Parenting & Dogs

Well I have a funny story tonight. We went to the park with the kids tonight and they were playing around and getting kinda tired. Noah decided he wanted to walk over to the road so he could get in the van. His dad started playing with him like he was a puppy and was waiving a stick and saying "Come here Noah, come get the stick" He automatically started laughing and running toward his dad. Then Brittany started playing too. I have a pic on my phone of her trying to put a twig in her mouth like a dog to bring back to her dad. Although I freaked at the thought of a dirty branch in her mouth I had to giggle and take a pic before I had her spit it out. Before long, all the kids were involved and laughing. What a fun way to get their minds off of being cranky and back on being fun and imaginative! And, best of all, the park was free and the time was priceless to me.

Parenting & Birthdays

Destiny, my neice, will be turning 5 on August 9th. Her mom, Melanie, has decided that she is going to throw her a "slumber party" themed birthday where the kids can spend the night. She is getting some ideas about what games to have etc.

I looked online to find some ideas for the cake and I found a pic of some cupcakes of little kids in sleeping bags. I think I am going to venture out and try to make something like this for my neice. I got this pic off Dragonfly and thought it was good inspiration. You can find a TON of ideas on the net for birthday ideas. I didnt know so much existed!

I found this image on Yahoo of an invitation for a slumber party that I thought was really cute. I will probably try to copy something like this for her. I dont know though, I should probably let my sister make some decisions; I mean, it is her daughter right LOL!

We have a special bond and I would like to do something great for her. Her and her mom used to live with us and she was born on my wedding anniversary. I remember taking care of her as a newborn at night with the diaper changes and bottle feedings; in some ways she was like one of my own. My sister battled post partum so bad that I wasn't sure if she would ever come out of it. Now, my neice is almost five and she is beautiful! I call her my little Pocahontas she has long, curly black hair and the nicest complexion.

She wants makeup, Hannah Montana posters for her room, and more bras! And, you know, as her bestest aunt in the whole wide world I am going to do my best to fulfill her birthday dreams. I will post a pic of my try at the cake after her birthday comes. Happy Birthday Destiny!!!

Parenting & Losing Your Marbles Cont.

Well, I have to say the marble reward system is working well. The little ones have already turned in marbles for a sweet treat and the older kids are saving up theirs to have a family fun day. I would recommend this reward system.

On another note, I am about to go crazy over the amount of mosquitoes this year! The kids keep getting bites all over their body at night and its making it hard for them to sleep and, I have to say, I am too and it makes me irritable to have warmer weather and bites all over you because you don't want to cover up with a blanket because its too warm but you have to because of the bugs! If anyone has suggestions, please let me know. I visited a website that gave several suggestions and one was to mix garlic powder and water in a spray bottle and spray the perimeter but this hasn't worked for us.

On a happier note though, Brittany is learning how to use the potty SO well. She went #2 in it about 3 days ago for the first time and I am so excited that she is picking this up so well and kinda nostalgic because this will be our last child and she is not a baby anymore. How time flies!

Parenting & Losing Your Marbles!

OK Folks, I just started the marble reward system for parents from the website I talked about previously. The kids seemed VERY excited so I am anxious to see if this works. I have a big jar of marbles and a list of things that they can do for a range of 1-3 marbles. This includes cleaning their room, studying their spelling, sharing etc. Then I made another list of rewards that they can cash in their marbles for such as movie night, sweet treats all the way up to going out to eat and personal one-on-one time with mom or dad. I will keep you posted on if this works; so far we are into the first night and it is working.

Parenting & Food

Had to post this - today I was trying to whip up something fast for all my kids. Grandpa had already made cheeseburgers but I needed a side dish. This was the first time I threw this together but all the kids LOVED it. It took literally 5 min to make and it is cheap! This might have cost $2 to make and it fed 6 kids and 2 adults. Take a look at the recipe below:

3 Cans of sliced potatoes (drain 2 cans and leave the 3rd w/the juice) - way cheap!
1 Can of cream of chicken soup
4 Slices of Velveeta cheese cut into small cubes
1 Splash of milk
pinch of salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large skillet, combine the potatoes, cream of chicken soup, salt, pepper and milk
2. Heat mixture for 5 minutes to let potatoes soften and heat through
3. Fold in the cheese cubes and let melt throughout
4. Let sit for about 5 min to cool off and thicken

ENJOY!

Parenting & Grandparents

Crystal & Bobby -

Grandma & Paw Paw

I wanted to post a couple pics of the kids

grandparents. This one is a pic of their grandma Crystal with Noah. This was taken at christmas time when they were wrestling around on the floor. She loves them sooo much. I don't know what I would do without her. It's funny because she is a friend of mine that I used to work with at Blue Cross but I am pretty estranged from my real family and she has always called me her daughter from even the first couple times we met. I have 3 sisters and I always remember having Sunday dinners with family and holidays etc. Now that our family is spread out and we've had our differences over the years, I thought all I would ever have would be the memories of these times until my children got older. And, as I have gotten older, I felt more and more sad about not having family and the kids not getting to experience a relationship with their grandparents etc. But, God has put this lady in my life to help fill that void for me and my children. She works hard to create a fun atmosphere for them and she shows me what to appreciate in life.

These pics are of Grandpa Bobby, Crystal's husband (its small, my phone didnt take to clear of a pic). Or, as Brittany so dearly calls him "Paw Paw". This picture was taken today. Grandpa was watching the race and Brittany brought her little baby doll over to him. She had been playing with the doll outside on the deck today so the poor thing had been through some dirt and grandpa immediately got up, went to the kitchen and wet down some paper towel so that they could work on giving the baby a "bath". The kids love their grandpa. He drives them around in his truck and buys them candy at the gas station.


My oldest, Zach, loves to work outside with him and he makes sure to point out when he is going to "work" with grandpa. Bobby is a very hard worker, he puts in so many hours a week working that we hardly see him sometimes. I admire his dedication and his willingness to take care of his family. He loves racing and the kids are trying to get him to fix up his old micro-midget so he can get into racing again. (Below are pics are him when he used to race)

Parenting & Frogs

I had to post these cute photos of my oldest two - Zach & Amber with their newest friend Mr. Frog. Grandma's deck has become their favorite place to play. We have a swing and firepit that we use at night but during the day they have a play kitchen n doll house they like to play with. Well, the other day, we were cleaning up the yard and lole n behold they found a very small frog and that ignited their hunt for more. Then they found this big and had to play with him for awhile and get his picture taken.

Their grandma Crystal made a good observation. She said "Ya know, with everything we worry about everyday - do they have enough of this, should I buy them that, don't kids just put it in perspective when all they need to make them happy is a place to play and a frog."

- They sure can remind us of the most important things in life -

Recently I have been going through a lot in my life with trying to change jobs and not having any luck and feeling like I can't provide the best life for my family. My kids really bring perspective back to my life; they have no clue how much money I make or what I do for a living, they just care that I play with them and spend time with them and most of all love them. I am so thankful for them.