Rewind: B's birthday

So, after our fun filled trip to Ohio, I thought maybe things would slow down a bit, but of course they don't.

The weekend of Brielle's birthday was a busy one! We had a wedding to attend on Saturday, and a birthday party on Sunday, so we decided to add one more thing to the weekend and do it all while camping!!

Steve and I actually didn't camp too much. Brielle was pretty sick on that Friday night, her actual birthday. :( So we decided to wait til Saturday to head up to Paulina, and by the time we got there, it was about time for us to be in OC to meet a couple who was considering the same program in Spain that I did. We basically just dropped the kids off, set up the tent SPEED style, and off we went.

Steve and I LOVED living in Spain, mostly. :) Of course while we were there I remember being ready to hop on the next plane home a few times, but now when we think back on it, we remember the very best of everything, with only a few funny "bad" stories. So anyway, it was SO fun to have an hour or so to just reminisce about when life was so easy and we had someone to do all our cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc. oh, and not to mention living in quite possibly the most beautiful city ever. Spending almost every waking minute of every day together, just us. Really really good memories....

After all that reminiscing and almost feeling like we were young again :) we got ready and went to Joel and Laura's wedding! I was always pretty close with Mr. Stauffer, my homeroom teacher for three years. So it was very fun to watch him marry his best friend, who also happens to be my future step-cousin. :) is that a real thing??? :) But since their day was busy and you never really get to talk to the bride and groom much at the wedding, we filled most of our time up by talking to other teachers we had in high school and getting sore cheeks from all the laughing! Mr. Herman and Mr. Bundt taught history and math, probably my two least favorite subjects EVER, but for some reason, I enjoyed those two teachers so much. And they also happened to coach track, which I also hated. In fact, I think I just threw up in my mouth a little bit thinking about getting last place in every 100 meter dash I ever ran. AP History, Calculus, and track were all electives, so I think it's safe to say that the only reason I was involved with any of them was because I really liked those two guys. So it was fun to sit and chat at the reception with them (and Maria, Tyler, and Mel). I left the reception wondering if my kids will ever have that type of thing with their teachers (and also why I didn't take my camera to get a picture of me and my hubs all dressed up...). GRRR...

Poor Brielle had been sick that whole day, with fevers up to like 105 if she didn't get her Tylenol soon enough. It was so sad, but she was such a trooper. Most of the time you could never even tell that she was sick! She slept in the tent that night with me and Steve, while the big kids slept in Beso and Grandma's "new" camper! You'd think that after all the hype about the new camper, they'd moan and groan about the thought of ever sleeping in our tent again, but we actually found ourselves promising that when we went camping the next time, they could sleep in our tent. weird....

In the morning, we spent some time on the beach and then had a little party, and celebrated the fact that my baby girl is now two. And once again I'm struck by the fact that the days drag on, but the years fly by.


It's a good thing we got a good shot of her adorable cake, because soon enough we had a hand slide right through the frosting!

But here's Miss B looking perfectly happy even with her crazy high fever...


And just like that the hustle and bustle was over. I'll admit that I was a bit tired and hot and mad that the battery for my "good camera" was dead, but Brielle got lots of fun stuff for her birthday, and really seemed like she was having fun. She definitely zonked out while we cleaned up, though. Poor thing spent the whole weekend burning up, inside and out. (This was one of the CRAZY hot weekends of the summer!)


see that paci? our plan was to take it away the weekend she turned two. well, then she got sick, so we just couldn't do that to her then.... and then.... and then... and then... and then... and after I finally didn't have any more excuses, I just clipped that nipple right off there, and her paci was "broken." but that's a story for another post. But to answer your question, NO! she does NOT still sleep with her paci! woo hoo!

We stopped at the urgent care clinic when we pulled into Omaha and found out that sure enough, she had an infection about everywhere you possibly can get one, and got her on some antibiotics right away. That helped our poor "baby" feel so much better, and left me kicking myself for not just doing it sooner. ah, well, live and learn I guess. and then blog about it so you don't forget. :)

Rewind: OHIO

This will be the first in a series of REWIND posts, to catch up on almost everything that has happened in our house since I started daycare. I feel like I don't have much time anymore to do anything, and the blog is always the first to go. BUT...now I feel like I'm forgetting stuff already! So i just want to have these things documented, even if it's not fresh in my memory.

so, without further ado...REWIND: OHIO

It's hard to live far away from family. I only SORT OF know that. I live 'close enough' to lots of family, but often still find myself wishing there was SOMEONE right here. Because as awesome as friends are, they just aren't family.

Well, Angela, my oldest sister, has lived the farthest away since college. She lived in Chicago for a while, but that was actually awesome. We could get 34 dollar one way tickets and take a weekend to be there, hanging out in Chicago, and it was just really fun. Well, nothing against the Buckeye state, but Ohio just isn't quite the same. Actually, there's still lots of fun stuff to do, but mostly it's just WAY TOO FREAKING FAR AWAY.

Unfortunately for them, they spend about a gazillion dollars a year traveling to visit our family in Iowa, and Insoo's family in Florida. They are always traveling to be with us, and rarely get to have family there with them. I got to go out there (with no kids!) while we waited for Isaiah to arrive (and missed it by one day, which also happened with Griffin, by the way...grrr...), but other than that, I hadn't been there at all. And my kids had never been to their cousins' house, which was a major deal to all four of them old enough to care.

So planning began for the great minivanapalooza of 2010. Basically, that just means that my two other sisters and I crammed my minivan FULL of luggage, kids, tires, toys, snacks, and PILLOWS to drive through the night to have a few days in Ohio. Every single seat was taken by a person, plus one in Maria's belly, and a whole lot of stuff. I mean a LOT. I wish I had taken a picture, but we had DRIVING on the brain.

We left in the evening so that the kids could maybe watch one movie before it got late and dark and then they could fall asleep and sleep blissfully through the night til we magically arrive at their cousins' house! Okay, we knew it PROBABLY wouldn't go that wonderfully, but how bad could it be? BAD. that's the answer.

Poor Hazel cried the entire way there, except for about two hours (maybe) between midnight and about 2:00. There was absolutely NOTHING we could do to calm her down, and oddly enough, instead of driving us totally crazy, we all just really wanted to cry with her we felt so bad. It was that thing, you know, where they're trying to sleep, but crying out in thier sleep, and something is so clearly bothering them, but they can't tell you, so they just cry and cry and cry and cry, and even mommy sitting there with her big belly in the way trying to calm her down, and even Auntie A blowing in her face and stroking her cheek and singing songs, and even Auntie Mel doing whatever she tried to do didn't work, so she just cried and cried and cried. It was awful. My kids were troopers and slept though most of it, or if they woke up, just kind of looked around and figured out that "oh, THAT'S the noise that I keep hearing in my dreams" and went back to sleep.

We finally made it to McDonalds, just an hour or so out of Columbus, and got some breakfast. I was able to sleep for an hour or so before that, but we were all pretty exhausted. We finally made it to 7727 and were ready for a whirlwind of a time together. :)

We spent our time doing a variety of things. I'll do my best to document some of it in pictures. I tried so hard to remember to take pictures, since so often we find ourselves so busy that the time goes by without a single photo to document it.

We had lots of fun eating together, in a variety of settings: outside on the lawn, inside on the carpet, wherever you could find a spot at the tables, at Chic-Fil-A, and even a couple picnics at the park! And mmm....looking at that awesome summer food makes me wish summer had lasted a little longer...





It was so fun to watch the kids play together. It's been a process, ya know? There always seems to be a "phase" that the kids are going through, whether it's hitting, biting, not sharing, screaming, you name it. But this time, I think it's safe to say that there wasn't a whole lot of fighting! Not that there wasn't a challenge sharing two boys' toys among six kids, but I don't really remember anything major! (but maybe that's just how brains work...we remember the good stuff) :)





We got to see lots of family while we were there too! Angela lives about two hours from my mom's two brothers, so we got to see each of them and their families! It was great! (oh rats, I don't have any pictures from when Verlyn, Barb, Ashley, Cassi, and Nate were there...ugh...)




We also got to celebrate two special days! Even though Elliot's bday wasn't til August, he had an awesome early bday party so we could be there to celebrate! It was a CARS theme at the bouncy house, and man did the kids (and grown ups) have fun! :)







We also got to celebrate the 4th of July. Nothin better than popsicles and sparklers! (We actually left on the 4th, so we did sparklers on the 3rd)







And, one of the very best moments of our whole time together was our sisters' night out. I don't actually have any pictures of that, but we just went to hang out and talk and eat avocado rolls and cheesecake and coffee/cocoa. We sat and talked and laughed and remembered and just enjoyed each other's company, without the interruptions of our wonderful children. It was truly a memorable night. In fact, when we got home, we went up to Ang's bed and continued the talking, laughing, and maybe even crying. These girls are my best friends. forever.


So the fact that we drove many hours with a crying baby (Hazel did better with the crying on the way home, but definitely traded it for puking- nothin a couple moms can't handle though-) and stayed in a hot little two bedroom townhouse and put four kids ages 5 and under to sleep in the same room and argued over who got to ride the trike, and what kind of pizza to order, and who got to kick the ball, it was all worth it. just like we knew it would be.

Sadly, the great minivanapalooza of 2010 cannot be an annual event, since we already don't all fit in my minivan! We knew it would be a one shot thing, so we did it, with no regrets....except maybe we'd stay just ONE day longer.... :)

exhausted...

I'm finding myself SO tired lately. And let me assure you, it's NOT for a lack of rest. Every night at about 7:30 or for SURE 8:30, I find myself resting on the couch, almost unable to move. And then at about 10:30 or 11, I find myself still there.

It's that terrible cycle where I know that if I'd just get my butt up and exercise, then I'd have way more energy every day. But it's that whole UP word that's throwing a kink in things. :)

But the other day I was reminded by this incredible article, why exactly it is that I'm exhausted. It's not necessarily even a physical exhaustion. It's just everything.

Have you read this? If you're a mom I'm sure you'll love it. If you're a dad, I'm sure you'll appreciate it. If you're a single parent I'm sure you're just plain awesome. I'm not sure I could do all this alone. And thankfully, I don't. But I DO do it all day, which is...well...exhausting. :)

So here's to all parents out there, and the 7 little ones in my care that I love so dearly, even when I'm exhausted.

(if you click on it, you can see it bigger)

bus party

You know that feeling when your heart breaks in a million little pieces?
That feeling has come over me about a million times this week.
And that's just too many millions.

We've come a long way this week. Lillian went from: being brought to and picked up from school, bawling and begging not to go, clinging and crying when I had to leave, begging to sleep in my room just for a little more time with me, and even hiding from me in the morning once, to: riding the bus home yesterday, crying just a little, a "good" day yesterday, riding the bus to AND from school today, and an "awesome!" day today to top it all off! Today still had its struggles for sure. She was scared to death to get on the bus, and cried a little bc she lost her kissing stone. But the girl who came off the bus this afternoon is the girl I knew would show up eventually.

It was so strange...watching this little person who you think you know as well as yourself act TOTALLY different than you ever expected in a situation. I'm so glad to see she's getting through it.

On Monday I thought we'd never get there. (I mean, I KNEW we would, but it just FELT like we wouldn't.) And today she doesn't even have time to talk or snuggle with me. She's too busy playing.

it's good.

To get Lillian excited about riding the bus to and from school today, I made a 'bus cake' to celebrate the day. My friend Jeannie made one for her kids for a back to school treat, and I thought it'd be perfect for a riding the bus treat too. :)

The kids think I'm the cake boss. :) but I think I'll leave the cake baking to Sara Crane. :)

here it is....the "masterpiece" ;)


so proud of herself for riding the bus (or maybe just excited to eat the cake)
(see how the wonderfully constructed school bus stayed in tact? never mind the fact that it went completely lopsided and now looks like a cartoon or something. the kids didn't care!)


and a (sort of) group shot.
happy happy day. :)

we survived...barely.

ohhhhhhhhh man....

who would have thought that today would be so emotional. remember how I JUST wrote that I was ready for this day? apparently my head was, but my heart was not. :(

I don't even know what to say about it.

I knew she was really nervous. She was telling me that she didn't want to leave this early and get home at four, that it was too long. And that she didn't want to ride the bus (she knew that was coming, even though she didn't ride it today), and that she didn't know if she was going to make friends, and that she wanted to eat lunch with me. And seriously, how am I supposed to be strong after that? It was all stuff we had talked about before, but my heart was slowly breaking, all the way to school.

When we finally got there, I climbed in the back seat of the van and prayed with her, only I LOST IT in the middle of the prayer. And when she realized I was just not saying "amen" she looked up at me with her big brown eyes and saw me bawling. And oddly enough, that seemed to make her stronger. So I got a grip, and we went into the school with tearstained cheeks and bloodshot eyes.

Long story short, the little girl I do daycare for who also goes to the school didn't have her transportation info lined up yet, so the school wouldn't put her on the bus with Lillian. So I ended up picking them up after school too. Lillian was so relieved that she didn't have to ride the bus alone, and to be honest, I was too. But anyway, it took a long time for us to get that all figured out, so I was waiting in the hall a while too, and just couldn't stop the tears.

Thank goodness that my sister and brother were visiting, so it gave me a chance to leave my kids and the daycare baby here while I took Lillian to her first day, and again while I picked her up. I don't know why I'm always surprised when God works out really awesome situations like that.

This afternoon, I expected a smiling, excited, and bubbly 5 year old to come bounding out of the school, and I guess she was like that. But it wasn't because she loved school, it was because she finally got to be back with me. She barely said anything except "bad day" and "the WHOLE second recess I just sat on the bench the WHOLE time because I was SO sad and I missed you so much, and when I thought about it, it almost made me cry." That's how she summed up the whole day. BREAK MY HEART.

So tonight she lays in her bed, scared to death to leave the in the morning and get on the bus. She asked to sleep on our bedroom floor so she could be close to me, and I almost want to let her. But of course I know that the longer it takes us to get into a rhythm of how life will really be, the worse it will all get. So we'll just have to get through it.

and hope that tomorrow I can keep my composure. But it's not looking likely since i can't even write this blog post without crying...

so, how 'bout some pictures of her first day. and then I'll head to bed, because we all know that 'sleepy makes weepy.'


*my big girl on her big day


*saying goodbye to their big sis (Brielle JUST got out of bed).

*a hug from the J-man

*a hug from Brielle

*a hug from a mama trying desperately to be strong
*trying to figure out how my little baby got so big!
*by her locker (can you tell she's getting nervous???)


*she found Kaylee, which helped the nerves a little


*right before mommy left and cried some more



okay, so at least I have cute pictures to remember the day by. Here's hoping that we survive tomorrow. (the whole bus thing might get the best of me...)

a list of thoughts

1. I have a major headache, and it's positively not from a lack of caffeine.

2. I'm hoping that the supper fairy shows up at my door tonight with meal in hand. If she doesn't, we just might be having Cap'n Crunch for supper.

3. I used to think it was really hard to have three kids. Then I started doing daycare for Nolan and realized four was hard, and three was easy. Then I lost Nolan :( but added three more, and then I thought that four was easy, and six was hard. And this week I added another baby. So now I think that six is easy. And when it's just my three??? piece of cake. (til after 8:00 when i turn into an ogre.)

4. Brielle smiles when I discipline her.

5. Steve got a fix it ticket for our tail light on the car. We thought we could fix it with a new lightbulb. It didn't work. We had to bring it in, and $655 later...

6. The only good thing about a six hundred fifty-five dollar bill is that I pay for everything with my GAP card, and then I get free dollars in the mail to spend at Gap or Old Navy. So at least I might a free shirt out of the deal.

7. I lost my license. I had to renew it, and then they give you a paper one good for 30 days, and mail you your real new one. And I got it in the mail. That's all I know. And it's a MAJOR inconvenience.

8. At the end of the day, the very last thing I feel like doing is making supper. It's something I've always hated. Some women think I'm lying when I say that I don't get ANY enjoyment out of making a meal for my family. But I'm not lying. I don't like any single part of it. And it's only gotten harder since I started doing daycare. (See #2)

9. The fact that Steve won't have a job in a couple weeks is a really strange feeling. It's almost like we can't even deal with it right now because he just has to wrap this thing up 'nicely'...the only problem is that all his employees are quitting, so he has to do their work at work, and his work at home. And there's no time to do anything except survive.

10. Lillian starts kindergarten on Monday.

11. I wish I was the mom you read about on facebook that begs for more summertime with their kids. But I'm not. I'm ready for school. I'm not gonna lie.

12. What is with this HEAT!!!!

13. I'm planning our ten year class reunion. My kids are NOT allowed to even THINK about being senior class president. I won't allow it.

14. Josiah's latest quirk: refusing to wear shorts that don't have a snap/button. Add that to refusing to wear anything but his "handsome flip flops" or his "handsome bike shoes," crying when he thinks he doesn't look good, and asking at random times if his hair looks good. I think he's got a future in fashion of some sort.

15. I'm about to go downstairs to tell the kids it's time to clean up. If you listen closely, you just might hear the whining and complaining and begging for help.

16. There are about 80 million things I should have done instead of write this post. But when your brain is so crowded, you do what you gotta do.

quick a minute

so, today I put Brielle's hair in a ponytail. Like, a real one. a ponytail. and it reminded me that the first time I did it (last week or so) I took some pictures. So while the daycare baby sleeps and before the big kids get here, I thought I'd post some pictures of my big girl.



and in this next one I love how you can tell she thinks she's pretty hot stuff with a ponytail...



she still needs a flower or something (which can be found in abundance here) :) to keep her hair off her face, but I just think it makes her look SO OLD!