Did Mama have an accident?

This morning I decided to tear apart my bed and wash all of the bedding. After the older kids left for school Jonny came into my room to watch tv while I took a shower and saw the bare bed and asked me, "Mama, where did you go peepee on your bed? I don't want to sit there."

See, usually washing the bedding is associated with someone having an accident in their bed.

Another telling sign of how often I actually wash the bedding as part of my normal routine. :)

The Innocent Cocoa Puff

After an unsolicited mustache check by Rachel (aka Rachel in Adam's face inspecting how much facial hair he has acquired in the last week), Adam made sure to get a not too hard but hard enough kick into Rachel's leg as she tried to duck out of the way.

"Look what Adam does to me, Mom," Rachel whined.

"Adam, you know I don't allow you guys hitting each other. Can you please take the higher road and not retaliate with a hit or kick? In five more years you could go to jail for such behavior, so break the habit now and stop hitting girls. Besides, would you want to be treated that way?" I admit that I must exasperate my kids with my incessant lectures but I can't help it.

"But, Mom, she asked for it. Besides, she is not a girl."

"Adam, just knock it off. And add a day to your grounding."

This has been the continual theme in our house. Rachel or Julia bug Adam and Adam hits them. Lovely, huh?

Fast forward 20 minutes. "Adam, please take out the trash. Anna, pick up that cocoa puff on the floor," I instructed as I went to check if Andrew had his shoes on. I could hear Anna behind me complain that the piece of cereal was soggy. Just pick it up Anna, I thought to myself. Adam swished by me with the trash bag as I headed back to the kitchen.

"Mom, Adam is being so mean. I tried to throw away this cocoa puff (she shows me the smashed, soggy brown mush on the counter)as Adam was taking out the trash and he kept raising the bag so I couldn't reach it."

Real mature, Adam. And to think, in five days Adam will officially be a teenager.

Tomato Heaven

Cucumber-tomato salad is so simple and delicious. I would normally add a red onion too, but I wasn't about to run to the store. A lemon from our tree contributed to the simple lemon and oil dressing.

Jonny just loves tomatoes!

Look what I made Mama!

Times sure have changed since this post about Jonny. Now he enjoys going to pre-k and looks forward to his special sharing day which is what today was. Jonny got to share anything he wanted to on farmers. He took a book and a green tractor which will move if you push down the farmer. And look what he made! He loves making things to bring home and show me.

I am so glad that I persevered and continued taking him even when he didn't want to go. Little by little, his crying turned into an extra long hug and then one more extra hug before I closed the door behind me to pretty much ignoring me from the time he sets foot in the pre-k because he is too busy seeing what he is going to do that day. Kinda made me sad the first time he ran off without giving me my hug.

But at the end of the day, Jonny is always happy to see his family again and to show off what he made in school!

A good ?

"Is it true that all pencils are made in Pennsylvania?" William asked John one day in all seriousness.

"No son, but I can see why you would think that. Good question."

"Then why is it called Pennsylvania?"

How come us parents don't know it all?

Blueberry Sunday

It felt like a Blueberry Lemon Drop Cookie kind of day. Sorry, there is none left. :)

I gave Anna an extra one in hopes that maybe it will make her grow an inch before we go to Magic Mountain in June. I just want her to be able to ride the rides and as of now she is still to short. :(

Here is Annalyn relaxing on the couch.

John did some karaoking with the the kids.

Adam made dinner. Chili-corn Mac and Cheese. It is the bomb!

Some Saturday Photos

Yes, John is lifting the swing set so that William can mow under it. Since William is only eight and usually Adam or Caleb mow the lawn, William was quite pleased with himself for helping Dad mow the lawn.

Here is Adam, Jonny, and Daddy being lazy after a productive day of yard work and household chores.

Two days ago, the computer to the left stopped working after our power went out for a minute. What a bummer, although the kids aren't missing it too much. They are just finding ways to share the one that we do allow them to use.

I wouldn't necessarily want you to see........

that this is how my butter dish looks.

how the kids pile their stuff in the kitchen.

how I have let the clothes go in the last day.


But I am keeping it real.

Homemade Oreo Ice-Cream Dessert

This turned out so good. Probably because Adam helped me.

Take 3 sleeves of Oreo cookies and crush them with a rolling pin. Mix in one cube of melted butter and press into a huge cake pan to make a crust. Freeze for 30 minutes. Spread 1 cup of semi melted peanut butter. Freeze again.

Spread a semi-soft 1/2 gallon of your favorite ice-cream on top of the Oreos and peanut butter.

It should look like this. Freeze again.

Make sure you let your kids lick all of the utensils. Don't forget this step or you might miss an awesome photo opportunity like this one. :)

Lastly, spread your favorite ice-cream topping over the ice-cream (I used fudge) and freeze until ready to eat.

Wait for the compliments to come pouring out from your kids because you're the best for serving this dessert after you served french toast for dinner.

Brown banana blasters

After a doctor appointment this morning, I let Adam stay home for the rest of the day. It allowed for some one on one time with just him, Jonny, and I. This is one of the keys to making sure your kids get enough one on one time when you have a large family. Adam offered to make Mac and Cheese for lunch for the three of us. At 12 (almost 13), Adam is a great cook.

Looks like Jonny blasted Annalyn with his lazer blaster. Don't worry, Annalyn was able to walk away and finish her homework.

Here are the kids after school. Some are doing homework while others are snacking. Sveta, William, and Caleb are enjoying their after school snack at the bar.

Jonny was just to cute to not get a picture of him.

Yes, Rachel is eating a very ripe banana. She prefers the ones that have dark spots on them whereas I avoid the ones with the brown spots altogether. She acts like she has struck gold when she finds an extra ripe banana to eat.

Here is Adam horsing around. Can you believe that at just twelve years old, he now towers over me by at least 2 inches?

Wierd Wednesday

Some of our kids had to stay home from church last night. We are working on behavior issues with them and no better way than getting some one on one time with mom and dad. Here are some pictures from the evening.


Scary, huh? Is it Jason from Friday the 13th? Nah, it is just Annalyn wearing a pomegranate facial mask that she got from Sveta for her birthday.

John on his way home from a day long business trip brought home Starbucks coffee for each of us. Since we don't get it very often it is a real treat for both of us. I guess William thought so too because here he is sneaking his second sip.

In order to blog about his new found coffee addiction (William thought it was so good) I asked him to pretend to sneak another sip. It was so cute in a very awkward way the way he pretended, that John gave him some quick acting lessons on how to convince the camera you are sneaking a sip of your mother's coffee.

Here is his second attempt. Does he look convincing?

Jonny thought William was having so much fun pretending to sneak a sip of coffee so that I could get a picture that he begged if he could have a turn pretending too. Who would have thought the kids would have so much fun doing something so ridiculous?

John and I got a good laugh out of watching the kids act. They would have made you smile too.

Sunday Fun

Jonny discovered his brother's Gameboy. I never knew a four year old could be so intense.

Rachel took this picture. I bet you'll never guess what I am about to do. In this picture, I am about to suck on William's nose again. I know, ewwwe gross! But hey, it made him laugh, and it
made Rachel want to take this picture in the first place. :)

What a beautiful day. Here is Julia setting up a tea party. It is amazing how happy a little water and a bag of crackers can make a couple of girls.

Have you ever heard of Amish Friendship Bread? It is the recipe that you mix for ten days and then on the last day you split it into three more batches so that you can give some away. It is so good. Here is Jonny licking the spoon. My Tip: You can go two extra days. Don't worry. It is still good. I have made six loaves this weekend and the bread is all gone. That is how good it is!

Let there be light!

We got a call at 8:45 am this morning from a friend that wanted to let us know that the church was without power. Instead of having a heart wanting to worship God in all circumstances, I didn't really want to go to church. There would be no heat and I would be cold, the music would be lousy because there was no power for the amps and microphones. Church would be boring because there would be no PowerPoint presentation. I had a bad attitude and if not for my wonderful husband, I would have set a very bad example by turning around the car and driving back home.

We entered a dark church, but God was present. As we worshiped in darkness, it was very obvious that God was there. It didn't take long for me to realize how selfish I had been and soon after the power came back on. Let there be light!

And you know what? The message was awesome and I am so glad that I went.

Our pastor is doing a series called, "Raising G-rated kids in an X-rated world." Today's talk spoke right to me. It was exactly what I needed to hear.

He shared with us,

Deuteronomy 6:5-9
5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates.

I know verse 5, but did I really know and practice verse 7? The answer is not really. At least not in the way that I can be. I imagined what life would be like if I talked more about God when we sat down for dinner together, and when we were driving in the car, and not only when we went to bed, but when we woke up too. I know our home, our family, our life would be better because our life is more centered around God. No home can be too centered on God in my opinion.

But to bind the verses on our foreheads seemed a bit much in this day and age. Thankfully the pastor gave us other examples of ways to get a similar effect. Put verses on our refrigerator, stick post it notes on the bathroom mirror, take notes when we learn something new and then share them.

All of this of course, you have probably already heard. Sorry for the repeat. But for me who is still a babe in Christ, it is such good stuff and I need to hear it now and then. Nothing like getting a refresher course.

Only cost a Quarter

A word of advice to all kids.



Don't try this at home.........especially when your mother has just prepared a nice meal and your family is getting ready to sit down to eat.

Is she exaggerating maybe just a bit?

Today my sweet daughter Rachel told me something that I don't think I have ever been praised for before.

"Mama, at least you didn't yell at him for that. This is your first day ever of no screaming!"

I knew one day all of my hard work would pay off! Too bad the day is not over yet. ;) I should just go to bed and quit while I'm ahead.

The bottle

As a blogger do you ever feel like you give some of your kids more of the spotlight than others? Not only do I feel that way, but I feel that I often give the kids that are acting up the most blog mention. But not today.

Today, I want to share about William. He is my eight year old boy who finds entertainment in just about anything. Mischievous is a word that comes to mind as I try to describe him to you. I use the word, not in a bad way, but for a lack of a better word, I guess.

Let me explain.

Just the other day he and Andrew were outside playing. One of the neighbors had a small trailer parked in their driveway. William of course, had to go over and look inside it. There was an old bottle sitting inside and he thought it would be fun to take it. He went to a neighbors side yard because they weren't home and he smashed the bottle on the sidewalk next to their trash cans. He immediately cleaned up the glass and cut himself in the process. As he was walking back to our house after his bottle smashing fun fest, I was outside looking for him. Since he can't keep a straight face to save his life, I knew something was up. Poor guy can't keep from telling me the truth either. :)

"William, what's up? Where were you?"

He was very concerned that he was going to be in big trouble so he confessed right away by first telling me how he already cleaned up the bottle.

I checked the cut on his finger which was fine and I gave him a little lecture about staying out of the neighbors yards. But honestly, I wasn't to upset. I am more amused by what makes him tick and how he finds the silliest things to amuse him. See, he thought that smashing this bottle was like the coolest thing he has ever done. That rebel!

I hope he still thinks smashing old bottles is the cool thing to do when he is a teenager. If so, I will gladly supply him and his friends all of my old mayonnaise jars so they can spend the afternoon smashing them on the side of our house. :)

Flying trees

It has been windy here. Very windy. Sveta noticed and said to me,

"Mama look," as she pointed to the treetops. "The trees are flying."

"Yes Sveta, the trees are flying."

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It's a good morning. Take a moment to count your blessings. :)

An even better day

Since I posted this morning about my one daughter, I have even more encouraging news. Overall, she had a really good day. She didn't have any issues at school, she didn't pick any of her scabs, and she accepted and obeyed her consequences through the whole afternoon without disobeying. For that, I gave a bit of grace when we went to Grandma and Grandpa's house for dinner. I admit that it was probably more grace than I should have given her because she did take advantage of it to a certain extent by playing musical chairs when dinner was being prepared. I asked her to sit in one seat, and the second I turned my back she was in another.

"Why did you move? Please get back in that chair."

"Mama, can I please sit here so I can watch them swim?"

I agreed and told her that that was her seat now and she was not to move. Ten minutes later I saw that she changed her seat yet again. Oh believe me, there was a good excuse for moving that time and the time after that and I finally had to remind her that this behavior of changing seats when I asked her to sit in the same seat was not helping her day to end well. She did manage to stay in the same seat after that and I praised her for her overall effort.

As I tucked her into bed, I reminded her to make sure that she didn't fall out of the bed because that would make a good day end on a bad note..... and you know what? She chose not to fall out of bed.

As I bring this chapter to a close I thought of something. This month marks the eighteenth month of her being here with us. That is about how long she was with her first family. Maybe her internal clock told her that she had something to fear at this particular time in her life here with us and she upped her defense mechanisms as a result. So, I've upped the number of times that I have reassured her that she is here for good whether she likes it or not.

Yesterday

Anna asked to eat lunch in this box. Sure, why not?


Adam is my oldest. He is almost 13. Remember, he is the one who hates to have his picture taken. Well, here is living proof that he is maturing because he actually posed for this fun picture. Who said teenagers are no fun? My Adam is only getting more playful!

In church Sunday morning I had my arm across the back of Adam's chair. He took my hand so that my arm would be wrapped around his shoulder and he could hold my hand. It was playful and affectionate and it took me back to the days when he was just a toddler. I think I might just like these teen years after all.


I tried to make Pilgrim Stew from memory. It wasn't quite the same but all of the kids loved it. If you are reading Mrs. Erickson, can you please give me the recipe again? :)

Riding in Style

Grandpa and Grandma surprised Jonny with a new Big Wheel. It should last a long time, maybe long enough for soon to be little brother Dennis.

Reading!

Andrew is learning to read. Jonny loves to be read too. I'm cutting back on my children's computer time. The end result: THIS.
Andrew and Jonny sitting on the couch and looking at a book together. PRICELESS. And so much better than the two of them wrestling on the floor till one of them gets hurt.

Bye Bye Big Wheel

I couldn't stand it any longer. After Jonny insisted on riding this Big Wheel to pick Andrew up (we walk to pick him up from Kindergarten) from school, I decided it was time to throw it away. I'm all for hand me downs, yard sale finds, and such, but I couldn't stand the thought of people seeing my son ride around on this cracked, beat up, rickety, broken down yard sale treasure. It was time to retire this clunkety piece of plastic. Just look at the seat. Look at the handle bars....the broken pedals, and don't forget the broken axle. Not to mention how the wheel shook when Jonny was riding it, like it was going to fall off at any second. This bike was so loud you could hear it a mile away.




(Did you check out the seat?)

My Father in law found this big wheel at a yard sale for $2. Back when he got it, it was in pretty good condition compared to how it looks right now. He laughed when he saw it in the trash can. Now he is on a mission to find another used big wheel for Jonny. No point in buying new because Jonny and Andrew are very hard on toys.

A much needed talk

I am so thankful that I get second chances. I am so glad that God is so graceful and that there is nothing that I can do or nothing that I do do that makes God love me less. Yes, I am having another one of those moments when I feel like I am not doing a very good job at being a mom. And all I can do is promise to try harder next time.

I'm not talking about any one thing that stands out enough to make me the worst mother of the year, but I am talking more about my own attitude. I know I need to be more uplifting, more forgiving, more joyful, more understanding, and just more loving. I feel like such a hypocrite at times. I shout at them to stop screaming, I grab their shoulder as I get them to look me straight in the eye as I tell them to be more gentle to their sibling, I ask them to tell me the truth after the whole day has gone by and I haven't baked the cookies that I promised to make earlier in the day, and I bark commands at them after chewing them out for being so mean spirited to a sibling. Talk about self -conviction.

It kind of came to head for me today when I was working on homework with Rachel. I was getting frustrated with her and her inability to come up with the right answer. I couldn't understand why she was still having trouble with some things I have been going over with her for the past two weeks. The more I pushed, the more she didn't want to try and we barely got through her book report.

Later, when I was getting ready to go shopping, I crazily wanted to punish her for homework issues earlier by not letting her go with me. This is the part that I hate confessing because it is the part about myself that I don't like and I know I need to work on. Because I know this about myself I decided to take her and make things right. I knew it was what I had to do. And even though my taking her shouldn't have been a big deal because it is something that moms should just do, she thanked me for giving her another chance. I also thanked her back for giving me another chance, which I was very happy to get.

We talked a lot about school and homework and why I push her so hard. I told her that in my heart I know she is very capable of doing whatever she sets her mind on. Though she doesn't think about it, I told her that I think of her future all the time. I think of her possibly skipping a grade in a couple of years to be back with others more her age. I explained to her why I wanted her to learn certain things like basic spelling, punctuation, simple word problems..... it is not like she is going to learn first and second grade things in the fifth grade. She is just expected to know many things from earlier grades and so I am trying to catch her up. When she thought I was just giving her more homework to be mean or something, I was actually trying to help her learn things so future things would come more easily for her. After our discussion, I think it finally got through to her how I want to help her so that she doesn't have to struggle so much.

In a nutshell, our talk was good. Really good. We really needed it. Not that we don't have good talks..... I just think we need good talks all the time and we were due. And guess what that absolutely goofy, crazy daughter of mine said at the end?

"Mom, why don't you be my teacher then? You are such a good teacher and you can help me catch up more than anyone else. You can just home school me."

Once I heard that, I felt much better. Even though I screw up, not only does God still love me, but my children still love me too.

So I promised to be Rachel's summer school teacher.

Pro-homework

I am a parent who supports my kids having homework. I know some parents who despise it, but I think it is a handy tool for gaging where my kids are academically. I also get to spend some quality time with them as I go over it. I sign all of my kids homework everyday by initialing it at the top right hand corner. This lets the teacher know that I have looked the page over. Sometimes, I think the homework is too difficult for that particular child, and I will write that on the page and not have my child do it. If one of my children have too much homework and they are still working on it after 30 minutes and not because they are goofing off, I will write a note to the teacher and tell them why I didn't have my child finish their homework. The key is that I am involved and I am participating in my child's education. I think it is important that we have a say as to what our children do and how much time they spend working on homework after school. Though I support homework, I don't think it should exasperate them. That would be counter-productive.

I don't ever feel bad about questioning my child's homework. I think that is my job. I don't think the teachers mind either. I think they appreciate my feedback. They are probably just happy to know that I am involved with my children's homework at all. I hear all the time how many parents do not take the time to go over homework with their child. Either they could care less, don't have the time, or are intimidated over the amount and or type of homework their child has.

How is this good? I think that it is our responsibility as parents to know what our child is doing and it is crucial for our children to know that we are interested in their education.

I don't say this to convict the parents out there who don't know anything about their child's homework.... I say this to encourage you to delve into your child's homework and get involved. It is never to late to start and it is never too late to take an interest in your child's education. And don't be intimidated by it either. Heck, often times I don't understand my sixth grader's homework and so I can't help him, but by checking it, I know that he needs help, and I can make sure that he gets that help by going in early and getting help from his teacher instead of waiting to see his report card. Isn't it a little too late by then?

Where does poo go?

Yes, I still wipe my four year olds bottom. He can do it in a pinch, like if he is at preschool, but he has learned to go right before as to avoid the mess, which is fine with me.

So I was in the kitchen and I hear Jonny call out to me, "Mommy, wipe me!" I go to him and wipe him and as I remind him to flush the toilet he asks me, "Mommy where does the poo-poo go?"

"I don't know, probably in a big tank underground somewhere." I didn't really want to take the time to explain a city's sanitation system.

"No mommy, I think it goes to heaven."

Raising girls

Have you ever been called unfair? Have you ever heard, "You don't trust me!"? Have you ever been accused of playing favorites? Do you ever get tired of hearing, "You always take her side Mom!"?

Well welcome to my world.

Did I ever tell you that boys are easier than girls? Well, I stand by my word. Sure boys goof off, sure boys get rowdy, sure boys talk back, but they are not half as emotional as girls are. And being emotional equates to more quarrels amongst themselves, more disagreements over clothes, shoes, hair barrettes, and personal belongings, and more jealousy over who is prettier, who is smarter, who is nicer, who is wearing the coolest clothes, who is skinnier, who has less pimples, who is growing their breasts first, who is more popular, who can ride their bike the fastest, and who is liked more by a particular boy. It is enough to drive a mom bonkers when they have one daughter, but if they have five like me, it is enough to send a mom to the loony bin for a weekend getaway.

Now one could take this post as negative, like I am complaining, but really this is just my outlet. I am informing, and sharing my feelings on my own observations as a mom. I am not saying that I don't love my girls because I do, but gosh, if they are going to bicker and argue and drive me temporarily insane, I think I am entitled to plead my case. ;)

I don't want anyone to think that John and I are raising our daughters or any of our children to act this way, because we are most certainly not. I could easily just not write about this and hide what goes on in our home as if everything is peachy keen. For the most part it is, but that doesn't mean that we don't have our share of arguments or that our children do not fight amongst themselves. They most certainly do, but it has nothing to do with some of them being adopted, it has nothing to do with their being ten of them..... it has everything to do with them being healthy, normal children, and female (just kidding).

Honestly, I don't see them acting any differently than I remember acting with my sister when we were growing up. I just didn't realize how crazy I must have driven my mom with our cat fights.

Just so you can have a clearer picture, let me give you an example of what kind of arguing I am talking about.

One day, Julia won a cool lip gloss tower with 6 or 7 different colors that swung out of the case from her Wednesday night church group. Julia does not really care for makeup (we only let them dress up with it around the house anyways), but all of my other girls really wanted it. I'm not sure what happened but Rachel ended up with it after Anna thought Julia had given it to her. Anna was crying and playing the "I'm the littlest sister so you should give it to me" game, Sveta and Annalyn were taking sides, and Julia was trying to take it back and possibly earn some money by selling it to the highest bidder once she realized how coveted this item was. It was a mess, and if you would have been here, you would have thought it was something much more serious than what it really was. The girls were so upset and frustrated with each other that they were calling each other babies, liars, and I think I heard one of them say that they weren't the others sister anymore. The story alone took me 20 minutes to understand, and before I knew it, I was caught in the middle being called unfair, being accused of taking sides, blah, blah, blah, blah.

It was really ridiculous now that I think about it, and my solution was to take it away, period. Everything else I suggested was not good enough, and even at the end of it I'm sure some of the girls still thought that I was being unfair. To this day, I wonder if I could have handled it in a different way. I still have the lip gloss and I wonder if they could all agree to share it and pick out one color for themselves. Maybe I'll bring it out one of these days.

Thankfully, my daughters have just as many strengths as weaknesses if not more. Sure, having five daughters means every disagreement between them is amplified times five, but it also means that I am blessed five times over. When my girls are getting along, they are a joy to be around. They are helpful to me around the house, and they can disappear for 2 or more hours in one of their bedrooms playing house or Barbies. They like to share each others clothes until they blame each other for not being able to find something, and they go bike riding around the neighborhood sometimes all afternoon.

It is funny how one minute they can be each others best friends and the next they want new roommates. I can't keep up with everything that goes on between them from one minute to the next and I guess that is partly the cause of my own frustration with them. If only I could head off some of their bickering, it would help my sanity a little more. I am hoping that even with all of their bickering it is only bringing them closer together in the end. I always tell them that in the end they will always have each other when everyone else have moved on.