well, the youngest has pneumonia. yes i know what a horrible mom i must be...my mom and mil have called me a couple of times each in the first 24 hours of finding out he has a very mild case...like he's on a regular antibiotic that the rest of the kids have been on for things from ear infections to strep throat. so please forgive me for not totally freaking out and crying and lamenting on how i am the most horrible mom ever. i mean, if i did that when only one of my kids has ever had it...well, what would that say about my sister in law (both of her kids have it at least once every single year). i don't want to cast dispersions, or make it sound like i don't care, but he has a cough...he had a fever all weekend (started monday and ended 3 hours after his first dose of antibiotics) and is now coughing a little more, but i figure that's a good thing.

and he is yelling for me right now to wipe his butt. i love being a mom.

ok, i'm back. he's doing so much better. he's back to his old self...and i am so happy. well, i am off to fix some lunch and take care of some kiddos!

well, we are down to 15 chickens. i gave away the big white ameraucana rooster. the lady that took him asked me if i was sure...he was beautiful and she was planning on showing him...uh, yeah...he tried to spur my 12 year old in the face...can't have a bird that's like that. i have too many little kids around to have that kind of aggressive bird around. she is our project leader in poultry. she said we may find that we have problems with whoever steps up to the top of the pecking order. she also recommended that i "get rid" of all but one rooster. that means the 5 of the 6 roosters we have left. well, haley wasn't too happy...and josh cried for about 20 minutes...until i told them that i wouldn't "get rid" of their roosters...yet. haley's rooster she has eating out of her hand...but he pecks everyone's hands when he comes close to you now. he's a nice looking rhode island red (well except that his comb isn't perfect), so if you know anyone that would like a nice rooster...let me know. josh's is a beautiful ameraucana rooster. but he's not a solid color so he can't be shown. he's a beautiful white with black splashes. he's actually pretty nice too. i mean if my 4 year old can pick him up and hold him in his lap and pet him? he's got to be pretty good. as for the other roosters? they are all polish crested. not much meat to them. i'm not sure what to do with them. i would like some whole chickens for cooking, but i don't know if they would be worth it. haley's and josh's would be, but i don't know that i can do that to them right now.

i had the kids put the chickens out the other day. it was really pretty out and i thought they would like getting out. they did. of course the kids were all gone and i looked up and saw it was dark...and the chickens were still out. so i got my coat, grabbed a bucket of feed, and went out to bring in the chickens. they were all huddled in the corner..but i heard a rustle in the opposite corner. so i went over to make sure it wasn't one of the darker ones hiding in the dark corner...nope, it wasn't. then i saw movement at the top of the pen...it was an opossum. well, it took me a couple of seconds to react, well, correctly. at first i was going to grab it by it's tail and look at it a little closer (not a smart move). i stopped myself, held the bucket in both my hands and hit that little sucker as hard as i could off the top of the pen (without spilling the food).

*question: do opossums eat chickens? i mean like pretty much full grown chickens? i could see them getting some chicks, but they are more scavengers than hunters (i think). *

it was pretty funny though. i told my hubby about it and he gave me a hard time about it. "what if it was a mom with babies in her pouch?" "maybe you should go look and see if you knocked any out when you hit her". no no, dear reader, he isn't really worried about that little creature. he just knows that they are one of my favorite animals, and was surprised i was so protective of the chickens i guess. or he just likes giving me a hard time. yeah, i think that's more like it.

now we are ordering more chicks from http://www.ideal-poultry.com/ (thanks jayedee). we are getting some quail belgian d'anver bantams, and some buckeyes. please don't tell the hubby! he's wasn't too happy when i said something about getting some different ones. so i figure when they get here in march, he should have forgotten by then.

good pic of the bantams here http://www.waidinmiki.com/Ryan/Ryan.html

good pic of the buckeyes here http://www.mypetchicken.com/images/product_images/Large/buckeye-bc.jpg

now i'm not a huge fan of the buckeyes. they don't look very cool to me. i really tried to talk him into getting some black australorps. they are really pretty with shiny black feathers. http://www.mypetchicken.com/images/ChickenPix/medium/FRE_AstlrpCk_1_M.jpg
but he's raising them, so i'm trying to let him choose. i tried to talk him into the japanese bantams too. http://www.freewebs.com/professorchickensbreeds/japwheatenpair.jpg. well, i hope he does well with them.

i have to go. zack is going to the doctor today. he's been running a fever since friday, with a cough and runny nose...oh and throwing up a couple of times too. saturday night his fever was 104.6...and it only went down to 104.2 an hour after his dose of motrin. i had to put him in the tub to get it down. talk about freaking me out. i hate it when they get sick! especially when we haven't gotten the new insurance card yet. we have insurance, they just haven't sent our card to us yet.

pillow talk

i have been dealing with puking kids since 4am yesterday.



zack woke me up by puking on my pillow.



he didn't get any on me, but not exactly the way i want to wake up.




he continued to puke all day, and by evening he was feeling better. but he wasn't able to go to grandma and grandpa's house. and he was ticked!


i picked the rest of the kids up right before the girls played. both my girls were playing at 9am. alex was complaining about his belly hurting. yeah, great.


except it wasn't him that threw up as soon as i parked the car.


it was haley. she did good though. for the most part, she hit the parking lot and not much got in the car.


so she didn't get to play. and she's missing her volleyball game too. and i'm not sure if i'll be sending her to the game tomorrow.



the weekend isn't all shot though...josh's team won! coach d is out of town (ha go figure) and i was the one coaching. i had 2 parents helping me, but we only had 9 kids today. we have 20 on the team. for not getting much of a break, they played awesome. the kid that scored the goal is one that hasn't scored yet. i was so proud of him. he was so proud of himself. he kept asking me if i saw his kick.


then i got the call that zack puked again at the soccer field.


what a fantastic weekend!

am i asking for too much?

2 things...

1. yesterday was a long day. i had fewer kids to watch, but i had 3 of my kids that had soccer practice, and one that had a baseball game. i left at 5:20 and didn't get home for the night until almost 10. i had to bring all the kids with me to soccer (well, minus alex who didn't want to come) and then dropped them all off to hubby and picked up alex for his baseball game. i had a brat at the game...that was my dinner. i get home, and hubby says, "i made some cheese bread it's really good. go get some." i'm thinking AWESOME, he finally cooks! and get a piece and take a big bite...


and gag! the jerk made it with miracle whip instead of butter!!

knowing full well i can't stand the stuff!

he sat there hiding behind the computer screen watching me...and then had the nerve to call me a baby when i spit it into the trash.



2. this morning zack was whining about his pants. he needed help buttoning them. i'm curled up on the couch, all comfy and warm under my big fleece rams blankie. "come here" i say. i reach and help him with his snap...

and it's a little wet...


"why's it wet?" i ask.


(you all know what's coming next, don't you?)



"i peed on 'em a little"


just by the snap though.


just where i would have to touch it.






am i asking for too much when all i want is a husband that doesn't try to poison me, and a son that keeps his urine to himself?

soccer and a mayo sandwich

let's start with the mayo sandwich...i know you are all wondering "what is that?"
well, my boys like cheese sandwiches with mayo/miracle whip (same thing in my book). but i don't have any cheese today. hubby cleaned me out. so zack wanted just a "bandaise samich". he ate every bite. now haley used to eat pickle and mayo sandwiches.

no, i have no idea how my kids come up with such weird ideas.

on to soccer practice.

josh is having some breathing issues lately. i guess it's the asthma flaring up. i hope so anyway, as i was giving him breathing treatments. he did really good, considering he lost steam about 20 minutes into practice. we had enough kids to scrimmage. we worked on playing in our positions. i don't mean to sound like i know soooo much, but my half of the team played their positions...and even scored a couple of goals. coach d's team, uh, not so much. i made sure my side knew their jobs: offense-score goal, defense-stop the ball, goalie-catch the ball. coach d focused too much on just the offense, so his defense was playing in the grass. i think as long as you are making sure they are staying focused, it's an easy job. focus is the main thing they need to learn. they are little kids, so it's not easy. you have to make sure you praise them when they are doing the right thing. if they stay in position, that earns MAJOR praise. that's one of the hardest things for them to do. they have to focus on doing their job. it's really rewarding to see them do what you tell them to. and when it works, and they are scoring goals, it shows the kids they are doing it right.

hubby is taking haley to the doctor right now. she has poison ivy (i'm pretty sure) and in the week she's had it, none of the normal treatments have helped. in fact, it's spreading more. she has spots of it all over her lower leg. one is pretty big. we've tried caladryl, ivy dry, benadryl, and cortisone. all of that, and it spread. so off to the doctor. hopefully they don't put her on steroids. poor alex put on like 15 pounds the first time he was on steroids. well, i guess it doesn't matter as long as it clears it up. it's really nasty!

off to finish my lunch!

count down...

well, my little guy turned 3. that same day, i had to take the kids to a family reunion at a park in lake st. louis...by myself. saturdays are just not great "family" days for us. the hubby has to work, so anything i do, i do by myself with all the kids. it was nice to see all the cousins that i haven't seen in a while. the kids had an "o.k." time. they didn't really know anyone, and there weren't too many kids their ages to play with...oh yeah, and it rained...and the temperature dropped...and we could only stay for a couple of hours before we had to leave for zack's party. i got to see my cousin greg (well, he's my mom's cousin's son). i haven't seen this kid since he was about 5 and i was about 15. he was such a cute kid. so nice and polite. his parents were messed up (drugs) but he was such a good kid. he's turned out pretty good. actually the hubby sold him a truck last month. he's in construction, but it's steady work and great pay. i'm so happy for him.
zack had such a great time at his party. he was so cute. he was so excited with every single gift he got. josh had a tougher time. he was upset zack wasn't "sharing". well, his idea of sharing was a little different...he thought zack should open the gifts and just let him play with whatever he wanted to. not gonna happen. my SIL, debbie, made him a monster truck cake. he was so excited about it. he had a great day.
this week has been a tad hectic. i know, i know, when isn't a day in my life hectic. well, this week, i have all my usually kiddos, plus my nieces have been coming over. we have been getting haley over to work with her sheep every night. i got a new washer and dryer (front loading) and i LOVE them. the hubby's parents are out of town, so we have been watching the dog (he's a 90 lb puppy). the pig started limping and i'm not sure if it's just the way she walks or if she is truly hurt.
the fair starts on tuesday. the kids are getting nervous and excited. i'm just nervous. i think they will do fine, i just want to make sure I don't screw it up. i'm not sure how i could, but it has been known to happen. tonight we have a 4H meeting at 7, so i have to make sure we get there. haley also has a game at 8. thank goodness they are right by each other.

i have a favor to ask, could you please pray for my little brother. he's been going through some really tough personal stuff lately. please pray for him to continue on the path he's on now. thanks!

pigs and sheep and kittens oh my

ok, first off, let me just say, we have a new kitten. he's a little gray tabby kitten. i'm not sure what his name is yet. i've heard "tiger", and "shady", and "take it back where you got it". (guess which one was the hubby's suggestion) so far so good. he hasn't been eaten by any dogs, hit by any cars, or eaten anything poisonous. of course we haven't had him a full week yet, so anything can happen.

last night i took alex to the lincoln county fair. their hog show was last night, so i figured "what better way to see what we need to be doing". well, most of those pigs were bigger than ours. 90% were white (the pigs, not the people...although i guess those stats would work for both). there was a huge age range in kids showing. there were kids as young as 8 or 9 or as old as 18. they all were terrific. we weren't able to stay for the whole show (which lasted several hours), but i think alex has a better understanding of what is expected of him. he's getting nervous now. the fair is only a couple of weeks away.

after we got back from the fair, we took the whole family to see haley's sheep. she has 3, but she has to pick 2 for the show and 1 to sell at the auction. she has to break them before the fair. basically, she has to get her sheep, (which is difficult) and hold them until they surrender, then let it go and catch it right away. she has to do this at least twice with each one. i helped her, so did alex and the hubby. i didn't realize how oily their wool is. (that's where lanolin comes from...breastfeeding moms should have some on hand) and boy howdy, they stink! it's hard to describe, but think wet dog+urine+feces+farm=one big stinky mess! the kids didn't even argue about taking showers...that's how smelly it was. i will be doing this again in a few minutes...and every day until fair. fun.

well, i have dinner to get on the table, kids to get out the door (to do some sheep work), and well, there's always cleaning to get done.

then there's the fact my littlest one is turning 3 this saturday...don't get me started, i can't believe my baby is so big!

rachel, let me know when it is you are coming into town. i'd love to get together!

what a fabulous day!

yeah, april fool's...on me. i spent today cold and shivering at recess duty today...oh and i brought 4 kids with me. one of these kids (my own of course) peed in his pants. oh the joys of volunteering! granted, zack is only 2, and has only been going on the potty for a few weeks, but COME ON! i mean, i'm stuck out on the playground (i was the only adult amidst the 60 or so kidlets), i can't just leave the 2nd thru 4th grades out there by themselves. then, since today is my hubby's day off, i have haley call him from the office to come and get the boy (or all the kids i brought up, i wasn't going to be picky)...twenty minutes later, i just left. i told the office i was leaving, my husband hadn't shown up yet, and i had been holding very wet pants for the last 20 minutes. they were very understanding, they usually are.

yesterday we had so much rain, the pond overflowed! we had record setting rainfall for the month of march. more than 8 inches! the creek overflowed it's banks (it usually does) and got close to covering the road, but was about 2 inches shy. it was almost 70 yesterday, today it is so very very cold. if we get much more rain anytime soon, it may end up covering the road.

my hubby is going to the cardinal's game tonight. my stepmom had a "procedure" done on her foot today, so she won't be able to go. she was there yesterday. he is usually pretty excited about going to the games, but he wasn't today. i guess it's just too cold and wet to enjoy. that and the fact he is going in to work today for a few hours before the game. they are going to teach him how to do financing. he'll be able to sell you the car and a warranty, and finance it too. he's excited about it. sort of.

i had a great sunday. we went out for dinner. hubby had gotten $250 in gift cards from a friend he helped to get a really good deal on a new car (from a dealership he didn't work for anymore) and the guy gave him all these gift cards, and wouldn't take no for an answer. (funny thing is, hubby ended up making more than the salesman did! it was a $75 mini deal for the sales guy)
i had chapel hour at 6pm, so they dropped me off. i got to spent a whole hour quietly with God. our chapel is a perpetual adoration chapel. there is someone there every hour of every day. you can drop off prayer requests, and people pray for who ever needs it. it is really awesome. you feel the power as soon as you walk in the room. i like to go and crochet. i know that may seem like something you shouldn't do, but i like to. i am usually making a baby blanket, and i like to pray for the baby that my blankets are going to. crocheting is like meditating to me. my hands do one thing, my mind is somewhere else. it was so good!

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.

i love my kids, but...

i have a tough time talking about how great my kids are. time after time, when people talk about their kids, i have a tough time talking about how smart my kids are, cute, talented, nice, whatever. i have never been one to brag (i don't think i have been) and i guess that's what it seems like when i say something about them. it's not like i sit in judgement about people who do. i have several people who talk about their kids all the time, how advanced they are, whatever. my sister in law talks about her 2 kids all the time. her daughter is beautiful (and she is) and they boys swarm her. her son is so smart (not so sure about this one) that she has asked for him to be tested for the gifted classes. not the teachers, mind you, she asked. several times. now, i know my kids are smart. i don't have to rub it in when i talk to her. and i don't. i just sit there and nod sympathetically. what else do you do? i know kids make mistakes all the time. i don't want to put unwanted pressure on my kids because they feel they need to live up to my standards. i remember trying to do that for my parents. so i am going to try today to brag about my kids.

alex- my oldest very smart. in 3rd grade he was reading at an 8th grade level. now, he's in 5th and can read anything he wants (except books below a 6th grade level) he remembers everything he reads (like he dad). he has the most beautiful blue/gray eyes. he is helpful and polite at his friends houses. he helps with his little brothers. he loves sports. he's great at baseball, basketball, and soccer.

haley- my oldest daughter is brilliant. she is in an advanced math group and an advanced reading group. she may come across as ditsy, but the child is so very smart. she is absolutely beautiful. i am seriously afraid of my girls becoming teenagers. she is athletic. she is a great softball player, soccer player, basketball player, and swimmer. she is so sweet natured and helpful. she loves to "mother" brothers.

grace- my youngest daughter is so friendly. she makes friends everywhere she goes. i won't say she doesn't know a stranger, but she is always quick to make friends. she loves attention. she is also very smart. she went into kindergarten not knowing her letters very well, and is already reading books. in fact she just started the reading counts program. she makes friends quickly, but she also keeps them. she and her "best friend" claudia have known each other for 3 years now, and are as close as can be! she is such a love. she loves to help me. anything i ask, she's there to do it for me. she is my other beautiful daughter. my girls may not look exactly alike, but they are still beautiful. haley is darker complected, with beautiful brown hair with golden highlights and eyes like mine. grace is blond, lighter complected, with blue/green eyes. they both have those awesome thick black eyelashes like their daddy.

josh- my middle boy is gentle giant. he was my smallest baby (8lbs 2oz), but is my biggest kid (4 years old and 50 lbs...not a bit of it fat either). he is into all things mechanical. i know this kids is just as smart as the rest of them. he loves cars, trucks, tractors, basically anything mechanical. he really listens to you when you talk to him. he loves girls too. it's only girls that are his age at my house. he plays with them just as good as gold. he loves his family. he has the same eyes as my oldest...beautiful blue framed by thick black lashes. to look at him, you would think he is much older than he is. he's the same size as most of the kids in grace's class, and speaks just as well. he is, by far, my biggest help in the house. you just ask him to do something, and it's done!

zack- my youngest is the only one that looks like my side of the family. he is a scrappy little thing. he doesn't take any s#%^ from anyone! he has the most beautiful and contagious smile. he also has the same blue eyes at the other two boys. to talk to him, you would never guess he's only 2. he's also the friendliest of my boys. he is definitely not shy! he and josh are the closest out of my 5 kids. not just in age either. zack loves his daddy. as soon as he sees him, he runs to get some pretzels so they can sit in daddy's chair together. he always wants to help out too.

ok, that ends my bragging session for today. you can see for yourself how beautiful my kids are in the picture of my family. just pay no attention to the fact they are wearing clothes that don't match. i am not the most organized mom, so i am just happy they are all wearing clothes!

i have been up to...

one week from tomorrow and we (meaning the hubby and i) are leaving for new orleans. then the following day, we leave on our cruise. let the countdown commence!

yesterday, (being friday) alex had a tournament basketball game at 9 pm against one of the other teams from his class. (there are actually 3 teams) tomorrow at 6pm, he plays against the other team from his class. this one for the championship. it's pretty cool seeing how competative these boys are on the court (and before the game), but after the game's over it's like all of the competativeness was left on the court. in fact 3 boys from our team went home with 3 boys from the other team. oh yeah, we had to play them again this morning. we lost that game.

grace played goalie in soccer today. atleast for the first half. well, playing goalie is what i like to call it...what she actually did was play in the net, twirled around, and danced a little. her team won. i think she may have touched the ball once as goalie. the second half she was out running the field.

haley has been a huge help with her younger sibs. she watched them for me most of the games. that way i can actually watch the games. she starts her games soon i think.

josh woke up this morning having one of his "it's not asthma" attacks. i had to give him a breathing treatment, and it cleared up pretty well. last time i took him into the dr's office, she told me it was croup. (not my dr, one of her partners) it's not. i know it's not. although, i'm not really wanting them to call it asthma either. he's fine now.

zack was running a low grade fever last night. it never went above 100.2. he never complained about anything. he just felt warm to me. i hope that's all it ends up being.

the hubby has sold 5 cars so far this month. for those who don't have husbands that sell cars, that is really good. really really good. especially when said hubby will be out of town for a week.

i have been keeping up with my cleaning. i seem to hit it every other day. i don't know why. i guess i just need to get into the swing of things first.

*rachel, with my kids, i always wiped for them. when they learn as young as 2 or young 3, it's hard for them to get themselves clean enough. atleast their behinds. that, and the fact my kids all have very chubby bottoms, and that makes it even harder for them to do a good job. usually around older 3 to 4 years is when they start doing for themselves all the time. atleast that's been my experience. i will let them try first, but usually they just make a bigger mess.

challenges

ok, yesterday, i don't think i did a proper challenge post so here it is.
7 out of nine rooms i got atleast 20 things picked up...but i didn't do any sweeping.
one of those seven rooms was the little boys' room (my extra focus room) and the boys and i cleaned in there. it is better. not great. not even passable. but it is better than it was. we are going to work on it more today.

i haven't mentioned this earlier (only because i was afraid to jinx it), but zack is in the process of toilet training. well "in the process" sounds so formal. how about "my kid is going on the potty now"? sounds better. he still has accidents, and definitely needs help still, but he is consistently going in the toilet. can i get an "amen"? i was really scared he was going to be like 6 and still in diapers. i was also scared that the lack of a child in diapers would send me into a "i want a baby" tailspin...but so far so good. i don't know why i was so worried about him taking too long. he is only 2. well 2 years and almost 7 months, but who's counting? he's about the same age my other 2 boys were. the girls were way different. the month they turned 2, that was it. no diapers, not even at night. my first son, he showed some interest at 18 months...he would get out of the tub to go. i didn't push it though. now my little zack is in spiderman (or thomas, or cars, or scooby) underwear.
by the way, does anyone have a good way to get the pee smell out of couch cushions?
perhaps i will actually get some computer time this evening to post my challenge numbers.

i won't hold my breath.

kids and puppies and a couple of jens

my friends, the jens, just left. jen f. is a nurse with 4 kids and a great hubby. she stays home during the week and works weekends in the oncology ward. she has a definite calling. i don't know that i would be able to work there. she came over with her 2 youngest. benny is an adorable newly 3 year old boy. he will be in my zack's class. and meggy (meghan) who is around 7mos. beautiful kids. jen s. is our vet. well, she and her hubby are both our vets. she has 3 kids. she brought over joe (who will also be in zack's class), cora, and syd (he is her friend jessica's boy). this was the first time they had gotten to see the pups. they were all very impressed with the size and friendliness of the whole litter. jen s. said she thinks they will be at least 80lb dogs. if you have ever seen a newfoundland, that is what our fluffy pups look like. if you haven't, just google it, and look at those pics. adorable, i know!

rachel, thanks! i hope i didn't sound like a total freak in my last post. it's just with guy friends, you can get that male perspective. i love my husband, but it's hard to talk to him about him. my friend chris was fun to talk to, but when he started on the whole "well amy, if you stay home, maybe you should do more things like keeping up with all the house work, and doing laundry". i totally dropped him after that. i mean really! he's supposed to be my friend. i'm just kidding chris! you are still my #1 back-up plan if jeff decides that he can't handle the dirty house and annoying kids. (you can still afford a maid right?)

i hope anyone reading this gets that i am just joking about that. (unless it's you reading it chris)

i guess i could go into a little more detail about alex, haley, and grace's report cards and my meetings with their teachers.
i'll start with alex. he made high honors. what that means is he had all a's and only 1 b. (basically a 3.9 gpa) now this is impressive even if you didn't know how much harder the grading scale is in a catholic school. 90% to 92% is a b+. lower than 70% is failing. i was very very happy with his grades, and his test scores on his iowa basics test. that is the standardized test all catholic schools in the arch diocese take. he scored better than 98% of all the 5th graders nationally. congrats alex!
haley didn't make honor roll only because they don't start honor roll until 5th grade. she had all a's. her teacher said she is a great student and always very dedicated to getting her work completed and very neat. the teacher is also going to start her and some other students with some harder math. she said that haley is doing so well, that she is afraid this math that she is teaching is way below their level, and they need to move up to multiplications now, before they get bored. and she was the kid i was worried about. she is my child that has a hard time sitting still. always fidgeting. not in school apparently. she also took the iowa basics test and scored better than 98% of the 3rd graders nationally. who would have thought i would have such intelligent kids?
now we come to grace. kindergarten doesn't have letter grades, but the teacher was very happy with her progress. she is now bringing home books to read, by herself, every night. how awesome is that! she is a reading fiend now! all the time, this book, that book. it is awesome!

i am sooo proud of those kids. not just because they get good grades, but because they try hard and are just good kids. i was so happy yesterday when one of the moms from the field trip told me how good alex was. not that i was surprised he was good, but apparently he was great. he helped her out with directions (he's been there enough, he should know his way around), watched out for his 1st grade buddy, and just a huge help to her. i am so happy with that. it's nice he's that good for strangers. now if only he could do that for ME once in a while!

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.

mixin' it up

haley and i will be leaving for columbia on friday morning. she's playing soccer in the show me games. she is sooo excited about it too. she's playing up with an older team that has been undefeated since kindergarten. so there is a little pressure to play her best too. she plays 2 games on friday and then 1 for sure on saturday. i guess, depending on how they do with the first 3 games, they may play on sunday too. and this is just haley and i. no other kids. no jeff. just me and haley. i am a little nervous about this too. i know i am going to sound like a dork, but i have not done anything like this before. i mean, i have never been the "adult in charge". jeff is usually with me. i have never been the one checking into the hotel, driving long distances, basically i haven't been a "real" grown up yet. i find it kind of funny, i am on the cusp of being 29 and i still don't feel like an adult. sad to say, but i still feel like i'm babysitting my own kids sometimes. weird, i know.

zack's birthday went well. we didn't do anything. jeff put up the swingset yesterday. well...most of the swingset. so far, it has been a 2 day job, with one more to go. he has done an awesome job though. i helped some, but i am not exactly handy. so basically my job was to hand him the screws, or the hammer, or hold something for him. oh and my personal favorite, the "get me a drink" girl. (he says please) anyway, zack loves it. he was on the slide like 50,000 times last night.
zack's party is next week. i guess we are having jeff's family over on sunday. we are going out with my family (adults only!!!!) on sat night for my birthday. i love this new tradition we started. on adults' birthdays, we have an adult only dinner. the kids hang out at my dad's with a sitter, and we hit the town. it may not sound like much to the average person, but the average person does not have 5 kids. so i get my little snippets of freedom when i can! after that, the following week, we head to tablerock. vacation with the family...mine and jeff's. should be fun, i hope!

VIP, yep that's me!

yesterday, we went to grant's farm...as vip's. this was the most awesome trip to grant's farm i have ever had. we were taken on a tour by safari van (basically it is a van with no roof or windows) all over. instead of staying on the road, like you have to do normally with the tram, we were off roading it, seeing all the animals up close and personal. you haven't lived until you've been licked by an elk! that's right, the animals actually walked up to us! we got to see baby clydesdales and had our pic taken with one of the stallions. i was really amazed at how gentle all the animals were. we fed the baby goats (i wouldn't recommend this for small children, the goats mob you and try to climb and head butt you to get to the bottle). the kids loved seeing the chickens they had, and fed the llamas too. i guess what i liked best, was how excited the kids were. and i think my step mom's parents and sister really liked and enjoyed it too. all in all, it was a truly awesome experience. thanks to "aunt" barb's friend who hooked us up!

by the way, grant's farm is free to the public. and supposedly they give free samples of beer. it is the busch family after all! also, i believe grant's house is open to the public also. it is across the street from the farm, and if you love history, they said that is the place to be!

josh and zack are at the zoo today with my niece and nephew. i hope they are having fun...zack was crying when they left and josh had to be talked into going. sometimes my kids blow my mind. when i was little, i would have gone to the zoo with anyone. seriously. i would have gone with an axe murderer had he said the magic "go to the zoo?" words. i was (and still am) a total animal lover. not as crazily as i was when i was younger, but still love them. in fact i am trying to set up a zoo trip for next week. it depends on the weather. jeff said it is supposed to rain on tuesday. heat we can deal with. the children's zoo has those cute little kid fountains for the kids to play in, and the penguin house is air conditioned. so is the living world. hopefully the boys will be ready to go again next week.

also my friend nike is in town. she got in thursday and she is leaving tomorrow. she brought her daughter this time. she is supposed to come over this evening. i hope she does, i really miss her!