Daybook - July 26, 2011

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FOR TODAY July 26, 2011

Outside my window...The sky is cloudy and looking like rain..the temp has dropped into the 90's..that's comfortable considering the last few weeks had temps over 100.

I am thinking...about meetings, deadlines, school, children..too much.

I am thankful...for my kids. For good health. For a roof over our heads and food in the fridge.

From the learning rooms...the boys are finishing Geometry and Spanish. We are almost ready to start the new year. I kinda like year round schooling.

In the kitchen...
homemade blueberry jam sits on the bar..preparing to make more, I have two ice cream buckets of blueberries. I need to get to wally world and purchase more jars.

I am wearing...Oh Thanks be to God! I am wearing pants I wore before I had El Bambino!!! Not the smallest ones, but dern near close :)

I am creating...I don't create much anymore.

I am going...To Post today. I have to have some purchase orders signed for our upcoming Church picnic.

I am wondering...If the gov't will screw with our paychecks next week. Summer in the south is not cheap.

I am reading...Motherless by Brian J. Gail, Heaven is Real by Todd Burpo and getting ready to start Of Thee I Zing by Laura Ingraham and Raymond Arroyo.

I am hoping...to hear from my sister, that she will be joining us on our visit up north!

I am looking forward to...seeing my family next month.

I am hearing...The movie Ice Age. The girls are introducing El Bambino to that crazy prehistoric squirrel.

Around the house...Well, what doesn't need to be done. I am in the process of laundry..started a list on the fridge of items we ran out of..the kids have been pretty bad about letting me know when things run out..so we started a list. They are learning a lesson..didn't tell me we had run out of dishwasher soap..so they have to wash by hand. ( I help dry and put away). It's a good lesson. Now I just can't forget the dern list when I go shopping :)

I am pondering...Just how I am going to pay for school. This summer has been hard on the finances..we still have lots to pay off and utilities are killing us. We cut T.V, so that's an extra 60 a month. The next to go is regular phone. I don't really need it, since we both have cells. However, it's bundled with internet. So I need to research and find the best deal for internet and cell. Get rid of landline.

One of my favorite things...Adoration

A few plans for the rest of the week:I need to make some more flyer's for the neighborhood meeting next week. Begin preparations for our trip north. Take the boys to our Diocesan vocations camp. Finish the laundry. :)

Here is picture for thought for the day..

"Hey baby.."

Vegetables and God

I love Veggie Tales. I love Larry the Cucumber. I love silly songs with Larry, like Dance of the Cucumber, Where is my Hairbrush..I love the episode about Shadrach, Meshack and Abednego (sp?) The bunny song is great.

I just discovered El Bambino likes Veggie Tales too! During a recent mini meltdown, big sister put on VT and, like magic, full scale meltdown avoided!

Thanks Larry and Bob! I love ya!

Fabulous Photography From a Friend

How's that for alliteration! I wanted to tell you about a good friend of mine from highschool. Back then he stuck out because of his skater haircut and grunge clothes. Today he stands out because of his ability to capture the beauty around him.

Glenn Brogan, Glenn Brogan Fine Art, offers a glimpse of the awe inspiring landscape of the Desert West.

I was the lucky winner of a recent raffle he held and won a 20x30 liited Edition print entitled "Light from Above"



Glenn also does family portraits, wedding photography and high school senior pictures. You can contact him at info@glennbrogan.com

Glen Brogan Photography

Disconserting

I am sitting down to nurse El Bambino, iPad on my lap to go over the daily news. I see an alert on the CBS news app and click it. It's just an update about Obama's Afghanistan speech...scrolling thru the other headlines, I notice 3 with a common theme: Mothers who kill their children. Of course I click and read and am horrified and saddened and just....well, Sad.

I do not understand the mental place one must be in to hurt their children, in one case MICROWAVE a newborn, so severely.
I've been stressed out with the kids and even with El Bambino and beating, shaking or otherwise has never entered my mind.

I am saddened for the pain of the little defenseless one, but also for the mother who went to such a place. For the family members who must deal with the excruciating pain of losing two loved ones.

Last night I heard A recording of Jonas Salk, he asked the question "How do we apologize to our children for our profligate and destructive ways?" It makes me wonder if someone is bargaining with God on our behalf, as Abraham did. How bad was Soddom and Gomorrah before He took action? Are we headed for the same?

I don't mean to sound like a fear monger, but goodness gracious! It certainly seems like things are off the deep end for sure.

Oh! The Drama!

I've neglected my blog lately, sorry. It's just that summer is here and our business factor has increased 5 fold.
Of course, I wouldn't have it any other way.:)

It seems as if we are overcome with drama. The two middles are involved in a production of Folk Tales For Fun, a collection of folk tales from around the world. The full four are also attending a drama boot camp that will begin production on Beauty and the Beast Jr., in the fall. El Bambino comes along for the ride and is getting used to the fast pace of life with active teens.

I started working out with Jillian Michaels 30 Day shred. That creates drama of another sort.

Well my few minutes of computer time is up. Time to feed El Bambino and get the other kiddos up for Church.
Blessings ya'll!

The Beat Goes On

Busy, busy, busy! That's what we've been lately. I know it's that time of the year, the end of another school year. This year we are busy preparing for SAT's and investigating college and careers.

The girls are on track to finish by June, but the boys are looking at July. I don't mind tha they work during the summer, it keeps them up to date and saves me money. I don't have to worry about how to entertain them and keep them off the t.v and video games. My oldest is heading into his senior year and will have a very heavy workload with school, work and extra curricula activities. He's got his eye on the police academy. He had thought about serving in the military but has opted for service closer to home. I am happy about that. So we have begun the discovery process. Good thing, he can get a scholarship to cover the cost of the Academy! He will also earn 45 credits toward and associates in Criminal Justice.

The others are working hard and looking forward to next year. My youngest, El Bambino, is growing fast and finally falling in to a schedule of some sort. He's still waking up at night, I will be happy when he sleeps through. He's started taking naps during the day which means I can get some things done around the house.

I took the girls to a homesteading class on how to make Jam and butter. We made jars of strawberry jam and yesterday I made my own peach jam. Its much cheaper and much much quicker to purchase butter in the store. I think I enjoyed the class far more than the girls did. Next month we will learn about canning vegetables. I've always wanted to know how to do this!

I've started a very serious workout regimen. I walk 1.5 hill filled miles every day, add an extra 1.75 miles on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. My neighbor and I do Power 90 DVD on Mon, Wed and Fri and I do Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred (holy cow that's a killer one!) on Tues, Thurs, Sat and Sun. I also joined Weight Watchers. I enjoy knowing that I can eat what I want. Just not always as much as I want. I'm learning, very quickly, how big portion sizes really are. No wonder I got so dern fat. That bucket of a bowl I had was definitely NOT a portion size on this planet :)

Since I had El Bambino I've lost 43 lbs. Granted, he was 10 of that. But my excuses were the other 33. I would like to lose 75 more. That would put me at 160 and quite content. I haven't weighed 160 lbs since High school. *sigh* I'm not a fan of mentioning my weight, but accountability helps. So...don't let me quit!!!

So no more nappy for El Bambino, he needs to be fed so I can hit the store before the day is done. I've got some pics to frame. I can't wait to share one in particular with you. Hopefully this week.

Have a blessed Memorial Day! Thank you to all who serve in our nations military. Thank you to those who support them.

The First Day of the Rest of My Life

This was March 18th, 2011.

Life, as I had been experiencing it, changed completely. Instead of being a mom to 4 older children, I am now mom to 4 older children and one newborn. This doesn't sound like much until you begin to add up all that it means.

Older children make breakfast for themselves, newborns wake mom up for breakfast. :)
Older children wash and fold their own laundry, newborns wear diapers that sometimes leak because a sleepy mom put it on all wonky at 2 am and need to have their onesie changed and washed by sleepy mom.
Older children clean up their own rooms, newborns make no messes, but sleepy mom just tosses those cleaned onesies on the chair instead of putting them in the drawer and has to clean up babies room now.
Older children can ride their bikes and walk next to mom, newborns are pushed in a stroller or carried by mom who now realizes how out of shape she really was!
Older children say "Let's go on a field trip" and we do. A newborn says "Let's go on a fieldtrip after you feed me, put on a clean diaper, get the baby bag together, put the stroller in the car, oh yeah and feed me again please..Now I need a new diaper..don't worry we'll get there..next week"

I am not complaining, I love my lil' bambino more than I can even express and my older children love him too.

I have been a mom to older children for a while and now must relearn how to be a mom to a lil' one. It's a much different world.

My 16 yo stares at me like I'm crazy when he catches me baby talking to El Bambino. They have each taken to him in their own ways. I can see in my girls the beauty of nurturing and in my boys,the fathers they may one day be.

El Bambino has brought much to our family. Because of the gift of his life, our lives have been renewed. Thanks be to God.