Created a long post with my phone & just accidently deleted it. I hate my stupid smart phone!
Now instead of 3 good stories, you get 3 points. Maybe I'll try again tomorrow on the computer.
*Funeral for sophias 26 yr old bio paternal uncle harold this morning.
*New bed, finally
*Lost van keys in walmart. Riley & I stuck there. No extra key. Keys still not found.
Saturday, November 30, 2013
Still Sleeping
Amazingly enough, it's 7am on a Saturday and all the kids are still sleeping. Probably helps that I let them stay up late last night for movie night. That usually backfires on me though. I usually just end up with really tired, crabby kids who are still get up early the next morning. Or some want to sleep in but the ones who wake up are noisy and wake the others up.
But today, it's still quiet. Forest Gump worked wonders.
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But today, it's still quiet. Forest Gump worked wonders.
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Friday, November 29, 2013
What I ( Taylor) am thankful for
My Best friend Jayden
My Aunt Staci
My Sisters
And My cozen Joe
By Taylor Wilkins
Brittney Says
Best quote of the day yesterday goes to Brittney,
who informed us that she thinks she was re-incarcerated.
who informed us that she thinks she was re-incarcerated.
When I asked what she thought re-incarcerated meant,
she told me it's when you die and come back to life.
I think the word you're looking for is reincarnated, Brittney.
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Thursday, November 28, 2013
Thankful
Today I'm thankful for:
My hubby
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My family
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My brother
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My dog Buddy
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My friends, who can thank me later for not posting obnoxious pictures on here ;)
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Two of my dearest friends, Dawn & Nan
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Kim!!!
.
COFFEE!
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Growth, both physical and emotional
.
I'm also thankful for a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner
that we'll be having today at my parent's house today .
:)
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Busted!!!
Here's a much shorter story than the one I just told:
On Sunday, I was congratulating myself on getting 10 children ready for church on time. They were all bathed, had breakfast and looked so cute in their Sunday clothes. I had just told Steve, "There aren't many people who could do what we do."
God loves it when I get cocky. That's always when I end up with the best stories.
Riley and Anthony walked to church because we couldn't fit everyone in the van. When we arrived, I herded the little ones nicely through the foyer. I settled Steve in with the baby and some of the kids in a pew for the service and then I took the rest of kids down to the children's area. I delivered them to their teachers and then decided to grab a cup of coffee on my way back into church. Once I had it in my hand, I noticed Lisa, so I stopped to chat with her for a few minutes.
While we were talking in the rather large foyer of our church, Zach, an energetic twelve year old boy, ran all the way across the foyer and flew by us with a nerf bow, arrows and a sword. As we watched, he raced up the stairs, stopped half-way up and took aim across the room. Just as he was about to let his arrow fly, I looked back across the room to see who he was shooting at. And there, caught like a deer in the headlights, was my son Riley, with his bow cocked and ready to return fire.
I'm pretty sure the good parents had all their kids in class or sitting nicely in church :) Or maybe they're just smart enough to stay home.
Let's just say that there were multiple nerf items confiscated that morning and my son and I got to spend lots of quality time together.
On Sunday, I was congratulating myself on getting 10 children ready for church on time. They were all bathed, had breakfast and looked so cute in their Sunday clothes. I had just told Steve, "There aren't many people who could do what we do."
God loves it when I get cocky. That's always when I end up with the best stories.
Riley and Anthony walked to church because we couldn't fit everyone in the van. When we arrived, I herded the little ones nicely through the foyer. I settled Steve in with the baby and some of the kids in a pew for the service and then I took the rest of kids down to the children's area. I delivered them to their teachers and then decided to grab a cup of coffee on my way back into church. Once I had it in my hand, I noticed Lisa, so I stopped to chat with her for a few minutes.
While we were talking in the rather large foyer of our church, Zach, an energetic twelve year old boy, ran all the way across the foyer and flew by us with a nerf bow, arrows and a sword. As we watched, he raced up the stairs, stopped half-way up and took aim across the room. Just as he was about to let his arrow fly, I looked back across the room to see who he was shooting at. And there, caught like a deer in the headlights, was my son Riley, with his bow cocked and ready to return fire.
I'm pretty sure the good parents had all their kids in class or sitting nicely in church :) Or maybe they're just smart enough to stay home.
Let's just say that there were multiple nerf items confiscated that morning and my son and I got to spend lots of quality time together.
Roll With the Punches
I should be doing laundry but I'm writing instead. The kids don't have school today and Brittney was bored so she decided to pull out the Christmas decorations. My house is now has a partially decorated tree and Christmas stuff scattered everywhere. I could chose to be frustrated about the chaos or I could join in and have fun. I'm not doing either. I opted to sit at the computer with my nice headphones on. I'm not frustrated and they're still enjoying themselves. We've only had one violent episode so far. I'm eating big red seedless grapes, enjoying music and settling in to tell a story. I'll give you a couple of good ones today because it's been such a rough week.
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One child's avoidance, productivity, disaster, meltdown and back to productivity again
Part of Riley's school work this semester included a wax museum project. Each sixth grade student was to pick a teacher-approved person of historical significance and put in a substantial amount of time researching their person. Then they wrote and memorized their facts so they could retell them in first person. They dressed up like their character and were to have a Living Wax Museum night at school. Each child would stand completely still until someone placed a quarter into their container. Then they would come to life and tell their story. It's a neat way to incorporate lots of different learning, have fun and donate money to Make a Wish.
The kids were given a generous amount of time to work on their project but, unfortunately for Riley, most of it was while I was stuck in Rapid City with my broken down van. I know he's 12 years old and should be able to handle getting it done himself. I've tried a number of different ways to help him, as have his teachers. He is very easily distracted and not a self-starter when it comes to homework. He can find millions of ways to avoid getting something done. The only thing that saves him is his beautiful personality and the fact that he's very smart so he can usually get things done really quickly once he puts his mind to it. Either that or he talks his way out of it. Anyway, nothing was done on his project while I was gone.
When I came back and realized how far behind he was, I made him sit down and work on it. He told me he picked an army guy, did his research and wrote a little piece about his person. Then he had to memorize what he had written. So he would read his little paper over and over to me and I would sign on the dotted line that he had done it. Eventually, he had it memorized. I had heard a million times about William F Cody. Riley and I could both tell you when he lived, died and what his proudest moment was.
Riley was excited to wear his camo gear, backpack, binoculars and a cool helmet we made with an old bike helmet and some duct tape. We spent a significant amount of time, in advance, making sure he was all ready for the night of the Wax Museum. Riley needed to be at the school by 6:30pm last Tuesday.
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One child's avoidance, productivity, disaster, meltdown and back to productivity again
Part of Riley's school work this semester included a wax museum project. Each sixth grade student was to pick a teacher-approved person of historical significance and put in a substantial amount of time researching their person. Then they wrote and memorized their facts so they could retell them in first person. They dressed up like their character and were to have a Living Wax Museum night at school. Each child would stand completely still until someone placed a quarter into their container. Then they would come to life and tell their story. It's a neat way to incorporate lots of different learning, have fun and donate money to Make a Wish.
The kids were given a generous amount of time to work on their project but, unfortunately for Riley, most of it was while I was stuck in Rapid City with my broken down van. I know he's 12 years old and should be able to handle getting it done himself. I've tried a number of different ways to help him, as have his teachers. He is very easily distracted and not a self-starter when it comes to homework. He can find millions of ways to avoid getting something done. The only thing that saves him is his beautiful personality and the fact that he's very smart so he can usually get things done really quickly once he puts his mind to it. Either that or he talks his way out of it. Anyway, nothing was done on his project while I was gone.
When I came back and realized how far behind he was, I made him sit down and work on it. He told me he picked an army guy, did his research and wrote a little piece about his person. Then he had to memorize what he had written. So he would read his little paper over and over to me and I would sign on the dotted line that he had done it. Eventually, he had it memorized. I had heard a million times about William F Cody. Riley and I could both tell you when he lived, died and what his proudest moment was.
Riley was excited to wear his camo gear, backpack, binoculars and a cool helmet we made with an old bike helmet and some duct tape. We spent a significant amount of time, in advance, making sure he was all ready for the night of the Wax Museum. Riley needed to be at the school by 6:30pm last Tuesday.
Pretty good army guy.....and look how happy he is!
This picture was taken about 15 minutes before we needed to leave for the school. The picture is blurry because I wanted a picture but I was also in a hurry to get everyone fed and into the van so we wouldn't be rushed and we'd make it to the school on time. I fully understand that my kids get super stressed when they're rushed. I wanted to keep the stress level to a minimum to give Riley the best chance of a successful evening. Let me tell you how that went for me :/
Remember, it's now 15 minutes before we need to be at the school. I'm sitting down at the computer to quickly post the picture of army guy Riley. As I'm doing that, Riley is talking. As are various other children. I'm tuning them out so I can finish what I'm doing. But as any mom will be able to do, even as I was tuning everything out, I could still pick out random words in the background and they always have the power to grab my attention instantly. You know, words like "fire", "bleeding", "poop", "etc". Key words that demand instant attention. Riley caught my attention when he was going on and on and on about his project and then somewhere in there I heard the words, "Buffalo Bill".
I slowly turned around and looked at him with an astonished look on my face.
"Riley. Are you supposed to be Buffalo Bill Cody tonight?"
He just looked at me with an amused look on his face and said, "Yep."
I still can't believe that I kept my cool but I think I was still in disbelief and denial.
"Riley, are you telling me that your character for the Wax Museum TONIGHT is supposed to be Wild Bill Cody?!?"
He just frowned and said, "That's what I've been telling you for the last month."
In case you haven't been keeping track, we now have 12 minutes before we need to leave for the school.
"Riley, why didn't you tell me that you were Buffalo Bill?"
Riley very emphatically told me, "I did!"
I told Riley that his modern day army guy costume looked nothing like Buffalo Bill Cody. He argued with me so I quickly used google image to bring up multiple pictures of Buffalo Bill Cody.
Do you see any similarities? Nope. I didn't either. And neither did Riley.
Which brought about a major meltdown, including crying and throwing things. And according to Riley, it was all my fault. He couldn't go. He didn't have the right costume. His teacher would hate him. He would fail. I should have told him he didn't have the right costume. Everyone would make fun of him, etc. etc. etc.
In his defense, he had repeatedly told me all about William F Cody, the army scout.
In my defense, he never once mentioned Buffalo Bill Cody and Riley obviously didn't do nearly enough research. Which I would've liked to point out to him but it wasn't the time or place. We were already in a full-fledged meltdown and we now had 8 minutes to get to the school. If I would have pointed out what he SHOULD have done, he just would have raged even more. It wouldn't have done either of us any good at that moment. I needed to get him calmed and figure out how to make the situation better. There's always time later for a teaching moment. The only teaching moment going on at this time would be how to remain calm in a crisis!
So I put on my super mom cape and ran around the house screaming like a crazy woman.
Just kidding ;) But it brings up a fun visual image, doesn't it?
I calmly told Riley that I would figure it out, even though I was totally stressed inside. I went into the Halloween stuff and found an old wig, which I cut up and duct taped to his face. I called my sister and had her run into the dollar store for an old fashioned cowboy hat. We came up with an old looking belt and I had Riley exchange his black military looking shoes for his cowboy boots. We weren't allowed to have a gun but we did add binoculars around his neck and a compass and we had Buffalo Bill. A mostly calm Buffalo Bill, I might add. With 2 minutes to spare!!!
One hour later.........
Crisis averted. Project completed. Teacher happy. Riley feeling good about his presentations.
This is why I've had to learn to roll with the punches. And trust me, I've taken a lot of punches :)
Riley
I need to let Taylor blog more often. Her spelling is terrible and it makes me laugh. I love how she tried to spell 'initials'.
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Riley got caught in a really, really big long-term lie yesterday. I haven't dealt with it yet because he had his choir concert last night. So now I need to figure out the best approach to deal with it. Meanwhile, here's a picture of the concert. He's on the left side, first head in the second row. It's probably good that all I can see is his head because he chose to roll up his sleeves right before the choir came out. And that was shortly after I found out about his lying........again. I was a bit frustrated with him, to say the least. But I still like him.
Sigh......
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Riley got caught in a really, really big long-term lie yesterday. I haven't dealt with it yet because he had his choir concert last night. So now I need to figure out the best approach to deal with it. Meanwhile, here's a picture of the concert. He's on the left side, first head in the second row. It's probably good that all I can see is his head because he chose to roll up his sleeves right before the choir came out. And that was shortly after I found out about his lying........again. I was a bit frustrated with him, to say the least. But I still like him.
Sigh......
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
My BEST Friends ever
This Taylor. Here are my best friends are Emma, Grant, David Do, Chloe, and Alice
I hang out with a lot & make me happy when I am sad. Hey I just relised something if I marrie grant my anisals will be Taylor Taylor Haaaaaaa!
By Taylor Wilkins
I hang out with a lot & make me happy when I am sad. Hey I just relised something if I marrie grant my anisals will be Taylor Taylor Haaaaaaa!
By Taylor Wilkins
People
It's been a wild past few days so forgive me if I already posted any of this. I actually have some good stories and will hopefully have some time at home over the Thanksgiving break. I just had a few minutes after supper while Steve took Anthony to basketball practice and before Riley's concert at 7pm.
But I wanted to be sure to mention that I have really awesome friends! There are some people in life that want to hang around for a while but the more they know about you or tougher life gets, they are suddenly very hard to find.
When I was younger, I always had one best friend. Or at least one in each city. My best Flandreau/school friend in grade school was Jana and my best church/Brookings friend was Marin. When I got to middle school, my best Flandreau/school friend was Angie. They were great friends, don't get me wrong, but the older I get, the more I am realizing that so many different people have so much to offer. No one person can be the 'perfect friend' but I have so many amazing friends that I can go to when I need different things. The past few days have been really tough but have been made so much better by the various people in my life who add so much personality.
Friday night I got out of the house for a few hours and met up with some friends for a girls night out. We usually try to have an excuse to get together, like a birthday or something. No one had anything to celebrate but Amy made us come anyway. Fun night!
Then the laugher therapy group that usually meets on Sunday morning was bumped to Sunday afternoon. We ended up laughing so hard we cried. Seriously. I'm not allowed to blog about it because everyone knows that what happens at Chocolatte stays at Chocolatte. However, it's not an invite-only group. Anyone is welcome. We even allow men sometimes. So if you're ever in Brookings on a Sunday morning around 10:30am, come on in and see what all the fun is about. One week I saw a lady looking at the menu board looking confused. I helped her figure out what she wanted and in the course of the conversation, realized that she was only there because she was killing time until KFC opened and she could pick up her lunch. So I invited her to our table and made her join in the fun. Told you anyone is welcome! :)
Monday evening, Steve scored tickets to the SDSU Jacks basketball game so we had a date. While there, I got to sit with one of my all-time favorite people, Sandy. We laughed, we cheered and she even let me cry on her shoulder for a bit. Love her!
Then this morning, I found my way to the church coffee shop with Jen and we chatted on the couches. One of Erick's friend's sought me out and we visited for a while. She is really struggling. I did little more than be empathetic but she seemed to need to talk about him and express some strong emotions to someone that understood the situation. After she left, more and more gals kept joining in at our circle of couches. I didn't know most of them but I sure did by the time we left!
Then the highlight of my morning was hanging out with Val at my house. My only regret is that our hour went way too fast! I can't wait to have her over again.
Didn't I tell you that I have an amazing group of friends?
PS to Sarah: I did see your question and I'm not ignoring you, I just haven't had time to give the answer the attention it needs. I'm hoping to send you a private message in the next few days.
But I wanted to be sure to mention that I have really awesome friends! There are some people in life that want to hang around for a while but the more they know about you or tougher life gets, they are suddenly very hard to find.
When I was younger, I always had one best friend. Or at least one in each city. My best Flandreau/school friend in grade school was Jana and my best church/Brookings friend was Marin. When I got to middle school, my best Flandreau/school friend was Angie. They were great friends, don't get me wrong, but the older I get, the more I am realizing that so many different people have so much to offer. No one person can be the 'perfect friend' but I have so many amazing friends that I can go to when I need different things. The past few days have been really tough but have been made so much better by the various people in my life who add so much personality.
Friday night I got out of the house for a few hours and met up with some friends for a girls night out. We usually try to have an excuse to get together, like a birthday or something. No one had anything to celebrate but Amy made us come anyway. Fun night!
Then the laugher therapy group that usually meets on Sunday morning was bumped to Sunday afternoon. We ended up laughing so hard we cried. Seriously. I'm not allowed to blog about it because everyone knows that what happens at Chocolatte stays at Chocolatte. However, it's not an invite-only group. Anyone is welcome. We even allow men sometimes. So if you're ever in Brookings on a Sunday morning around 10:30am, come on in and see what all the fun is about. One week I saw a lady looking at the menu board looking confused. I helped her figure out what she wanted and in the course of the conversation, realized that she was only there because she was killing time until KFC opened and she could pick up her lunch. So I invited her to our table and made her join in the fun. Told you anyone is welcome! :)
Monday evening, Steve scored tickets to the SDSU Jacks basketball game so we had a date. While there, I got to sit with one of my all-time favorite people, Sandy. We laughed, we cheered and she even let me cry on her shoulder for a bit. Love her!
Then this morning, I found my way to the church coffee shop with Jen and we chatted on the couches. One of Erick's friend's sought me out and we visited for a while. She is really struggling. I did little more than be empathetic but she seemed to need to talk about him and express some strong emotions to someone that understood the situation. After she left, more and more gals kept joining in at our circle of couches. I didn't know most of them but I sure did by the time we left!
Then the highlight of my morning was hanging out with Val at my house. My only regret is that our hour went way too fast! I can't wait to have her over again.
Didn't I tell you that I have an amazing group of friends?
PS to Sarah: I did see your question and I'm not ignoring you, I just haven't had time to give the answer the attention it needs. I'm hoping to send you a private message in the next few days.
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Weekend Pictures
Friday night, we had our 6 kids, plus a friend of Taylor's, plus my friends' 4 kids, plus Gerald. I made a million chicken nuggets and fries for supper, then I left for a couple of hours for a prior commitment. Isn't my hubby wonderful?
But who couldn't love this little guy?
Sophia feeding the baby
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Breakfast
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Alisha and Buddy
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Saturday night after supper and baths, I turned on the tv before putting everyone to bed.
Saturday, November 23, 2013
Tough Day
*Tough, tough day today. Funeral for our friend. Watching his boys, especially the one who wouldn't leave his dad's side at the coffin, was so hard.
*Call me crazy, but we're also watching four extra kids ages 7, 6, 4 and 4 months from Friday through Sunday evening.
*I'm exhausted and just want to go to sleep.
*Call me crazy, but we're also watching four extra kids ages 7, 6, 4 and 4 months from Friday through Sunday evening.
*I'm exhausted and just want to go to sleep.
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Dismayed
Dismayed to realize yet again that the hope I wish to inspire is too big a project and cannot be accomplished. If people with much more wisdom than I say it can't be done, then it can't be done. I think I'll just crawl into my bed (or if you read a previous post, my mattress on the floor) and stay there where it's safe and warm and there are no expectations.
Not even more coffee can make it better today.
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Just the facts
Just the facts today. On Monday, a dear, dear friend committed suicide. He had struggled and overcome so much but the weight of the world finally pushed him so far down that he couldn't get back up. The funeral will be on Saturday at 10:30am in Salem, SD. Steve and I will be there to honor his life.
These boys meant the world to Erick.
Brittney Says
Last night Brittney was telling me about a dance contest that the cheerleaders have every year. She explained that they used music from the old days. "You know. Like 'N Sync."
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Yeah. Those were the good old days Brit ;)
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Yeah. Those were the good old days Brit ;)
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Top Secret
It was a rough day yesterday. A day made better by caring people. I had a lot bouncing around in my head this morning but instead of trying to wrap my mind around it by thinking or writing, I took my coffee and went to a friend's house. I chatted and held a tiny baby. I think I'll save my thinking for tomorrow.
So today, instead of a well-thought out post, I'll give you a picture of the filing cabinet in my office. You know how much I love order and organization. I like to have everything properly labeled.
So today, instead of a well-thought out post, I'll give you a picture of the filing cabinet in my office. You know how much I love order and organization. I like to have everything properly labeled.
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I'm not entirely sure my kids get why I think this is so funny.
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Heartbroken
I'd love to tell a funny story and make everyone laugh. I'd like to be upbeat and encouraging. But not today. Today I'm heartbroken over a life ended before we were ready to let him go. This morning, I experienced a profound sorrow and feeling of loss, some anger and a lot of guilt. I'm so sorry that he felt death was the only option left. I'm sick to my stomach that his children are fatherless.........again. I'm angry at the system and family that backed him into a corner. And I feel guilty for not rallying the christian community around him to carry him when he couldn't walk by himself. I'll write more logically later. Right now I'm letting the feelings flow where they may.
Monday, November 18, 2013
Two words: massive headache. I hate trying to function effectively when I don't feel good. Steve had a baseball meeting so I had go to the wrestling meeting for Riley.
But on a good note, I got to have lunch with Nan today! I'd tell you more about it but what happens at Qdoba's stays at Qdoba's ;)
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But on a good note, I got to have lunch with Nan today! I'd tell you more about it but what happens at Qdoba's stays at Qdoba's ;)
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Sunday, November 17, 2013
Bed Situation/Dilemma
Because the situations in our house tend to change and there isn't much extra space, we sometimes have to shuffle rooms. I don't do it for fun, trust me. It's only done when it's completely necessary. Anyway, a month ago, we decided that the two youngest girls needed to be back upstairs. The dilemma would be the bed situation.
The solution was that Anthony would move downstairs. He and Brittney would each have their own room. Brittney has wanted our bed for a long time so we decided she could have it. It's a hand-crafted four-poster oak bed with a pillow top mattress. Our friend made the bed frame and my parents bought us the mattress and box spring when we moved into our house over 10 years ago. But the frame stands really high and the mattress is getting old. We've been talking about getting something else for quite a while now.
But in order for the whole plan to come together, I needed to convince Brittney to give her old bed to Taylor and Sophia. Instead of just asking, I called her and said that I was going to be getting a new bed and was giving our old one to either her or Taylor but I wanted to ask her first. Of course she didn't want her sister to have it, so she said she wanted it. Ha! Then I asked if we gave her ours, could we give her old bed to the girls. She said sure. Ha! Ha! So we moved Brit's old bed upstairs into the younger girls room. It works really well because it has drawers underneath for storage and both of them actually prefer not to sleep alone.
Still nothing on the walls since we moved them in but they've had plenty on the floor. It's a good thing they don't have a lot of floor space. Here's a bonus shot of the messy top of their dresser. Notice the writing on the mirror. Taylor used to write on anything and everything so I finally broke down and got her some dry erase markers to write on her mirror so it would wash off. Works for both of us.
It worked really well for Brittney to take it because when she goes to college in three years, her room will repainted and become the guest room. Before I left for Rapid City a few weeks ago, I had already moved Anthony and Sophia and Taylor and their respective beds. I put the twin mattress on Brittney's floor for her until we had time to complete the switch. Then I ended up staying in Rapid City much longer than I originally anticipated. Steve got really ambitious and took our bed apart and rebuilt it in Brittney's room for her. Wonderful!
The solution was that Anthony would move downstairs. He and Brittney would each have their own room. Brittney has wanted our bed for a long time so we decided she could have it. It's a hand-crafted four-poster oak bed with a pillow top mattress. Our friend made the bed frame and my parents bought us the mattress and box spring when we moved into our house over 10 years ago. But the frame stands really high and the mattress is getting old. We've been talking about getting something else for quite a while now.
But in order for the whole plan to come together, I needed to convince Brittney to give her old bed to Taylor and Sophia. Instead of just asking, I called her and said that I was going to be getting a new bed and was giving our old one to either her or Taylor but I wanted to ask her first. Of course she didn't want her sister to have it, so she said she wanted it. Ha! Then I asked if we gave her ours, could we give her old bed to the girls. She said sure. Ha! Ha! So we moved Brit's old bed upstairs into the younger girls room. It works really well because it has drawers underneath for storage and both of them actually prefer not to sleep alone.
It worked really well for Brittney to take it because when she goes to college in three years, her room will repainted and become the guest room. Before I left for Rapid City a few weeks ago, I had already moved Anthony and Sophia and Taylor and their respective beds. I put the twin mattress on Brittney's floor for her until we had time to complete the switch. Then I ended up staying in Rapid City much longer than I originally anticipated. Steve got really ambitious and took our bed apart and rebuilt it in Brittney's room for her. Wonderful!
So now we have the kids all situated but there is no bed in my room. Steve and I originally talked about just using the twin mattress we already had leftover from the room switch and then getting another twin mattress from my folks. We could just put them together until we could save for a new bed.
But apparently my vision of what we would do in the meantime was a bit different from his. When I finally made it home, this is the bed situation I found in my room.
One single twin bed!
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I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. I'd been away from home for so long and was looking forward to crawling into bed. Fortunately, my parents brought in another twin mattress but they didn't have a box spring. So I did what any good wife would do. I threw a mattress on the floor, kicked Steve to that one and took the good spot ;)
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After two weeks of our weird sleeping situation and a few nights of cold toes when my dog left me, I decided enough was enough. Last night I pulled out the frame and box spring and threw my mattress on the floor by Steve's. We now have two twin mattresses on the floor. I'm hoping after we make it through the Christmas season, we can start looking for something that works a little better. On a positive note, there's not much danger of anyone getting hurt falling out of bed! :)
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Saturday, November 16, 2013
Sophia
Dad was in charge of Sophia's bath and forgot to turn the water off.
She thought it was great!
Friday, November 15, 2013
Turkey Day
Today was turkey day. One of my favorite days of the year. Yes, I realize that it's not actually Thanksgiving yet. It's the day we cook a million turkeys. Yes, I realize that's an extreme exaggeration. It was really just a few.
Once a month, the college kids are treated to a home-cooked meal after church. Anywhere from 60-200 hungry kids are served. The meal for November includes turkey, mashed potatoes & gravy, green bean casserole, bread, jello/fruit salad and pumpkin dessert.
We peel lots of potatoes, boil them and mash them with butter, salt & pepper and milk. Then we refrigerate them in giant foil pans with a moist towel covering them to keep them moist.
Once a month, the college kids are treated to a home-cooked meal after church. Anywhere from 60-200 hungry kids are served. The meal for November includes turkey, mashed potatoes & gravy, green bean casserole, bread, jello/fruit salad and pumpkin dessert.
Rebecca has the planning and organization down to a science.
We cook the turkeys, take all the meat off and put it in roasters with broth to reheat on Sunday.
We peel lots of potatoes, boil them and mash them with butter, salt & pepper and milk. Then we refrigerate them in giant foil pans with a moist towel covering them to keep them moist.
While Rebecca is the brains of the operation,
Lynda and I just help with the manual labor
and the entertainment.
.
We began at 9:30am and by the time we were cleaned up and out of there, it was 3:30pm.
Lynda had a few knife accidents,
Rebecca flung a few potatoes,
and Tricia dumped a roaster of water all over the counter and floor.
But we had a blast again this year and the food tastes awesome!
I know because I taste-tested quite a bit ;)
.
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