've had the same best friend since I was 14 years old, we text eachother every single day, all through out the day. Now I can't do that anymore. Anyway, even if we didn't text and we actually had long phone conversations like I do with my other friend I can't do that anymore either...I DON'T HAVE A PHONE!
10. I really liked my phone dang it.

Welcome October!

Well folks we survived September.

The beginning of September was spent recovering from surgery and still trying to be a mommy and wife. It was a little bit exhausting but I have a wonderful husband, a fantastic father, and friends who love me so much that our family made it through mostly unscathed.

The middle of September brought a 30th birthday celebration vacation in Branson, Mo, followed by the initially dreaded and eventually embraced 30th birthday on the 15th of September. I still can't believe I'm 30....like on the treadmill the other day when I had to enter my weight and age....I kind of fainted a little. At both numbers.

The end of September brought more celebration and lots of cake as we celebrated Aidan's 1st birthday on the 26th, Jeremiah's 35th birthday on the 27th and Julianna's 6th birthday on the 29th....yep 3 birthday in 4 days. I'm exhausted and I gained like 3 lbs in cake alone last week! Yikes!

So now that September is gone and October is here I'm officially back to documenting my life via the blog. Yippee Skippee! I'll still have to use the rest of this week to document our September Birthday's but by next week I'll be pretty much be caught up and probably back to having bloggers block as usual. *insert smirky little smiley face here*

Image at the top Designed by Greyarea Snc from Italy www.smashingmagazine.com

Updates and a 2nd Surgery.....

So many things to share. I don't even know where to begin or how to explain. First, the pathology came back on my d&c last week and it turns out that it was not a molar pregnancy. What relief, that removes so many of my fears like the weekly blood draws, and possible chemo treatments. However, it does mean that I had a miscarriage which makes things just a little more heartbreaking and real.

As for all the complications and set backs I've had, I basically spent the weekend in agony. I felt like I had the flu with a fever that kept coming and going, body aches, and this nagging sharp pain in my right side that just would not go away. There was so much pain in my side that it was making my shoulder and neck hurt and I was on pain meds! Ug! I just don't even want to relive that experience right now.

On Monday I had my blood drawn, vitals taken, and a second ultrasound to check on what we believed to be an abscess or a hematoma, what I'll call "the mass". My labs came back good and there wasn't a huge significant change in the mass on the ultrasound so I was offered two options,
A) keep taking the antibiotics, pain medicine as needed and have another ultrasound in 2 to 4 weeks to check and see if the mass resolved on it's own.
B) Have laparoscopic surgery to drain/remove the mass

Jeremiah and I went back and forth on what we should do. At one point I decided to just wait it out. There were too many conflicts and there was never going to be a good time to have a surgery, plus I didn't want a second surgery. However, the thought of another 2 to 4 more weeks being in that kind of sick, disgusting pain made me even sicker. I couldn't fathom the thought of being so sick and helpless for that much longer. I'm a mom of 6, I don't have time to be sick and I've already taken enough time being ineffective and unproductive this last week. Ultimately, I made the decision to go ahead and have the surgery.

I went in to the hospital yesterday and they took me back immediately and prepared me for surgery. The nurse asked me if I was going to be admitted and I said No because I was under the impression that I was just going to have the thing drained or removed and go home shortly after. Well turns out the orders said something about probable removal of right ovary and tube and a bunch of other medical mumbo jumbo and I panicked. I already had an IV going but I was pretty much ready to walk out the door. I kind of love my reproductive organs and I'd really like to keep them so the thought of a possibility of losing one just wasn't sitting right with me. I was pretty vocal about it too. I refused to sign the consent until I spoke with the doctor. As soon as I had the opportunity to speak with her I felt a peace and calmness about what she was preparing to do. She really did feel like the likelyhood of removal was very small but they truthfully had no idea what this mass really was. She offered a few theories and spent a lot of time explaining everything to me. Let me just tell you my doctor is quite possibly the most amazing woman I have ever met. She has superb bedside manner and I really feel like she cares about me. I feel so blessed that she decided to take me on as a patient. So all that said I signed the consent for surgery form, they gave me some Verced for anxiety, rolled me into the surgery room and I was out.

Recovering after Surgery #2

So here is where the story gets wild. Truthfully, I personally haven't spoken to the doctor yet so I don't have a ton of answers myself just a million questions.

I remember waking up in recovery, hearing the nurses speaking to each other, checking on me, etc.

Then I heard my doctor's voice say: "You probably won't remember anything I say to you...."

My husband chimes in, "But it's okay she talked to me..."

Doctor: "I'm so glad that we did the surgery because you had an Ectopic Pregnancy."

Me: "Do I still have my tube and ovary?"

Doctor: "Yes we were able to save everything"

Me: Yay! Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....

Everyone was dumbstruck to say the least. NOBODY ever expected it to be something like that, in fact, they had ruled out ectopic pregnancy AND let's not forget I just had a d&C for a uterine miscarriage last week!! Imagine if I had opted to wait the 2 to 4 more weeks!

So obviously I have so many questions, so many things I don't understand and 4 small incisions in my belly that hurt so much I can't imagine what a c-section must feel like. Yes, Doc talked to my husband but he didn't ask the kind of questions that I want to ask and he can't explain it back to me the way she explained it and I'm still totally in shock over the whole thing.

For now Vicodin is treating me well....or bad if you consider my recent ridiculous rants on facebook while "under the influence" or the crazy texts I sent my best friend today while I swear I was on the couch sleeping. Yeah, um, that stuff is powerful and makes me pretty loopy to say the least but I'm recovering well. In fact aside from the pain due to surgery I actually feel 100% better today. The sick feeling is gone, the headaches, body aches, nausea, are all gone. So now I take it day by day until my next appointment with the doctor when hopefully all my questions will get answered and hopefully this blog can returned to cute pictures and funny stories about our family.

Friday Foto #5: Sunday Battles

This is how Liam spent his time at church on Sunday crawling under the bench. He wasn't harming anyone so I decided to pick my battle and let him just lay there. Now I know I shouldn't have had my cell phone out at church....during sacrament meeting....BUT I kinda had to document it for myself so when I get old I don't forget and try and tell my daughters or daughter in laws that my kids were perfect during church and I can't understand why their children are not. I promise I WILL NEVER DO THAT.

Liam is kind of a terror and church (especially sacrament meeting) can be pretty crazy. On a given Sunday #1 and #2 are giggling, #3 is poking #4, I scooch my way inbetween #1 and #2, #4 asks for crayons to color, I HAVE NONE. I give her a Friend to read (she can't read) I hush #3 who is chitter chattering about something, #6 wants to get off my lap, #5 is crawling under the church benches chasing a toy car I told him not to bring into the chapel and it goes round and round in circles until the closing prayer is said and they bound off like nothing happened. MY GOODNESS I HAVE A LOT OF KIDS! That's a typical Sunday for us though (I may or may not be over exaggerating...depends on the week) For the most part #1 and #2 are awesome and super quiet, #3 can usually occupy herself as long as I don't make the mistake of sitting her next to #4 who likes to sit on my lap and make the baby crawl on the floor. Liam on the other hand is always up to something....see above pictures!

I just pressed POST and I have no idea what I wrote....

Do you know how hard it is to blog during the summer?
And without a camera? (My 30th birthday is in a little less then 2 months if anyone wanted to buy me something....hint, hint) I rely completely and totally on the camera on my phone which has a tendency to take the world's crappiest pictures EVER, but hey it's more then most people in third world countries have, right?! Look at me...ever the optimist. :) (*ding*)(that's the sound of me flashing one of those totally fake smiles....you know the ones)

So where was I?? Actually I have no idea. I'm kind of just letting this blog post flow from my fingertips onto the keyboard and up onto the screen . I haven't even proofread it yet (which I usually tend to do every other sentence) Wow...I bet it's making NO SENSE...and yet you're still reading. Right? Right? (*chirp, chirp*)(that's the sound of crickets)

So no, really, where was I?? I think it was something about how hard it is to blog during the summer. I try, I really try but I just don't have the down time that I usually have when my children are at school, the babies are taking their naps and all my chores are done (except when I'm neglecting them see here and here)(I actually had to pause to search for those links...back to the free flow)

I can't really say that we've been super busy aside from our Florida trip. Most days we lounge, we craft, we play, we make huge messes (did I say WE? I mean they...as in the children...oh and the husband), we go to the park, we go to the library, we eat lunch, we play in the backyard. It's not really super exciting stuff because I basically just try to keep 6 kids entertained until bedtime(scratch that 4 kids...the other 2 are STILL visiting grandma in WY. COME HOME!!!) ....actually bedtime seems to be happening A LOT later now than before summer reared its ugly little head. I'm saying ugly little head because seriously I've done nothing but melt every single day for the last month! I hate you phenomenally high heat index. You've made my A/C go out THREE times in the last two weeks, always at night and once on the weekend. I'm kind of wishing for Fall. Apples, leaves crunching under your feet....kids in school!

Where was I? Oh yes....I seriously have no point in writing this post except to let you know that I'm still here and that I haven't really posted anything exciting because nothing exciting is happening....well aside from Aidan starting to walk at just 9 months old!! But I have to save that for another post because otherwise I'll likely have NOTHING ELSE to talk about for awhile. Except maybe my Friday Fotos...have you seen those? I post them on FRIDAYS. Who would've thunk?! That all came about because I have this INSTAGRAM thing on my iphone and people post pics and follow other people and stuff....well no one follows me and no one cares about my silly instagram pics so I decided to just post them here on my blog every Friday. I'm a total genius, huh??

So I think I'm done so I'm going to just press "POST" with the typos and all. I'm not even going to go back and read any of this, I think it'll make for a fun post. I should title it Random Musings of Alida's Silly Life" or something like that....probably not. Maybe I'll come up with a title worthy of a "Lil' C" quote: "Haphazardly Drafted Ruminations Regarding Random Interpretations of the Vivacity in which Alida Lives Her Life" that is to say: "Random Musings of Alida's Silly Life"

and if you don't know who Lil' C is that is just so sad.....

Our first "Why is it so quiet??" moment....

We've had our first....Why is it so quiet moment.....

Aidan got into some facial creme/make up remover in the bathroom cupboard, upstairs. Do you know how hard that stuff is to wash off? On the upside his skin is super smooth and smells so good.

KIDS!

Been a tiny bit busy...

In the last 3 weeks...
*Ashlynne "graduated" from 5th grade (no more Elementary School!)
*Brinton & Elise finished 4th & 2nd Grade
*We drove two days through tornado weather to go to Florida(pulling over 3 separate times to wait out sirens, rain, wind...after Joplin we were just a little nervous...just a little)
*We spent 5 days in Spring Hill, FL visiting my Grandma
*We played on the beach
*We had a BBQ and played at my uncles pool
*We went to Busch Gardens Tampa, saw some rhinos and rode a million roller coasters *Went to Orlando
*We swan with dolphins at Discovery Cove (where Liam fell out of a highchair, banged his head and spent the next several hours sleeping in the infirmary)
*We saw Shamu at SeaWorld and rode a million roller coasters
*Visited Downtown Disney
*We went down the water slides at Aqautica
*Went to Universal City Walk
*Went back to Seaworld for more marine animals and roller coasters
*Took Elise to the Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum (A life long dream fulfilled)
*Bought some Florida Oranges and Grapefruits
*Drove home-2 days
*Drove through Joplin....amazed at the destruction...horrifying really.
*Did some service work in Joplin (we could work every day for a year and we still wouldn't be close to finished.)
*Spent a week vacationing from our vacation by doing NOTHING
*Snapped back into reality
and now I'm deep cleaning my house! :)

So we've been a little busy. I'll write again soon.

I Hate This Room...

I hate my living room...it's so cold and blah and dead and ick and did I say BLAH?!

Quick! Someone fix it for me!

I need serious help because I just can't stand another minute of the blah blah blahsss that is my teeny tiny living room.









I'll admit that these pictures were taken at 2:37am (because that is the ONLY time my living room ever looks this clean. lol.) I would've vacummed but I would've woken the kids and the neighbor so I saved it till the morning. Do you see that cardboard box over there?? That's Liam's Rescue Heroes and I am NOT to remove them from the living room because they protect it, so says Liam.

It's obvious my walls are bare and I have no idea what to hang on them. I'd love to add some color to these ugly white walls but alas it's a small little rental and adding color is a big no-no. I can't rearrange furniture because of my darned piano that's the size of the Titanic and I hate the vertical blinds with a passion....

Okay so I'm going to quit whining now. Promise.

Can somebody please help me figure this room out? I want it to feel a little cozier and less apartment-y. I have a budget of about $10.33...wait no I just found another two pennies make that $10.35.

Okay the comment box is {down there} You better get to suggesting :)

I've been hiding something...

Confession time....

I've been hiding something lately. It's probably not what you think, actually I'm certain it's not what you think. You'll probably be shocked when you find out and quite frankly I can't believe I'm even telling you all this but it's time to tell the world. The truth is...

...

...


...

I've been hiding Swiss Rolls in my cupboard!



There I said it. I'm so ashamed.

I'm not sure how it started; I've never even really liked sweets. I went for years and years without ever even eating my own birthday cake (or anyone else's). I just don't LOVE chocolate, or cake, or sweets or donuts or anything of the sort. So how did I ever develop this crazy addiction to Swiss Cake Rolls? So much so that I've been buying boxes and HIDING THEM from everyone!! I eat one for breakfast, then again for a midday snack and I've been known to have one before bedtime if it's been a really stressful day.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH MEEEEE??????

This all started since I've had Aidan, so just in the last 6 months and the Swiss Cake Roll thing really only started in the last 3 months. One day back in January I was at the grocery store and I saw a box of them and thought..yummmm. So I bought them, brought them home, ate one, put the rest in the cupboard and a couple of days later when I went to get another one THEY WERE ALL GONE!! I guess the kids must've found them. I was so heart broken over the loss of my little swiss rolls that I vowed to never put them in the cupboard again and that's when I started hiding them. BUT SOMEHOW hiding them meant I had an all access pass to eat however many I wanted, whenever I wanted....and so the addiction grew.

So did my behind and my post pregnancy belly.

The fact is I was skinnier IMMEDIATELY AFTER I had the baby then I am 6 months later!! I naturally have a small framed body and this new weight is just not okay on me. Add to that the fact that I'm approaching 30 and my body just doesn't seem to want to cooperate like it used to. AARGH. I really shouldn't be complaining but still.

THIS HAS TO STOP! 15 pounds heavier than my pre-baby weight!! OUCH! That hurts just saying it....

I need to get my behind to the gym but that is so hard with 6 kids, 3 of whom are still home with me everyday. No room for a treadmill or any other exercise equipment in this house. I'm really at a loss here.

All I know is those little chocolate-y, creamy, ooey gooey yummy Swiss Cake Rolls are ruining my body.

DARN YOU LITTLE DEBBIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!