Why was the lettuce embarassed?

Has anyone else discovered these? I know, they have been around for a while, but I bought a couple this week to try to save some calories. Unless you are one of those people that needs a crazy amount of salad dressing (yes, Becca, I am talking about you), this really works! And only 15 calories for 10 sprays!!! What will they think of next? :)

PS Did anyone get the joke? Because he saw the salad dressing! hee, hee

Food Storage Progress

My food storage is in the works! I have cleaned out my storage room, made a menu for my 3 month supply, taken inventory of what I have, and made a shopping list for what I need. Today, I went price shopping at Aldi's and will soon do Wal-Mart and compare it to the church prices. Yippee! This is a good thing. I will be so glad to have it done. Then on to the 72-hour kits and the long term storage. I wonder if something is going to happen soon because I (and it seems like many others) feel prompted to get this done. Or is this just happening because I am old and feel the need to provide for my family. :)

Keep Your Keys In Your Pocket

It was Monday afternoon. The kids were bored and Sam had just awakened from a nap that was too short. They all needed to be entertained and so what better way to entertain kids than to go the Zoo! So we decide to go.

Now, to go anywhere with 4 kids, it takes time and lots of trips to and from the car. First trip, Sam in his seat (if not, he will run outside and it's murder to get him back in). Second trip (made by the kids who had already gotten buckled in the car), potty stop. On her way back out to the car, Natalie pulls the door shut. I finish getting Sam in and head back inside to get the keys, diaper bag and Seth. I go to open the door and nothing. The door is locked. I have nothing. No keys, no phone, nothing. And then I realize, we don't even have keys to this door. George would have to come home and let us in the front door. And then I remember that the storm door was deadbolted from the inside (again, to keep Sam from running outside) and we don't have keys to that door. We have a very back door and guess what? We don't have keys to that door!

Luckily, Seth had just fallen asleep and was buckled in his carseat so he would be safe, but grumpy as soon as he woke up. So I head out the garage door to see if any of my neighbors are home. First 3 (the ones that I actually know), no luck. So I met a new neighbor, Bill, who came back to my house (with the guy working on his house) to see if we could break-in. Couldn't do it.

Long story short (too late, I know) an hour and $70 later, I am in my house scooping up my screaming baby and begging him to forgive me. What does he do? Calms down immediately and just starts smiling. I held him for the next hour.

I learned that when you have children, you should always carry your keys in your pocket. And you should have keys to all of your doors:) And if I ever find out which kid locked the door, that $70 is coming out of their college fund!

Random thoughts about important things

My food storage prep is well underway! I am excited to have my storage room cleaned out and lined with shelves ready to be filled with food! I am now in the process of making menu plans and then shopping lists. I am loving the Food Storage site that is in my List of Blogs on the sidebar. If you need to get started in emergency preparedness, this is the place to go!! These 2 ladies have made a plan to accumulate 72 hour kits, 3 month supply, long-term food storage and car emergency kits in 1 year. They suggest things to buy week by week. Also, they have entries about making jam, granola bars and every Friday they make a meal completely from food storage items. Impressive!

I also am beginning to think about Homeschooling. Does anyone have any opinions about this? Can a normal parent do this? School is a scary place these days and I have really enjoyed being with all of my children this summer. There are so many programs for Homeschoolers (ie: YMCA, library, Parks and Rec) that the whole "socialization" thing is not an issue. Plus, this quote I read about homeschooling said something like, "Since when did we think 13 year-olds being with and learning from 13 year-olds was a good idea?" :) This morning, I asked Levi what he thought about me teaching him school at home. He said, "That sounds good to me!" We'll see if I am ready for this...it's quite the commitment. But I do LOVE not having to run around to drop off and pick-up!

Last thing, guess who is rolling all over the room these days? My 3.5 month old, Seth! Isn't this kind of early? I have been so grateful that all of my kids have been late movers. It makes life easier:) He is such a cutie!

Food Storage

I have finally decided that the time is now to do my food storage. We had a talk in church recently and someone said, "Get rid of the excuses and just do it!" Or at least that's how it sounded to me.

I got on the church website and things are very different from when I got married and was calculating how much of what I needed. The church now says store a 3 month supply of what we use daily and then for a longer-term supply, store wheat (or rice or other grains) and beans. That's it! It did say on the Provident Living site that you could also supplement your storage with dried milk, baking powder, salt, oil and something else. This sure is different than the list that I have been looking at for years with tons of stuff on it that I don't use in my cooking.

Does anyone have any good suggestions of meals that can be stored easily? Or tips on how to keep your food in good order?

This is an exciting thing for me. I finally feel like I am doing something about food storage! And it seems do-able! Yipee! Now, who's gonna watch my 4 kids while I do some serious grocery shopping?

Patriotic Seth

Am I cool or what?

Daddy's tickling me!

Is that Levi's finger in my armpit?

Cheese!

Even Big Boys Need to Pretend to be Superman!

One evening, I sent George out to fold up the semi-dry tarp that had succeeded to kill a LOT of our grass the week before. We were trying to dry it out, but it just wasn't working. Too many surprise thunderstorms. Anyway, the kids and I are eating dinner, we look outside and George is streaking by the window in the backyard holding the humongous tarp like a cape! I couldn't stop laughing and wondered what the neighbors were thinking. :) One of the 7 million reasons that I love George! He can be unpredictable and it usually makes me laugh!

PS Sorry about the blurry pic...he was moving fast:)

New posts and pictures!

I FINALLY got all of the pictures off our camera so there are 7 (I think) new posts in a row! There is even a post on a second page. Enjoy!

Our new Wii :)

These are pictures of the kids boxing on the Wii. There is something hilarious about watching a 3 year old boxing. We sure have had a fun time with it...though there are sore muscles involved. I like bowling, George seems to be into golf, Levi likes tennis, and Natalie likes boxing and tennis. Maybe someday we'll be able to afford more games, but for now we play what came with it:) Fun times! Everybody is invited to come try out our Wii!

Levi's 5th Birthday

Poor Levi got a little shoved around for his birthday this year. Not that we missed it, but it was swallowed in surprise birthday planning for Harry. Luckily, my mom and dad were able to come up the day before the surprise party and we spent the day (mostly) celebrating Levi. We went to the Zoo and rode lots of rides, we had ice cream sundaes and homemade pizza, and we played in the sprinkler that Grandma got for him. It was lots of fun!! On his actual birthday, we went out to Bob Evans and came home and had cake and ice cream. I think he had a fun, though a very drawn out birthday! And he says "I sure did!"

Harry's Surprise Party

George's brother had this great idea of throwing Harry a surprise birthday party. It was so much fun. I loved the prep (my house was sooo clean!), I loved sending invitations, I loved decorating, I loved shopping for food, I just loved it all! So many people helped and contributed (thanks Mom and Dad) and some old friends even came up from Alabama! We were all surprised! Harry thought he was coming for a birthday party for Levi and had no idea that all of his kids and grandkids were there, old friends and new friends. It was truly a success. I believe he enjoyed it. Linda even made a DVD of pics of Harry from his childhood and up! Here are some pictures from the party.Cousins hanging out.

Harry's friends.

The cake Becca made...so tasty!

We asked everyone to write a memory or Harry story and that was his gift.

Two of Harry's kids, plus a couple of grandkids.

Why Everyone Needs Siblings

Summer Plans Ruined

So, it turns out that Sam hates the water. He hates the water at the zoo. He hates the water at the YMCA. He hates the sprinkler outside at our house. All my summer plans of reading and basking in the sun while the kids play in the water... ruined! :)

Bad Spiderman Cross-Dresser

Becca and Anna Celebrate!

Aren't we so cute?
Thanks for being my absolute bestest friend in the whole, wide world, Becca!

Who else would
1. Pack and move my whole entire house because I had morning sickness
2. Always listen to me even when I am crying so hard I can't even talk
3. Babysit for ALL of my kids for whatever reason I need
4. Come pick me up to go to activities because I don't like to go by myself
5. Make her apartment into the "Chateau de l'Fruth" so my hubby and I could have a romantic getaway before baby #4
6. Always share her peanut butter brownies
7. Eat cookie monsters with me
8. Tell me I am beautiful
9. Obsess about all the same romance books and movies
10. Organize my kitchen, storage room, garage, etc.
11. Drop everything because "Anna needs me"
12. Discipline my kids when they need it
13. Eat through all the summer festivals with me
14. Go grocery shopping with me late at night
15. Call me early in the morning because I SHOULD be out of bed
16. Put the top down in her convertible just to make me happy
17. Love my kids like family
18. Make a cake for Harry's party even though she was moving that week
19. Set a great example by serving in the church, whatever the calling may be
20. Be my sister from another mother:)

Thanks Becca! I couldn't ask for a better best friend!