am i way behind or what?

so not much is going on. the big 4h meeting is tonight. i get to sign up the kids for the farm animals of their choosing (pig for alex and sheep for haley). thank goodness for the man in charge of the sheep...he keeps them at his farm, we just visit, and in july haley has to go and start working with her lamb to get it ready for showing. now the pig, on the other hand, gets to live at our house. yes, i know, i am the luckiest woman on earth.

soccer is almost over for grace. she only has 2 games left for this season. she LOVES soccer too. the other monsters have until the 2nd weekend in november for soccer, and then basketball starts. it is a never ending cycle of sports.

alex and zack had their yearly checkups. zack is 29lbs. whoo-hoo! (what is really sad is alex weighed 29lbs at a year). 2 years old and hasn't broken the 30 mark. that's ok, he's the runt (like his daddy) i can't expect major growth. he is in the 50-75% for his weight and the 75-90% for height. alex is 11. he weighs over 120lbs!!! now granted he is over 5 feet tall now, but i didn't weigh that much until i was pregnant with him! i am trying not to make a big deal about it. if it doesn't bother him, i won't let it bother me. i just am trying to implement some healthier choices for food in our house. what is really crazy is, he isn't a fat kid. he is a little chubbier than the other kids, but he's not what you would think a 120lb 5th grader would look like. jeff was like that too at his age. he went thru a really chubby stage...i mean unrecognizable chubby stage. he said in 7th grade, it was like someone threw a switch, and he grew and thinned out. of course he started lifting weights around that time too. (which is why he is the shortest of his brothers...he being only 6' and they are all well over) so only time will tell. he isn't getting teased in school, he is still active in sports, i know he is ok with it right now.

puppies are growing like crazy. they are averaging out to 4lbs each. they aren't even 3 weeks old yet. some of them are going to have the golden retriever type of fur (they are so soft and furry) and the others' fur look more like mastiff (more coarse). they are barking and growling now, and eating puppy food. they are getting personalities, and are just so freakin' cute. unfortunately 2 of the 5 homes we had fell thru. i think after the 3 people who definitely want one come and pick up theirs, then i will start actively trying to find homes for them. i want to make sure these others get first choice. after all, they have been waiting patiently for the past 3 weeks.

that's it for now.

weekend potpourri

well, since last posting, we had a birthday party (well a half birthday party), kids' had a day off of school, we closed up shop at the bookfair, had 4 soccer games, and met the girl that broke nathan's heart about a year ago. it sounds like alot, but it didn't seem like much.

the birthday party for haley went really really well. it was a sand volleyball party for haley and her friend katy. all the girls from the class showed up, and one boy. (apparently the boys had a soccer game at the same time) the kids had a blast, it was really inexpensive, and the girls got a lot of very nice stuff. and the parents who stayed had a great time too.

today the kids were off school for teacher's workshop. alex spent the night at a friend's house last night, so i still have yet to see him. the kids here had a pretty good day. it didn't rain so they played outside for a while. they painted their nails, and they went to grandma and grandpa's house for a while. fun had by all but me...got a mean belly ache today.

closing up the bookfair was more of a hassle this year than the past years. the teacher that normally oversees us is a regular teacher this year not resource/gifted so she had to go to the meeting friday and i ended up closing it down with debbie, and a bunch of kids. not so easy. we were constantly having to remind the kids where they were supposed to be putting stuff, and making sure the teachers had all that they were supposed to have. not the most fun 2 hours i have ever spent.

the kids had their soccer games. haley played goalie again and didn't let a single goal get by. and they played a tough team too. alex's team won their first game. they had moved up to division A and the competition is fierce, but there is no reason why this should be the first game they have won. grace had 2 games, she played goalie in the first one and let 3 goals by...she didn't play goalie in the second game. unfortunately they haven't won a game yet...but they don't know that.

we met this girl last night. she and nathan started talking again recently. apparently she had an epiphany about how she is self absorbed (shocker?) and realized (with her parents telling her constantly) that she never gave the relationship she had with nathan a chance. she seems like a nice girl. jeff works with her. i don't know if they will start dating again. i told him that he needs to take it easy. she hasn't exactly proved to be someone he can trust with his heart. so i am really hoping that i didn't totally overstep there. i couldn't say i didn't like her, because the whole time he dated her (like a year and a half) she never once met his friends or his family. not one single time. he met her family, friends, acquaintances, whatever. she had no interest in his family or friends. strange, huh? oh well, it will work out the way god wants it to.

oh yeah, we have 6 boy puppies and 4 girl puppies. i guess the kids had a harder time figuring out which was which. but i think we have homes for 5 or 6 so far. not bad considering they are just over a week old. i hope it works out.

hey mom!

today, when my 3 year old son came out of the bathroom, he ran to me saying, "hey mom, my butt don't stink anymore, i brushed my teeth!".

ahhhhhh, the wonders of having a 3 year old.

apparently what he really said was breath, not butt. (but right now i am happy neither stink).

he also told my brother-in-law, jason, that he had dingleberries hanging from his tree. jason, who is 26 and has no kids, found this hilarious. so did my husband.

i am going to be very busy tomorrow with the bookfair dinner. my SIL (sisinlaw) and i have been in charge of this for the past 3 years. family night at the bookfair is also a "see the teacher/sign up for conferences" night. i am really glad i finally talked them into doing a dinner. we have been in charge of it for 4 years, but all i could talk them into the first night was some snack type stuff. i thought it was kind of ridiculous that we have this family book fair night right at dinner time, and offer nothing for families to eat. so now my SIL and i get to make chili and hotdogs and tatertots for about 150 people tomorrow. good times.

i have been thinking more and more about polygamy. i really hate housework. maybe if i had a sister-wife, we could divvy up chores to make it easier on us. i get to take care jeff and the kids, she gets to clean the house, do laundry, and make dinner. i think i need to do some more research on this subject, get jeff's input, but it just might work.

jeff has started working out...(did he see that i was thinking about getting another wife?) i am not going to let him get skinny before i do. i want to be in shape for our vacation in feb. we are going with the freeman brothers, their wives, and nathan and whoever he brings. i am going to be the youngest woman (by 5 years) in our group. but i am also the one with the most kids (bryan's wife has 2, and mike's has 1). i don't want to be the "fat one". so i am going to lose weight, and tone up. believe me, i will never, i mean NEVER, be in a bikini again. i just want to not scare small children when i get in a one piece.

shall i start something new?

i would like to start something completely new to me. i would love to not be completely boring. ok, i may not be "completely" boring. there are times when i insert my foot into my mouth, thus causing everyone around me to become uncomfortable. i feel like all i ever talk about is my kids. there really isn't anything i do. it is all about my kids, what they do, what my hubby does, what the freakin' dog does. i don't do anything. and when i do open my trap it's to say "hey cindy i heard you adopted a little girl." only to hear "no actually that fell thru last week". oh, this isn't the first time i've done this. i asked my aunt when her baby was due (this happened several years ago), she told me she had a miscarriage. yeah. i felt like total dog doo on the bottom of someone's shoe. people like me shouldn't be let out of the house.

rachel, thanks for turning me on to the Krunchy mom. i read her blog everyday now.

kids have soccer practice today. all 3 in one day. what will i do with the other 2 days we normally have to run around to and from practice? jeff is selling cars still. he really likes the new place. the dog still has 10 pups...5 boys, 5 girls. some are still black, some are gray, one is getting some brown in his coat. i haven't gotten much of anything done.

some very nice people keep leaving bags of clothes on my porch. seriously, i have had 5 trashbags full of clothes on my front porch in the passed 3 weeks. very nice, but i have like 25 loads of laundry everyday as it is, and now i have another 10 to work in. plus it reminds me i need to go thru my own kids clothes to pass around the the youngers. this is not a chore i relish. which may explain why it rarely gets done. thank you driveby-bag-leaver.