ABC's of Your Life~ A Tag and A Meme!

Thanks Annie for the tag!

1. A is for age: 30

2. B is for beer of choice: none

3. C is for career right now: SAHM

4. D is for your dog's name: Smokey, a full-blood beagle

5. E is for essential item you use everyday: hair dryer

6. F is for favorite TV show at the moment: American Idol

7. G is for favorite game: I am not a game person AT ALL. I have to force myself to play games with my kids. Monopoly with my husband is fun, though.

8. H is for Hometown: Broken Bow

9. I is for instruments you play: used to play piano, now so much now

10. J is for favorite juice: not sure. I really like cranapple juice and orange- pineapple juice

11. K is for whose butt you'd like to kick: the mean girls in my daughter’s class at school who are making her life miserable

12. L is for last place you ate: home sweet home

13. M is for marriage: June 5

14. N is for your full name: not telling!

15. O is for overnight hospital stays: 7

16. P is for people you were with today: my hubby and kids

17. Q is for quote: I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. Phil 4:13

18. R is for Biggest Regret: too many to count, but lessons learned from all of them!

19. S is for status: Happily married.

20. T is for time you woke up today: 7

21. U is for underwear you have on now: my favorite old comfy ones that my husband hates. Hey, I am 36 weeks pg, I can wear the old comfy ones if I want to!

22. V is for vegetable you love: artichoke

23. W is for worst habit: spending money eating out when we need the money for more important things

24. X is for x-rays you've had: hmmm…I’ve had several x-rays. The last ones were on my back last Spring.

25. Y is for yummy food you ate today: I ate a delicious veggie burger. I am craving them right now for some reason.

26. Z is for the zodiac sign: Sagittarius


I am tagging Cheerful!

Baby's Bedding

I bought the bedding! Here it is. Okay, now that I got it home, it no longer looks like giraffe print. It looks more like cheetah print. What do you think?
I really want it to be giraffe print, so I am going to just pretend that it is.

My Garage Sale Dilemma

I drove by this GREAT garage sale this morning. All you could see was pink, pink stuff everywhere! Yes, this lady was selling all of her baby girl stuff, including an adorable baby girl crib set. I want it!!!! It has flowers on one side (not too flowery though, just a touch of flowery) and giraffe print on the other side. Now, you must know that giraffes are my favorite animals. So, I could decorate with giraffes for this little girl (if the baby is a girl of course). This is really the cutest bedding I have seen. The lady designed it and had someone make it for her baby who is now 10 months old. Why is she selling her 10- month old daughter's bedding? I have no idea. But I really want to buy it. Thing is, it's $50 and I don't even know if this baby is a girl or not. So I feel foolish and wasteful spending $50 on something I may or may not use. And I already have boy bedding and girl bedding, so I really don't need it. But the last baby I actually bought bedding for was dd12. Everything else has been given to me. For ds8's bedding I picked out the fabric and a friend made it. That is what I am going to use if the baby is a boy. It has a picture of a big teddy bear reading to all of the other stuffed animals in the nursery. It also has a giraffe or 2. Very cute!

But the baby girl bedding is SO CUTE!!!!!!!

What should I do?

She also has a car seat that looks like the one I was planning to buy next payday. Maybe I could get a bargain for the car seat and bedding. I was planning to spend $100 on the new car seat.

And the clothes! Oh, baby girl clothes are so cute. She has all Baby Gap, Gymboree, etc. I want to buy her out of all of it, but that wouldn't be smart, would it?

I am glad this is all I have to worry about this afternoon.

Beauty in the Common Things: baby girl clothes
Listen In: ds4 trying to figure out how to get the microwave door open
Supper Plans: spaghetti, salad, bread, green beans
Today I Plan To: clean up Baby Girl's mess that she made in every room of the house this morning while I helped dd12 with a school project, repack diaper bag and emergency bag in van, take ds6#2 to a birthday party at 6
View From the Kitchen Window: rain

Oklahoma Library Legend

Go to Natalie's blog and read her post about my mom. We're all very proud of her!

This Evening

Beauty in the Common Things: a spring storm
Listen In: Children chatting and playing
Supper: Chicken pot pie, corn
Today I...did basic home maintenance (laundry, dishes, etc.) and took a long nap. I also made a decision to concentrate on resting these last few weeks and focus on enjoying this special time while we wait for Baby. It is fun to have people running to get me whatever I need at any given moment. I know this attention won't last long! ;)
View From the Kitchen Window: wind, rain, lightning

Happy Birthday, Christina!

Today is my sister Christina's birthday. Happy Birthday, sis! Love you!

Beauty in the Common Things: baby talk ("Daddly", "kittly") and 4 yr old talk ("The angels came and dug up Brownie with a shubble and took him to heaven")
Listen In: Veggie Tales theme song
Supper Plans: Roast Sticky Chicken, rolls, big salad with lots of goodies in it
Today I Plan To: clean out van, call credit union about pin number for debit card, get my stuff done then lie on the couch for remainder of day
View From the Kitchen Window: gray sky

I am getting very little sleep at night. It's strange because I am super tired, exhausted really, then when I get in bed to go to sleep, I lie awake for hours. It's very inconvenient. Last night I tried sleeping in the recliner and then on the couch and then finally got back in bed. I don't remember this from previous pregnancies, but my husband would probably tell me it's normal for me at this point. I don't ever remember being this tired, but he tells me this is normal for me at this point in my pregnancy. Maybe so. I am going to research pregnancy insomnia and see if there is something I can do to help it. I don't like being this tired and not being able to sleep.

You know how at the end of pregnancy, the whole thing just consumes your thoughts? Maybe this is just me. I keep thinking of different scenarios and how we would handle this or that and what if it's a boy or what if it's a girl and do I have everything I need and how in the world am I going to get the kids from school if I am in labor, etc.
Oh, did I tell you that we have narrowed our name search down to 2 girl names and 2 boy names? Yes, we have finally selected a few names for this child. We are going to take out list with us and decide once we see Baby.

Baby Girl just went potty on her little potty for the first time. I know this excites all of you as much as it does me, right? ha ha
She loves her little potty and she always wants to take off her clothes and sit on it. This is the first time she has actually used it for the purpose it was intended for. Yeah, Baby Girl!

Survival

Remember that journey I was on called Beyond Survival? Kim at Large Family Logistics started this bandwagon to help those of us who struggle with home management and she called it Beyond Survival.
Anyhoo, I have been following my routines the best I can and it has been going very well. The house is looking great on a regular basis and I am very happy with it.
HOWEVER, now I am 4 weeks away from Baby Time, and I am very very tired. So, I am reverting back to Survival. I will pick up Beyond Survival when Baby is about 6 months old. Maybe one year old.

Here is my Survival Morning Routine:
Wake up
Shower, get dressed, etc.
Help kids get ready for school, get their breakfast, etc.
Start laundry
Take them to school
Eat my breakfast, take vitamins and aspirin, feed little ones
Check blogs and email
Dishes
Switch laundry
Lie on couch until lunchtime

Survival Bedtime Routine:
Make kids do their bedfore bed stuff
Take vitamins
Get in bed

I did start After School Jobs for the kids and that is going really well. They are helping me so much.


Beauty in the Common Things: thunder
Listen In: silence
Supper Plans: I don't know yet. I need to make a menu for this week like Annie does. I missed Menu Plan Monday.
Today I Plan To: go to the library to get dd12 a book about Saving the Earth for her ecology report
View From the Kitchen Window: a wet, soggy yard

I decided to go ahead and make a menu for the rest of the week.
Tonight: Pizza Hut (tonight is fundraiser night for the twins' school)
Wednesday: Sticky Chicken, homemade bread, vegetable or salad
Thursday: Chicken Pot Pie, salad, corn on the cob
Friday: spaghetti, garlic bread, green beans or green peas
Saturday: leftovers or sandwiches

Saw this on Annie's blog, gotta love a good meme

1. What time did you get up this morning?
6:15 a.m.
2. Diamonds or pearls?
diamonds
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
I don’t remember
4. What is your favorite TV show?
american idol
5. What did you have for breakfast?
cereal, banana, dr pepper
6. What is your middle name?
maxine
7. What is your favorite cuisine?
american- hamburgers, fries, steaks, etc.
8. What foods do you dislike?
raw onions
9. What are your favorite chips
cool ranch Doritos or cheese doritos
10. What is your favorite CD at the moment?
john mayer
11. What kind of car do you drive?
minivan
12. Favorite sandwich?
chicken salad sandwich from jason’s deli
13. What are characteristics you can’t stand?
meanness, bossiness, judgemental
14. What are your favorite clothes?
anything comfortable that is flattering (yeah right)
15. If you could go anywhere on vacation where would you go?
Europe, countryside... off the beaten path...
Where is sixteen? Would I want to be 16 again?
no way
17. Where would you want to retire?
where my kids and grandkids are
18. Favorite time of day?
bedtime!
19. Where were you born?
idabel, oklahoma
20. What is your favorite sport to watch?
watching my dh and sons watch OSU basketball- they are way more fun to watch than the actual game
21. Coke or Pepsi?
Coke
22. Beavers or ducks?
hmmm…not sure
23. Are you a morning person or a night owl?
neither
24. Pedicure or manicure?
pedicute
25. What did you want to be when you were little?
a veterinarian, a model, a pediatrician
26. What is your best childhood memory?
Playing until the sun went down
27. Ever been to Africa?
No
28. Ever been toilet papering?
no
29. Been in a car accident?
a few but nothing major
30. Favorite day of the week?
friday
31. Favorite restaurant?
county line,
32. Favorite flower?
roses
33. Favorite ice-cream?
chocolate
34. Favorite fast food restaurant?
sonic
35. How many times did you fail your driver’s test?
I passed the first time
36. From whom did you get your last e-mail?
Annie
37. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card?
Dillards or Macy’s
38. Last person you went to dinner with?
my husband
39. What are you listening to right now?
Dragon Tales on PBS
40. What is your favorite color?
pink, green, yellow
41. How many tattoos do you have?
one
42. How many are you sending this Email to?
None
43. What time did you finish this e-mail blog entry?
9:20
44. Favorite magazine:
Real Simple
45. Coffee or tea?
tea
46. Do you tan easily or burn easily?
I burn then tan
47. Do you color your hair?
highlights
48. What was the first car you ever purchased without the help of your parents?
2000 Ford expedition
49. What is your most dreaded household chore?
sweeping and mopping any floor
50 Who do you tag to complete this meme?
Cheerful, Natalie, Christina

Today, March 26, 2007

Beauty in the Common Things: Monday mornings
Listen In: Dragon Tales
Supper Plans: Taco Meatloaf, potatoes, vegetable
Today I Plan To: finish up the laundry (it has gotten WAY behind lately- you wouldn't believe how much dirty laundry there is!!), lie on the couch and rest, wash baby clothes, look for a bassinet (online, friends, etc.)
View From the Kitchen Window: cloudy sky, green grass

I'm Back!

I'm back after one week of no internet! Did you miss me?

I am exhausted tonight so I am not going to write much. Tomorrow I will hopefully get a chance to sit down and write more.

I'll Be Back!

Hi everyone,
My internet has a virus. Dh is working to get it fixed. I'll be back in a few days!

Today is the last day of Spring Break. Am I sad about this? Not really. We didn't do any of the fun things I had planned this week, but we have gotten to spend LOTS of time together, just like the old days of homeschooling. I must admit I am looking forward to Monday.

Ds4 came down with a fever last night, then stomach pain, then a sore throat, and finally a headache. We just got back from the doctor and he has bronchitis and a cold. He has an array of prescriptions getting filled right now at the pharmacy. This means he will miss a much-anticipated birthday party tomorrow evening. He hasn't quite figured that out yet and I am dreading the moment he does.

I saw our first bluebonnets of the season yesterday! I am so excited about this. In 2005, we took bluebonnet pictures of the kids and then last year we were experiencing a drought so there were no bluebonnets to speak of. I am looking forward to taking pictures this year.


Beauty in the Common Things: Texas bluebonnets
Listen In: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (ds4 got to pick out a movie to watch)
Supper Plans: Hash Brown Soup
Today I... stressed out about ds4's illness, took him to the dr., and that's about it
View From the Kitchen Window: My van parked in front of the house, sunshine, my Spring flag blowing in the wind

Beauty in the Common Things: time together as a family
Listen In: Baby Girl pushing buttons on the phone
Today I Plan To: finish chore charts, maybe take kids to park, read my book (Child From the Sea)
View From the Kitchen Window: dreary sky

A gift & a menu!!!

My dearest GIGI...

This is the header I have designed for your template... I haven't quite finished it yet so I reverted it all back to original... sometime soon it will change though... in the meantime, here is your menu for this week... enjoy!

love, me

Monday... (day is over)

Tuesday...

empanadas
veggie of choice

salad

Wednesday...

chicken spaghetti in crockpot

french bread

salad

Thursday...

Gyros

salad

Friday...

taco soup in crockpot

with chicken rather than gb...

corn bread from mix

Saturday...

mom's day off (Corey gets to cook or get carry-out!)

Spring Break!

This is Spring Break week for us. Spring Break is a new concept for my kids because, when we were homeschooling, we were always a little behind our schedule, so I never took a Spring Break. They are very happy to be getting a week off!

I made plans to do some fun things this week while they are home. I checked the forecast last night and discovered that it is supposed to rain until Thursday. So...that puts a damper on a few of my plans, but we can still have fun!

This is what I planned:
1. Farmers' Market- there is an awesome farmers' market about 30 minutes from us. People come from all around to visit this market. I want to go check it out with the kids.
2. Arboretum- like a huge park with beautiful flowers, a lake, picnic sites, fountains, etc. I have read lots of great reviews on this place.
3. Zoo or Aquarium- I have been debating on the zoo or the aquarium. We have not been to either of these. We have always visited another zoo that was closer to our previous residence.
4. Letterboxing- We were going to go letterboxing at several parks around our house this week. Don't know what letterboxing is? Check it out here.
5. I have several projects around the house that I want to get finished. Chore charts (our kids do very few chores now that they are in school and with this many people in the family, they need to help out more), make Brownie's memory stone (Brownie died in August and we are just now getting around to making his memory stone), Baby Girl's first handprint stone, de-cluttering projects in bedrooms.

It looks like the arboretum, letterboxing, and the zoo are out, if it continues to rain like the forecast says. We can still do the farmers' market, the aquarium, and the projects around the house.

I found 30 rainy day crafts here. If I am brave anough, we may do a few crafts. I am not a crafty person, so doing crafts is a huge stretch for me. Cross stitching and scrapbooking are my thing, but kid crafts are not.

Have a great week!

A Neat Calendar

Here is a neat little calendar I found! Enjoy!

Kidnapped Newborn Found!

I have been praying that this baby would be found and returned to her mother. God has answered my prayers and the prayers of so many others! Here is the story.

Isabelle's Story

You really need to go over to Annie's blog and read Isabelle's story.

Isabelle's life and the story of her accident is a story of hope, a story of God's grace and healing, and also a story of the tragedy of drowning. Hopefully, you will read it and become more aware.

This is one of those things that we think will never happen to us. Bailey, Annie's 13 yr old son, who was 10 when Isabelle nearly drowned, said to me the day after it happened, "This is something you see on the news. It isn't something that happens to us." I remember feeling that way as well. I couldn't believe this had actually happened to Izzy and her family.
But it does happen all the time. Summer is getting closer and we will start hearing more and more about children drowning.

Please read Isabelle's story and learn from it.

Beauty in the Common Things: painted baby girl toenails (painted by her sweet older sister during "Beauty Shop" last night)
Listen In: Excited boys talking LOUDLY
Supper Plans: BLTs
Today I Plan To: work on my desk for 30 minutes, ask dh to fix laundry room door (it won't latch), take dd12 to a lock-in at school (her first lock-in), play catch up on house and laundry
View From the Kitchen Window: Dh's truck, which needs to be washed

Beauty in the Common Things: the smell of freshly mown grass
Listen In: Ds8 and ds4 playing with Cars toys (Lightning McQueen, Doc Hudson, etc.)
Supper Plans: Taco Salad
Today I... took ds8 to the dr. (woke up wheezing and coughing, he does not have asthma, he has a viral respiratory infection), ate lunch with dd12, got oil changed, got prescriptions filled, got caught up on laundry, wished I was sleeping. Tonight I am going to take dd12 to Girl Scouts (if her homework gets completed :) get dh's oil changed in truck, go to library and sit alone for a few minutes with a book!!!
View From the Kitchen Window: droopy daffodils (I don't think they like the heat)



One thing I have noticed lately is that it takes me a long time to recover after a busy day of running around. So when I have 2 or 3 days of running around I really start to wilt. Yes, I have flowers on the brain.

Speaking of flowers, ds4 truly thinks we are naming this child Flower, if the baby is a girl. He is serious. Poor kid.

I recently purchased a CD series from Walk Thru the Bible/ Living on the Edge Ministries called House or Home? It is 8 lessons presented by Chip Ingram, president of Walk Thru the Bible and Living on the Edge. He is also the pastor at Santa Cruz Bible Church. Anyway, these lessons are so, so good. It is all about having a godly marriage and a godly home. Basically, the message is: "The world has gotten it all wrong and gotten everyone messed up. This is the way it is done God's way." I want to make copies of them and send them to everyone I know. I may do that. Watch your mailbox. You may get a package from me soon. :)

Today

Today I saw Nancy, one of my midwives. She is really sweet. Nothing exciting happened at this visit, which is a good thing at this point. I had to get a rhogam shot, she told me that baby is head-down and weighs a little more than 3 pounds, and everything looks great. I have 2 more 2-week visits and then I start going every week. Isn't that weird? I guess we're really going to have a baby and this isn't a dream. I honestly can't imagine having another baby in my house. I try and try to visualize what life will be like with one more and I just can't! I am not stressing about it or anything, and we are all very excited about this baby, but it doesn't seem real to me. I know when the first contraction hits, it will feel VERY real. Usually at this point I am super ready to have the baby and am already getting impatient. But this time I feel very content and very happy to just stay pregnant for a while longer. :)

We left the house at 7:30 this morning and got home at 3:45. I was pretty much running from place to place that whole time. First we took the kids to school, then filled up with gas, then stopped at Chick fil A and got a drink :), then took the kids to a friend's house, then rushed to see Nancy, then drove across town to get my hair cut, then back to get little ones, then drove an hour back to get the kids from school. Whew! I was so tired this evening that I just put my jammies on at 6 and crawled in bed. Dd12 had to get in bed with me to get help with her homework and I kept falling asleep. She didn't need help from me anyway, she just wanted to be in the same room with me. It's a very good thing she didn't need help because I was no help at all. I did manage to keep my eyes open long enough to watch American Idol and to write this update. Now I am going to bed.

Goodnight!

Oh, one more thing. Thank you for all of the baby name suggestions. However, we still have NOT ONE SINGLE NAME PICKED OUT FOR THIS CHILD. Just thought I'd put some pressure on you guys to keep thinking of names. You are going to have to name the baby because my brain has quit working properly and it is my husband's fault. You see, he thinks it is hilarious to get his pregnant wife upset by throwing out names like Belvedere and Poppy. I give up.

Goodnight again.

Beauty in the Common Things:
Listen In: ds6#2 and ds4 squealing and running from Baby Girl
Supper Plans: The only thing that sounds good is gyros and we had those last night. They were a HUGE hit! Tonight I may make burgers.
Today I Plan To: take ds6#2 to the dr. (asthma re-check), MAIL MOM'S BOOKS TO HER!!!!!, catch up on laundry, work on de-cluttering my desk for 30 minutes, make dental and eye dr. appointments, call hospital about my January bill
View From the Kitchen Window: A robin pitter pattering around my front yard :)

Beauty in the Common Things: a clean, smiling baby face
Listen In: Baby Girl and ds4 munching Pringles
Supper Plans: Gyros! (Annie, I'll let you know how they turn out)
Today I Plan To: Shop for baby stuff at Target, finish grocery shopping, call in ds6#2's inhaler refll, mail Mom's books, call hospital about January bill, plant ds8's cabbage (yes, several of these things have been on my to do list for days. Hopefully, I will get them done today)
View From the Kitchen Window: sunshine and wind

Beauty in the Common Things: can't think of anything beautiful this morning :) I'm a little overwhelmed!
Listen in: six kids and a daddy talking at once
Supper Plans: not sure, something with ground beef
Today I Plan To: take Girl Scout cookie $ to Melody, mail Mom's books, build raised garden beds, grocery store, plant ds8's cabbage (school project), call in refill for ds6#2's inhaler, play catch up on house and laundry :)
View From the Kitchen Window: a sunny, windy day



This is my raised garden bed frame.



Here is the finished project! It is layered with newspaper, manure, humus, leaves, and then topsoil. You can see that there is an unfinished frame connected to the finished one. We are going to finish the other one next weekend. We're going to plant ds8's cabbage plant tomorrow.

Beauty in the Common Things: Happy mornings
Listen In: Baby Girl saying, "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy."
Supper Plans: I don't know yet; nothing sounds good
Today I Plan To: Work on decluttering my desk for 30 minutes, eat lunch with dh, put glass back in china cabinet, put dolls and hats in china cabinet, turn in Girl Scout cookie money, mail Mom's books back to her
View From the Kitchen Window: birds flying past

Our Children's Baby Name Picks

dd12:
Girl Names-Allie, Olivia (Liv)
Boy Names- Tyler (Ty), Abel

ds8:
Girl Name- Lacey
Boy Name- Mason

ds6#1:
Girl Name- Christy
Boy Name- Noah

ds6#2:
Girl Names- Rapunzel, Lillie
Boy Name- Jack

ds4:
Girl Name- Flower
Boy Name- Jackson

Baby Girl:
Girl Name- Baby
Boy Name- Baby

There you have it! If our children got to pick the name, this would be our list to choose from. I personally like Rapunzel and Flower. What do you think?

Baby Names, continued

Girl Names
Star
Landon or Landen
Belle* my absolute favorite, although I can see potential teasing from peers
Sage
Sophia or Sophie
Chloe
Eden
Piper
Faith
Reese
Annie Rose
Julia
Ella
Catherine
Mia
Caroline

Boy Names
Samuel (Sam)
William (Will)
Finley
Reece
Benjamin (Ben)
Landon or Landen

This is my list. Dh does not like any of these names. Oh wait, I take that back. He likes William. But I'm not so sure I LOVE that name. I want to LOVE the name before I name my baby that.

Beauty in the Common Things: smiles
Listen in: Baby Girl digging through my desk drawer
Supper Plans: Chicken Pot Pie
Today I Plan To: eat lunch with ds6#2, read Odd Girl Out
View From the Kitchen Window: bare trees

Baby Name Suggestions

We have not agreed on a name yet. We don't even have any names in the running. We haven't found one single name, boy or girl, that we even like.
HELP!!

Please give us suggestions. Dh wants the name to come after N; I really don't care where the name falls in the alphabet. I just want this child to come home from the hospital with a name.

I'm serious, send us lots and lots of name suggestions!!!

Leo
My sisters were right; I was wrong. We actually got Leo when I was 4, so that would have made him 28 years old on his upcoming birthday of March 9th. That also happened to be my Meema's birthday.

Just thought I'd clear that up.


Don't get your knickers in a knot. Nothing is solved and it just makes you walk funny. ~Kathryn Carpenter