Mom!!!!!!!!

What is my mom doing with out me! :( Do i feel left out or is it just me. I need a Grandma Connie Day. ( Altheo other Grandmas are anpporend .) As I am bloging my mom just came home !


By Taylor Wilkins

School

Why do kids think school is so hard?

Maybe they think math ,or SS,or Science is hard.

But can you trust them? by lising to them.

99.9 of Kids say all of it is hard.

By Taylor A. Wilkins

This week has been taken up with quite a few of the things that I've put off for the past few months so we've had a pretty busy schedule. But we weren't to busy to go with my sister for coffee and breakfast at their restaurant.
Sophia got a sucker when we left. She put it in the hole in her Little People lamb and used it as a sucker-holder.

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Sophia had to go to the doctor for her three year checkup. I normally avoid those for my other kids if they're healthy but headstart needs the form filled out so to the doctor we went. She loves the nurse and was ok with the doctor. She was something like 98% for height and 63% for weight and seems to be really healthy and developmentally right on track. The downside was when we had to go to the lab to have blood drawn. She's had to do it before so I was expecting a bit of a battle. Not a bit!!! I held her on my lap and she held her little finger out to the nurse and didn't even cry when the nurse poked her. When the nurse was continually squeezing Sophia's tiny finger to get more blood out, Sophia just said, "Ow. That hurts."

When we were finally done and the nurse put a band-aid on her finger, Sophia hopped down and walked out. Before she got to the hallway, she turned around and sweetly told the nurse, "Thank you."

What a great kid!

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Sophia also needed a haircut.

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I finally scheduled an appointment for Zeke with the eye doctor. His vision is still pretty good and the doctor continues to be amazed at how much he's progressed in all areas. We did get new glasses ordered. This is the first time EVER that a pair of his glasses have made it the full year without being broken or lost! I'm excited about that because that means he'll actually have an 'extra' pair' in case the new ones get misplaced, lost or broken. It's not good for his eyes when he doesn't wear glasses but in the past, he went through so many that insurance and medicaid only paid for one pair every year. We paid for the remainder out of our own pocket so there was no way that we could afford to pay for just a 'spare pair'. But now he'll have something to put on just in case!

Here's Zeke and Sophia playing in the waiting room.

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This morning, it was Sophia's turn in at the eye doctor.

She did great and has no eye problems.

She sat in the chair for the exam all by herself!

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Since she had the drops in her eyes, she got some of the generic sunglasses.

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Sadly, this is SO true for me!

Just so I keep my word: Here's the 'more later' version of my last day at work.
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When I went in, I thought of it like any other day. I'm definitely not one to slack off just because I won't be there any more. I don't know if it was my good attitude or not but the kids at school all seemed very regulated all day. We didn't have any big issues and the issues we did have, we were able to handle effectively. At the end of the day when Diane, the head teacher, asked how the day went, I told her it probably would have been better if the kids had been really challenging and difficult because t makes it harder to leave when it goes really well. On a personal note, I had lots of well-wishes and hugs throughout the day. They even sent a balloon bouquet made up with candy instead of flowers! I felt loved and appreciated.
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Throughout this entire process of deciding to leave HeadStart and be more present with my children, I leaned heavily on advise of friends. I left the entire decision in God's hands and I know from experience that he can use Godly people to help guide my path. One of the key phrases that helped me get over the guilt of leaving before the school year ended was advise from my friend. She told me that if I was remaining in a position that God was leading me away from, I could be preventing Him from placing someone else in that position that was supposed to be there and needed to be there. It really turned my thinking upside down - in a good way. It's not all about me. Duh!
Anyway, unknown to me, the week before I talked to Diane about my resignation, she had spoken with someone about doing some substituting for us. The gal was excited and promptly filled out the paperwork. She had finished her classes, is a single mom of 3 and wasn't having any luck finding employment. By the time I spoke with Diane, this gal's paperwork had already moved through the ranks and was awaiting aproval in Pierre. I should also mention that HeadStart is always very slow with their hiring process. It is federal bureaucracy at it's finest because of all the desks the paperwork has to cross and the approvals needed.
I spoke with Diane one morning and she spoke with this gal that afternoon to see if she would be interested in my position. She was! The paperwork ended up being approved later that week. According to everyone I know on staff, it was the fastest turnaround for employment paperwork they'd ever seen! Go God! Just for comparison, last year our bus monitor moved and we needed to hire a replacement. An applicant was chosen within two weeks, then it took almost TWO months for the paperwork to come through. She was able to be on the bus for only the last two weeks of the school year. I think my paperwork took almost a month to be approved when I started. So it's a miracle in itself that this gal's paperwork went through so fast and she definitely needed the work. She's so excited about the job that it makes my leaving much easier  on me. I know God had his hand in all of this and I'm thankful that I was able to listen and follow His directions ;)
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Anthony Says

Conversation in the van on the way to school this morning:

Anthony: "I can't wait until I'm older so I can play spin the bottle."
Me: "That might not be a good idea. Kissing random people can spread germs."
Anthony: "Then I'll just put bug spray on."
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I've gotten in trouble three times already for not posting more like I said I was going to do last week. However, in my defense, I never specified WHEN I was going to post. My sister actually posted a message on my facebook wall, which sent an email my phone, which I read when I was waiting for Taylor at piano lessons this afternoon. Maybe tomorrow Heather!

I think I'll be posting more regularly now that I'm not rushing everywhere all the time. I had good intentions of posting today but I found that I was getting crabby about so many people talking about 'Gotcha Day'. I've talked about it before so I won't do it again. I will just say that I think it sounds like someone is stealing a kid. And it makes me angry and my shoulders tense. I'm in favor of adoption. I'm just tired of people. So I decided it wouldn't be a very good idea to write while I wasn't in a good mood.

Other than that, the day was good. Sophia and I practiced writing her name and read quite a few books together. She watched Dora while I painted the ceiling in the office. Add to the day the regular stuff, plus piano lessons, basketball practice, etc and now the day is nearly over. It's probably a good thing. I'll start over again tomorrow with a better attitude.
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Today:

• Last day at work (more later)
• Attended Riley's conference alone (more later)
• Steve is gone for the night (more later. jk, it's short so I'll write it now. He's working at the Swiftel Center tonight for the Price Is Right Game Show.
• Maybe heading to Sioux Falls tomorrow, depending on the weather.

Tomorrow is my last day at HeadStart!!!

I'll miss my co-workers and the kids but I won't miss the hours spent at work.

Today the person replacing me came in and I was able to do some training with her.

It's all worked out so well! When I was trying to figure out if I needed to finish out the school year or not, my good friend Kim reminded me that I might be preventing God from placing someone where they needed to be if I remained in a position that was no longer in God's plan for me. I can definitely see God's hand in this whole process.

I wish I had more time to blog about the details but right now I have my kids plus two extra. Steve won't be coming home anytime soon because he has a meeting after work, plus I still need to feed all the kids before church tonight.

Another benefit of more time at home will be more opportunity to share some of the amazing things that God is doing. But don't worry, I'll also have plenty of the aweful challenging things that happen in our family, too!

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As a stay-at-home mom, my goal will not be to be the world's best mom. My focus will be on my family and giving them the time and attention they deserve. I'll also have some time to replenish my own 'emotional cup' so that I have more to give to them and to my friends.

I think I need to find one of these cups!

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In other news,

one of my friends found a spectacular deal on deli meat

so she brought me two packages.

One is 10# of sliced ham and the other is 10# of sliced turkey.

Nine dollars total!!! Thanks Jen!

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Sophia and cousin Coby

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Brittney Says

When I was telling Brittney that I didn't know what time Steve would be home from his baseball meeting last night but that I didn't think it would be late, this was her response:

"Men can talk forever about nothing because they all want to be right."
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Steve and I both had Monday off and so did all the kids.

A little laundry, a little cleaning, a little work on the office, a little playing and then the day was over.

Two of Sophia's bio aunts and a cousin came over last night and stayed for three hours. Irronically, Sophia wet her pants twice during that time, yet she hadn't had an accident for at least three weeks prior to this. I'm not sure what to think about that one. I'll have to wait and see if it happens again next time they're here.

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Random Weekend Pictures

Kids enjoying the giant gummy snakes Grandma Lori sent.

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Fun swimming at cousin Aubrey's 11th birthday party.

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Steve also spent quite a bit of time this weekend

working on the ceiling in the office but it's not quite done yet.

One more round of sanding, then spray texture, then paint.

But here's a picture of the key racks we finally hung in the office.

Being unorganized stresses me out :(

Being organized makes me relaxed! :)

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A psychologist walked around a room while teaching stress management to an audience. As she raised a glass of water, everyone expected they'd be asked the "half empty or half full" question. Instead, with a smile on her face, she inquired: "How heavy is this glass of water?"

Answers called out ranged from 8 oz. to 20 oz.

She replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute, it's not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my arm. If I hold it for a day, my arm will feel numb and paralyzed. In each case, the weight of the glass doesn't change, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes."

She continued, "The stresses and worries in life are like that glass of water. Think about them for a while and nothing happens. Think about them a bit longer and they begin to hurt. And if you think about them all day long, you will feel paralyzed – incapable of doing anything."

It’s important to remember to let go of your stresses. As early in the evening as you can, put all your burdens down. Don't carry them through the evening and into the night. Remember to put the glass down!        ~author unknown

Skipping Church

I'm not going to church today. Steve will be working all day at the Swiftel Center for the cheer competition and Riley spent the night at a friend's house, so neither of them will be home. I'll probably drop Taylor and Anthony off at church, let Brittney babysit Sophia and Zeke and then I might go out for coffee.
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Mostly, I just don't want to be around a lot of people right now. And I'm way past the point of thinking I need to be physically present in the church building to be saved or to show others how good a christian I am. Yes, I do believe that church is a necessary part of fellowship and growth and that it needs to be a priority. If I can make time for work or basketball or coffee, I should be able to make time for church. But there are also times when I need to not be there. Today is one of those days.

I also ditched out on my husband for the big SDSU basketball game yesterday. He took Taylor and Anthony instead. I usually love going and it was the last home game of the season but I just didn't want to be in a big crowd and have to make conversation with lots of people. Thankfully, he was very understanding. Although he did try very hard to convince me to go anyway.
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Valentine's Day

I'm not a fan of Valentine's Day. I think it's kind of ridiculous that our society has somehow guilted all of our men into spending lots of money on a certain day to prove they love us. I'd rather have a guy (and I do!) that shows me how special I am all through the year. I think it's much more fun to get a suprise on a random day than to get something on Valentine's Day or my birthday.

That being said, Steve was still very nice to me on Valentine's Day.

Beautiful flowers and gourmet chocolate covered strawberries :)

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Frustration

I'm really frustrated with Sophia's bio mom right now. The day after asking me to help her with this new baby that's coming, she is refusing to enroll in an early headstart program that would be so beneficial for her and the baby. The fact that she doesn't want to do it wouldn't bother me so much if it weren't for her reasoning. She told me she wants to prove that she can do it herself. And we all know how well that went last time :(
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Riley

Riley is 11 and in the 5th grade. We adopted him out of the foster care system just after he turned 5. He was in foster care for a year prior to the adoption. He's a very loving young man who enjoys basketball, baseball, football, playing his DS and the Wii and making other people happy.

Riley & Grandma Connie

He decided that he needed chocolates and a stuffed animal for his girlfriend on Valentine's Day so I took him shopping.

We ran into my parents at Walmart.

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Riley is on a basketball team this year. He's wanted to participate in the past but we felt like we needed to keep a closer eye on him and that he needed more practice with following directions/listening/paying attention before we allowed him to be on a team.

It might be argued that a team would have been good for him but my reason was that we live in a fairly small town. I didn't want him to be labeled as a troublemaker while he was still learning and we were still teaching him to make good decisions. In the past, I would attend events, like children's choir, with him so that he could participate. I would spend the whole time with him, coaching him on appropriate behavior so the teachers wouldn't get so overwhelmed with him and he wouldn't get so overwhelmed with the situation but he could still participate. I don't need to do that with him anymore but it was helpful for him at the time.

Anyway, here is his first real basketball game.

It's been really good for him and he likes it.

He's in the far bottom right in white.

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Riley loves anything to do with the military. He runs around the house and the yard dressed up like this and sneaks around with Anthony or his friends. I've instituted a "no shooting mom" rule and they stick to it. But everyone else is fair game! The sisters hate this game!!!

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If I'd let him, Riley would be content to play video games all day.

Here he is with the new 3D DS he got from grandma and grandpa for Christmas.

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Riley is also in band this year. He's chosen to play percussion. He's already had two years of piano so we signed him up. He has a snare drum but in school they begin their percussion lessons with bells,

which look like a xylophone to me.

At home, the kids create their own band. They even let Sophia play! She's on the bells, Taylor is playing her viola and Riley is banging on his drum.

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Riley still has issues a bit in school but not with academics exactly. He's a whiz at math and science and all his grades are good but we still struggle with staying focused in class and getting work handed in on time. He's had to serve a few days of "in home detention". He says it's much worse than school detention! I think I finally got through to him when I equated his situation to the military. I said that if his sergeant told him to get all his equipment together and get out to the battlefield, he had better have all his things with him and ready on time. If there were enemies coming and he was supposed to grab his grenade and throw it, was he going to grab for it, realize he didn't have it and then tell his sergeant that he'd bring it tomorrow?!

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Riley is one of the best big brothers ever!

He adores his little sister and is always so kind and patient with her.

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So that's a little bit about Riley's world.

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Brittney

I've haven't really given any updates on the kids for a while so I'll do one at a time. Today is Brittney's day:

Brittney is 14 and a freshman in high school. She likes gymnastics, cheer, shopping and twitter. I know I'm biased but I think she's beautiful and very talented!

Brittney, Sam & Ashlynn

This was taken after one of the only two gymnastics meets that Brittney could compete in this season.

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Brittney injured her foot quite a few months ago while practicing for competitive cheer. It's kept her sidelined for most of the gymnastics season. She was allowed back for one meet but was only allowed to compete on bars and vault. She was really down on herself because she hadn't been able to practice all season and felt really out of shape. But she placed in the top 5 on both events.

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Because she's still trying to heal her foot, she's decided not to participate in track this spring. It's unfortunate because she's really good at sprinting and pole vaulting, but I understand. I hope she'll take it up again next year. We'll see what happens. Competetive cheer will probably be the next high school sport she'll be participating in and that won't be until summer/fall of the next school year.

She has been working every Friday night at the Valley restaurant in Volga and babysitting most Saturdays. I know she likes earning money, which is another reason she's ok about giving up track. She's been really good about putting half of every paycheck into her savings account and the other half into her checking account. She wants to save money for a car.

Brittney got her driver's permit in September and is looking forward to taking the actual driving test in March so that she can drive by herself. I'm kind of looking forward to it too. One more driver to get everyone where they need to go, especially in this crazy schedule household.

In January, Brittney went on the missions trip to Guatemala with me. I think it opened her eyes to another culture. Even a month later, I think she's still trying to process the dicotomy between the materialistic US and the poverity elsewhere. But she also connected with the kids there so well that it helped her understand that kids are basically the same everywhere. It was an amazing trip for both of us and also allowed us to spend time together without the rest of our family.

Brittney's current boyfriend is Gerald. They've been friends for years but just a few months ago decided to take their relationship to the boyfriend/girlfriend level. They made it 'facebook official'. He's nice but they hardly do anything together because they're both so busy. I think Brittney likes it that way. No pressure! He gave up basketball this season to try wrestling but decided he'll go back to playing basketball next season. She spends way more time with her girlfriends and at the gymnastsics gym than she does with him so I'm not too worried. 

So that's most of what's going on in Brittney's world.

I figured this was coming sooner or later. Unfortunately, it's happened. Sophia's mom is pregnant. And she's happy about it. And she's unemployed. And the dad is unemployed. And they're practically homeless after being evicted twice in two months for non-payment and domestic issues. And she has no better parenting skills than before. And she's still associating with convicted pedophiles.

There are so many things going through my mind right now that I can't/won't even blog about it. But when it's all said and done, no matter what I think, there is still a little child that will be coming into this world in the fall and that child will need all the extra help we can offer.
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Taylor

Taylor was so frustrated this morning that she broke a bowl while unloading the dishwasher. And it wasn't exactly an accident. She was so mad that I was making her do her morning chore before she went to school that she started slamming the dishes together.

I sent her to her room, finished getting the other kids into the van, packed up all her school/winter things, pushed her feet into her boots and her body into her coat, dragged her to the van and put her inside. She screamed at everyone for five minutes. However, by the time we had dropped off Anthony at Medary and got to Camelot, she nicely jumped out of the van and told me, "See ya!"

However, the dishwasher remains unloaded, which was her intent in the first place :(
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So I have yet to make a fresh pot of coffee but I do have three boys putting on their snow stuff to go outside and three girls making cookies together in the kitchen. Life is pretty good! :)
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As of yesterday, I was calling this the wimpiest blizzard ever! We still made it to church, where I allowed myself to be incredibly frustrated, not just once but twice. I might post about that when I'm not so whiny and can look at it with more perspective.

Then last night I was hoping for a snow day today but Brookings decided to run two hours late instead. All that does is mess up our daily schedule. I usually have the kids dropped off at school by 8am and then have an hour for laundry, cleaning, errands, etc before I need to be at work. A late start does nothing but make me late for work. So I was kind of crabby about that too.

Then this morning, they finally decided to call off school even though the wind isn't blowing at all. But don't worry. All my kids except the teenager were up by 6am anyway. However, Brittney has poked her head out of her room twice already to scream at the boys for being too loud. 

I'm going to make a fresh pot of coffee and check out new bible studies online while it's temporarily quiet in the house.
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My 14 year old thought I was in the dark ages and set up a twitter account for me. Then she proceded to make me practice using it. You're welcome to follow me but just a heads up that I don't think I'll be utilizing it much so prepare to be bored if you do. Unless my middle child hacks into it like she does the blog & FB. Then it could be quite interesting ;)

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I'm Readjusting my Jar

I know this is an old story but it explains why I'm not at HeadStart anymore and am concentrating on my family. 

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A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him.When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty jar and filled it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured it into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous “YES”.

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

“Now,” said the professor, as the laughter subsided, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.

The golf balls are the important things - God, family, children, health, friends. Things, that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

“If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued, “There is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you.” he told them.

“So... pay attention to the things that are critical. Worship with your family. Play with your children. Take your partner out to dinner. Spend time with good friends. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the dripping tap. Take care of the golf balls first -- the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented.

The professor smiled and said, “I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.”
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Trying to show that you care is essentially devious,

whereas trying to care enough that it shows

is part of authentic human communication.

– Daniel Lapin

• My resignation went well. I'll be done at HeadStart by March.
• I had on my list to blog to day but I'm not sure that's such a good idea. I was up late and now I'm tired. But it was worth it!
• I need to find another good Bible study. I recently finished up Beth Moore's James and am ready to study more. Our church is all working on Soul Shift and even though I am participating on Wednesday nights, it isn't really a deep, thought-provoking studing for every day. It mainly involves listening, reading and application. There really isn't a lot of independent thinking. I'll still finish it but I definitely need something more.
• I'm seriously considering attending an adoption conference in April. There are so many good speakers and information and connections to be made that just thinking about it excites me. But it also scares me. What if it's too much? Too much what, you ask? I'm just learning how to deal with emotions and not shut them down and I wonder if the whole thing will be so overwhelming that I'll become too emotional. Maybe it's like jumping off the high dive. Just do it even though it's scary.
• I had a few confirmations about my decision to resign at work so I'll try to post about that later today or tomorrow.
• Sophia has a Grandma Connie day today so I'll be heading off to work in a few minutes and letting them enjoy their day.

Email I Sent Today

I wanted to wait until I could talk to the head teacher in person so that she didn't have to hear it from our supervisor, via email or from someone else first. But she wasn't at work today. I sent this email to my supervisor tonight anyway and will go over early and talk to the head teacher in person in the morning.

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So this is the email I sent today:
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I regret to inform you that I will be resigning from the position of special needs aid at the Brookings HeadStart Center. My last day will be Feb 21, 2013.

I would like to thank you for having me as part of your team for the past three years. I love the kids in our HeadStart program and will miss them immensely. They’re all special to me, especially the behaviorally challenging ones.

At this point in life, my family is demanding more of my time and emotional energy then I have left to give. I know that it will be nearly impossible to help my children and get them to a stable position in life if I don’t devote time and emotional energy now. I had hoped to be able to finish out the school year but due to the extreme emotional needs and behaviors of my own children, I feel like this is a step I need to take as soon as possible. I am confident that you will have ample time to select a replacement for my position.

Thank you so much for all of the opportunities you have given me at HeadStart. I’ll always be grateful for the valuable experience and practical knowledge I gained while working here. Diane is an amazing teacher and is a wonderful asset to the HeadStart program. I have learned so much in my two years of working with her and am thankful for the experience.

Warmest personal regards and best wishes for continued success,

 Tricia Wilkins

Important news coming this afternoon! Although it's probably not that important to anyone but me. I'd share it now but I need to talk to someone in person first. And no, I'm not pregnant :)
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Couldn't Resist! Thanks Megan ;)

Next year's Super Bowl will be played at Motel 6.

They'll leave the light on for you!

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Taylor's not feeling good. She wasn't herself yesterday and this morning when I went into the bathroom, I found her sleeping on the bathroom floor. She said she didn't throw up but she felt like it. I'm not sure how today will play out but I do have some options.

I'm meeting a very close friend for coffee this morning. We don't get to connect in person very often anymore but we've known each other for so long and have shared so much over the years that we can connect easily every time we're together.

I was going to take Sophia with me for coffee and then drop her off at my sister's before I went to work. I could still do that but if Taylor stays home from school, I could probably turn on Dora and let the two of them watch TV together while I'm gone for an hour. Taylor isn't dying; she just doesn't feel good.

I anticipated staying home from work if Taylor really needed me but it doesn't appear that she's so sick that she really needs me. But when I asked her if she could stay home while I went to work from 10-2, she didn't go for it at all. I guess at age 10 you still need your mom to look after you when you don't feel good.

So I'll probably go for coffee this morning and then go home and hang out with Taylor.
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Pictures

It's time for more pictures! I had buried my computer in the office when I was working on painting and remodeling the back entryway/office so I finally dug my computer out and moved it to the Echo room. I seem to only use it for blogging and listening to Pandora anymore anyway. So here are some pictures from the past month.
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This is one of my favorite pictures!

It's the mannequins at Old Navy with an added bonus......

Sophia in her pink coat in the middle :)

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Davey, Sophia and Allison

(Sophia's half-siblings on her bio dad's side)

They gave her this little art table for Christmas.

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I can't resist taking her picture when she's sleeping.

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Brittney placing at a gymnastics meet.

Because of her foot injury, she wasn't able to compete most of the season.

This was the final competition and she competed on vault and bars.

Even with no practice for most of the season, she still placed in both events.

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Brittney, Sam and Ashlynn

This is Brittney's 'other family'.

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Riley first real basketball game.

He's the one in white at the bottom right.

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Ben, Sophia, Riley and Mommy Rachel swimming at Sophia's 3rd birthday party.

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Blowing out the candles!

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Kids having fun swimming at the party.

We were excited to have lots of Sophia's bio family at the party too.

Her mom, aunts, uncle and cousin's came to help celebrate Sophia day.

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My girls!!!

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This is what I found written on the tub late last night after Taylor got in trouble.

It's a long story but the short version is that Taylor got on my nook earlier and we had a serious discussion about it. I wasn't going to take her to the party I was going to yesterday afternoon but after what I thought was a sincere apology from her, I showed mercy and took her with me.

Then in the evening, I caught Taylor on my nook again! Apparently she hadn't learned her lesson. So I sent her to bed and she had to miss popcorn & family movie night last night. I guess she wasn't exactly in bed the whole time because she left this note in the bathroom.

In case you can't read it, it says "Kill Mom".

Fortunately, it's written in bathtub crayons that will wash off.

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And finally, here's a picture of our back entryway.

We've gotten a little more done so the kids now have space for all their winter gear.

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Taylor Again!

So while I was busy today, Taylor took my Nook and got onto my facebook account. She requested a whole bunch of friends. I didn't notice until a few minutes ago when I started getting notifications that people are accepting. The good side is that they are all people who I don't mind being friends with (I'm assuming she clicked on the notifications on the side of the page). The downside is that I don't ever really request friends and didn't really feel the need to have any more. Plus, I'm not on facebook that much anymore. But it's not like I can go on facebook and apologize or else those people might think I don't really want to be 'friends' with them!
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Beware!

Beware if you walk in to our house today. Five boys under the age of 12 at our house plus one husband equals a giant nerf gun war.  ;)
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Taylor Says

Taylor, after looking over our menu for the week and informing me that she would not eat the fish:

"I like penguins. Penguins eat fish. So that means I hate fish."
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Last night Brittney was working and Taylor was at the Carter's, so after supper I put the four boys and Sophia in my room upstairs and let them watch TV. Then Steve and I watched a movie downstairs. A friend loaned it to me a while ago and I hadn't taken the time to watch it yet. I'm pretty much a fan of anything that has Sandra Bullock in it and this was no exception. It's called The Lake House and was kind of a sappy romance story, but in a good way and with a twist. Isn't Steve a good husband for watching it with me? Especially since he really wanted to play with the new phone he got yesterday after his old one died. But he snuggled with me during the movie and played with his phone afterwards :)
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Anthony Says

While I was gone to Guatemala, my kids behaved exceptionally well but the week after I returned, we had issues. Anthony especially is struggling. He had all smiley faces from his teacher on his school planner while I was gone but lately the comments have been more along the lines of 'disrupting', 'not respecting the teacher', 'being defiant', etc. I was trying to positively parent this morning.

Anthony: "I was thinking about shoving Brittney because she pushed me."

Me: "You made a good choice, Anthony. You kept control of yourself and your hands and you chose not to hit her back. You did it!"

Anthony: "No. She hasn't come back upstairs yet so I haven't been able to hit her back yet."

All I can say it that at least Anthony keeps it honest.
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Today I'm so thankful for my friend Kim. Our late night coffee talks are one of my favorite things in life! I met her last night at 8pm and before we knew it, it was already after midnight. I'm tired today but it was worth it!
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