It just occured to me....

...that I have A LOT of kids! I mean I have always known this, but recently have come to really KNOW this. My new mental acuity may in part be due to the fact that we are in a 1400 sqft, one story home. Gone is our 2400 sqft 2-story home that seemed to absorb a lot of the noise that 5 children playing (and fighting) can generate.

Needless to say, it can be LOUD here!

Every night as I am trying to go to sleep I do my daily inventory in my mind. And I always fall short in the expectations I have for myself as a mother and wife. This morning before the kids had to get up I was on the computer and came across an article that talked about how mom's are always trying to be perfect, but how children actually learn from our faults. Yikes!! Guess my kids will learn a lot. Phew!

Really though I hope that watching me struggle with my shortcomings is not the only thing my children will take away from their childhood experience.

All I know that is by teaching my children to be respectful, loving, kind and generous I am helping myself too. Not only will I feel good as a mother, but I will also be respectful, loving, kind and generous.

I am so grateful for my gazillion children and the lessons they teach ME about ME on a daily basis.

Sidenote: As I write this, the boys are wrestling and calling each other "booger brains." That, I can say with absolute certainty they did NOT learn from me!

Series of Unfortunate Events...Howard style.

I can't be the only one who has felt cursed with bad luck. I mean everyone runs into the unwanted beast every now and then. But we have been hit left and right the past month and I am about to lose my mind. It is at the point that we are just like "Bring it on!". Ok so here is my list. Some of these might sound stupid, but when you are a family of 7 on a single income (and a meager military income at that) these all are very HUGE!

1. We bought what we thought was a great little commuter car for Ron when we got here. A 1990 Honda Accord. It looked very nice and taken care of, the owner had a folder full of paperwork of all the things he had replaced, and it was CHEAP. Yeah, well...that was too good to be true! A week after we got it, it stopped starting. So it sat until we could get some money. Ron's brother is a mechanic and bless his heart, spent hours on the phone trying to diagnose the problem. Ron replaced something in the distributor and it seemed to work. So he took it into the shop to get some other work done on the wheels or something which was not cheap and guess what...it didn't start again. Turns out it is the fuel pump which is not cheap...see a pattern here?
So the moral of the story?? You get what you pay for!!! Ka-ching!

2. Our van. Our only means of transportation right now and the only means of transportation for our whole family. It's only a 2007 but man we have put some miles on her. All the trips to Idaho/Utah and to Van Horn, Texas add up. Well it has started making a nasty whining noise when it first starts up and then also it creaks when you turn left. Really? Not only do I have to drive a minivan, but a noisy minivan?? Give me a break! So before our only car breaks we have to get it into the shop. Oh and the best part...our heater isn't working in it. Yeah, it just stopped one day. Ka-ching!

3. With the sale of the house we had to settle with our bank for a big chunk of change. They had originally told us we would be able to make payments, but they have since told us that they need it all at once. Hahahaha! Yeah, if we had that kind of money people, we wouldn't have the problems we have! So it will be interesting to see where we pull that one out of. Ka-ching!

4. I had bought a cute little mouse for my laptop...it was pink:) I had thought I had some weird disease or was having a heart attack because my arm would go numb and I wouldn't be able to use my thumb...turns out it was carpal tunnel. So a mouse is a necessity. Those wireless cuties are $30 a pop. Did I mention mine was pink? Well, I am not sure what happened but I walked into the room to find my mom and Ron trying to fix the USB adapter. It fell or something and broke. So sad. But, I have to have one so I bought another one. THE NEXT DAY I open up the new mouse and not even a couple hours later Tyler steps on and breaks the new adapter. Really? Am I in the Twilight Zone? So I just can't bring myself to throw the cute little pink mouses (?) mice (?) away. Nor can I bring myself to spend another $30 on a new one. No problem, I can live with a numb thumb. Haha that was funny. Ka-ching!

5. Dylan's bike....the tube has a hole and the chain keeps falling off. Oh and we broke our tire pump. Lovely. Ka-ching!

6. My flat iron...my Chi!! It fizzled out last night. I was seriously distraught. It worked one minute and not the next. How can you buy a Target flat iron when you've been using a Chi? That's like buying the nasty cat food kind of tuna when you have been used to the lovely white albacore tuna. (Although it has been proven the cat food nasty one is better for you...side note)
And it was PINK!! Ka-ching!

Ok, that is enough. I may sound like I am whining, but really we are at the incredulous stage. We are kind of laughing now. I know that for every "bad luck" there are a million blessings that are received. It is just so crazy when you feel slammed with burden. And financial burden is the worst. Everyone is struggling right now. It is a scary time. And even though I don't know how we are going to fix all of these things, I know in my heart that we will get it done and that it will all be ok. I was having a mini panic attack about it all today and I said to Ron, "Is it going to be ok?" And he said, "Better than ok." And I believed him.

One degree of seperation to Kevin Bacon, Tom Hanks, Mel Gibson and many more!

Thursday night Ron and I were able to go to a concert at the Mirage. It was the Lt. Dan Band with Gary Sinise. He and his band tour and perform for military members. It was a good concert and they even bussed us downtown. All FREE which is my favorite word! I wish we would have taken the kids, but it was a school night. Cierra would have loved it because they called all the kids on stage to dance.

Things I learned at the concert:

Ron enjoys concerts WAAAAY more than I do. We have gone to John Mayer before and all I wanted to do was sit and enjoy the concert, but everyone was up and "dancing". You know...the tap your foot and snap your fingers kind of dance. I love to dance as much as the next girl but really...I just want to sit and enjoy it. Same thing at this concert. Come on people! Sit down every now and then! Geez! I had gone to the bathroom and when I came back, there was Ron dancing all by himself. Hahaha. So, yeah, I think he likes it a little more than me.

People LOOOOVE an open bar! Halfway through the concert they announced that it was open bar. You should have seen the stampede. I was happy too though because I didn't have to pay $5 for a Diet Coke.

Ladies can get craaaazy when there is an open bar! One girl jumped on stage to booty dance on Gary Sinise to "Sweet Home Alabama". A guard swiftly escorted her off stage. Gotta give the girl some credit though...it ain't easy booty dancing to that song.

And last but not least....I learned that I am getting old. The concert started at 8. At 9:30 I was ready to go. All I could think of was how early I had to get up the next morning...I was missing "King of Queens"....time was ticking away on the babysitter meter...

All in all...a good night. And Gary Sinise even walked around and was right in front of me. Does that make me famous???

Who's kid is that?

Tyler, Tyler, Tyler. What would I do without him. Certainly life would be a bit less entertaining. I often look at him and wonder - where did you come from??? His vocabulary has increased dramatically in recent weeks. However some of his new words leave this mother of his *blushing*.

His new phrases:

Kiss my butt

You hit my weina (weiner)

Ridiculous

Yes I can (imagine in a defiant voice)

Not quite sure where he got the first two. I am still doing some detective work on that one. So I act appalled and gasp when I hear him say it...then turn my face and chuckle to myself. What's a mom to do.

JML Detective Agency

Six years ago on the 12th of December, Jonah was born. He came into the world wailing and didn't stop for at least six months. He had the most hair of all my babies until then. It was a wheat color in the hospital but quickly turned red which matched his little personality. He was a colicky baby. He didn't sleep very well. I had a hard time adjusting from two to three children. I would often cry at the overwhelmed feeling I felt.

Well, that little baby grew. He grew and he grew and now he is going to be six years old!!!!

That little baby turned into the sweetest and most lovable little boy. He brings so much joy to my life. I can not imagine one day without him in it. I love all my children deeply and equally, but there is something about Jonah that is special. Maybe it's the fact that he has the cutest little face, maybe it's his red hair or the spray of freckles on his cheeks. Maybe it's the fact that most days he brings me a "treasure" home from school. It is usually a sparkly that fell off some little girls shirt, a ring missing the plastic rhinestone he found on the floor, a rock that looks "cool" he found at recess, or a bracelet he chose out of the treasure box for me. Maybe it's that he calls me "Mama" or still gets upset if he has to leave me. I look at him sometimes and cry at the overwhelmed feeling I feel....LOVE for this little man!

Happy Birthday Jonah boy!

For Jonah's birthday this year we had a detective themed party.

When the kids arrived they had to pass a physical training test to see if they would qualify to earn their "Secret Agent" badge. The test consisted of jumping jacks, sit-ups and push-ups. Good thing they all passed:)

After the test they are fingerprinted and given their official "Secret Agent" badge.

Some of our new "Secret Agents"

They are happy they passed:)

Now that they were official, they had a mission. There were black bombs (balloons) that they had to detonate before we were all blown away!

The cake and the crew.

Stinking blue frosting...going to be stained for days.

Wow. Yeah even Ron's mouth looked like that.

Our favorite baby Brylie. The goody bags had fake mustaches and of course we had to try one on her.

Who is that?

Off to solve a mystery. Maybe they can find the dang missing sippy cup.

Dream

Last night I had a dream. In this dream was a beautiful baby girl. I didn't know who she belonged to. All I know is that I wanted to take care of her. I can still see her face now, she was so precious. She had dark hair. I woke up with a painful longing for her. This has not left my mind all day. I keep seeing her face.

So, what does this mean? Is she my daughter? Is she reminding me that I promised to bring her to this earth? Because, well, as we all know I have plenty of kids as it is and we really aren't planning on having anymore. The question of whether or not we are planning on having more kids is usually met with a "Heck to the NO!!!". Sometimes a less convincing "no". I have felt before that there is someone missing, but shrug that aside remembering how many mouths we have to feed and telling myself that I have more than done my share of "multiplying and replenishing the earth."

Even entertaining the thought of having another child makes me nervous and makes my heart race. It is a lot of work having a baby..do I really want to do it again? The sleepless nights, the sore EVERYTHING from pregnancy and childbirth. Plus I am over 30 now...would that affect my pregnancy? I have five beautiful and healthy children...would I be tempting fate?

All of these thoughts are running through my mind, but are being pushed out by the face of a baby girl with brown hair. I told Ron about my dream and the longing it has left in my heart. He said, "Yeah some dreams can do that." Ha. He tried to change the subject real quick. I told him we need to pray about it. He reminded me our car will not fit another person and how we won't be getting a new car anytime soon. This is true....

So, where does this leave us? I am not entirely sure. I have faith that if I am supposed to have another child that we will be able to make it work car-wise, financially, and sanity-wise. So all I can say is "We'll see".

Stay tuned...

All year long

Halloween costumes are a good investment for this family. We wear them all year long. The boys love dressing up and of course Cierra does also.

Here are just a few pictures.

Landon, Jonah and Tyler

Tyler

Tyler again getting creative with the cowboy boots and mixing up Star Wars and Transformers.

I love that they love to dress up and use their imaginations. Cierra is always the damsel in distress. So perfect:)