Round 17, DING DING DING

Yes it has already started. The fighting. Not only bickering, but physical wrestling, too. If this is starting now, I can only imagine the brawling ending in all out knock outs in the future. "Lord, help me!" I try to just stay out of it but that is impossible when you're the mommy. Yesterday, Ben bit A.J.'s ear so hard it was bleeding! We had to put a band-aid on it. Surely we will get through this.

Recipe!!!!!

Yummy Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

Fish your seeds out of the pumpkin shell. You don't have to clean them but I do.
You can leave some string on them for flavor but get rid of any chunks. Spread your seeds on a cookie sheet with raised sides. Add two tbsp of olive or veg. oil. Salt to taste and bake in the oven on 350 until golden.
These are a favorite treat of mine in October.

Yummy Batteries!

My one year old loves to eat batteries. I know what your thinking but please know I'm a very laid back, let nature teach, sort of mommy. He usually gets them out of the remote, which we try to keep put away, but you can't ever assume a 4 yr old will remember anything. So I just found him hiding behind the recliner, eating the batteries from the remote. I made this huge production about how yucky they are. So A.J. comes over and eagerly says "Is he bleeding? Mommy is he bleeding?" in a way as if it would be really cool. What is it with boys and boo-boos?

Fall Festival

Oh My Goodness! I cant believe I forgot my camera. I should have that thing glued to my eyeball. O.K. so I can believe it. This has been happening to me frequently.

The Fall Festival was so much fun! A.J. went into several bounce houses, rock climbed, jumped on a bungee trampoline, hit a few baseballs in the batting cage and got a ton of candy. The batting cage experience was so cute! He had no idea what he was doing, but he did make contact! Ben just observed most of the time, and danced to the live music.

On the way home my five year old asked a very random question. "Mommy, is Santa magic?" he asked, "because I didn't hear those jingling bells last time. Do you remember? It was so quiet, he didn't make any noise." My heart sank. We haven't ever made a deal out of Santa. Never really discussed it. My family always asks him on Christmas morning though "did Santa come to your house?". He might have said yes or not really answered. I don't remember. (I think that is my way of avoiding it.) But this time I know we need to address it. My temporary reaction was to say,"You know, I didn't hear anything either. Do you think he is magic?"(Thanks to my friend Katherine for that suggestion!) I wasn't satisfied, but he was. There are all these Christmas movies and people in our lives that make Santa real. I don't want to be deceitful by sliding the questions that he asks, or by lying to him about it. I have no problem with being honest with my children. The problem that I can see arising is with the friends and cousins that hear him tell the adults" Santa died a long time ago. WHY CAN'T ANYONE PUT HIM TO REST?" O.K. j/j. I don't think he would ruin it for the other kids on purpose. I think all the people who hound him with questions will ruin it because they aren't seeking an honest answer, which is what they might get.(In front of all the other children.) My kids will know the story of Santa . And I believe Christmas will be just as, or even more special than, it is for anyone else. We will be going to Ill. for Christmas this year and I pray it goes smoothly as far as this topic is concerned. So for any family who reads this blog, BE ADVISED! WARNING! Just kidding. A.J. will know that some children believe that Santa exists today and to not spoil the fun for them. Trust me , he can be secretive.

Dirty diapers!!!!!!

I swear Benjamin is full of poop! I don't know what is going on but when you have a 1 year old that poops as much as his 34 year old Father, it is scary! I feel like all I do is change dirty diapers all day, so I made up this song. Ready? Here it goes.................

Tinky, tinky, tin-ky, what do you say<
You've got a dir-ty dia-per eve-ry day>
Tinky, tinky, tin-ky, what do you smell<
You've got a poo-py dia-per that must have come from hel-p.

I would sing it for you except that might ruin it.

ciao-

thoughts

Here are a few things that have been on my mind lately in no particular order.

I need to find something fun to do..............
I miss my best friends............
My husband is awesome...............
My kids are growing so fast.................
I need to make a list..................
I need to go over our budget again....................
I want to finish that project I started...................
I wish it would snow too........................
I need a haircut......................
I want to have a get-away with my husband................
When was the last time I cleaned that...............
We all need new shoes.....................
What am I going to go to school for.....................
Grocery list................
Dinner.......................
Are we done having babies............................
I don't want to stop nursing Ben................
I want to be free................
I want a day of nothing but photography......................
I wonder if I can get a baby sitter for Christmas shopping............
Where are they going to sleep...................

Rain, rain, go out of sight, come again during the night............

I think that it should only rain at night when everyone is sleeping. The weekends are no good because we have a lot of playing to do then. Tues. and Thurs. are no good because I take A.J. to school on those days and don't want to get three babies out of the car in the rain. Wed. are no good because Andy is off on those days and we like to be outside. Mon. and Fri. are left but they are no good either because those are my grocery shopping and errand running days. So, I say again, It should only rain at night.

Kimbell Art Museum

I took the boys to the Art museum yesterday which actually was pleasantly surprising. Ben obviously could have cared less but A.J. and I share a passion for paint and sculpture that I have not shared with anyone so close to me before. As you can imagine , I was very excited that he showed any interest. There are currently no exhibits but their permanent collection is always nice. We saw the ancient paintings portraying the story of Jesus and Lazarus. A sculpture of John the Baptist was something I would like to go back and take the time to look at. I think A.J.'s favorite was a painting of Don Pedro. He was very curious as to why Don Pedro looked so angry. We spent a lot of time looking at a painting of a pirate and damsel. A.J. had a lot of questions about that one. The frame was just as beautiful as the piece. In November they will have an exhibit called "Picturing the Bible" which I'm excited about. I might go back to see that one alone!

Jackpot!!!!!!!!!!!

If I won a million dollars...........
I would pay off our mortgage, and do the things to this house I want to do but cannot afford. I would buy a house in Colorado and let friends live or vacate there for free. I would pay off our parents mortgages and put money away for my kids' college. There is so much more I want to do, I don't think 1 million is enough. If I had more, there are about twenty or 30 other mortgages I would payoff. (About 6 million right there.) I also would like to learn and play the stock market. There are a few places I would like to travel to and of course I would get my own degree. There is of course the ten percent our church would get, and many things I would pray about that the Lord would use us and have us do. There are a lot of dreams that would be fulfilled.
I'm sure we all play this game. Heb. 13:5 says keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God will never leave you nor forsake you. It seems like money would make life easier but maybe it would have the reverse affect. God knows us better than we know ourselves, and it could be that we just wouldn't be able to handle that amount of money. If we want more, does that mean we are not content with what we have?

ERA?

What era would you most like to live in?

I don't know about an era. For some reason or another, I have always been infatuated with the pioneer days. I guess the idea that "we all work hard to benefit one another" is intriguing to me. That, and the fact that you don't have to worry about life's hopeless impracticalities. Don't get me wrong! I do enjoy a lot of the simple things we have such as plumbing, electricity, and grocery stores. Although, I wish we spent more of our time growing our vegetables, and making our children's toys. A wonderful day in that time would start out..............
Waking in the morning to the sound of the rooster crow, the smell of fresh ground coffee beans from Auntie's field next door, and laughter coming from the kitchen. I would walk out to the chicken coup, A.J. and I hand in hand, and we would gather the eggs for that morning's breakfast. Bacon would come from the pig that was slaughtered yesterday by Daddy. After breakfast, he would head out to complete the construction of our fence, that will contain two horses tomorrow. The kids will frolic in the fields while I finish the days chores. After supper,
we will all gather on the porch for an evening of music and entertainment brought to you, by none other, than our own band.

Cereal

If I were a cereal, what would I be?

Hmmmmmmm. What an interesting and incredibly questionable thought! I would like to be some kind of Kashi but I'm not disciplined enough. What about Life? It could be reserved, and not so sweet that it is ruined. Something with fruit? No. ...... I might have to walk through the cereal aisle for this one.

Embarrassment

What are some things you are embarrassed about?

Wow, this could bring you a page full. Sometimes I'm embarrassed of my home. It really sounds pathetic, and low but I enjoy impressing people. I like to make people comfortable and happy. My floor is hideous, and there is always stuff everywhere. I swallow my pride very often! I can't stand it when my husband invites people in our home when it is filthy! That is embarrassing! And it really angers me. I feel like I need to give explanations and apologize to whomever visits during times of craziness.
Sometimes my kids embarrass me. A.J. says things that are not appropriate, or does things that are not appropriate. If he is disrespectful to another adult, that is embarrassing!

BIGHT ERS!!!!

Oh my goodness! My 11 month old, I recently discovered, is a bight er! When he gets angry at someone, he bights them! I fear for the two seven month olds that I keep three times a week. It has been O.K. so far but in the next couple of months they will be crawling and taking toys away like any other normal child. I fear that Benjamin will take his aggression out on them. He is starting to think twice about it and I pray this stage will soon end! I swore my kids would never do this.........

conversation starter

What interests you in a friendship? .....
I think the things I think about first are, Do they have any kids? Probably because I have my kids with me 98 % of the time. Second, Are they married? I don't like my husband to have single friends. It isn't in his best interest or mine. We need to have something in common with our friends. And, My Husband and I are becoming one right? So we look for friendships in other couples. Next, Do they have a similar belief system? Then , Are they honest and faithful? This is very important! (Obviously) Last, Do they encourage me and my family TO BE THE BEST WE CAN be?

What interests you in a friendship?

Art

I am deprived from my passion. I'm not sure if I'm doing it myself or if my passion just doesn't fit in to the life I have chosen. Anyhow, I thought I could change that and incorporate it into my occupation but it just didn't work out. So my next attempt is to take A.J. and Ben to an Art Exhibit. I might have something else to blog about if this works out the way I think it might. Wish us luck.