Homemade ornaments

I have been trying to think of fun ornaments for the kids to make. Last week, we had a huge snow and ice storm and the kids used every bit of craft stuff we had-as I tried to save my sanity. So, I decided today that we would finally make the ornaments. I mixed 2 recipes together-salt dough ornaments and cinnamon applesauce ornaments. My thinking was that salt dough sounds terrible but would be extremely cheap and cinnmon applesauce ones smell phenominal BUT are very expensive to make. Here is what I came out with

2 cups flour
1 cup of salt
1 cup of warm water
1 of the larger jars of cinnamon (they are usually 2 for a dollar at Walmart)

Mix it all together and roll out on a floured surface into about 1/4 inch. Use cookie cutters or a glass to cut out the ornaments. Use a straw to make a hole. Put them on a baking sheet and bake at 200 degrees for 4-6 hours. Ours took close to 5 hours. Let cool then paint with acrylic paints. Coat with a clear acrylic coating. They are much sturdier and cheaper than the cin applesauce ones but smell every bit as yummy!

Nashville bound

I am in a bit of a panic. Adam and I are planning to go see Garth Brooks in Nashville tomorrow night. We are super excited but the thought of leaving the kids overwhelms me. I know some people leave their kids all of the time and never think a thing about it and I am just not like that. When I was a young child, I was "left" all of the time and I hated it. I think that is why I never leave the kids now. I just feel terrible just thinking about it. Then, of course, if something happened with Weston, I would never forgive myself. The kids are staying with my sister Mara. Surely she can keep them all alive for 24 hours right???? This is our first away trip together since our honeymoon-if that tells you anything about how crazy I am about not leaving them. (deep breaths, thinking good thoughts).

God's Plan

Last January, we listened to our preacher preach a sermon on following God's path and how he teaches you to obey him and follow his plan. To be honest, I was half listening and half mentally making my grocery list (yes, ADHD at it's finest). I remember him saying "You may not agree with the path God chooses but it is all for a reason". Well, the following Monday, we found out Weston would have open heart surgery. That night, we decided to stop "not trying" for a baby because I didn't want to be pregnant while Weston had surgery. Clearly, our plans were not God's because I found out I was pregnant the next day. I feel like we have taken most of the things from the past year in stride-praying and knowing that God knows the bigger picture. We have been tested in every way imaginable this year-we went on a very massive, world wide hunt for a surgeon who would even agree to take Weston on as a patient. We constantly heard doctors tell us that they thought Weston would die on the operating table, he was too risky to operate on, and that he shouldn't even be alive after what he was born with. Those kinds of things are devistating. You never want to hear someone tell you any of those things about your baby! Yesterday, when the cardiologist called to tell me Weston now has electrical problems with his heart and will need another surgery, my heart just sank. Seriously? He is 4 years old-he has had 3 open heart surgeries, multiple caths, and everything seems to be a struggle. It would be a lie if I told you that I am not angry. I am angry at God. I can't help but be angry. I want Weston to have a good life-not one filled with pain, medicine, and doctors appointments. I try to find peace that God really does have a plan-but it is awfully hard when I am holding down our now, 4 year old son for his zillionth blood test or for a giant IV or fighting with him to keep his oxygen on. Then, I feel terrible because there are children worse off than Weston and feel guilty because I should feel blessed that he has such a great medical team. I am tired of holding Weston down, tired of seeing him in pain, tired of yelling at dumb residents who ask me stupid questions (yes, there are stupid questions), tired of trying to break him out of hospitals, tired of holding him tight when he has ICU psychosis, tired to sleeping on a hard couch, tired of sleeping in a chair, tired of being awoke every 5 seconds by someone needing something, tired of hospital food, just plain tired of it all. When is it going to end? Is this how our poor babies life is going to be forever??? So tonight, I am trying to turn my feelings over to God and hope he can give me great comfort, strength, and wisdom.

Hooked on Phonics

When we started our homeschool journey, I was looking for a reading curriculum for Easton. He already knew the basics of reading and could sound out short words. He had already read all of the "Bob books" and was reading short number 1 books like Biscuit. Well, I got an email from Hooked On Phonics and they were offering a special-Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade for like 30 dollars. I ordered it thinking that even if Easton hated it, surely 1 of the other kids would eventually like it. We got it and started on the Kindergarten immediately. Easton LOVES it! There is lots of repetition-lots of sounding out words-lots of practice. Now, I will warn you, the books leave MUCH to be desired and I certainly wouldn't say they are well written or even make tons of sense. The books do, however, come with easy review questions to make sure your little one is actually paying attention to the story and not just reading the words. The pack also comes with a chart that they put stickers on for each story they read. After such a positive experience with it, I am going to look into their other curriculum. Weston is even jealous that Easton can read so he wants to do the HOP stuff too.

Easton finished his Kindergarten pack last week so we are going onto 1st grade. I am glad he enjoys reading so much. I am going to look into more of the HOP stuff. I can't lie though-I completely feel like that commercial "Hooked On Phonics worked for me".

Back to work

No, not me. I am not heading back to work outside the home anytime soon. I happen to have at least 5 friends that are heading back to work in the next few days or who have gone back in the past few days. I think to read other people's posts about them going back is very interesting. Some people blatently say that women should stay at home while others say going back to work is the only way to keep sane. I resent both of these opinions. One person made staying at home sound like you were waisting your life away (again, I resented his opinion). I believe that everyone (everyone sane anyways) does what is best for their family. I don't have the heart to tell the stay at home brigade that sometimes, secretly, it would be nice to talk to someone over the age of 5 everyday, go to the bathroom alone, or eat lunch that hasn't been touched by toddler hands. I also don't have the heart to tell the working mothers brigade that I like being here for all of the kids milestones, snow days, boo boo's, and doctor's visits.

I went back to work for a grand total of about a week after Easton was born. I never wanted to stay home. It wasn't even something I thought about. I had a great daycare lined up for him with a phenominal lady to be his teacher. But, everyday I would leave him and cry and cry. I hated my job as a church financial officer (basically, I told poor people the church didn't have money to help them). So, one day, driving Easton to daycare, I called Adam at work and told him I wanted to stay home. He said fine and to go back home. I am not sure what I would have done if he has said no. It ended up being a blessing because when Weston was born, he had so many complications and immune issues that daycare was never even a thought.

I hate when people make generalizations about stay at home moms. Most of the SAHM's I know are well educated and rather intelligent people. None of us lay around all day eating bon bons watching Oprah. The same goes for my friends who returned to the outside the home workforce-they are intelligent people who love their kids. It just seems like outsiders want to make everything into a war of the stay at home moms vs the working moms.

So congrats to all of the moms-working or stay at home-we are all doing the very best we can.

the house that love built

No, I am not talking about the RMD House-I am talking about our house. As most everyone knows, we decided last spring to move back into the house I was raised in and sell our house in Kingsport. Well, we have yet to put it on the market (we have been a LITTLE busy). This weekend, we are heading over to put the finishing touches on it and talk to the realtor next week to get it sold. I have mixed feelings. The house was the first place Adam and I bought that was "ours". We had 2 sets of neighbors-1 old, grouchy couple and 1 of the sweetest families you have ever met. We still go back to visit them-the nice family, not the grouchy couple. I know the house we are in now is a much better fit. The kids have 8 acres to roam with a creek and a waterfall. They see tons of wildlife and have really enjoyed the garden and animals. Adam is happier here too. He has his garage and lots of room for his animals and garden. I am still getting used to a much smaller kitchen. I do love all of the storage though.

So, we have been back in my grandma's old house for almost a year. We have done lots of work. My sister had trashed it and there was stuff piled to the ceiling. We spent the first few months taking truck loads of trash to the dump. We removed wallpaper and painted. We ripped up some of the most disgusting carpet you have ever seen (I am completely ANTI-carpet). The rooms look different but the same in so many ways. Adam has cut down the tulip tree that blocked the sun from letting grass grow in part of the front yard-making a mud pit for the kids anytime it rained. He has even tackled some of the front bushes. Anyone who has ever come to our house remembers the huge bushes. My grandma liked them for privacy-I want them gone so I can see out! We are hopeful that in the next year we will do more extensive home improvements. More trees gone-some new windows, redo the laundry area to make room for 2 washers and dryers, paint the celings, change the fireplace over to gas, blah blah blah.

When my grandparents bought this house, I doubt they ever expected that 30 years later, I would be living here with my husband who wants to be a farmer and our 6 Littles. I never thought that I would have moved back here either.

Please don't feed that to our kids!

Oh the holidays. I try to love them and be social but, to be honest, I would like to start planning our vacations during them so we can just be with each other. That sounds awful, I know, and I am sure it's not going to happen anytime soon. 1 of the things that drives me insane is when people think the holidays give them the freedom to give our kids all kinds of crap to eat. They always give me the typical "oh it's good for them". No folks, I hate to break it to you-pumpkin pie is NOT that good for you-nor is sweet potato caserole or gravy.

I recently started having the "aura" of migranes again and am going to have to be really careful about what I eat. This may end up being a good thing for our winter diets. I had terrible, awful migranes for about 5 years. Their were tons of triggers and it always seemed like I was eating something or doing something that brought them on. When I got pregnant with Easton, I had 1 really bad one and had a seizure with it. The doctor said that as long as I never had an epidural or spinal, never went back on hormone birth control, and watched what I ate-that they should stop. He was right-for almost 6 years I have been migrane free until this past week. I am sure it is the crazy foods I have been eating-nothing really too terrible for me but defintely stuff with preservatives. There are lots of triggers that I have read about online and I can't direct my migranes at any of them.

I just got done finished reading "The Makers Diet" and the author brought up some interesting points about what we put into our bodies. If you haven't read it, it is super cheap on Amazon. I am going to write a longer post about the book later.

A fabulous day

Today, I took the kids to the doctor alone. I know this sounds crazy to be proud of but there are 6 of them and only 1 of me. The doctor is not an easy place to take 1 kid! I even have a nice story of Weston running around our doctors office in his underwear when he was 18 months. I realized we needed to run by Gymboree and do my hold for the day after Thanksgiving. We got to the mall, got everyone out, and realized Adam had taken my stroller out to clean the car out. I needed (yes, needed, like an addict) the blue dresses for the girls for next Christmas (again, yes, I know I am nuts). So, the older boys held Sutton's hands, the girls held hands, and I carried the baby in the infant carrier (I forgot all of the slings/Bjorns at home!!!). We went to Gymboree which is not an easy store for any kids. The oldest 5 sat on the little bench and watch tv, Avery slept in the carseat, and I ran frantically around getting my hold together (thanks Amanda-you are a lifesaver). I was nervous to even attempt going to eat. The food court is a loooong ways (maybe not long to people used to GIANT malls but long for tiny legs) away. The kids said they wanted Chickfila so off we went. We got on the elevator, off the elevator, they sat at a table while I got their food, and they ate so nicely. People came up and said how great they were. I have never been so proud!!!!! Then, Easton and Weston wanted refills so they asked and then went up and got them from the cashier all by themselves!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The man at the Mediterranean place kept going on about how good they were. We left the mall and went and dropped off meds at Walgreens then went to Food City where we were almost run over (NO fault of ours) and the kids were great in there too.

It's days like this that are a breath of fresh air. It is days like this when I could have 10 kids! It is so easy to be stuck at home and I think we all get crazy. I am thankful for my husband and our 6 little blessings. I hope you all have a fabulous Thanksgiving!

Day Planner

A few years ago, my good friend Pat decided that since I had a couple of kids (I only had 2 and was pregnant with Emery), that I needed a family organizer. This was one of the best gifts I have ever recieved. It has a perforated side spot for a menu and a grocery list. I has a big area for "to do" lists. It is spiral bound so when the kids smush it or step on it, it stays in 1 piece. And, my favorite thing is that the days (where you write in your appointments and such) are big-more than big enough for a couple of appointments written in, in 1 day. There are stickers for birthdays, paydays, reminders about school, etc. There is a quick reference for phone numbers and addresses in the back. There is also a an area for the family budget but I don't trust myself enough to put any financial info in there because it also has our address in it. There are 2 verisons-the classic and the Christian. The Christian one has Bible verses for each week and the classic one has classic quotations. I love it!!!!!!

http://www.amazon.com/2011-Amy-Knapps-Family-Organizer/dp/1932751599/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1290449084&sr=8-2

Thanksgiving

I am finding it a little shocking that this is my 7th year cooking our Thanksgiving meal. It just seems like yesterday, it was my first. The year after my grandma died, it became my job to cook Thanksgiving. Thank goodness Adam barely remembers that Thanksgiving because it was rough. Not that my cooking was the problem but my sisters were just insane. Things have calmed a lot since that first Thanksgiving. I still do most things exactly like my grandma did. We always eat at 11am on Thanksgiving Day like we did when she was alive. This works out good for us because the kids usually nap around 12:30. I cook most of the same foods-turkey, her dressing recipe, green beans, corn, her pumpkin pie recipe, and mashed potatoes. I have added a few new things-sweet potato caserole, usually something chocolate because I hate pie, and we eat yeast rolls instead of the traditional rolls she used to serve. For the most part, I like cooking. I like that now my sisters and kids have the same memories of Thanksgiving that I had as a kid. It also works out nicely with Adam's family. They always celebrate the weekend after Thanksgiving. I am thankful that we don't have to travel to see our family.

For those who read about my little homeschooling breakdown last week, I am reworking our schedule. Unfortunately, with 6 "Littles", I don't think it will be smooth sailing for awhile. We will get through it though and even on the crazy days, I am thankful for the chaos.

I got a fabulous new book called "Large Family Logistics". I know many people like Fly Lady but her ideas are just not realistic for a big family. I can clean each room for 5 minutes every hour of the day and the kids are like mini-tornadoes right behind me. I found that stressful. I also never really got into the "shine your sink" philosphy. To be honest, if the rest of the house looks upside down (which, no matter how clean it is before we go to bed, the kids mess it up in 5 minutes MAX), having the sink shine doesn't make me feel any better at all. The LFL book seems to focus on specific things on specific days-adding in the "4 by 4" which means 4 loads of laundry by 4 everyday. I am going to change up the days a bit because our "Town Day" will vary depending on what kind of doctor we need to go to.

Here is their idea of how the days should go:
Monday-Laundry day (mending, ironing, hanging-etc)
Tuesday-Kitchen Day (to make bread for the week, meals for the week, clean our fridge, and clean the kitchen)
Wednesday-Office Day (to pay bills, balance the checkbook, organize your menu plan, blog, etc)
Thursday-Town Day (dr appointments, grocery shopping, etc)
Friday-Deep Cleaning Day (massive decluttering, wash and change sheets, rotate around which room to deep clean-dining room, school bookshelves, bathrooms, bedrooms, living room, playroom, etc).
Saturday-Gardening Day (all things outdoors)
Sunday-Rest Day


Bathroom cleaning is also everyday. If you see the sea of water that 6 kids baths produce, cleaning the bathroom is really not even considered a chore. Bath mats are not for us! I use a giant towel and use it to mop up all of the water that our little darlings leave me. While they bathe, I wipe down everything I can in the bathroom and occasionally scrub the toilet.

1 thing that the book really stresses that we already do is to not allow toys in the kids bedrooms. They become a distraction and after I slid across the living room while pregnant this summer while trying to rush to Weston, I feel completely ok with this decision. Toys are dangerous! If you don't believe me, let me know and I will let you borrow a handful of matchbox cars.

I am not even halfway done with the LFL book but I will post more about it after I get finshed and read through my journal. So far, it has some really fabulous ideas.

Is homeschooling going to kill me?

When Adam and I decided years ago to homeschool, it seemed to easy. In my mind, I pictured peace while Easton did his work and the other kids would quietly play around him. Clearly, my mind was foggy or I had been hit in the head because this is hard-there is no quiet, ever. I have heard people say that it takes a couple of years before you find your schedule and I completely believe it. Let's take this morning for instance-the kids get up, make their beds, brush their teeth, and I made them breakfast. Easton sits down to start his reading (enter screaming/teething/drooling Sutton who needs to sit on my lap). Easton keeps reading outloud louder and louder. Screaming Sutton stops screaming long enough to try to jab his eye out with a pencil that I was letting him draw with (to stop screaming). I take the pencil away (which caused him to scream louder) and then I notice that the girls have surrounded Avery-who WAS having tummy time. They have rolled her over and covered her in a giant, fleece blanket. After I took the blanket away, explained they could suffocate her, and sat back down-Easton was done with his book. I wanted to bang my head on the table.

Not all days are like this. Most go fairly well. The girls and Sutton draw and color. Easton does his work. Weston does letters or handwriting. Avery does tummy time. They must have not gotten the memo today.

Tomorrow is storytime at the Library and it is my favorite day of the week. The kids love the Bristol Library and for anyone who hasn't visited, it is really beautiful (way nicer than you can imagine for our small area). The children's section is amazing and there is a bird named Citrus. The children's director is great. She always reads, sings, and does crafts with the kids. It is very laid back so you can come and go as you please. We have gone to a few storytimes in the area, at different libraries, and the Bristol one is by far the best.

Questions, Questions, Questions

A few questions answered-just for you, Jen. Well, really for everyone I guess. Maybe people do just really wonder what it is like to have so many kids?



I do 4-5 loads of laundry everyday. If I miss a day, I will pay dearly for it later. Now, since we haven't been leaving the house much recently, I have only been doing 3-4. It doesn't help that Abby and Emery are little fashionistas who change their clothes and throw the other clothes down the laundry chute causing me to play the fun game "Is this really dirty or was it just tried on?"



I do at least 4 loads of dishes everyday and we eat off paper plates and bowls. I do cook most meals so the dishes are lots of pots and pans and utensils.



How much is our grocery bill? This, I get asked ALL of the time. I can almost guarantee our total is less than just about anyone elses. During the summer, we eat from the garden/farmer's market. I only buy meat, milk, cheese, eggs, yogurt, occasionally grains, and paper products from the grocery store so our summer total at the grocery store was around 30 dollars a week plus an extra 30 for the farmer's market. So, 60 a week to feed our family of 7 (Avery doesn't count yet because she doesn't eat). During the winter, when there is no farmer's market, we spend around 150 for 2 weeks worth of groceries. This summer, I have canned close to 300 jars of fruits and veggies so I can't wait to see how all of our hard work lowers the grocery bill. Last year, we were able to get a great deal on 1/4 of a cow. That fed us for a long time. I also stretch the meat that we buy. Like last week, I bought 2 giant packs of chicken breasts for 88 cents a pound. I think there were 12 breasts and it was about 10 dollars. I baked them all on Monday and used them throughout the week in meals. We ended up having chicken all week but that's ok-we like chicken. This week, I bought a ham from Food City for 20 dollars (it was on sale from 40 so it's a good deal). We will eat ham steaks, mac and cheese with ham, ham sandwiches, and dice it up to go on top of a salad-so when you see that it will be used to make 8 or 10 meals-it makes it not so bad. We aren't having ham tonight though. Some hunter friends killed a deer behind our house-so tonight we are having deer steaks. Another hunter gave us some ground deer so we might have that next week.

Diapers, Diapers, Diapers-We use cloth diapers at home. I love Bum Genius 3.0's. We have used them since Weston was a baby and they are still in great shape. We use disposables when we go out and I got an awesome deal off Amazon. If you signed up for auto ship, you got 30 percent off and I had a 20 percent coupon on top of that. I did the same deal for wipes. It made the diapers and wipes so cheap AND they were shipped to our door for freeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! I will have to post a pic of how stocked up we are now with diapers and wipes. I don't even think Adam realized it til he went into the little room in the basement =)

Homeschool Curriculum-We use A LOT of different things. Thankfully, the homeschool community here is very tight so you can always borrow something to look at before you buy it. Some stuff I have loved, some I have hated. Currently, I am doing a sort of "block" schedule for Easton. From August until December, we will focus mainly on Reading, Handwriting, and Math. From January until May, we will focus on Spanish, Social Studies, and Science. My theory on this is that once he can read well, he will enjoy reading stories in SS and Science. My favorite curriculum so far are Hooked on Phonics (wonderful, wonderful, great, program), Explode the Code, Handwriting Without Tears, and Abeka Phonics. He is using Saxon for math and while I have heard other people rave about how wonderful it is, I think it is a weird curriculum and oddly put together. The manipulatives have been good and Easton really is enjoying it.

How do you bathe 6 kids? It takes around 45 minutes to an hour. I usually put the boys in 1 bath and the girls in a 2nd one-then give Avery a dip in whichever bath is cleaner. During the summer, I would give 2 sets of baths, 1 set before nap because they were so dirty from playing in the yard, and 1 set before bed. That was a job!

We do take the kids out to eat a few times a month. The kids always love this special treat and I always love not having to cook. We love to go to Earthfare on Thursday nights. Kids eat free and the adult food is rather yummy too. The kids meals are big and very filling. The kids get a turkey rollup with carrots, spinach, and tomatoes, a blueberry yogurt, a fruit cup, and an organic milk box. I always get the jerk chicken panini and Adam gets pizza. By the time we checkout, with drinks, our total is about 15 dollars. 15 dollars to feed 7 people out =) I LOOOOVE it.

And what do they wear? Gymboree. We buy a few things from other stores but their clothes come mainly from Gymboree. We pass down clothes from 1 child to the next and Gymboree always holds up great. For jeans, I love Crazy 8 and Childrens Place. I do 1-2 Old Navy orders a year for odds and ends. I shop the sales, use gymbucks/c8 cash, buy during circle of friends, and use a coupon. I never, ever pay full price. We do get the kids new, matching, Halloween and Christmas Pajamas but always with a coupon or on sale.

Are the all yours?

I have a love hate relationship with people who ask me this-and trust me, it gets asked every single time we have ever gone out in public since Emery was born. What really baffles me is that the kids are good out in public and usually aren't bothering anyone when people come and comment. We take the kids out to eat every few weeks-maybe once a month. They are always good because they know it is such a special treat. People even stop at our table to ask if they are all ours. Then, we get the following comment "Well, you have your hands full". That makes me want to cuss someone. Yes, to take any child-whether it be 1 or 6 or 10-there are lots of things you need-stroller, purse, keys, cell phone, diapers, etc but I don't really think of it as "oh this is awful, I will never take them out again". We go normal public places-Walmart, the zoo, out to eat, the library, etc. I think of everyday as a learning experience for them and if they never learn how to act in public, I won't have done my job of being their mom. I just wish people would keep their comments and head counts to themselves.

I got some new books this week-a book on changing what we eat, a bread book because I forgot how much the kids like to make bread, and a book on the challenges of a large family. I am especially excited about the large family book. I hope it has some real advice for large families. I know, people always have cleaning tips or flylady or whatever and I have tried lots of different stuff but none of it (especially Flylady) accounts for the 6 little people going right behind me and making a mess faster than I can clean it up. I would also like to get some pointers on a better chore chart for the kids. They are all very capable of doing chores and we have been working on this for awhile but I need to hear what works for other big families.

We're getting there

I really feel like the last year has been a blur-a very super, duper highly stressful blur. Just thinking about it makes me think I might need a Xanax. It started with my sister, Mara, giving birth to Jon. What should have been a wonderful thing was made stressful by her useless husband (yes, useless is the nicest word I can find for him). The next week, we found out Weston needed heart surgery and the day after that, we found out we were pregnant. The spring was spent going back and forth to doctors for Weston. We went to Duke twice, 1 time for his cath that landed him in the PICU for a week, and the other time for surgery that didn't happen. Then, the week before we left for Philadelphia, Nancy decided she wanted to try to get Abby back so back to court we went. Everytime it's the same-they send in more state people to "help". The "help" really means more random people coming in, doing home assessments, doing background checks on us, talking to the kids, basically wasting my time. I know that sounds mean but I value our family time together and I do not enjoy having to cater to any of these people. We didn't abuse or neglect our children, yet we are treated like criminals. We asked the judge to take away Abby's dad's rights (because he hasn't seen or called about her in over a year!). The judge said "I won't take away his rights because one day he might win the lottery and Abby will be entitled to some of that money". Now, is it just Adam and me, or do you think the last thing a crack addict is going to do when they win the lottery is call us to set up a savings account for a kid they haven't seen in over a year? Then, we headed to Philadelphia where Weston's heart surgery went fabulous. We were told to expect him to need another surgery in 8-10 years. We got home to TN and Avery arrived soon after. She is our very best baby ever. In the weeks since she has been born, we have been on house arrest to keep Weston away from germs, we were told Weston will probably need another open heart surgery soon, we have to find a pulmonary specialist somewhere in the US that will take him, we have gone back to court to try to keep Abby, we got rid of our dog because she was acting crazy and we didn't want to risk her biting the kids, we got chickens (which are seriously my fav pet ever), my sister Mara has moved in with us with her baby, and then there was Chenhan. It is enough to drive a person crazy! I just want to tell everyone to get their act together, get their kids, and get out of my house.

Monday, the cardiologist said we could go out a little more in public. So, yesterday I took the Super 6 to storytime at the Library and to the place to vote. It was nice to finally be able to leave with all of the kids. I am so thankful that we finally got to have a nice, normal day!

A good friend

I got the terrible news that a good friend committed suicide. I am totally not a death or dead people person. He is probably the first real friend I have had pass away (yes, I have only experienced death of all of my family). I thought we were good friends. He always joked about all of the kids and I always joked about his girlfriends. I am so sad because he never felt all of the love of everyone that care so much for him. I am sad because he must have felt alone in the world. I feel terrible for his parents and even for his dog and snake (mostly the dog because it is sweet). I feel bad for the rest of his friends who are hurting. I cry reading his facebook page and seeing his last posts. I never want anyone to feel like they don't have anyone else in the world to turn to. I talked to him a couple of weeks ago-typical back and forth and he seemed so happy. My mind keeps thinking about Tuesday. I saw him make a post on facebook about loving his friends and glad they were part of the good times. I remember reading it and thinking it was weird-but sometimes he posted things to be funny. Now, looking back, I wish I had posted something or called or I don't know (taking 6 little folks to visit someone with no kids, a big dog, and a giant snake seemed out of the question). I have thought about it all day today. How can we keep this from happening? If we had only known. So today, I made sure the kids know how much I love them because my friend that passed away was someone's baby once.

Apple Pie Oatmeal

On Monday, I made the kids apple pie oatmeal. They love apple pie and there is no way they would ever get to eat it for breakfast. I try to make their breakfasts as filling as possible because they are big eaters. The recipe is more of a method because I realize that not everyone is cooking for an army of "STARRRRRRRRRRVING TO DEATHHHHHHHH" kids. I would love to try this with steel cut oats but I haven't found them on a good enough sale yet. This ended up making a giant stoneware of oatmeal plus a pyrex dish. Next time, I will go ahead and use 2 stonewares.

6 and a half cups of oatmeal
5 cups of vanilla almond milk
5 and a half cups of vanilla soy milk ( I am sure you can sub regular milk)
6 apples sliced, cored, peeled and chopped
cinnamon to taste (I just sprinkled it over the top)
apple pie spice to taste (again, just sprinkled it over the top)
3 cups of applesauce (I used unsweetened applesauce that I canned this summer)
optional-a few spoonfuls of brown sugar or honey. I didn't use any but I think it would have given it extra sweetness.

I baked it at 350 for about 30 minutes but stirred it everything I thought about it. (I was giving the kids a bath so my 30 minute timeline might be skewed). Don't let it get too done or it won't reheat well.

When I go to serve it, I break up a few graham crackers on the top for the "crust" part. The kids love it and it fed them for 3 breakfasts =) If it's too thick when you reheat it, just add more milk.

Avery has arrived!

After what felt like the longest pregnancy EVER, a fairly long labor (especially for a 5th baby!), and a super speedy delivery-Avery Ruth-Kathryn Keeton arrived on September 30 at 4:51pm. She weighed 7lbs and was 19 and a half inches long-only furthering my belief that ultrasounds are WAY off when it comes to our children. She has a head full of black hair, which is the only thing the kids ever take after me. I will enjoy it while it lasts-until it turns blonde anyways. The kids were overjoyed to meet their new baby sister. The girls kept fighting saying "my baby' "no my baby"-back and forth, over and over. The older boys, of course, are in love. Easton and Weston are so good with babies! Sutton wasn't sure what to think. He is used to being a little prince. He loved on her a bit and has been enjoying laying beside of her on the boppy. He reminds me a lot of Emery when Sutton was born. She would sit on the boppy while I nursed him.

Monday, we took Weston for his echo. His heart looks good, his lungs look bad. He goes back in 4 weeks for another echo and we will go from there. I am trying not to get overly worried about it. He has made it this far and is doing great-his lungs just didn't get the memo.

Yesterday was my first day alone with them. The morning went well. We took Avery to the doctor and my mother in law sat in the car with the older 5 while I took Avery to get her bilirubin checked. We came home and everyone napped-it was nice. I love a good afternoon nap. Today has been a bit rougher. I lost my keys so we spent the morning searching for them. After I cried and Adam was getting ready to leave work, Sutton brought me my keys. I have no idea where they were but I was glad to find them. Avery went back to the dr today to get her bilirubin checked again. All of the kids have had jaundice and had to go under the lights. I am hopeful that Avery can do without the biliblanket.

And so now, I am trying to adjust to 6. It's not been bad so far-just tiring-or maybe that is because all Keeton newborns believe they need to nurse every hour and a half to 2 hours? I can't wait to get off the lifting restrictions and get back to a new, normal life.

Baby Jail

My mother in law is keeping the kids this weekend so I can catch up on everything that needs to be done. That list is just too long to talk about on here but the main thing I have been doing is returning things I have bought that either don't fit or we didn't like or didn't need. Standing in line with the fab 5 for a return is just out of the question. So, this has been a nice break and a nice time for them to get to stay with their Nana.

Last night, Adam and I went on a hot date-our first in maybe a year???? We went to eat and then we went to Lowes. At Lowes, Adam bought me the BEST GIFT EVER-a reinforced steel extra wide door gate!!!! Well, actually I won't know if it is the BEST GIFT EVER until the kids get home to test it. We have gone through just about every gate out there and it doesn't even slow the kids down so I am very excited to try this one out. It is 36 inches high and is extra wide so the kids shouldn't be able to get into the kitchen now. For those that don't know, when we moved back into this house, the cabinet doors were in terrible condition so we took them down, sanded them, primed them, and planned to paint them. Then, things got out of control with Weston's health so everything was put on the back burner so we could take care of him. Needless to say, for months Sutton's favorite activity has been to get out tupperware or all of my canned goods-or anything else his little heart desires. I can't wait for Sutton to come home and see his new baby jail gate =)

Knoxville On A Dime: Kohls.com - THe Big One Bath Towels for only $2.40...

Knoxville on a dime is one of my fav new blogs to follow. They have deals EVERYDAY! Day before yesterday, I got a free baby sling and just had to pay shipping. Anyways, since we are the most towel-going-through-est (real word) people ever, I couldn't resist getting some new towels.

Knoxville On A Dime: Kohls.com - THe Big One Bath Towels for only $2.40...: "If you are in need of some new towels, HURRY over Kohls and you can get The Big One Bath Towels for just $2.40 EACH ($0.79 for wash cloths..."

And so we wait....and wait....and wait

The week has been filled with doctor appointments. I had high hopes on Monday when I went to the doctor about Avery that she would say "oh you are ready to go into labor any minute so we will go ahead and plan to induce you next week if you don't go before then". Apparently, that was in my dreams. Instead I got "You are not progressing and being induced now would increase my risk of a c-section". She is also measuring small. My belly only measures at 34 weeks-but 2 weeks ago she weighed 6lbs 8oz on the ultrasound. Needless to say, she is SQUISHED (drs own words). Now, I probably wouldn't find this so shocking if this wasn't our 5th! baby! What the heck is Avery waiting for? Did I mention I hate waiting? Did I mention how miserable the last few weeks of pregnancy are? I did have a couple of hours of contractions the other day. I kept telling myself I should start timing them because I knew they were coming close, but I was busy with the kids. Easton and Weston got excited because they said "Mommy, if you go into labor, we are going to call 911 so they can land a helicopter to take you to the hospital" When I told them that I think that would be a bit much they said "Well, we don't want to deliver a baby". The contractions went away so it wasn't the real deal. I always worry about going to the hospital and not be in labor. When I went to the hospital when I went into labor with Weston, I couldn't even decide when to go. I didn't want to be sent home and them think "oh that crazy lady". Instead, I kept waiting. Even after we got there and the dr said I was 6cm dilated, I still asked if they were going to send me home.

In homeschooling this week, we have been focusing on reading stories. Sometimes, I feel like we don't spend nearly enough time reading things the kids really want to read. They LOVE Magic Schoolbus. They could read the books over and over again. We also got out the "fall" books. I was blessed to work at the Child Study Center in college and I would buy lots of books off of the Scholastic orders. Needless to say, we have tons. Tennessee (and maybe other states?) have the Dolly Parton Imagination Library. Once you sign up, they send your child a brand new book, age appropriate, every month until age 5. Babies get board books and then older children get page books. We have quite the library collection between the Fab 5 and I am still figuring out a way to organize them all.

Toy/book organization is something we struggle with. Right now, we are using tubs for the toys. I rotate their toys monthly to give them variety but SOMEHOW, everytime I get "help" with the laundry, a few more toys make it upstairs. I also throw out toys every week-broken, chewed, dirty, etc. Stuffed animals are always the first thing to be thrown out. Thankfully, a good stomach virus wipes out most of those. All of the toys we have get dishwashed every week. That usually gets rid of a few things. The books are all in crates. I rotate them seasonally. I found a bookshelf that I don't think the kids can destroy so they may get it for Christmas. With Christmas coming, I will be bagging up their old toys and donating them.

Functioning Again

After 2 weeks in Philadelphia, we are home. Well, actually we have been home for a week. Adam has worked long hours everyday since we got home so I have been working on trying to get everyone back on schedule. We were still finding our schedule with homeschooling before we left and while we were in Philly, we did what we could when there was some free time. So, Monday morning we started a new "school" routine. Then, my plans came to an abrupt halt. We noticed in Pennsylvania that Easton was mastering his math very quickly. He loved the manipulatives and would zoom through the lessons. On the way home, I got to looking at his math book and he is almost done. ALMOST DONE with what should have taken him a year (can you feel the panic)! So, I have chosen some concepts to work on (money, time, etc) while his 1st grade math gets shipped to us. Which moves us onto Tuesday. Things were going well. Easton has been reading for over a year and it has always been an easy concept for him. I had out our reading program (it has like 20 little books that they kids work through). Well, next thing I know, Easton picks up number 20 and starts reading away. We are going to finish working through the rest of the Hooked on Phonics Kindergarten reading program. He should get done with it this week. Thankfully, when we bought the Kindergarten set, we got the 1st and 2nd grade as part of the kit.

Wonderful things have happened since we started homeschooling. Weston was not the least bit interested in learning until this year. Now, he wants to do school all of the time. The girls are also interested and they all sit around the table so nicely with their "cool" boxes. Sutton could care less what they are all doing. He is just happy to have the toys all to himself. By the end of the day, Weston has done about as much Kindergarten as Easton. Weston is not as advanced with Math or Reading but he enjoys the Science curriculum quite a bit. We also got him his own handwriting curriculum to learn to make his letters. His fine motor skills are quite behind because of his 3 open heart surgeries. He loves making his letters with the wooden pieces and enjoys tracing all of the letters and animals. It is amazing to see how much they love to learn. It has really helped me feel like homeschooling is the right thing for us.

A little bit of homeschooling

While I had planned to start Easton's Kindergarten last week, I was busy trying to set things up for Philadelphia-which is just a full time job in itself. So, we started today. Easton is a great student. He really just soaks up whatever he is learning and catches on so easily. He really enjoyed doing his Math and Reading. He already reads and enjoys reading. Tomorrow, we will do Science and History/Bible. I had it on our list to do today but as I also learned today, lists are WAY overrated. Weston really surprised me-well, shocked me is more like it. He sat at the table and put his letter pieces from the Handwriting Without Tears set. He made the letters E and F a few times and even did a page in the workbook with a little help from me. I have not been this shocked by Weston since he pottytrained himself at 17 months. I pictured Weston screaming and throwing a fit that I would make the little prince himself learn to write but he must have decided that writing is one of those things he is going to have to be able to do in order to move away from me, one day.

The girls started their All About Me books and made self-portraits. Then, they screamed and fought for the rest of school time. Sutton wandered around and would occasionally come put his head in my lap to cry. I don't think he was used to playing by himself and certainly not used to having to share the "Mommy spotlight".

I already made some changes. First, I threw out the list I had made. It was useless. We got through about half of what I had planned-which is a good start, but I like lists where I can cross everything off. Another change I made was to reorganize the cubbies that I have all of their hs stuff in. I had organized it when we first moved in but have since bought tons of other books so it really needed to be redone. I also decided that Easton and I will do History after Adam gets home. I may rotate around which subject we do at night so that Easton will get to have some 1 on 1 peaceful time to think.

Canning-I haven't blown anyone or anything up yet!

So far, in my canning adventures, I have canned green tomatoes, green beans, tomatoes, roasted tomato sauce, salsa, peach honey (it was going to be jam but turned into a more honey-like substance instead), peach jam, and blueberry jam. After all of this, you would think that I might have some clue about what I am doing-but not really. I still refer to my Ball Blue Book for everything. What I do know is that green beans are alot of work for the amount you get. I am totally against green beans anyways because, in my mind, by the time you boil them to death, there really isn't alot of nutritional valve. I am still working on how to make the jams lower in sugar. I think I need a canning book for diabetics or something. The first time I went to make the peach jam which turned into honey, the recipe called for 4 cups of peaches and 7!!!! cups of sugar. It was SWEET! Like the sweetest peach you have ever eaten. The blueberry jam I made today called for 7 cups of sugar but I only used 4. It turned out so good! We bought 60 pounds of peaches today at the Farmer's Market. I had meant to freeze peaches and make more peach jam but we got lost canning tomato sauce. Adam's garden has really taken off. He is quite the tomato grower!!! If you notice the picture, it is of our dining table that seats 8. That was from not picking tomatoes for 3 days. Since this photo, it has now been 3 more days and it has rained. I am almost afraid to see how many tomatoes he brings in for us tomorrow!

On Monday, the plan is to start Easton's Kindergarten. If we don't start Monday, we will definitely start one day next week. I am excited and nervous at the same time. I have most of the curriculum and made lists and lists on top of lists-even though I know, after about 2 days of doing what is on the list, we will find our own routine. He is so excited though. Tomorrow, after church, I told him we would go to Walmart and he could pick out his own folder. We bought some school supplies there the other night and the only thing he said he wanted was a pack of erasers. Maybe little boys don't get the same excitement from new school supplies that little girls do. I always loved getting all new stuff. He is excited to start his Math curriculum. We chose Saxon math and after reading it, I have been pretty impressed. I love that they do lots of hands on activities and I like it that their is a review everyday. I am a little unsure about how the reading stuff is going to go. We bought Abeka for K but Easton has been reading short books for a year so all of the Kindergarten stuff that I bought seems geared more to kids who cannot read at all. I think we are going to go ahead and let him read through all of the Kindergarten books and if he seems to do ok with them, we will buy first grade materials. As far as everything else, we have Bob Jones Bible Truths, Story of the World (for History), History of Little Pilgrims, some other history that had some neat activities, McRuffy Science, Explode the Code for handwriting, Hooked on Phonics for more reading, and I am getting ready to order Apologia Science because the McRuffy seems geared more for preschoolers. I will still use the McRuffy for the younger ones. For Literature, we are doing a mix of Five in a Row, On The Loose With Dr. Seuss, and a couple of other books that center a theme around a story. Yes, I am a bit of a curriculum collector and maybe even a curriculum snob. I like the idea of picking and choosing the best lessons for learning. Some books have really great information while others have much better hands on activities-which are a must to hold the kids attention. For Weston, we got Handwriting Without Tears. We have had lots of doctors tell us that after his surgery, he may have some fine motor issues and HWOT is the best handwriting curriculum for someone with issues. And, we will do the Letter of the Week stuff with Weston and the girls. I tried to get Weston to do it last year but he wanted nothing to do with it-which was fine. Now that he is a year older, he seems to be more interested in letters and learning to read like Easton. It amazes me that they have such different learning styles. Easton is so focused, hands on, and such a perfectionist. Weston, on the opposite end of the spectrum, could care less about learning anything that HE doesn't want to-which means if you aren't wanting to learn about dinosaurs, bugs, firetrucks, or John Deere's-his ears are turned off. I should also add that after I have worekd so hard to plan out the school year, teachers are horribly underpaid! I will update next week on how it is going and perhaps add a picture of Easton (now that I know how to add picts).

Summer's Coming!!!

Spring has arrived and where have I been??? Well, long story short, we are moving (this is really an understatement, we are redoing the house I grew up in that needs TONS of help), Weston needs heart surgery soon and very far away (Boston or Denver), and we are expecting a new baby in early October. That about sums up the last couple of months.

While I was moving, I came across a vegetarian cookbook that my friend Jamie gave me. I think vegetarians would use those recipes as meals, but to Adam, a meal is not a meal unless it includes meat. I came across one of my favorite recipes that I changed a little. I think in the book it was called Black Bean Side or something similar. It was meant to be served hot over rice-which we have eaten it but we like it better cold. Like I have told you before, I don't like to measure. It's not that I can't measure-it is just that by the time I find all of the little measuring cups and spoons, someone or SOMEONES have gotten into what I am trying to make and either eaten it, dumped it in the floor, or dumped something into it (how the playdough got into the muffins).

2 cans of black beans rinsed and drained
a few tomatoes chopped up
some garlic-depending on your taste
Some chopped red onion
cilantro (omit it if you hate it-we love it)
a couple of limes worth of juice (or a squirt of the stuff from the bottle)
a little salt
a diced jalepeno or habenero if you like spicy

I make it and put it in a tupperware and let it sit overnight in the fridge. It is yummy on top of tacos-fish tacos being our favorite, on salads, or as a dip for tortilla chips. Our good friends gave us tuna steaks and I grilled them with salt and pepper and we served the cold black bean salad on the side. It was yummy together!

Teething Cookies

I got this recipe this morning and plan on trying it tomorrow for Baby Sutton. He loves a good, hard cookie for his little gums. I was thinking you could probably make different flavors with different kinds of puree's (instead of using just plain applesauce). I will try it their way first before I change it.


Teething Cookies


1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup maple syrup
3 Tbsp applesauce

Heat oven to 300. Place all ingredients in a medium bowl and stir with a wooden spoon until dough begins to hold together. Dust the counter with flour, then transfer the contents of bowl to the counter. Knead lightly until the dough is smooth, about 3 minutes. Roll out with a rolling pin until 1/2 inch thick. Cut out cookies using an inverted cup and a clean soda-bottle cap for the hole in the middle (the finished cookie looks like a donut - perfect for little hands to hold). Transfer cookies to a greased cookie sheet. Bake until barely browned, about 35 minutes. Let cool completely on cookie sheet. They're ready to eat now (under adult supervision, of course). Store for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container.

I will never understand

Normally, I put the parenting magazines in the "let the kids practice scissor skills" pile-snatching the Gymboree coupons first, but tonight I was bored. I read through a few pages and came upon a fine article about how kids eat. Now, I try not to be critical BUT can someone please tell me how your kids eats only grilled cheese or white foods. I don't even understand how this starts. As an infant, we give them all kinds of veggies and fruits. What the heck happens?

My grandma believed very much in giving us a love for fresh veggies and fruits. It never dawned on me that I could have requested a grilled cheese-much to which I am sure she would have spanked me for even asking. So, how does this all happen? I have raised 4 good eaters and convereted 1 not so hot eater so I am in awe of those who say-my kid only eats grilled cheese and boxed mac and cheese. My kids have never even had boxed mac and cheese-not because I am too good to buy it but because it is DISGUSTING! So, we travel down the road a bit further, another mom says her kid eats only white things. What the heck is white? Would cauliflower count-but I am sure that is too nutritious?????

Adam and I expect our children to eat what I cook. There is no second chance, no other meal, you eat what is served. We recently let Easton pick one thing he didn't like and he chose corn. He says it gets in his teeth. That is logical. I will accept that he doesn't like corn because 1) he had a valid reason and 2) he eats me out of house and home in every other sort of fruit and veggie. Sutton is 7 months and went to a Parents Night Out program last night. The teachers went on and on about how he ate everything I packed. Of course he did! I am not a short order cook! You get what you get or you go hungry. Our Pediatrician is quick to back me up and tell me that your child won't let themselves go hungry.

Very Berry Crumble

The kids LOVE this first thing in the morning. I serve it hot or cold if I have some left over. They love it on top of yogurt or ice cream too!

topping:
3/4 cup sliced almonds (ok, I rarely have these so I usually use chopped pecans)
1/3 cup quick oats (this is a rough estimate)
A few squirts of honey
A sprinkle of cinnamon
A sprinkle of nutmeg
A tsp or so of Vanilla
2 tablespoons of butter
A sprinkle of flax meal

Filling:
2 bags of frozen fruit (still frozen or thawed) (I use peaches, blueberries, strawberries, or a combo-just whatever I have)
Squirt of honey
A sprinkle of cornstarch (a sprinkle of baby rice/oatmeal cereal works just as good-just in case you are out of cornstarch =)

Mix the topping ingredients all together with a fork. The kids love the topping so I double it. Mix frozen fruit in a pyrex (I use the square one-whatever size that is). Squirt a little honey on top and sprinke cornstarch or baby cereal on top. Mix together.
Spoon on the topping and spread pretty evenly.

Bake at 375 until hot and bubbly.

Granola

I absolutely love this stuff, and make it in big batches (which go very quickly around here). You may add or remove various ingredients as you like, until you come up with your own custom granola mix that your family likes! Here's what I do, measurements may not be exact, as it's a very organic process for me (picture me throwing in a bit more of this, or that, at whim- it's usually how I cook).

Granola:


First, I mix the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

Ingredients, Mix together:


* 12 c. oats
* 3/4 c. wheat germ (I rarely have this, so I now leave it out and double-up on the ground flax seeds, aka. flaxseed meal)
* 1 c. flaxseed meal (I use 2 c., when not adding the wheat germ)
* 8-12 oz. (or 16?) of cocunut, depending upon how much you like it! I use alot! ;)
* 2 c. of slivered almonds (I usually add an extra shake of this too)
* 3/4 c. of sunflower seeds, if you like 'em or any other seeds/nuts you want to try
* 2 tsp. cinnamon
* .25 tsp. nutmeg
* 1.5 tsp. ginger
* Now I (sometimes, if I have it on hand, but it's certainly not necessary) sprinkle some Oat Bran flour over the mix, and mix in (probably about 1/2 c. or so, the more you add, the more bready-type hard *clumps* you'll have in your granola. I don't like too much, but some might like to add up to 2-4 c. of oat flour- in which case you'd need to add more honey and oil to make it stick together, just experiment).


Now I start adding in the liquids:


* 1 tsp. almond extract
* 2.5 tsp. vanilla extract (you may want to add more, just have to experiment)
* Oil: *note* Again, for this ingred., you can experiment and use what you like. I use 1/4-1/2 c. of flax seed oil and a stick of unsalted butter, sometimes I've used 1/2 c. of vegetable oil, light olive oil would work too, or grapeseed oil. There are no rules with granola, except to make it as healthful as possible. But basicly, you'll need about 3/4 c. of oil for this amount of granola.
* 1.5-2 c. of honey
* 1/4 c. of molasses (we don't use this)

Mix it all up real good and spread on parchment paper, or brown paper bag on the largest cookie sheet you have.


Bake @ 300 degrees for 20 mins. or so, until golden brown/toasted looking. I even accidentaly burnt a batch the other day, and it was still delicious.


After it comes out of the oven, and cools off, I like to add organic raisins, dried blueberries or cranberries. You could add any dried fruit that you like. I've tried baking it with the fruit in it beforehand, and prefer to wait now. I found that the fruit sorta burns faster than the rest of the mix. ;-) I also mix in chocolate chips sometimes if I want to add more sweetness.


Peanut Butter Granola

Makes 5 cups - can double

2 3/4 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup natural wheat germ
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
2T vegetable oil
1/3 c honey
1/3 c chunky all natural peanut butter
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/2 c raisins
1/2 c chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 300. Stir together oats, wheat germ, and sunflower seed in a large mixing bowl. In a saucepan heat oil and honey, stiring occasionally. Remove from heat; add peanut butter and vanilla. Pour over dry ingredients and mix well. Spread over a cookie sheet. Bake 20 - 25 minutes, stirring every five minutes until granola browns evenly. Mix in raisins and nuts-I usually add extra nuts because the kids love them. STore in an airtight container. I use Krema peanut butter because it is salt free.