http://us6.campaign-archive1.com/?u=e7591d0d8ffeb979aea95e39f&id=e91ac7b500

Book

I'm going to write a book. I have always wanted to. Don't know what about, but I'm going to write a book.

End-of-Year Chaos

My husband has finally done it. He's gone and got himself graduated with his Master-of-Counseling.




Maybe someday, I'll get around to putting them right-side-up. But for now, those of you who were asking for photos, here they are.
With the new title comes a move, we're moving way out of the area we have been in for the last four years, to a very rural, very touristy place. I'm not sure about the location, but I'm sure as hell0rhighwater excited to be able to stay home and tuck my kiddos into bed each night.

Here is my to do list for the next month.
8th birthday, party
Thanksgiving
Baptism for an 8-y-o.
Birthday for 6 y-o.
Pack
Move
Unpack
Christmas.

I don't know about you, but I don't think I'm busy enough.
Still not sure when my last day of work will be though. LoriAnn told me that I should take my vayay and not return. If she said it, that means it's legit and not sneaky, right? After all, she's the number 3 person at my store.

Hurry, I have 3 more days to get ready for a Princess party. What do I do besides serve pizza, cake and ice cream, play pin the crown on the princess, and make beaded necklaces and bracelets?

Painting Fish

The other day at dinner, my 3-y-o went into a dissertation about fish, and as we were eating stated the following:

Mommy, when you have fish, first, when it's on a plate, they have to cut off the tail, and then the head with the smile on it and then they paint the inside orange.

-Really? Why do ...they paint it orange?

-Well, first they have to cut off the head with the smile on it. I don't want it to smile at me. And then it's painted orange on the inside.

-Why do they paint it orange though? (we tried to coax it out of her, but she just wanted to get to the point of not having it smile at her, because that's gross).

-Oh, it's just painted orange after they cut the tail and the head off.

My World.

I found this somewhere, on someone else's blog and I liked it enough to take it.

"Whatever way you put it, I am here only because my world is here. When I took my first breath, my world was born with me. When I die, my world dies with me. In other words, I wasn't born into a world that was already here before me, nor do I leave anything behind to live on after me. People live thinking of themselves as members of a group or society. However, this isn't really true. Actually, I bring my own world into existence, live it out, and take it with me when I die..." Kosho Uchiyama

Girls! Go To Bed!

After all the mothers day festivities, which included me getting to fix lunch, put babies to bed and clean up after everyone, I ate too much (see my other blog---I am an Occasiotarian---find it from my blogger profile) and felt crummy. I went to bed at the same time my kid-lets did. All 4 times. You see, no matter how much they are reminded about the "go to bed,stay in bed, close your eyes and go to sleep" rule, they never do it. Unless they're under some kind of superficial threat. No, make that yelling at and herding butterflies. Now make that both.
the straw that made the herd fall down was them yelling at each other about a story and so&so wasn't telling it right. I had to march myself out of bed and go up and threaten them with something, I forget what, and tell them if they don't stop now, then_____________. I dont' remember, but it worked. It only took 80 minutes. After they were told to brush their teeth and pick up everything off the floor and go back to bed, be quiet and go back to bed. No.1, you have school tomorrow. GO TO BED AND STAY THERE!
If any of you have any other ideas, let me know. Mine are fresh up.

another blog to follow.

I realize that some of you know my latest "fad" cooky diet try. I am starting a blog to follow my progress, because if I don't have anyone to report to, then I won't keep it up.

Faith, Love and Prayer

This is one of the most precious songs to me. I learned it when I was very young and I have taught it to all of my precious little ones as they were nursing as babies. I'm not sure I care if this offends any one, because I believe it with such a strong heart and mind and it teaches what I believe to be a universal truth. This is a picture I've posted before, of my mom and dad and my children. Just before Bubby turned 1.
The song is called "I am a Child of God".


I am a child of God,
And he has sent me here,
Has given me an earthly home
With parents kind and dear.
Lead me, guide me, walk beside me,
Help me find the way.
Teach me all that I must do
To live with him someday.

I am a child of God,
And so my needs are great;
Help me to understand his words
Before it grows to late.
Lead me, guide me, walk beside me,
Help me find the way.
Teach me all that I must do
To live with him someday.

I am a child of God.
Rich blessings are in store;
If I but learn to do his will
I'll live with hime once more.
Lead me, guide me, walk beside me,
Help me find the way.
Teach me all that I must do
To live with him someday.

I am a child of God.
His promises are sure;
Celestial glory shall be mine
If I can but endure.
Lead me, guide me, walk beside me,
Help me find the way.
Teach me all that I must do
To live with him someday.

Go here and click on the last item listed to hear childrens voices singing. http://iamachildofgod.org/?vm=r
http://youtu.be/BjnheAUlBy0

I understand that some are not taken care of as well as our Heavenly Father would like. Some are abused and some are not loved. I feel for those of my brothers and sisters who don't get to have that kind of love in their lives. I have been a very angry person over the last few years. One reason is because I just haven't been giving time to music lately. Even just listening to music makes a difference in my life.
Another reason is because I have just grown calloused. I have quit caring and become uninterested in my surroundings. I have many faults and I have taken my insecurities out on my children with my loud voice. My very loud voice. I work in a grocery store, where I have to deal with some who make really dumb decisions. (I think the choices are dumb, but maybe they just don't know), and ask or say really dumb things, (again, maybe they just don't know).

The problem is with me. As I said before, I've been really angry. Over nothing. I just got angry one day and continued to be, because I liked it. I liked the way the madness made me feel. I have no idea why. Just that it was a nice companion. Anger was the fuel, and the more fuel I had, the more I felt in control. It only took me 10 years to realize this. (Although some people I know would argue that it may have taken longer. I'm not going to push the issue, only, they could possibly be right).
What I'm trying to say is that I am trying to change. Change is a big thing whether you change an attitude or eating habits or movement patterns. I have been praying lately, that after I have given thanks for my blessings and my children and my dear, wonderful hubby, that I can have more patience and to be able to see each person as my Heavenly Father sees him or her. It's been hard, but even just the very next day, I don't recall having yelled at my children (Maybe four or five times in the last week, whereas it would be per day, normally).
I think music has a big part to do with it. It's been part of teaching my children basic essentials of life, like the ABC's, counting and important things like brushing teeth and cleaning up. I have sung to them about being a child of God and prayer and they have taught me to remember things that are important to us through our faith that they have learned in song.
The song I sing to Bubby when I put him down for a nap and to bed at night (when I get the chance) is called "I Feel my Saviors Love". It teaches some wonderful things that make my heart warm and make me feel the love that I believe all of us should know.

I feel my Savior's Love.
I feel my Savior’s love,
In all the world around me
His Spirit warms my soul
Through everything I see
He knows I will follow Him,
Give all my life to Him
I feel my Savior's love
The love He freely gives me.
I feel my Savior’s love
Its gentleness enfolds me
And when I kneel to pray
My heart is filled with peace
He knows I will follow Him,
Give all my life to Him
I feel my Savior’s love
The love He freely gives me.
I feel my Savior’s love
And know that He will bless me
I offer Him my heart;
My shepherd He will be
He knows I will follow Him,
Give all my life to Him
I feel my Savior’s love,
The love He freely gives me.
I’ll share my Savior’s love
By serving others freely,
In serving I am blessed,
In giving I receive
He knows I will follow Him,
Give all my life to Him
I feel my Savior’s love,
The love He freely gives me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1RCGhXjAtU

Anyway, I am not the best at sharing my feelings and flowing freely is something my words don't do. The point of this is that since I have asked my Heavenly Father to help me love those around me, I have learned that it takes time. Attitude is something that you have to practice, like cello. Or voice. I have excused silly things at the store. I have excused my childrens behavior. I have excused time, which makes me feel like a prisoner to my husbands schooling (which, by the way, is nearly finished). I have begun to learn to love the "normal" things that plague human-kind.
Oh, and God really does answer our prayers.

Projects, Projects, Projects

I like to sew. I think I sew a lot. Truth be told, I really don't. I have this beautiful cabinet in the kitchen corner that my hubby gave me for Christmas to put my sewing things in. It houses (most of) my fabric in some drawers and my crafty things like buttons, notions, scissors and my actual sewing machine in the part with doors. I love it. It's beautiful. It looks like this:

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S29876651

Did I mention that I love love love IKEA?

Well, I want to make this: http://wkdesigner.wordpress.com/2009/01/17/the-weekender/

but I last time I put my sewing machine away, I left a project in the needle. Yoga pants. Not like I was nearly finished or anything. I think I just got too tired to finish it. Just like another friend who took a year-and-a-half to finish a hem and zipper on a maxi dress, I will be to small to wear these yoga pants when I finish them. (It's a good think I know how to sew, so I can make the alterations, huh).
Sew, the projects I have to finish are:

• a car seat cover for 86's seat, because it has been through now 4 children and I want a new one. Since it costs less to draw a pattern and make it yourself, than replace a seat that is still perfectly usable. It's in loved condition and is a little dirty around the edges, (and we don't have the money to get a new one anyway), so I got me some really cute boy-ish fabric disassemble the seat to trace the cover, and started to make a new cover. I'll tell you what though. It's a pain in the neck to put those things back together.
  
• yoga pants
• I get to make alterations to some shoulder seams and sleeves on a shirt I bought that is too big, because it's too late to return it. (Not only do I have very little clue as to how to do this, but also, I got much smaller since 86 quit breast-feeding)
• a quilt cover I started in 2007
• 2 dresses that need to be mended for the sisters
• Three dresses that I have to cut out and sew up for the spring/summer for the sisters.
• a plastic grocery sack holder for my sister-in-law.
• seat cover for the computer chair.
• a matching pillowcase and curtains for 86's bedroom.
  

As you can tell, that is well more than 25 hours of sewing. If I didn't have kids and a job that I get paid for, I could do it all in a week. Even the quilt top. If I didn't get board with it.
If you read the supplies list for the weekender bag, you'll be able to tell that it's not going to be cheap. So, since we can't really afford to replace the car seat, you'll see how long it will take me to make this wonderful-looking bag. If'n I get the other projects done too.

Just Updated my Profile.

I like the sounds of my children playing nicely together, and them laughing together, the sound of daddy playing with his little princesses--3 of them, watching them dance and tell each other stories. Now they read to each other and baby brother, whom I will call 86, if for no other reason but because he is so mischievous as agent 86 from Get Smart.
I still work in the grocery store, but my days are numbered, because hubby is interning now. YAY! He's almost done. I am so blessed to have this man in my life. I have learned so many things about myself from him.
I used to be a Marines wife, but that chapter is behind us and those people are dear to me. We all write new chapters all the time. Some more quickly and others, just like JRR Tolkien, play out for ages. I'm one who plays out in ages. Life seems to play in slow motion. I don't know if I do it to punish myself, but I think, maybe, just maybe I should speed things up a little bit.
I live in a cool house, with my wonderful little family. Sometimes, I like to clean. I hate folding laundry and the first time I ever heard THE WHO was when our first baby was born, and she took the breath we were saving for sunrise. I haven't really played my cello in that long either.
Shiny rocks make me happy. Two days ago at work, where I see a lot of fancy jewelry in passing, this random woman had on a beautiful green stone ring. It was about a 10mmx15mm oval, set east to west in a silver-colored metal. That's it. Just plain and simple. I commented to her that I thought it was really pretty, and this is the conversation that followed.
Me: Oh, I like your ring. It's really pretty.
Woman: Thank you. It's called Labradorite.
Me: (almost losing my breath and passing out)...NO! (I felt as though I was sucker-punched in the back and the wind was knocked out of me).
Woman: You know about this stone?
Me: (with eyes of a three year old who just got everything he or she ever wanted for Christmas). Yes I do.
Woman: (Beginning to look excited) Tell me everything you know. I got this on a cruise/trip/vacation. (I can't remember so many details now because I was so excited to see this particular gemstone....OH, the excitement!)
Me: Well, they haven't been able to pinpoint the source. Some say Mexico, China. It's heat treated and comes out of the ground with a gold/yellow-ish color.
W: Heat treated? I thought it was natural,
Me: Yeah, to get it that color, they have to treat it the same way they treat sapphires. Wow! I can't believe I'm seeing this! It's heat treated and to get this green takes quite a bit of time. The red colored ones are really nice too....
I only wish everyone could get as excited about gemstones as I do.
Then, Not even two minutes later, another woman came through my line with a really pretty green stoned ring.
Me: Your ring is pretty. Is that paridot or a green diamond? (You see, I learned that I should just ask what is without making assumptions. One time I said "That's not paridot, is it?" knowing full well that it wasn't, but a green diamond).
W: Oh no. It's a diamond. (Then she explained to me how she used to like emeralds and can't now because of the conflict behind them).
I truly felt like it was Christmas.

I am a book keeper, nurse, personal chef, (my cooking is getting better, even after living with vegetarians. I have even done what I call "vegan cleanse" for 10 days a couple of times), chauffeur, therapist, baker, seamstress, p.r. specialist, teacher of youngins, butler, housekeeper, laundress, house cleaner, curator of small mammals.
I am not a therapist any more because the dad of the house really is. He's interning in it and now we are all knee deep in getting him through this last little bit. It only seems so far away because it's something that we have all worked so hard together for. It doesn't sound like it, but Ireallyamveryproudofhim.
I come from an emotionally paused family (if it's not happy or uplifting, please, don't share) so I have a very difficult time getting around the wait-and-see part, but I really do have a great level of pride for him.
Way to go, Team Captain. I love you.

We've been cleaning house. UGH! Saturday, we cleaned out the play room. Double UGH! It seems that no mater how much that room gets cleaned up, stuff multiplies and replenishes there. Mostly trash and crayon wrappers. Where do they come from? And the toys. I think we are finally getting past having to keep everything. When I say we, I really mean me. I am finally getting past having to keep sentimental things. I think I will take a couple of pictures of them on the noisy stick-horses. and them playing with the magnetic letters. and oh you get the picture. Maybe, I might post one or two.

fully blessed.

I don't know how my friend, Kelly will feel about my blogging about her, but she is probably the most amazing woman I have ever met. And I've met some quite amazing women. (Sheri Dew, for one. You can read about her here: http://www.lightplanet.com/mormons/people/sheri_dew.html)
Kelly and her husband, Dennis, moved to our quaint little neighborhood about five months ago from New York, with nothing but the clothes on their backs, their two children and what they could fit into their little car. Acting on nothing but faith in a god they knew little about, they ended up here, joining our congregation and being paragons of faith, at least to me. Today at church, she said "the strength of your faith and the depths of your kindness will never be known to how dear you all are to us"
. I think she has it backwards. The strength of her faith that she has just mastered in such a short time and the depth of her kindness to me in her genuine, loving words has been a huge bolster in my life and in my heart.
She showed up at my house Wednesday afternoon with a loaf of home-baked bread. She made it. It was amazing. Wow! Was it amazing! and I love her for that.

Sometimes, I feel kind of like Lois Wilkerson, (Malcom in the Middle) and Marge Simpson. These two women, albeit fictional, feel like they have to prove everything to everybody, and it is obvious to the viewers that they don't have many friends. Lois is quite the authoritarian and Marge is a naggy, well-meaning-but-I-have-to-please-everybody kind of person. Why can't I just be who my heart tells me to be? Instead of trying to be everybody else? But you know what? Knowing Kelly has made me realize that I am not so much like these women. Oh yes, I know some who are, but not me. I am truly blessed.
I am the most blessed person in the world because I know Kelly. Her spirit has touched me deeply and I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father for putting her in my life.

Last third of the year

In October, we had a birthday. The first birthday of Baby Brother. It was awesome!


He loves to sweep the kitchen floors. And then play with cake.
We practiced blowing out candles before his birthday, but he just didn't get it when we actually put one on the cake. He really just wanted to play with it.

This is my family with my parents about 5 days before they left for Germany to serve in the Freiberg Temple.

This is the cake I slaved over. It was awesome and soo YUMMY!

Relationship Supervisor

Whatever you want it to be, I got all the crappy parts of it. It could be IT, but then, what does IT mean? Jen doesn't know, and she's the relationship supervisor.

But you have to know British Tele. to know the IT Crowd. funny stuff that IT Crowd is.

On another note, my boy turned one on Saturday.

Just like big sister

My girls do lots of things together. I only say lots because big sister went to first grade this year and left little sisters behind. Middle-most sister isn't really behind though because she is reading along with the best of them. At nearly 5 years old, she reads on a beginning kindergarten level. she smart enough to be in K this year, but we decided that she's not emotionally ready for it. I'm so proud of her that she reads so well already.
Biggest sister got 12/10 on her spelling test last week. Why are first graders given words like "behavior" and "cooperate" anyway? I never learned those even as a bonus, until about the 3rd grade.

Gun Talk.

In the daytime, I am mother, financier, housekeeper, maid, butler, secretary, curator of small mammals, inventor, nurse, tutor, teacher, launderer, and answerer of phones.

In the evenings, I am the menial, last person whom the consumer deals with at the grocery store. I am the checker. I take abuse, foul language, eye-rolling and tongue lashings from many people.
Two weeks ago, I was able to add: gun threaten-ee.

Mind you, I am the wife of a former Marine officer. I don't take gun talk lightly. Especially if you are going to be brazen enough to threaten me, or my family.
When your receipt shows a charge and the two very nice ladies at the customer service desk are trying (very nicely) to help you understand that it was the flex spending charge because of your pharmacy items and you threaten to bring back your gun and kill people, you'd better be prepared to spend a night behind bars.
Really. I was threatened with a gun.
After Amanda and I tried very nicely to explain that this $11.xx number was what he could have put on his FSA card, if he had insurance through his employer, even after I showed him that his Benedryl and one other item were pharmacy items that added up to his $11.xx, he was belligerent still and told us that he was going to go home and add it up on his calculator and if it didn't add up right he was "going to come back with my gun and shoot everyone".

Now I am here to tell you that that is a first for me. I have been threatened by drunks, drug addicts, roommates, children, teenagers. None of which I have taken very seriously, but this gun thing, I don't think is a very funny joke. It's a very sick one if you ask me. I may have overreacted and told too many people. I told one of the night managers, who was there and she grew concerned and her face got big and flushed and then, she did the right thing. She called the Loss Prevention manager, who was cooking dinner for her family, and then she called the police dispatch.

I have to tell you right now, I was terrified. I'm all about the right to bare arms, but there's nothing that says you get to threaten people with them. Unless you're protecting your freedom of speech, then you're just dumb, because that kind of thing will get you thrown in jail.

When the police officers arrived, I made a formal statement and then I stayed out in the LP room to help identify the perp and just get off the sales floor. I was in no shape to see people at the moment. It took roughly 35-45 minutes to get images for the police officers. I think if anyone ever sees the man again, he will be permanently trespassed from the store I work at and he will probably be arrested for oh, I don't know, attempted stupidity!
I just don't feel safe at work any more.
Wish me luck.

Mist of Darkness

Not to be trite, but recently, I have really decided to take the bull by the horns and do something with my life. I have 30 pounds to lose and a life to look after. I have been brought up in


For me to post this is a big thing and I draw strength from a friend of mine, Nicole. She's wonderful and has a huge testimony of the love our savior has for us. I love that she has no fear in sharing this with people either.
Back to the thought.
I have been struggling to lose weight after baby M was born, I nearly lost my life. I have come to the conclusion that I need to be healthier and take the initiative to lose. It is ssssssssooooooo hard. I love food, and I love the wrong kinds of food. Right now, food is winning.
We have this Word of Wisdom that serves as a guideline for health and well-being. It was given as revelation, nearly 200 years ago, through the prophet Joseph Smith, and the things it contains are only now being backed up by science. For instance, eat meat sparingly, fill up on grains, exercise regularly, alcohol is for the wound and not the belly, tobacco makes your lungs black and makes you sick...and many more things.
I'll tell you what. I don't have any problems with the alcohol part because I have smelled drunk people. They smell like my babys dirty diaper bin. Why would you do that to yourself? Why would you make yourself smell like a dirty, wet diaper? tobacco makes me get headaches. No problems there.
I'll tell you what kicks my butt. FOOD. I work in a grocery store and am surrounded by food every day. I say that it's not the shopping while you're hungry that gets me. It's the working while I'm hungry that gets me. That's when I make all my meal plans and dinner plans and any kind of food plan. If it goes in my stomach, it's a well thought out plan of many hours at my place of employment. I LOVE FOOD!
I have just now, (well, three weeks ago) decided that I need to take it seriously and lose some weight. I said in an earlier post, "Me and the flap, we're good friends" referring to the lose skin around my midsection. I plan to lose it or most of it by Christmas time. I might be brave enough to post some before and after pictures.
I have been fighting with the same 6 pounds since March though. It's a lot harder than it sounds. I have been trying, earnestly, to limit my sweets and garbage foods to minimal amounts per week, and I have been putting more veggies in my meals. Not just produce in general, but vegetables. I don't eat enough veggies. Or drink enough water for that matter. I have started drinking two of those tall bottle sizes of the smart water at work every day. That doesn't account for what I intake at home either. Ahh, water tastes best to your body. (Even some of the girls at work have said that I look thinner. Thanks, Angela).

And more importantly, I have decided to take on Moroni's (More-O-nigh) Challenge. I am going to finish the Book of Mormon by the time my oldest goes back to school for the fall. The last time I did that, I was in college. in the late 1990's. When you read the Book of Mormon, you read with intent, prayer and a desire to know that it is true. When you are finished, you kneel in prayer to Heavenly Father and ask Him if it is true. The Holy Ghost will testify to you that it is and there is the beginning of your tesitmony. You then keep your life in line with the teachings therein and pray and read scripture regularly. He will bless you so much for doing good and righteous things. And I will be a better parent for this too.
Sometimes, though, we forget. I am looking at this as a "refresher course". I am going to go at this three fold. 1)Word of Wisdom. 2)Book of Mormon. 3)Teach my children with more love than I have ever done before.

Pioneering

I have known this since the middle of June. Now I am crunching at the end of June. I have so many, many sewing projects to make, I just don't know where to start.

I promised biggest sister that I would make her a new summer dress, because all she has is her fancy wintertime dresses, which are too small by now. I just finished middle-most sisters Easter dress. I only basted the zipper opening shut and poorly put the zipper in. Now it looks, and operates the right way. Whew! That was a close call.

I also finished a coin-purse/wallet that I had been putting off for the last several months. I had one of those Latin American purses that had holes in each side corner below the zipper. I took the zipper out of that one and re-purposed it to another one which I used a fat quarter for. It looks sweet. Well, for a first try I am super pleased with myself.

Now I have to conjure up two pioneer outfits for a July 10th activity for the primary. HELP. I don't know where to start. I think I will call my mother and see if she has any old patterns I can use. I know I have fabric to use. I have an old skirt I made in 2007 for a Relief Society thingy where they asked me to be Emma Smith. I can cut that up and not feel badly about it. I just need a pattern. I think they would look super-cute in matching dresses and pinafores with little bonnets. I dunno. I don't know if I have time for that. We'll see.
I promise to post some pictures. Later. After I get the pioneer thingy out of the way.

breastfeeding vs. bottlefeeding

I have no idea what I was thinking when I found this, but I thought it was super funny, and quite accurate. I have been on both sides of the argument, but find this so anecdotal, that I had to share it. I even left a comment...at the very bottom.

http://wixx.savingadvice.com/2006/03/16/bottles-vs-breat-milkno-contest_6443/#comments
Or: http://wixx.savingadvice.com/
and search "Bottles vs. Breast milk...no contest."

It is about the general savings that can take place when you breast feed. Not just about the 1500 in formula, but other things as well.



Here is a copy of my response. I had to laugh at some of the others because they were so silly:

"Thank you for your humor. I for one can really appreciate it

I have 4 children. Two of them are Half-and-half babies. I was one who didn't know enough to get the right help with my first baby to successfully nurse. Wish I would have known. It was never easy with her. I felt like someone was rubbing 10 grit sandpaper on my chest. I pumped for her. It was more comfortable. She had milk for 4 months, formula for 8. She turned out pretty bright.

I couldn't keep up with little sister because of work. She had much less formula than oldest sister. Middlemost sister was exclusively breastfed for 13 months. I had milk to spare.

I plan to nurse baby as long as he wants. I have no problems with it. I also had to work with each one of them as babies and daddy had to give them bottles. I have no problem with that either.
I thought this was dead on. Having had to buy formula for our oldest was the hugest expense we ever had for any of our babies, other than getting baby boy here, (in which we both nearly died--he was born via emergency c-section and I still don't understand why they say c-section babies can't nurse...that's a boatload of b.s.)

I have had to pump for all my children. It takes up way too much time, but they all have had breast milk, they are all relatively in excellent health.

I can estimate that a can of Enfamil powder (12.9 oz.) lasts a new baby 5 days. Each can this size costs between 13 and 16 dollars. You buy more as the baby gets older and I do believe we reached an average of 12 cans/month. So it costed $117-192/month and over the course of 8 months, $936-1536 on powder alone to feed our first born. I never thought to calculate the savings of electricity and water

Don't get me wrong! there are benefits for both ways. When all you want to do is take a shower and brush your teeth, but baby wants to eat, most of the time, baby wins. with a bottle, and an older baby, you have about 20 minutes. And that time is golden. But sleep is golden also. It is wonderful to take baby to bed and go back to sleep and turn over and start again.

Even a nursing baby loses focus and looks around. We've sprayed as much as he's played while he's been eating.

And keeping with the tone of this post I will say that our savings have been phenomenal as we've given our babies breast milk. "

The June Reference

I really have no other title, but hey...here it is. I was going to write something else, but abandoned it because it wasn't something I thought I should write here. I have been jabbed at by some of my friends that I haven't updated anything lately. C'mon! It's only been a month!
I still work in retail grocery. Nothing new there: biggest sister got her first week of summer vacation done with and the next Monday waltzed into my bedroom at 6:45am and proudly proclaimed that she was "going to school today". We bantered back and forth for 2 hours about it while I convinced her that she really wasn't going to school, and that she had at least 2 more months of play time. I think she is just really anxious for the first grade:
Middlemost sister has some, well, okay a lot of left-over 2-year-old syndrome and whines so very much. I am still learning that the best discipline for her (and littlest sister too) is to scoop her up and hold her while she is pulling a tantrum. I realize that's not what I really want to be doing, when all I really want to do is throw her outside to play in the back yard, but it will only create a sadder, whinier little girl. It is, however, just what she needs. I have had more cuddle time doing this, and we end in more hugs and giggles than there would be otherwise.
Littlest sister is a mumbler. I just want to run and hide from her, but the human side of me yells in hopes that she will hear me being loud so that she will be louder. I know this is wrong, and have made enemies at times with her. She too, I scoop up and cuddle as she is tantruming. It happened just the other morning. Daddy was making pancakes for breakfast and she wanted her favorite, special plate, but it was in the dishwasher. Dirty. As much as we kept telling her that it was dirty, she kept trying to get it out and open and whine and boob about it. We kept telling her that we were going to send her back to bed and this and that, but nothing worked. In a huge rage, I took about 7 quite large, loud steps to the dishwasher, where she was sitting on the floor and I scooped her up and hugged her and we walked to my bedroom, sat on my bed and rocked back and forth as I patted her back. She eventually calmed down and we agreed that she could have a glass plate, instead of her favorite black plastic one.
Baby has learned to really crawl. He never army crawled, he would dig his toes into the floor and push at the same time he used his arms to gain forward momentum. He'd fall on his face this way but would reward us with a giant toothless smile, as if to say "look at what I just did". He's growing way too fast.
Hubby has one class left and then an internship. Please pray that he gets the right one. I don't know what to do for him, except pray. He is doing so well in school and I am so proud of him. We even think he will be able to work at the local university in the fall and teach 3 classes. (He is, after all, buddy buddy with the adjunct professor hiring guy). We hope this works out. I hope this works out. His birthday is this month. This week, actually. He will be XX. It works out for me, because I am XX. I married myself a young'in. It works out for the mortality rate, to be exact. Men tend not to last as long as women do.

Mixed Nuts and Mending the Past

Stop me if I'm wrong, but I think I have created a few enemies in my life. I would be lying if I didn't admit to it. I know I have done wrong to some and hurt some feelings. "I'm only human" right? It sounds like such a scape-goat. Sometimes I think that's exactly what I need. After all, the ancient Jews had a scape-goat. The red-haired goat they would lead up the mountain for sacrifice had to be completely red-haired. If there was even one white, brown, black hair on its entire body, they would cancel the sacrifice and the goat would get to "escape". I'm pretty sure that's how it goes.
Anyway, I'd like a scape-goat right now. I'd like to escape from all the sour things I've ever said, mean things I've ever done and bad things I've ever thought of doing.
I learn this from my children. They are wonderful. The sisters love to dress M. up in headbands, barrettes and flowers. Please...let's let the boy have a chance. But I can't get mad at them because they are having fun and M. isn't old enough to know any better. We'll just have to make him a prince costume or knight costume or something. Maybe...Invader Zim.
I learned today and yesterday, from the whining littlest sisters that to pick them up and hold them through their tantrum isn't really what I want to do, but exactly what they need their mommy to do.
I'm trying to right my wrongs and it's not really working out in my favor. Just over one year ago, we moved out of my mom/dad's house. We went stealth and left while they were away. Things were going south and doing that made them go farther south. But, I will spare details, because I was pregnant and don't remember them, or choose not to remember them. 6 weeks after we left mom/dad's house, I had a real relationship with my mother. It wasn't back to normal, but it was so much better. I hope she can say the same thing. I know I hurt my dad's feelings too, but as far as I can tell, we have mended. I'd like to have a wonderful relationship with the rest of my family, but I can't. We are spread out way too far away for my taste, and it makes getting together really hard. When my mom drove from Virginia back to my home state with my and my two older girls, after hubby got out of the military, we stopped at my older brother home in XXXX. We stayed the night and he and I stayed up until 5am shooting the breeze about nothing. It was FANTASTIC! As tired as I was when I got up 4 hours later, I would do it all over again.

I think my family is nuts, and that is why I love them.