in the last 4 days i have had 2 kids down with a stomach bug. not the nice kind where you throw up once or twice...no, they had the "puke on the floor/couch/bed/mom" kind. lovely, i know. they couldn't hold down anything. the littlest sip of water would cause them to start all over again. in fact, when i got "it" it was still cold. zack had snuck someone else's tea, and it didn't even get time to warm up to body temp. how sad/disgusting is that? i am hoping and praying that it ends here. i am washing all the blankets and the couch today, scrubbing the floor, and probably taking multiple showers today. no extra kiddos today. i called all the parents yesterday and told them what was going on. they decided they didn't want it in there houses. friday, i was up with grace until 5am. she not only was puking, but couldn't make it to the bathroom and i guess forgot about the bowl she had to use. so i had to clean the floor/couch for her a couple of times.


i guess the good thing about having puking kids is that i'm not hungry...in the slightest. i had to force myself to eat, and even then didn't eat much. hard to have much of an appetite when i've been cleaning that up. so no snacking between meals for me!


funny but embarrassing story. i found out one of my children has a very big mouth. my sister in law was telling me about how one of my kids was telling her that "mommy and daddy lock the door to their bedroom alot". hubby's family is pretty funny. they started laughing hysterically, and my face turned BRIGHT red.

the we played cards. and they found other things to laugh about.

ok, i am re-reading the 5 books i read on sunday and monday. let me tell you, charlaine harris is a fantastic writer. i can really get into her books. i started reading the "sookie stackhouse" series, and i can't wait to read the other 3 books that i haven't read yet. i really to love her style. i grew up reading stephen king and dean kontz, and of course anne rice...but i think i like this series much more. her books are anything but predictable. that is something i have found lacking lately. most of my normal "fave" authors are so, well, predictable. in the first chapter or two, you can pretty much figure out what is going on and who caused it...and how it will be resolved. not so with these stories. (at least not for me) i haven't watched the hbo series "trueblood" but i am looking forward to it...as long as it can compare to the books.


the kids are going to with my step-mom tomorrow night. my dad is leaving today for virginia beach, and so she volunteered to keep the kids for us. so very nice of her. so hubby and i are trying to figure out what to do.

haley is spending the night at the zoo with the girl scouts. she's so excited! i would be too if i was her. seriously, that's my idea of a fantastic night! lucky kid!
she got glasses over the weekend. they look really cute on her. so grown up. uh, too grown up if you ask me. i think i'd rather her be blind.


alex did well in the math competition. he tied for 3 with three of his friends out of the kids from our school. there were several other schools that were represented. he did great. we were so proud of him.

grace started indoor soccer. they lost their first game. they were surprised, but i'm glad. this team deserved to win.

sorry, i had to go outside. the new little girl was telling me about the new gray kitty sleeping in the garage. well, since smoke was where i could see him...and there are no other gray cats around...i had to check it out. hubby was just leaving when i was out there...and had to flag him down to help me because the cat wasn't a cat...


it was a possum. sleeping in an old towel in the trailer for josh's little ride-on tractor. i ended up pushing the trailer out with a shovel, and then tried to get it towards the woods. unfortunately, it woke up when i accidentally dumped it. whoops! and then it looked up at me, snuffled back to the towel, and tried to go back to sleep. i guess i don't cut a very imposing figure! when i pushed it with the shovel, it took off to the woods. i followed it halfway to make sure it made it. it wasn't very big, smaller than smoke.. poor baby. hope it finds a better place than my garage to sleep tonight!

note to self

seriously consider the ramifications of teaching a 4 year old about calling 9-1-1.




you would think that the child in question, being the 4th kid, well, i should have it down by now. but i didn't. and i was a tad surprised when i picked up the phone (after he slammed it down) to hear a 9-1-1 operator asking if there was a problem.


we had a nice little discussion...

which ended with him in the corner...

for quite a while...

and he actually fell asleep there.

i don't think he'll be doing that again.

at least not any time soon.

lessons learned the hard way

here are three lessons i learned the hard way.


1. when you pick up a pig, be sure to watch out for spraying behinds.
that's right, i got pooped on. not really bad, the basement floor got it worse. i just had a little bit on my pants and my shoe.

2. don't walk barefoot in a basement if a pig lives down there.
this could be a teenager or a literal pig...especially important when lesson number one has just happened. poor zack, he's the one that learned this one...he was not a happy camper when he realized what he stepped in!

3. pigs don't really like to be picked up.
you know, i should have learned this one last week, when she (60+ pounds, mind you) threw her head back and almost chipped my teeth. actually, i did learn this lesson, but since she has to go out to her new pen in the morning, i have to suck it up and pick her up anyway. hence, lesson number one again.

since i started walking, i have lost about 7 pounds. the hubby has challenged me...for every 25 pounds i lose, i get a chicken. i think i will modify it to every 15. if i lost 60, i would be happy. that would put me in more of the normal weight range. that would be 4 chickens. what the heck would i do with only 2 chickens? keep them in the basement? that's a thought...

this is totally gross...but i had to tell someone!

the other day, my hubby came home and washed his hands in our hall bathroom. it was late (after 9pm) and all the kids were sleeping and i was pretty tired myself so i didn't move when he called me. he walked into the living room holding the towel that was in there. the towel that had been clean...but now had some scary looking brown stains on it.

please tell me one of the kids were cleaning their shoes with the towel!

"uh, no. do you want to smell it and guess what it is?" he asks.

ummmmm, no. just throw it away. please, i want to pretend that wasn't really sitting on the counter in the bathroom....and praying i didn't use it to dry my hands after those stains were "deposited".

can you believe no one has owned up to doing it yet?

i have some funny little kids!

today, my husband was talking to grace about Jesus, zack was also listening.
G- yesterday was the day Jesus died on the cross. what's today?
J-yes, Jesus died on Good Friday. today he is in the tomb. tomorrow is Easter Sunday, the day Jesus rose from the dead.

Z- (looking a little confused) chuck e cheese died on the cross?

happy easter all!

this is so not fair!

all 5 kids have those thick dark eyelashes...just like their dad. why couldn't i get them too? is it too much to ask? i mean, i did give birth to all 5, i nursed all 5, i cook their meals, drive them to their sports practices, friends' houses, and oh so much more...is having some thick luscious eyelashes too much to ask for? i guess so. i guess getting my old metabolism and my flat stretch mark free belly back is not going to happen either.
i guess i can live with that.
i do need to lose some weight though. not for health or beauty reasons, but for the "youngest child uses my belly roll as a security blanket" reason. he has to rub my bare belly when he is near me. in fact he has even gotten to the point of pulling his shirt up and exposing my unsightly belly and laying tummy to tummy. this was so cute when i was nursing, but the kid is going on 3, and my belly is not something i want out there for the world to see. i don't know what to do. the hubby thinks it is not normal. then again, he thought nursing a baby was not "normal" either. i changed his tune on that one! so maybe if i lose the weight, get a flat (uh i should add an er to that) stomach, he won't be so interested in it.

ok, i want to give a shout out to hawaii, texas, missouri, north carolina, and new jersey! thanks for coming by regularly (or not so regularly) to see my little old blog! much appreciated!
and amanda, i would be down there in a second if i could! that is one of the places i want to see so badly!
thanks to all who comment, and those who don't.

who are you?

Which Character From The Office Are You?

More on The Office. Created by BuddyTV

">

that's right y'all! i'm stanley. not sure if i'm glad, or ticked.

although the "make other's tremble in their skin" is a little exciting.

things you never thought you'd be doing in a million years

today, i nair'd my husband's back.

need i say more?


and my hands are super smooth right now.

i guess he was afraid they would be thinking some escaped gorilla was trying to get on the ship.

he is getting some gray hairs back there. so i think its a reasonable fear...being mistaken for a silver back.

poor poor man.

a few conversational pieces

grace's phone call to her daddy on her birthday:
grace-hi daddy, guess what? i get gerbils for my birthday!
daddy-oh really? who says?
grace-mom said it was ok. it's my birthday present.
daddy-mom did? really? well, is mom there? i would really like to talk to her. (not happy)
grace-nope, but i will tell her you want to talk to her.

me-hey did you want to talk to me?
daddy-what the *heck* is this about grace getting gerbils? tell me this is a joke.
me-no, what's the big deal? it's just for the weekend.
daddy-the weekend? she told me they were her birthday present!
me-yeah, from her teacher. she's getting to take them home for the weekend because her birthday is this week.
daddy-thank goodness. you had me worried there for a minute.

why would my husband be worried? well, perhaps it is the fact that over the past year we have had 2 turtles, several fish, a puppy, 4 chickens, and the kids are getting a pig and a lamb. what do these pets all have in common? well, let's just say the kids know who to ask...and it's definitely not dad! of course i am not a big fan of small rodents, so i would have said no to the gerbils. of course rats are a different story!

at wendy's restaurant
zack-i need to go potty
me-whatever. you have a diaper on.
zack-i want to go potty.
me-fine, let's go.
few minutes later
me-good job buddy! you pooped in the potty! i am so proud of you!
after washing hands and leaving the restroom
zack-I POOPED IN THE POTTY! I POOPED IN THE POTTY
amidst the giggles and laughter of all the patrons, workers, and my own family...
me-zack, that's great, but we don't need to yell it to everyone.
zack-I POOPED IN THE POTTY! DADDY I POOPED IN THE POTTY!
me-eat your nuggets. (trying to hold in my own laughter at this point)

i love kids. the funny things they say, the reactions of others when they hear it...what could be better?