"hee-sees! Mooooo!!!"

Spirit of Hope Youth Ranch is a rescue program for abused and neglected horses. They rent property from King's Home and 3 of the horses live in our neighbor's front yard. The other day I took the wee ones up to visit them. Noah kept saying "Hey! hey horsie, can I ride on you? I want to ride on you horsie." and then he climbed up the fence and I put him back on the ground and little sister tried to follow suit saying "hee-sees, see hee-sees, mommy?".

Shannon, who feeds them, happened to come by and offered Noah a ride on her personal horse. It was the talk of the week. On Thursday I taught Noah the song to Mr. Ed. Then I bought him a cowboy hat and miniature horse with a saddle and reigns at the $ store. At 3:30 we saddled up and he got to go for a ride. I was so proud of him, he looked like suuuuuch a big boy!!






One of many stickbugs


leaves + sticks=free toys!


The heart stealer (spoiled by everyone in the house but me)

Out w/ the old...

In with the new-er actually older, but MUCH better!

We got a new car...woo-hoo!!! I have abhored the 2008 Taurus since we bought it three years ago. Each month and payment have been the bane of my existence (I have no idea if I'm spelling these words right or not). The car is a total lemon but Ford is a scammer corporation and every time we take it in, they say they can't "re-create" the problems we are describing. I'm literally planning on dropping it off at WalMart and telling them to come get their pile of junky transmission that has been bad since about 5,000 miles old. So how will we get around???

Helloooooooo Suburban (think of how the Animaniacs say "helloooooo nurse!")

Bonus: The heated leather seats are AMAZING on my back-I have gotten pops and cracks that have needed to pop and crack for ages. I'm in loooooooove!!!

Further updates:
Three weeks left in the quarter for school. That means 8 more discussion posts and a 20 page paper. Starbucks, here I come!

up to five boys again in the home. They are all starting to blend in well with the fam. Now if we could get our hands on a reliable & consistant assistant, this place would be ULTIMATE!!

pregnant again with number three. This one is healthy and (drumroll please) another boy!! Due in a few more months and already gained about 20 pounds. Just bought a new pair of pj pants to live in for the next few weeks since my favorite jeans are getting snug around the tummy.

The kids are loving their mother's day out program, playing outside in our massive yard, seeing our neighbors the horses and swimming at the Y. Oh yeah, and they ADORE their "big brothers." Mommy is adoring the weather which is very slightly chilly, but much less gray than Mich.

What am I going to do with 8 boys and one Carlton in my life? Autumn and I have already started working on our girl time. I painted her nails the other day-they look really cute:)

little big kids

I don't want to go too long without posting pics. Plus, I have to show off the super cute top I bought for (score!!!) 3 bucks:



Country Bumpkin (free shiny purple adorable boots)


The natural light in our playroom is so awesome!


Wrestle Mania

FRENCH FRIED EYEBALLS

I am about to officially drop off the face of the earth. Our home had six boys, and now we are briefly down to five. School starts back up in 4 days and counting. Poor eyeballs, I wonder how many hours of daily computer use it takes to turn you into a macintosh? Online class, here I comeJ

The kids are exhaustingly awesome. We are trying to implement some expectations so that each of the “big” boys learns to work individually with N and A each day. Even if it ended up being 5-10 minutes per activity…puzzles, books, counting, singing, catch-hey! We’re a family, right, so everybody gets to play a part.

My two favorite activities thus far: One of the guys belting a loud and totally out of tune rendition of “Jesus Loves Me” to keep Autumn from crying on the way home last Friday night. Another one teaching Noah Spanish, including “tu es si bonita.” I always wanted a little bilingual pimpdaddy 3 year old!!

Greatgreengobsofgreasygrimygophergutsmutilatedmonkeymeatlittlebirdiesdirtyfeetfrenchfriedeyeballzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

bjork

has this song that's all frilly and cute and instrumental. The lyrics go a bit like this:

"annnnnd then...."
-cute twirly music-

"It's oh, so quiet"
-cute twirly music-

"and still again"
-lala land music again-

"starts another big riot"
(BANG BANG BANG BANG!!!)

and then she talks about falling in love and it is loud fifty's big band music and lots of her yelling and loudness.

Anyways, if uve never heard the song, you will not follow me, but this is my life right now. We were sitting at the table about ready to go to Bible study ON TIME for once and BANG BANG BANG BANG our faulty ADT fire alarm starts going off for no reason. Fast forward many phone calls, which made us VERY late for Bible Study and many hours, which makes it 11:38pm, and the alarm is still going off.

It's like BEEEEEP BEEEEEP BEEEEEP pause, repeat repeat repeat. I want to bang bang bang my head on the wall, but I will go bury it under my covers instead. At least we can barely hear it in our back room, but it is permantly etched and screeching in my ear drum's memory.

sweet dreams!!

sleeeeeeeeppppppy

so why am i even posting this? to show what desperate measures I took with my precious lineage today. note: I am anti video/tv as babysitter. like I said I was desperate!

"What works what doesn't?" (this one's for you, E)

My old friend (not old in age, but old in length of friendship) asked me this question about N and A. Hm. I wish I knew...



What works:
Shared Bathtime- They LOVE playing together, especially in the tub. I put them both in at the same time and monitor heavily(which usually includes folding laundry, calling my mom, or knocking out the dishes in the adjoining kitchen). Lots of reminders to "use gentle hands, Autumn doesn't want you to pour water in her face, sit down, it's not time to splash (and, of course) no, stop, don't..."




Then I wash them both, take Autumn out and N stays in for awhile longer by himself. This is when he gets to splash and go buckwild, and I focus on getting A ready for bed.

When they were younger I still put them in together, and carried A's infant seat in to bundle and strap her when she was done with the suds. That time was much more hectic bc I would be trying to change them both and get them both ready for bed at the same time-including a breathing treatment for Noah and feeding for A-it was a very tiresome and challenging routine.




I have since learned to just let it go. They will get to sleep when it happens. Especially in this new life, I can't stress out bc the bath, books, bed routine isn't finished by 9pm sharp. Oh yeah, and it helps SO MUCH to have Carlton around all the time:)



Playpen time- The playpen is the best invention ever. Some people think it cruel to "cage" their precious darlings. I think it's the best think since sliced bread. Autumn has learned that mommy is in charge and when she says "it's play time," or "it's time to rest," or "it's time to read," that's what I mean and she's not getting out till I say so. Sometimes I can send N in there to hang out with her (and-recently-teach her how to climb out), but usually it's her time to focus on the selection of toys, books, etc. that I've given her.

Added bonus: This is the same playpen that Donna donated to us 3 years ago--SCORE!!

What Doesn't:
Folded laundry, empty sink and 3 round meals a day.

My kids eat great-lots of fruits, avacados, yogurt, etc. But. I remember a day a few weeks ago when Autumn's dinner consisted of a cookie. I'm not kidding either. Rather than beat myself up, I recall that she was almost exclusively breastfed until 10 1/2 months so a junky dinner from time to time is child's play in the long run.




As for the laundry, keeping up with two kids is time consuming enough. Add the "big boys," the paperwork, time for Carlton and it's just not worth it. I still do fold their clothes and put them away, but no longer flip out when A busts in the drawers and throws them all over the room. Sometimes they even stay there for a few days (truthfully, more like hours bc I'm still neurotic). However, I almost always have at least three piles of clothes lying around in their room and that's just that.

Anything that involves more than minimal planning/expectations on my part. I have had to learn to JUST LET GO!!! This is still a struggle, but I tell people "I am hoping to walk out the door in five minutes, but the kids may have other plans..." They usually do!