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!