Boo-tiful

The other night Elle broke out her dress up clothes and dolled Bea up. Right down to the shimmer powder and lipstick. She walked around in the "cloppy" shoes saying: "I bootiful", "I bootiful". (I thought was funny because we purchased the dress as a Halloween costume for Elle.)

She still insist on turning her head funny and saying "cheese"

In between these photos she had to sneeze. She told me: "dus a secon, I have to bless you".

Slow but Steady...

Yesterday, I (we) did very well on my "Master List".

Today, Ryan took all 3 of my workers to the beloved John Deere Store so that "You can be productive". HA. I ate breakfast in peace, have caught up on my "blog work", I think I am going to have a cup of tea while I plan my day.....

"The List"

Today is "Fall Break".

It is raining and cold. And I am happy about it.

I am throwing all child labor laws out the door and putting these kids to work on "The List".

I'll keep you posted on our progress.

Parent Teacher Conferences

Yesterday after a half day of school, I met with the "big kids" teachers. It is a wee bit intimidating, having someone tell you things that you've shoved to the back of your mind so that you can focus on the positive things.

The kids are doing great. ~phew~

I learned that Elle "cantored" at mass. ( I have no real idea what that is, or how to spell it. Sounds like something you do on a horse...) Several of the teachers and the principal made comments on what a wonderful singer she was... THAT talent did NOT come from either of these two parents.

As for Will, well. It may shock some of you, but the only reason he gets in trouble is for talking. And that I am sure he gets from his Father.

I'm a Slacker

And just because I am, does not mean that my children should be. Thank You to Teresa for that enlightening advice.

The fact is, I like to sleep in. I am way more productive after 9pm than before oh, say 10am.

As for punctuality... well. I'm one of those people who thinks that stuff is all negotiable.

ANYWAY. The point of this post:

We belong to a school carpool. My carpool buddy, Maryhelen up and moved. Not just to a different neighborhood, or town, or county, no. She moved to Oklahoma. I'm not upset about it at all. sad. yes. lonely. yes. We miss them kids.

So, this year I had to find a new carpool. I'll fill you in on the great things about the carpool later, but I just wanted to show you this:

The kids got their first report cards today. William was sick one day, and went in late the next. So his absent and tardy are valid.

Maryhelen understood my slacker status. Our poor kids were never to school on time.

This new carpool is well, making me into a better Mother. Ok, well, a more punctual one.

List.

Following up on yesterdays post, I have no fewer than 7 list that I am working off of...

A Nice, Relaxing Weekend....

The summers around here are just crazy busy. This weekend was no exception. I usually thrive on general chaos and busy madness...but hey. I'm getting tired!

Friday

I try not to work on Fridays so that I can do my house work while the big kids are at school.... my back hurts, my feet ache... but the toilets are CLEAN.

A great couple in our church had their first little baby. She is just the sweetest thing. And they love her dearly! It was my turn to take them dinner... baked steak, gourmet mashed potatoes, salad, and brownies. And I got to hold the little bundle. ahh.

Elle had a birthday party for one of her former classmates. She had a really great time playing with her again... and I got caught up on some phone calls with my 40 minutes in the car.

The rest of the us had pasta and pizza with our surrogate family. It's nice to just "chill" with friends that you love.

Saturday

I got up early, so that I would be dressed when our new t.v. was delivered. Christmas in October! I am not sure who loves it more, Ryan or the kids. As for me, I am sooo happy that the old t.v. is now in the bedroom... thanks Stacy & Teresa!

Elle and Will had their LAST soccer game for the fall, Hip, Hip, HOORAY!

I stopped at the local farmers market and purchased (no, not local grown organic vegetables...) frosted pumpkin squares and zucchini bread. mmmhh.

Elle had another birthday party for a classmate...the social life of a 9 year old. It'll keep you hopping.

While Elle was partying, I ran into (ok, I waddled. carrying a sleeping toddler. wearing big girl panties. hoping she wouldn't pee.) a craft show where a friends mother was displaying her pieces of art, visit her at: Creative Cuttings Found several I would like... I stopped to say "hello" to Kimberly who was busy photographing her fall family special.

A quick trip back home to shower and dress for Miss Ashley's wedding. The Bride was Stunning, the groom was Glowing, the wedding was Beautiful, the food was Delicious, and the atmosphere was nothing but Happiness... and we realized that we have a real Dancing Queen on our hands.

Miss Bea danced with everyone on the floor. Including her Daddy.

This girl can really shake it!

Monday we drove by the church, and Bea says: "I wanna see da pitty guls". "I wanna see da pitty guls". I cannot believe she recognized the church...

Sunday

We were up and at church by 8 to get the coffee and donuts ready.

We had 3 couples over for Sunday dinner, not something I do often. I cannot decide if I would rather go out with all 10 kids, and not have to cook, or cook and let the kids run in the yard...

And then a nice nap in the chair before getting ready for Monday morning...

Soon. Very Soon, I'll have nothing to report on our weekends except what movies we watched and how we flavored our popcorn.....

8 Weeks

Amidst our busy weekend, (that I'll tell you about tomorrow) I realized that our baby is due in 8 weeks.
Now you may think that is a long time...but I started to panic.
In that period of time:

I have to be COMPLETELY ready for Christmas,

plan, 2 birthday dinners,

Ryan's eye surgery AND other surgery on his nether regions,

Thanksgiving,

Angle family day,

Angle family Christmas,

Plan the 1st grade Halloween party,

Pack a bag for the kids,

Pack a bag for me,

Find a changing table,

Wash up all the baby things and purchase what I need.

Meanwhile maintain my loose interpretation of "Clean house", keep these people in clean clothes, and fed. oh. and work. yeah. that too.

To maintain my sanity I'm starting my master list of list. I'll need several "sub-list" to keep me on track.

Six Feet Under?

I always thought that I wanted to be buried in a nice little cemetery close to the place that I spent the majority of my life, or someplace that was really special to me.

Cremation kind of freaked me out.

Until now.

My friend Tracy is going on a cruise this week, and when I called to tell her "Have a FABULOUS" time, she was packing up some of her mother's ashes to take with her.

WHAT???

Well, she responded, my mother loved to travel, and now, every time one of my siblings or I take a trip, we take some of her with us, and scatter her over the place.

How great is that?

She's been to India, Australia, Vietnam... just to name a few.

What a loving thing to do.

I want that to happen to me.


Oh. Don't bother to send flowers to the memorial. I want them now, when I can enjoy them.

Retail Therapy

Last Friday my friend Nili and I went for a little retail therapy.

And girlfriend bonding.

And Christmas-birthday shopping.

And we REALLY need some stuff shopping.

Many of you know that shoes are one of my favorite things.

I love heels.

I love pointy toes.

I wear them even now.

While I look like a cantaloupe on toothpicks, I still love them.

I bought these because they remind me of my Great Grandmother, Stella. She wore them. In the 1800's. Ok, maybe the early 1900's. Not quite so high, and without the FABULOUS patent leather toe.

I also bought these. No heel. No pointy toe. WHY??

1. they are really comfortable.

2. I'm tired of everyone telling me to get some sensible shoes.

3. My friend C. has them, and they are REALLY cute.

I also saw some things that I would L-O-V-E to have.

These.

With a farmer for a husband, don't you think I need these?

And these.

I think my heart skips a beat every time I see them.....

OFF.

You know those people that are either "On" or "Off"? I'm not one of them. I'm always "On".

But, man. Am I having an "off" day. I'm going to put the kids to bed early, take a bubble bath and go to bed myself.

I'm blaming it on the baby....

Spoiled Rotten

Ryan snuggled Bea up on the couch before he went to work...paci in one hand, biscuit in the other, sponge bob on the t.v.. "Are you spoiled rotten"? "yeeesss"!

"Take a pictur of my bed"

A "Crisp"? Fall Morning

After harvesting the corn off of the field behind our house in September, Ryan planted rye. It seems a bit odd to have a nice, lush, green field when everything else is turning into it's fall glory.

After the rye grew a bit, we decided to pasture some cattle out on it. Ryan and I both love to see cattle out on the open range, and this is as open as it gets here in corn country.

The rye has dew on it. and you can see where the cattle have roamed....

With 40 degree mornings, and 80 degree days, the "crispness" of the fall morning in these photos wears off quickly.

side note: the first day we put out some beef cattle, Holstein heifers and the goats. each from a different area on the farm. they stayed completely separate for a couple of days. the beefers in one corner, the Holstein's in another, and the goats stayed away from both! Now over a week later, they've had some type of cocktail party, and everyone is friends....totally mixing up the sleeping arrangements.

"Equipment"

Well, here it is.

The long awaited "equipment".

Is a big green combine.

Pretty huh.

What should we name her?

And this is John. From the John Deere store.

He couldn't get the software program to work either.

But be not dismayed. The boy has talents. He seems to be able to talk my husband out of large sums of money.

I'm gonna have to take lessons.

Another day.

All of my retail therapy has made my feet puffy. I'm going to lay down.

Didn't T. do a FABULOUS job on my polish?

FRUSTRATION

Ryan purchased a piece of equipment.

That is not the frustrating part!

He also purchased a computer program to help him use this equipment to it's fullest capacity.

He nicely asked that I install it for him. NO BIG DEAL. Right? WRONG. Usually you just follow the prompts, hit the highlighted buttons, and presto, the program is up, running, and it tells you how to use it. Not so much with this program.

I have installed it twice, spent over an hour on the phone with support, called the dealer, of course, all of this is in the middle of the night...Ryan has un-installed, and spent time on the phone with support. And the equipment is coming TODAY.

My wonderful friend M. came over, tried his best, and still no program this morning.

I need therapy. Retail Therapy.....

Tribute to T.

For four Wednesday nights in October and March, and for 5 consecutive nights in June, my friend T. is my hero.

She is the Children's Ministry Director at our church, and is in charge of all the kids activities. She plans great games, fun crafts, yummy snacks, and then ties them all in to a Bible story. The kids LOVE it. I do not.

I do volunteer to help, every time. I am flexible, and tell her to put me where ever she needs me. After several years of this arrangement, T. has decided that I work best at registration. I LOVE it. I do not have to be responsible for any child at any given time. And for the the 30 seconds that I do come in contact with any child, I can be nice! Not to give you the wrong idea, kids are great. I love mine. But, have you ever tried to get 16 1st graders to sit still and listen to the story?? Have you every heard the blood - curdling screams of delight? times 16+? Oh my. One hundred of them screaming in the sanctuary? Singing their little hearts out? I prefer to watch. From a DISTANCE. (oh, and the parents were not to happy when I let the girls put glitter in their hair....)

I love registration. And the best part? Since I am a FABULOUS volunteer, I show up an hour early and they feed my entire family! Last week was soup and salad night...with pb&j sandwiches, grilled cheese and fruit cobbler. Tonight? Pork tenderloin, green beans, applesauce and brownies....who doesn't love that? I wonder what next week will be...

As for T., she loves it. And does a wonderful job. And without her, my kids would never know what a great mom looks like... Thank You, T. for picking up my slack!

Human Milk

This week at work I was sorting thru a lesson I was giving to an expectant mother. And I came across some information for a "Human Milk Bank". I wanted to make sure that the information was correct and up to date, so I visited the site. Indiana Mother's Milk Bank

Getting ready to lactate myself, I was curious. How does this work? Can anyone donate? What if you need it? Do you have to buy it? Upon delving further into this site, I found the very extensive "Donor Selection Criteria" Most of the things on this list I thought were all very good ideas. Must not use nicotine. Have a negative HIV test. No illegal drugs. Good things.

Some I thought were funny, like, no sexual contact with anyone who had gotten a tattoo in the last 12 months, Incarceration or incarceration of sexual partner for more than 72 consecutive hours in the last 12 months. Am I way off base, or is that funny?

Now, one that I still find strange:
Since 1980 spent time that adds up a total of 5 years in Europe (includes Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, and Federal Republic of Yugoslavia)

And stranger still:
Born, lived in, traveled to, or sexual contact with someone in any African country since 1977

If I would have known that trip to Kenya would have thrown me out of a breast milk donating pool, I may have re-thought the whole thing.


On a side note, how do you guys feel about "Human Milk"? Would you purchase it through a bank? Would you accept it from one of your friends? Would you donate to a bank? Would you donate to one of your friends? And the biggest question of all: would you breast feed someone else's child?

Are YOU Fireproof??

Saturday night Ryan and I attended the "Fireproof" movie with other members of our church. If you have not heard anything about it, I encourage you to go to the website: Fireproof the movie or just get a ticket and go! Mike Seaver (Kirk Cameron) is the lead character, with some great supporting actors. It was a great reminder of how important it is to really stay focused in your marriage, and to keep Christ in the center. Our Pastor is now doing a 4 part series on how to "Fireproof" marriages. I am looking forward to the next three.

Three things I really am thinking about since watching are:

"Fireproof" doesn't mean there will not be any fires, but that we are committed to fighting them together.

I need to lead my heart.

So many times we hear, "follow your heart". So I ask, if I am following my heart, who or what is leading it?

Are we "Fireproof"?

Even after 14 years, I am still learning things about my husband. I think that it is all to easy to fall into the busyness of daily life, and forget about each other. As of today, I am resolving to be more aware of my spouse, his day-to-day needs, and more importantly, the needs of his heart.

"The Girls"

I've always thought it kind of funny when people refer to their single-sex children as "The Boys" or "The Girls". I have three brothers, growing up we were always "The Kids". Since we've had multiple, we've had both sexes, so they were always "The Kids".
Until recently.

Our girls love to go with their Dad. Will does too, but frequently he is busy in the sandbox, or his newly cleaned room, and is to busy chopping his corn, or planting his rye to go. So the girls go.

Bea wants to help Elle with her chores, Elle reads to Bea, and can really take care of her. And, due to the layout of this FABULOUS farm house (read all the sarcasm that you want into that...) and coming baby, Bea is moving out of the nursery and in with Elle. Elle opted to have Bea sleep with her and have more play space instead of sleeping alone and have two beds in the room.

Here they are. Big sister with all the covers...and laying on half-naked baby sisters head.

This is the other day when I sent Elle out to get her. Bea had climbed to the top of this pile of wood, chasing a kitty I'm sure. And they sat up there for awhile. Chatting. Even though they are 7 years apart, I hope that they are best friends when they get older.

I love my brothers, and am glad that I have them, but I think I will always wonder what it would be like to have a sister...

I'm getting a Bonus!

Do you remember those cute little cows that came from Virginia?

These ones? mmhh. So sad that they cried for days? Yeah. They settled in. Settled in so much, that this morning, they decided to check out the neighborhood. And I know this because they woke me up at 5 am with their exclamations of joy. (Yes, I should be getting up at 5 on a daily basis, but I stayed up last night to watch the Vice-Presidential Debate). I planned to sleep in.

Knowing as I am getting dressed to go out "feel out" the situation, it is two hours before Ryan is due home. I call. "Can you come home early?" (how do you type a whine?) Poor Fabian. He got the joy of helping this morning....

I did not realize what bliss I lived in before "These colored cattle" started showing up. When Holsteins get out, all they really want to do is get back in. And they walk. No running. Not so much with these beefers. They are OUT, and they want to RUN. And boy, do they.

In all truthfulness, I was back in the house today in 45 minutes, with very minimal running. But, someday, when I am ready to relive it, I'll tell you the story of when the "cows got out". It involved me getting dressed in winter clothing not one, not two, but three times, and running. Lots of running. In winter boots. With heels.

I think I'm getting a bonus this year...

I'm tired. Do you think I can call in "farm wife" today? I do work for an agricultural college, I think they'd understand....

Mail

I love getting the mail. Ryan is usually the one at home during the day, so I do not get the pleasure very often. In December he will refrain, and let me get it when I get home because he knows how I love to get Christmas cards. Today, I was home with the kids, and he was gone! I was so EXCITED when I opened the box!

The first thing I opened was these FABULOUS wraps I purchased on ebay.

I love these in the fall and the spring for those evenings that get cool. They are also great for breastfeeding coverage without those funky-looking baby cover-ups. I purchased black, deep red and camel. I thinking about the lavender and pink one that they offered as well....

The second package I opened was from "Lisa, the Mom" over at A Happy Little Family

She had a fall giveaway, and I WON!!!

Is it not the cutest bag you have seen?? And guess what? she MADE it.

I absolutely LOVE it. So much, that I immediately moved my stuff in!

Now, in the 3 minutes that it took me to make the short walk to the mailbox, this is what happened inside.

Black Mascara. Mary Kay. Long lasting. Water Proof.

And if you give a two year old mascara, she's gonna want her "pigs" painted.

And if you paint a two year old's pigs, she's gonna want her fingernails done too.

And if you paint her fingernails, she's gonna want to cheese for the camera.

How Do Dinosuars....

We have what I would consider a fairly extensive children's library. I have always loved reading, and can barely give up a book I've read. I have favorites from my childhood, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Beverly Cleary and Beatrix Potter. I like to purchase books for my children. They get them in every Easter basket and at every Christmas. But, as I've mentioned it before. I HATE listening to kids learning how to read. Elle reads to herself now, but Will, I still have to listen to him, help him sound out words. Usually, He reads, then I read to him. Over the years, we've collected lots of different authors, and when I find one I really like, I tend to purchase all of their works. This is what Will has been reading this week, they are truly engaging!

You can check out the authors web page at: Jane Yolen It is a fun site. She has oodles of other children's selections... Some titles I would like to see: "How Do Dinosaurs talk to their Parents?" and "How Do Dinosaurs Argue with their Siblings?" and "How Do Dinosaurs Do their Homework?"