Our Fall Escape Day 3!

I just had to finish posting our last day at the cabin because it was one of my favorite days yet!

Lauren and Zachary came up the night before and spent the night. We got up early and had breakfast then spent the morning outside on the porch watching the kids play in the yard.Then we grabbed some hot dogs and string and headed down to the pond!

I was going to teach my kids how to catch crawdads!

Some of my favorite memories are of my dad taking all of us kids down to a stream or pond and teaching us how to catch them! I loved the thrill of getting one hooked on my hot dog and yanking it out of the water! It would terrify me as they would squirm on the ground.We even took them home and boiled them and ate them a time or two! Yikes!

My older ones have been crawdad huntin with me but the littles hadn't been yet so it was exciting! They could hardly contain themselves.

 

Zachary was a master at catching them so he helped the girls catch them. It made me a little teary eyed watching him and Bailey together. One of those "Oh man I love these kids so much" kinda moments. So sweet.

We spent hours down there catching lots of crawdads, and trying (unsuccessfully) to catch some frogs.It was awesome!
We finished the day with a BBQ on the back patio as the sun set! Perfection!

Today There's A Crap Storm Raining Down On Me And I Don't have A Umbrella!

My husband came home from work today and asked how my day was. And I found myself laughing~in a kinda crazy/I may never stop laughing~kinda way. Cause that's how I handle stress.I figure it was either laugh or cry and I was NOT going to cry NOT going to let the animals know they had gotten the best of me!
Oh yeah...It's been one of THOSE days!

Some of the highlights of the day began with chocolate milk spilled on my carpet,Grace hitting me and screaming cause I wanted to brush her rat's nest/hair,cleaning pee off the floor cause my once potty trained for months and months child has now decided to pee her pants instead. Every time! And the fighting. OH the fighting.over and over again. The biting, scratching, punching, pinching,Screaming. We had it all. Oh yeah UFC you got nothin on us!

And with that fighting they kept waking Adelynn over and over and over. The poor baby was so tired and now cranky too!
So in total frustration I sent the kids outside to play while I got Adie back to sleep. Then I went in my room to pick it up.Then maybe ten minutes later Bailey told me I just had to come see Adelynn.What?? She was sleeping! Well Bailey had woke her up and taken her out of her swing and taken her outside!And propped her in a chair so the baby could watch her hula hoop! Oh my hell! I about died! But the baby was cracking up. So hard so I had Grace go get me the camera. And as I was taking pictures I noticed Ethan down on all fours. Eating something off the ground like a dog.Oh not a dog. A Cat! He was eating cat food he had spilled all over the floor.Apparently it was delicious cause that's what he told me! A little later the neighbor next door came over (you know..the one who if I say "Hi" to either of them they pretend not to hear and ignore me) She was really pissed. Cause our garden drip system was flooding the rocks on the side of her house. I told her I'd have my husband take care of it but No, she wanted me to see it! So here is a pic of it! I noticed the dog crap in her rocks and thought at least she can't blame that on us. But then I had the horrifying thought maybe it wasn't dog crap and maybe she could blame it on us! Ughh. Whatever!

Once she pointed out the water flooding to me the kids saw it and then I couldn't keep the kids out of it! Ethan kept taking his diaper off and "swimming" in it!

Burnt out with crying, fighting kids, rude neighbors, cranky baby who had no sleep I was bout done! Then mouthy teen who is grounded for a month came home from school with a buddy telling me he was going to the game and he'd like to see me try to stop him!

It was then that I asked Rach to watch the kids and I grabbed my keys and took off. Finally settled on going to the library.The nice QUIET library. Then just as I was settling in I got a phone call from the hubs. I forgot to leave money for the maids so I had to return home!

Sighhh.....Some days it just feels like there's a crap storm raining down on me and I don't have a umbrella! Now where the hell is that emergency stash of chocolate???

How Do We Keep Them Safe?

It seems like some days I am on it. With the kids, house, It seems like everything just goes right. And then there are those days from hell. I can't seem to keep on top of it. Yesterday was SO one of those days! Want to know how it began? When Hannah left for school I dead bolted the front door. And then went back into my room where the little ones were. Bailey woke up and was crying about her head hurting and her neck hurting. I didn't even think twice when Ethan got out of bed and went into the other room. I was trying to comfort Bailey. But then I heard Hannah screaming my name a few minutes later. Apparently Ethan now knows how to unlock the dead bolt. And he escaped. And walked. All the way to the park! The kids at the bus stop pointed out the little boy who was climbing on the slide and Hannah freaked! She ran him home and gave me the surprise! What the crap? And so the day began.... Followed with him spraying tilex all over himself and the floor. Which of course them smell makes me puke and puke and puke. And can you say scary all over again? Nice, first escaping to the park, next getting into the chemicals. And I SWEAR I do watch him. I'm thinking I need a dog leash attached to him that I hold all day. Cause he got into the toilet too. And then after I gave him his second bath of the day I got him dressed again and then went into my room to put the movie Bolt on for the girls. And when I came out of the room guess what??? He was gone again. No where to be found. Not in the back yard. Not in the toilet. Not upstairs. So I am RUNNING to the park. (ouch) and he ends up not being there! I go home crying hysterically and am ready to call 911 when he comes strolling out of the garage with no diaper on (he likes to take it off and wipe poop on me or the walls as soon as he craps his diaper!) Not sure where he was. Tony thinks maybe he was hiding behind the trash cans. He also likes to open the freezer and sit in it. Or climb up and get the salt out to dump on the counters or climb up on top of the bunk beds and jump like superman. Or turn on the water in the back yard so he can make mud. He loves playing in the mud.He is crazy. Wild crazy unlike any kid I have ever had. Some days I am running and running just trying to keep him out of trouble and safe! Kids and especially this one can be exhausting! They run me ragged. And I worry about them. Can I keep them safe? Physically? Spiritually?It's a balancing act and some days it feels like I am failing miserably. I wonder why I can't be more on top of it. Do a better job. Protect them more.
And it's not just my lil ones. It's the bigger ones too. They don't always make the best choices. And it makes me feel like I am failing miserably.I can't seem to protect them.
I have been crazy worried about Zach. He has a girlfriend that I am not wild about. She texts him pictures of herself in skimpy bikinis, and her language is bad and she is ALL over him. I am sure she is a nice girl, she just doesn't have the same standards as we do. And he is really into her. They have been going out for several months and my worries have only increased. He has seemed to pull away from family and church and I feel like I am losing him somehow. Like Ethan I am terrified I am not able to keep him safe.
So I have come to the conclusion at this point the only thing I can do is to simply get down on my knees and beg for help. And hope for some tender mercy. And just when I am at the end of my rope like I was yesterday, I sometimes find that mercy and a little relief.
Like when I picked up my teens after school yesterday. They asked how my day was and how I was feeling. I told them about Ethan's adventures and they laughed and laughed. Then Zach asked me if it would be OK if he went to the Easter pageant at the temple with his friend Jordan and this girl Lauren. (NOT the girlfriend!)Now Lauren is a girl from church that he has had a crush on forever. And they have been good friends. She went on the trek with him last year and he told me how neat it was to talk to her about the feelings he felt on the trek and how it was such a spiritual experience. I think she is the first person who has been able to touch his heart on that level.She is proud of her religion and not afraid to voice it.The past few weeks he and Lauren have been hanging out and he is happier. And more kind to his family. And I have felt a softening in him.And yesterday as he was telling me about the pageant he said it might be fun if dad and I come with them. And then I wondered who this kid was and where did he put my kid?
And I felt my eyes well up with tears. And I felt like I am not in this alone. I felt like some of my prayers were being answered and that maybe it is not always up to me alone to protect my kids.
And somehow I didn't feel like such a crap mom anymore. And I knew I could face tomorrow better with a little more prayer and maybe some duct tape too.

Happy Valentine's Day!

One of my kids very favorite holidays is Valentines. Every year we have a tradition. It's a valentines breakfast. My mom did it for us every year too and I loved it so much so it is one I continued with my kids.
Mom always made heart shaped pancakes and cherry tarts. I am not good at making heart shaped pancakes so I bought a heart waffle maker and my kids don't like cherry so we make little cheesecake with strawberry topping.
The table was always decorated and she would put treats and a card from her. Sometimes she would include a little gift.
This year Hannah was gearing up early for Valentines. She would tell Bailey and Grace all about how exciting it is to wake up and find the table all decorated and breakfast cooking.
I had been buying paper plates, candy and stuff in advance a little at a time so I would be prepared.
Well this past week was pretty awful. I had a virus on top of being nauseous. I didn't get out of bed for days.
The night before Valentines I told Tony there was no way in the world I could go to the store to get the special food I needed nor did I think I could cook. He decided this year we would just have to change it up a little bit.
So on Valentines day we took the kids out to breakfast. I don't think we had all eaten out in months and months. I actually woke up feeling better and went with them. I even ate food for the first time in days and it felt so GOOD!
It was really nice but Hannah was SO disappointed. She said it just wasn't Valentines day for her. I felt like crap. Yeah, Mother of the year here. I think the thing that bugs me most about being preggo is the fact that it is so hard on everyone. The whole family is impacted and has to sacrifice. I feel so guilty.
So after breakfast and actually eating I had Tony drop the kids off at home and he ran me to the store. I picked up the rest of their Valentines gifts and then went to Papa Murphy's. They had heart shaped pizzas so I bought two of them. When we got home I had all the younger ones help me decorate
the table and kitchen and then they helped make cupcakes.(much quicker and easier than the cheesecakes!) Later we made pizzas. I was relieved. The kids were thrilled and Hannah felt like her Valentines day was salvaged! I didn't have to really do hardly any cooking yet they didn't feel jipped.
It's interesting how important traditions are to us. The kids just didn't feel like it was that special day till they saw that table decorated. Once It was done I sat back looking and it reminded me of how important those traditions were to me too growing up and I was grateful for them. They just seem to have a way of making you feel closer to your family and as you grow older and move away it helps you feel connected even when you are far apart!



I was grateful I was feeling so much better and was able to do it. The day was wonderful and I loved watching the excitement of the girls as they helped decorate and opened their gifts.

Tony was so sweet and wonderful

His only objective of the day was to make it special for me. Whatever I wanted he was willing to do to get it.
He was kinda short changed this year since I never made it to the store to pick him up something. I guess I'll have to make it up to him another time.
Tony~Thanks for everything honey! I DO notice everything you are having to do. Even if I don't say it! I love and appreciate you!

So, another Valentines day success!
I feel so relieved that I was able to pull that one off!

I hope you all had a wonderful one too!

Happy Halloween!

Yeah! Halloween night was so fun for us!

We started the evening by making our traditional witches fingers for dinner and pumpkin sugar cookies! I wasn't going to make the witches fingers but Hannah said it would ruin the night if we didn't have them so I had to of course!

Rachelle had two of her friends over and Hannah had one of hers also.

After dinner we went trick or treating. I thought it was so fun. Bailey is the perfect, perfect age for it! She kept saying things like "mom, isn't this the funnest night ever?" or "Mom, isn't it great that our most favorite thing is candy and we get lots and lots of it?" She kept going on and on about what a fantastic time she was having!

Grace was fun for the first half of the night. She liked getting the candy and she really liked hearing people tell her how cute she was. She then began telling Bailey she had enough candy and we should head home. Bailey wouldn't hear of it! So we pressed on for as long as we could keep Grace under control and then we headed home!

The older ones just got home a little while ago and had a blast too.

Everyone got lots of loot and had a fun time. We love Halloween around here and I was so worried we wouldn't be ready with everything going on with the move, but we were able to get the costumes and I was able to make all the favorites and I think the night was fantastic!

I hope you all had a Happy Halloween!