To do list for Monday

Just a quick sticky note to myself for accountability. :)

School 8-11

Piano at 11:30, quick lunch on the playground at 12:45 and Choir at 1:00

Errands to run while I'm out - gift at Lifeway, pay water bill

Chores:
-Mop kitchen and playroom
-Clean bathrooms
-Finish unpacking my stuff (always last, of course) and pick up our bedroom
-Vacuum house
-Get boys clothes reorganized that became very unorganized since coming back
-Get clean laundry put away and be finished with all the laundry in the house! :)... that is until more dirty clothes pop up that night.

Start dinner prep at 4:30

Kids' bedtime/parents alone time 7:30

Full day and I'm losing sleep by the minute! :)

Random things

Praise God, we seem to be well now, save for a few lingering runny noses and coughs. That sick feeling I had Thursday turned into a definite something different from the flu! I was nauseous all day Thurs and yesterday I was vomiting so much I became severely dehydrated. No good. It was violent but quick, thank God. I was able to get rehydrated and felt better this morning. Hopefully, no one else will get it!

This has been such a rough week, I forgot to tell about the sweets we received from Tom! The Kopoha bar is from Ukraine and the big box and other three bars are from Holland. (They had a layover in Amsterdam.) The kids were thrilled with their exotic chocolate and my box was just beautiful with all the inlay of different chocolate! What a treat!

Almost to pretty to eat.... I said almost!

The scene on Wednesday - so sick and watching Enchanted... our new favorite movie. :)

Ittle dittle is 3 months old, yesterday in fact! I looked up at midnight last night and realised I'd let the day slip past without "celebrating" with him. I scooped him up from his crib and sang to him. He just looked at me sleepily. It was so sweet. This picture is from Thursday, I didn't get any from the actual day. He's had several near laughs... he talks and coos so much now. He sits up great in his bumbo seat. He loves to dance with Daddy and listen to Chandler read to him. He lets Taylor put her doll hats on him and puts up with Brayden's rough ways. He loves being outside and grins at anyone who talks to him. I love my baby boy.

Life is getting back to normal now with all the sickness ending and us settling in to being home and together again. Today was spent at soccer games, doing some housework, rearranging the living room and getting the laundry done. It felt great to be productive again.

I'm still soaking up having my hubby around. I can't put into words the elation I felt going to pick him up Sunday night. I was as giddy as the first time we met, I couldn't stop shaking. The whole first night he was home, I couldn't stop tearing up and saying over and over " I'm so glad you're home!" He brought me flowers on Wednesday and it was such a loving, genuine gesture, I got weepy all over again. I am incredibly blessed to have such a wonderful, caring husband by my side. I love him with all my heart and cherish him beyond words.

Ok, I'm done with all the mushy stuff. :) Gotta go get the dishes done!

Oklahoma trip in pictures

Enjoy the pictures - I am in no way up for typing the novel that was our week. :-P I seem to have relapsed after feeling so much better yesterday. Or I have something totally different, who knows.

Be sure to read the captions! :)

Yes Aimee, I'm alive

We all returned home safely Sunday night, the kids and I at 8:30 and we picked up Tom at 10. (I'm so glad he's home! --- insert giddy gig here ----)

The reasons for my lack of posting are threefold:
1. I've been much much too busy enjoying having my beloved husband home to even think of posting ;)

2. The achy/sick feeling that was plaguing me at my family's house hit all of us full force the last two days of our trip (turns out it's the flu!) Monday was even worse so we've all been camped out in the living room with kleenex, juice and crackers, cough syrup, saline and bulb syringe for the baby, movies, and our fave tivoed shows (Extreme Home makeover, Jon and Kate plus Eight and I love Lucy). Today was the first day we even moved from the couches.

And then if 1 and 2 weren't reason enough.... :)

3. Our wireless router decided to go bananas on us and we haven't had phone or internet for 3 days.(!!!) (oh the horror!... but I've been so sick, I've not even missed it, imagine that.)

Full report and detailed slideshow tomorrow. :) Night!

I miss Tom

The last few days have been very much of a catch up after such a long and exhausting weekend. Catch up on SLEEP mostly. I've been in such a funk, feeling sick and depressed. I'm sad and miss my husband so much. I can't wait to see him again. I miss my friends. I miss my home. And I miss comments on my little blog. It's my only link to the outside world. It's very isolating to be with out highspeed! :) To feel lonely in a house with 19 people living in it is true irony. lol

After moping around the house since Monday, I perked up this afternoon, and seemed to be coming out of my bluesiness. I ventured outside and wandered down to the creek where my siblings and I played growing up. Brayden was with me and I showed him the rocks we'd have picnics and where I imagined I'd build my dreamhouse. Taylor was fishing with my brothers nearby. It is so cool to have my kids experiencing and seeing the same things I remember doing 20 years ago! I love that my parents live in the same house where we grew up. It makes the memories that much sweeter when you can show your kids exactly what you're telling them about!

So, yeah. Despite the funk, the kids and I are having a grand time. Any visit is great, even if it is just sitting around the house. The kids always have tons to do outside. And they love it! Tomorrow we're all going to Incredible Pizza with Mimi and Papa. What fun! I'm glad I'll feel up for it. I have some visits to make and shopping to do before Saturday. That should fill in the rest of my week. Easter will be here and then it'll be time to go home! Home to my hubby's arms. Yay!

I'll post more pics some other time. There are so many... I'll probably have to get another sd card before this trip is over. :) See ya!

Baby love

Saturday at the kids' games, everyone had to get cuddles with Aaron. I didn't see much of their games.... I was too busy taking pictures! I do know they both won, though, and got great placings in the tournament. It was so cool to be with the whole family who turns out to cheer them on at this event.

It was the first time Mimi and Papa had seem him!


First time for Aunt Holly too.

Fancy lunch

On our way to Oklahoma City on Friday to meet up with my family, we stopped at the American Girl Place in Dallas. It was the first time we had been to it, I'd been promising Taylor a trip there ever since her Birthday. And actually we still are going to go back to make a girl's day of it with her friends. Anywho, since we were going through Dallas, we stopped there to look around and have lunch. It was a very fancy affair with cloth napkins, three course meal and after lunch mints. Ooh la la! They even had little chairs for her dolls. :) She thoroughly enjoyed it and we all got our fill of American Girl stuff. She picked out an outfit for her dolls and the latest AG magazine and we were on our way.


I do believe the boys were the only males in the place! They didn't seem to mind. :)

I hate the funk

The funk you get in when you've had a bad weekend and there's no one there to be your rock, your shoulder to cry on. Your husband and best friend is half a world away and you miss him so terribly, but there's no way to reach him. You can't hear his voice or feel his arms around you. You feel so utterly alone that you feel physically sick and achy. Plus you're not in your own home, there's no high speed and no way to upload pictures!!

Ok, rant over. I hope the rest of my trip is better. Right now I just want to go home. Details of the weekend from you know where later on. I need to get back to bed.

If you're reading out there in Ukraine...I love you, baby. Come home soon!

One last thing.....

I'm having fun with my camcorder.... and hooray for editing! I just had to put up this clip of Taylor's game a from a few weeks ago.

Ok, I'm really done blogging.... see ya


p.s. I just spent the better part of an hour making our "away message" for the voice mail. Ugh. Priorities! Making the perfect message shouldn't be anywhere near the top! lol

On the road again....

It's 5 am and we're off! lol Hardly. I'm up tending the baby. I am incredibly tired. I'm going to need some major caffeine to make a 5 hour drive! Thankfully we're driving to Dallas first, stopping off for lunch and then on to OKC. It splits it up enough that I think I'll be fine. We plan on leaving the house at 8.... I think we just might make it too since I'm up so early. I'm so excited about this trip. All the adrenaline may be enough itself without any caffeine!

I've gone major OCD on this trip. I've been on this perfect house (as perfect as it can be with 4 kids) and laundry always caught up kick... (here's hoping it sticks this time!!!!!) that incidentally makes me oh so happy! Anywho, now it's transferred to the packing. I've made lists after lists.... and then lists of lists. Everything that was packed, the exact number of each article of clothing each person has, each toy, personal item, books, electronics we have. I've also labeled 7 huge ziplock baggies with the days of the week and put an outfit for each of the kids... this is to eliminate digging through suitcases and making HUGE messes and inevitably leaving something under a bed or whatnot. We just have SO MUCH - packing and listing and organizing for over a week for 5 people is daunting, let me tell you. I just do not want to leave anything. Hopefully my lists will help with that. Just watch, I'll lose my lists!! ha! I also have a list of the errands we need to run before leaving Longview, in the exact order we have to go.... I'm about to go insane.

If you know me at all, you know that this is so unlike my personality. Usually for a trip to see my family, I just throw whatever's clean into a laundry basket and call it good. Or have to wash 5 loads of laundry to have enough to take! I'm baffled and irritated and very pleased with myself all at once. It's so much more work, but much more rewarding.... I got 2 hours sleep, but my house will be nice and clean when we get home. Ok, enough rambling. I need to get my shower. Maybe that will wake me up.

Well, I don't know if I'll get to blog in OK. I will try though. Tomorrow and Saturday we'll be in OKC for the finals of my sisters and brother's national basketball tournament. Sat night we'll drive back to Tulsa and go to church on Sunday. After that I'm looking forward to a very relaxing week. Then we get to celebrate Easter with my family! I do believe it's the first time since I moved here almost 5 years ago! Wow.

Please keep Tom in your prayers. I don't know if or when I'll hear from him. It's hard having no communication at all. I pray that God uses him in a mighty way... and I also just want him to come home safely. :) If you get to read this, I love you dearly, Baby.

Everyone have a great week... don't have too much fun without me... and Happy Easter!

A few family shots

Our first family pictures since Aaron was first born! Tom wanted a family pic with Aaron in it to take to Ukraine, so we tried getting in a few before the sun went down last night. Then we went on a date! It was wonderful to have the alone time together. It was special too since he left today. :( We just dropped him off at the church and they're on their way to Shreveport. We miss him already.

Thanks to Ginger for taking these for us AND for babysitting! It was a blessing.

First video!

Pretty self explanitory; Chandler working on his very first lesson of piano. :)

And this is an easy day

I got just about everything done on my list. Today was a great day!

Today's Master List

CHORES:
1. Mop all tile areas
2. Wash all bedding (and it all made it back on the beds BEFORE bedtime!)
3. Straighten kids' drawers and closets

PLACES TO GO:
Peruse personal library sale at 10 Made off with LOTS of great books for my bookworm... and me!
Drop kids off at Aimee's at 11 And hang out for lunch afterwards... check!
Dr. Appt at 11:30
Chandler's soccer practice at 5:30


BASIC TO DO:
School with Taylor and Chandler
Breakfast and lunch
General pickup 5x's a day
Dishes and wipe down kitchen 3x's a day
Piano practice and reading (Grrr.)
Free time (I actually got a.... wait for it..... NAP! :)

TARGET DOLLAR GENERAL LIST: (it was closer)
Heaps of kids' hangers for organization chore (I hung up all the the boys shirts, Steff - aren't you proud??)
Secret sister Easter card (DG cards are cheesy)
(and a mocha as a quick pick-me-up?) didn't happen

DINNER:
Lasagna and salad with pudding for dessert. Simple is best on soccer nights, otherwise it ends up being take out, which we all don't like.

So that's our day in a nut shell. There's no set order to my day unless there's an appointment(s). But I have my list; there is a method to the madness! I just try to have everything checked off by the end of the day. It works for me. I'll let you know how tomorrow goes! :)

There's my blog post.

I had just sat down to write something on my blog, but unsure as to what since not much has happened this weekend besides soccer games (2 wins!) and church (great worship, but missed the preaching because I had to run home for the diaper bag!) and grocery shopping, and return trip to Walmart today to grab the items I forgot! :)

Anywho, as I sat wondering what to write, it dawned on me I hadn't seen Brayden in quite awhile. I had been on the phone with my Grandma for the better part of 2 hours just before sitting down, and several times I'd had this vague uneasy feeling that something wasn't right (that 6th sense that mom's have) but we had Taylor's friend Hannah here to play so I just thought it was because of the extra face and being on the phone.

When I realised it had been at least an hour since I'd seen my little guy, I was calm and told myself that he must have been tired and laid down in his bed. Then he wasn't there. And he wasn't in Taylor's bed. I was worried then because Tom's been outside all afternoon working on the yard. I pictured him wandering out to see Daddy, then deciding to walk to the Johnson's (who live around the corner) Ack! I glanced in my room and didn't see him... my heart rate going up the whole time... then something caught my eye. I walked over to the baby bed and this is what I saw...

My first thought was, "Well, there's my blog post and picture of the day." :) My second was, So, cute, but why did he have to uncover Aaron!!? :) THEN "Oh yeah, I'm glad he's ok!" Ha!

On a related note, I'm starting to think in blog titles-- like when Taylor and I were at Abi's party the other day, my title was going to be "Another day, another party" (it seems we're always at a party!). But then I didn't have my camera which meant no pictures, so it didn't happen. Thinking in blog titles is a sign of too much blogging, I do believe. :)

Baby, it's cold outside

We got snow in Texas again! And it was even enough to play in! The kids were beside themselves with excitement. Even before breakfast they were layering on clothes to go out. School was put on hold and we went out to enjoy the rare treat of snow. :)

It took a good half hour getting everyone ready.


It had been raining first, so it was a very wet snow and the ground was all muddy.

Beautiful snow! Our neighborhood looked like a snowglobe.



In no time, they were wet to the skin and ready to come back in to warm up. Cocoa did the trick! They were content after that to watch the snow from the front door, sipping their hot chocolate. :)

What a wonderful day - and as Aimee pointed out, yet another reason we love homeschooling! :)

Today

I can't string along words to form sentences right now - I'm in a lovely haze called codeine. Long story short, today was just ok.... it was stressful and busy and tiring, but had a nice ending.

(reading back over this, I should have just ended it up there and been done with it. lol)

I felt like monster mom trying to get out the door to ELO, which made me guilty and that put me in a bad mood pretty much all day. I had bad news from the dentist... I have to see an oral surgeon for my tooth, it's beyond repair and requires more than he's comfortable doing.

So the kids are all grounded from any and all electronics until further notice. Their rooms get out of control far too often, so until they can obey and keep their rooms presentable (not perfect, just picked up) I've declared a moratorium on tv, computer, wii, and ds. And dessert. :) We'll see how long it takes them to shape up. :) Tonight Taylor asked if they could get a spanking instead. It was all I could do not to laugh. I told her I think this will be much more effective. (as already proven by her question) And I added, "It's not punishment for what you did or didn't do, it's discipline to mold future behavior." I think she got it, but I'm not sure about Chandler. He just knows he wants to watch a movie. lol

I'm so tired. ELO days are always long, and then throw in a dentist appt - Laura and Rebecca Johnson watched the kids while I was gone.. and God bless them. It stresses me out to ask someone to be willing to take on 6 kids when I have a dr appt. Luckily I have great friends. also we went to Ted and Stephanie's for dinner... it was lovely not to have to cook. We had a good time talking politics and such. Again, I have great friends. Thank you, Jesus.

Ok so it wasn't long story short... it was long story long.... and very disjointed. Sorry about that. I guess can write under the codeine haze... it just requires much more concentration... and spell check. :) And dedication on the part of the reader to follow my ramblings...

The End

Another thumbsucker

Aaron has discovered his hands! At least as far as his mouth is concerned. :)

Teehee

Someone isn't liking the whole group hug thing. lol

And soccer season begins!

Today was the first day of soccer games. Taylor and Chandler are both playing again this season. I've been looking forward to the games. As busy as that makes us on Saturdays, it's a lot of quality family time that we all really enjoy and cherish.


We were up at the crack of dawn to be able to make a donut run all together and make it on time to Taylor's 9am game! Taylor's team didn't win, but they did a great job moving the ball and passing. Taylor was in a new position - goalie! She did really well and blocked several would-be goals. I had the video camera and Tom had the regular camera.... and do you know he didn't take a single picture? We didn't even get her in her uniform. Bummer. I got lots of video though! :)

I made sure we got lots of Chandler's first outdoor game! It was so much nicer than the indoor stuff. The field is small and much more conducive to taking pictures! :) And as an added bonus it's right beside Taylor's field which is perfect for times when they have games at the same time!

Chandler's new team is called the Giants. He has gotten a lot better from last season. He got in the thick of it every chance he got and kicked for all he was worth. :) His team didn't win either, but they made a valiant effort. :)

Brayden was trying to get Aaron in the team spirit by having him do mini cheers. :) He'd pump his fist and say in a sing song voice " Go Giants, we want you to win!" It was precious.

I live with the enemy. :) Tom insisted on getting them these. Chandler and I will be getting OU jerseys in Oklahoma in a few weeks, don't you worry. :)

Score!! Not by Chandler, but he likes to celebrate anyways. :)

After the game we took Daddy to our favorite hangout. :)

Trading in the toy for ice cream is the best part! Look at those eyes. They melt my heart just like his Daddy's.

Ok, I'm going to bed. It was a long day! Fun, but long!