Desperate Mothering

The Guest Blogger: Jessi Topic: My Birthday

2009-12-05T13:03:00.014-06:00

Okay to all you people I am Jessi, Jessica, whatever but I am the guest blogger today. Unlike it being my mom it is going to be ME!!! My topic is my birthday which was Wednesday, December 2, 2009..... I am now thirteen an official teenager! So here are some pictures with some captions below them. (hint hint below the picture!)

Earrings from Schuck Grandparents

Watch from Schuck Grandparents

Watch attachment also from Schuck Grandparents

The amazing polka dotted quilt

BOOK!!!!!!!! PHOTOGRAPHY!!!

Awesome blowdryer with atatchments

this is from my friend Brooklyn

PURPLE POLKA DOTTED PAJAMA PANTS!!! (From Brooklyn)

MY Yummy Pavlova Cake thingy!

I have been known for my Big Mouth! lol!!
This was my birthday I didn't get a picture with my card from my McCrary Grandparents but I did like it!!!! Luv, Grandma Donna, and "Big Chief"........... it's a long story! Well, not really but anyway you get the point....... hopefully!
OH!!! And all my presents I loved I was just making funny faces..... I am known for that!

Pumpkins, Fairies and Skeletons - Oh My!

2009-11-06T19:27:00.007-06:00

Some of you may recall our pumpkin mischief and mayhem from last year. I am pleased to report that everyone participated this year in the carving, including Trent - I have photographic evidence.

Nathan actually put his hands inside a pumpkin this year and pulled out one handful of seeds and pulp, said "Yucky!" and was happy to let Jessi take care of the rest.

Adam preferred to just inspect again this year.

Sadie is my get-to-it girl - she just dives right in.

In the excitement of Halloween and Trick or Treating - I didn't get pictures taken of the kids. (I forgot!) The night of our church Trunk or Treat, Garrett got "lost" for almost an hour and so we were rushed trying to get out the door once he did show up after we scoured the neighborhood for him and I didn't have to call the police. Frayed nerves - not conducive to remembering to grab the camera. THEN, I forgot again the second night when they went door to door! Shame on me! Bad mama! So, when the kids asked what we were doing for FHE on Monday, I told them dressing up in our costumes again and taking pictures - YAY! They were slightly less enthused about this than I thought they would be. In fact, Trent was so excited to get dressed up in his Indiana Jones get up again, he decided to take a nap and slept through it all. His costume was awesomely cool too - I got all the stuff from Goodwill including the leather jacket! (great deal on leather at Goodwill I might add.) Took me a week to find "the hat" which would have been easy had I had enough time just to order one online. Ah well, c'est la vie I suppose. At least I know what he wants to be next year already (Charlie Chaplin) and so I have plenty of time to get the Bowler hat he wants for that. The bull whip was the best part though - Trent made it out of duct tape following this tutorial I found on line. Walmart had duct tape in every color of the rainbow, except the dark brown I wanted. We opted for black. Very cool! Eventually there may be a picture.

Adam aka Mr. Bones. Both Adam and Nathan were skeletons this year. They looked cute together. Unfortunately, Nathan fell asleep after being very crabby about being put into his skeleton costume again.

Sadie is a flower fairy. That bit of pink skirt is all that is left of my prom dress from junior year. It didn't fit anymore anyway and I haven't had need for a prom dress in quite some time now.

Jessica was a black and white ballerina and made her costume herself! That excited me to no end let me tell you - one less costume to make!

Close up of the mask she made. I think she did an awesome job!

Garrett was a wizard and was also seriously not enthused about getting dressed up until I gave him a pencil (he lost the wand I made him) and said cast a spell on your sisters. He is only wearing half of his costume and it was painful enough just to get him to put this half on.

One wee skeleton tucked in his bed - too tired from Trick or Treating.

We had a ton of candy. Now all that's left is the Whoppers and the Tootsie Rolls. I will gladly hand it out to any late "Trick or Treaters" who might happen by - costumes optional.

The Kitchen Faucet Leaks

2009-11-03T22:52:00.001-06:00

I suppose I can fit under the sink much easier than I did under the dashboard of my car.

**sigh**

We Have Air and it Blows!!!

2009-11-02T16:59:00.002-06:00

This is the blower motor I took out of my van. I had air/heat - it just didn't blow out into the vehicle and the windows being fogged up didn't help safe driving. Now it blows but good. For the record - changing a blower motor out is not really difficult, just a pain in the neck. (I would also add pain in the back, pain in the hip and I am pretty sure I threw my left shoulder out as well) Why you might ask? Because the blower motor is situated behind the glove box and underneath the dash. There is not a lot of room behind the glove box and underneath the dash. There is however, a lot of bolts you have to undo. Lots of bolts that require tools and tools that barely fit. The person operating the tools must also be able to fit up under the dash. That person must fight with the passenger seat, the dash and the passenger side door. This person is not a leprechaun. A leprechaun might fit, my two year old might have fit - me, not so much. I had to kneel on the ground beside the car and then twist/climb in backwards and headfirst. I'm sure the neighbors felt this a great treat to see me half hanging out of the car in our driveway. I'm sure they would have also enjoyed the few choice words I had to say about the accessibility (read: INaccessibility) of said blower motor. Once you have all the bolts out and the motor unplugged - the blower comes out quite easily, in fact, it falls out - which doesn't bode well if your face is directly underneath.

This is the mess that Nathan made while I was changing the blower motor. Jessi is relieved we are not having spaghetti for dinner tonight - she doesn't like spaghetti. Jessi likes Nathan. I like air that blows.

(And if I never, ever, ever have to do that job again - I will like it even better.)

Monday's To Do List Tuesday Recap

2009-10-20T15:11:00.003-05:00

Aside from the 176,892 loads of laundry and uploading the photos (okay, and the yelling - I have to admit to a wee bit of yelling) - I got through my to do list.

Washer working again.

After fussing and fretting a bit (since they put that darn resistor in a spot that is almost impossible to work in unless you have hands the size of a 2 year old and are double jointed), I got the new blower motor resistor installed in the van. Unfortunately, it is not the resistor that is the problem, but a $12 resistor vs an $80 motor seemed a better place to start. Especially since the motor is not a job I can do. (Dismantling my dashboard and then having to put it all back together again and have all those knobs, buttons and the radio work again afterward doesn't sound like something I want to dive into without my dad or an expert helping me.) Just my luck I lost that gamble. Though, I will say the old resistor didn't look so hot anyway, so we probably are better off.

We chased the dog who got loose around the neighborhood while I was covered in car grime and I proclaimed her the stupidest dog on the planet - which I assured her was not a good thing. At that point my 4 year old asked me if I was at crazy yet.

Oh honey, been and gone - been and gone . . . .

Off to do a lot of laundry now. If you don't hear from me in a while - send help. (and bleach)

Monday To Do List

2009-10-19T10:55:00.003-05:00

Take apart washing machine again - install new spring, check other springs since I think I popped another one

Do 176,892 loads of wash (it really isn't that much, but sure seems like it)

Put brake fluid in car

Schedule appt to get blower motor resistor (please be the resistor, please be the resistor - not be the motor) fixed on van so I can at least defog my windows so I can see to drive - heat would be nice too (and a/c next summer as well . . .) OR find online tutorial so can DIY, find source for resistor

Attend two parent teacher conferences

Find the key I had made to unlock my bedroom door which I had to lock to keep the kids out of the stuff I don't want them to get into, which now I cannot get to either

Upload pictures of the latest messes the kids made (two words: cake flour) and the potatoes we grew in our garden

Make dinner

Have fun FHE with kids

Survive putting kids to bed

Keep repeating mantra "I will not yell; I will not yell; I will not yell - I WILL NOT YELL DANG IT YOU GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW AND STOP BUGGING YOUR BROTHER BEFORE I LOSE MY MIND . . . . I will not yell; I will not yell"

October 15th - Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day

2009-10-15T15:22:00.004-05:00

Always Remembered
~i~ ~i~ ~i~ ~i~ ~i~ ~i~ ~i~

Why I am Exhausted and Why I Never Get Anything Done Around Here

2009-09-30T15:26:00.003-05:00

In less than 60 minutes:

Entire box of gallon sized freezer zip top bags - all down the stairs (Nathan's favorite pastime involves the stairs)

2 boxes of jello - one peach flavored and the other strawberry banana (we caught him in the middle of the second box) - the bottom 3 steps and the basement floor

5 slices of bread on the living room floor

Indeterminate number of American Cheese slices torn into tiny pieces and stamped into the carpet

All the couch cushions pulled off both couches

Drank part of and then knocked over daddy's bottle of root beer

Someone Loves Me!

2009-09-28T16:28:00.002-05:00

I promise to have lots and lots of bishis for her to help me wash.

Death By Toddler

2009-09-22T21:44:00.003-05:00

I suppose my real mistake was answering the phone. This lapse in judgment was further compounded by my sitting down to chat with my husband who called from work. I let myself be distracted - perhaps lulled into a false sense of security by the "fun" dvd I put on for the boys. I don't know how long we chatted - it didn't seem that long - but then I heard an odd sound which caught my interest. As I tried to discern what could make the sound I was hearing, my ears caught another sound - my 4 year old saying "whoa-wow!" and my 2 year old saying "uh oh!". I said it out loud, Matt heard me, "That can't be good . . ." This is what I found when I investigated:

I just bought those eggs. I was going to make cupcakes. OH - and that pink stuff on the floor too? That would be toothpaste. (Add that to the shopping list as well . . . )

Before dinner we accumulated some other messes as well, including emptying a bottle of lotion out on the carpet. And this:

And this:

Visitors to my house will perhaps be relieved to know that we save the toilet paper that is still on the rolls for guests. Nathan has discovered that unrolling the rolls of toilet paper or paper towels down the stairs is not only quiet, but also great fun!

And they are fast! Little opportunists - they always know just the right moment to pull out all the stops. I can't do anything - change a load over, put a letter in the mailbox, go to the bathroom or heaven forbid - answer the phone! I put it all up - higher and higher each day it seems. I feel as if we are in a state of lock down. I have to lock the pantry door or they will clean it out and strew it all over the house. I have to lock my bedroom door (where I have to keep the school lunch supplies or those get eaten - and not for lunch!) because the childproof knob I put on only slows me down, not them. We've gone through two appliance latches on the refrigerator in as many months. I am seriously contemplating a chain and padlock. I jingle like a warden with all the keys I have to carry around my neck on a lanyard so I can access the pantry, my bedroom and unlock the hard drive to the computer when I need to. Seriously - a little solitary confinement is sounding like a welcome break right about now, or at least a little bit more peaceful.

Today I was determined to stay ahead of them instead of two steps behind them. Of course, it helped that Adam had preschool this morning. I was doing pretty good and them perhaps got tripped up by a bit of smugness (or a need to visit the facilities) and Nathan found Jessi's chocolate bar. ***sigh***

After I picked up Adam from prek - I fed them and took them to the park and let them run and play. Then I drove around for 25 minutes on a rolling county road until they fell asleep.

Mom lives to see another day. One battle down, a whole war to go. On my death certificate I am sure the cause of death will be listed as "extreme overexposure to juvenile mischiefmayhemitis".

Sadie Loses her First Tooth

2009-09-14T17:00:00.004-05:00

In the middle of Sacrament meeting no less. Nothing like having a bleeding kid at church.

Just in time for Halloween so she can fit in with the Jack O'Lanterns.

In other news, Adam also has a loose tooth - but not because he's old enough to be losing them. **sigh** This is what one must expect with boys I suppose.

September 11th

2009-09-11T22:07:00.001-05:00

Adam's First Day PreK

2009-09-08T09:58:00.003-05:00

2009-09-06T17:31:00.003-05:00

Look at these two sweet faces. Do they look like boys who would cause mischief and mayhem? Do they look like the kind that disaster ensues where-ever they may be about? All the kleenex on the floor behind them - that came from somewhere else.

Look closer. Seriously - would you buy a used car from these two booger-y boys? Would you dare turn your back for a few minutes to start a load in the wash and sort out a few loads?

If you did divert your attention from them for that short space of time, would you expect to find this once you were done with your brief task?

Ten packets of instant oatmeal and chocolate breakfast drink mix. They had started throwing the shoes from the shoe closet down the stairs too when I caught them. While I sucked the mess up with the rather unwilling vacuum cleaner - they started knocking over the pictures in my livingroom and shaking things off the top of the bookshelf.

If I told you I have named them the Destructo Twins because they have more than earned that title just this week - would you believe it?

First Day of School - 8/13/09

2009-08-24T12:11:00.005-05:00

I seem to be perpetually running behind. Yes, school started back up over a week ago. While other mothers managed to get grinning photos of their progeny plastered all over their blogs within 24 hours, here I am just managing to get around to mine.

No photos of Trent - we got up really early to take him to marching band practice. Here is Jessi, Sadie and Garrett all ready for school on their first day. It took me a few tries to get at least most of them smiling.

Here we are walking to the bus stop

Here we are waiting at the bus stop (Jessi rides a different bus that stops at a different corner.)

Here we are still waiting for the bus

And here we are walking home when it became apparent we missed the bus

In the car, ready to go to school for our first day!

I am slowly reclaiming my house from the busy summer and waiting for Adam to start PreK!

Tales of Woe and Dessert

2009-07-27T17:09:00.003-05:00

The hard drive on my laptop bit the dust - again! Just a mere few months after it crashed and burned the last time. My back up file from our external hard drive has gone MIA and along with it and the now defunct drive - all my files (pictures, music - including the new stuff for the Youth Dances I spent hours to put together, and my document files - my stories I've been working on the last several years). My only hope is that my dad, computer guru of the universe who can fix anything, can spin write my old drive (since it tells me now it is inaccessible) and salvage something. There have been a great many tears of frustration and distress over this technological mishap. So, I did what I do best in times of stress and despair - I made dessert!

This little lovely is a recipe introduced to me by a very dear, very sweet friend from my newlywed college days. A wonderful lady from Down Under, and an equally fabulous dessert. I haven't made it in awhile, and for the life of me, can't think of a good reason why! It's called a Pavlova and there is some hot debate over who exactly is responsible for it - Australia or New Zealand, but what is not contested is that it is named after the Russian Ballerina Anna Pavlova who toured both in the mid 20's. Essentially this is a large meringue with a lot of whipped cream and fruit. I have made this at Christmas time also and substituted crushed peppermints for the fruit and sprinkled grated chocolate over that - very yum. We ate half of it last night and the rest was gone by lunchtime today! Enjoy the pictures - come visit me and I will make it for you to enjoy in person. (please excuse pictures though - I am still trying to figure out my camera settings - grrrrrrrr)

15 Candles

2009-07-10T19:21:00.004-05:00

When your oldest turns 15 and wants 15 candles on his cake - this is what you get:

Count 'em - 15! For those who are interested - the cake was Chocolate cherry. It kind of turned out a little strange - really really gooey, but tasted alright. Trent didn't seem to mind. He's trying to earn money for his band trip to Florida and DisneyWorld next year, so no presents to open. I did drop him and a friend off at the movie theatre to see the new Tran.sformers movie and he really enjoyed that. Already talking about driving and what kind of car he wants (Dodge Charger) Yeah - good luck with that!

For a blast from the past on this same topic (Trent) - click here.

(and yes, his birthday was last month, the 29th - but he was due in July, so no razzing!)

Cupcakes & Cousins

2009-07-09T12:38:00.004-05:00

Drama Queen

2009-07-08T13:45:00.004-05:00

For Summer School, Sadie chose to be in the "Princess and the Pea" class. This particular Summer School class covered all aspects of putting on a play - auditions, casting, rehearsals, sets, advertising, costumes, programs and of course, performance! She really had a good time and proudly brought me home a personal invitation that she made inviting me to see her perform. Sadie was cast as a flower girl and I brought my camera eagerly looking forward to taking pictures of her on stage. One of our small area newspapers also came and the play made the paper. Enjoy!

Summer Bounty

2009-07-07T11:49:00.005-05:00

I looked in my garden and what did I see?

A yellow squash, ready to eat!

I chopped it up and threw it in a pan with some Italian Sausage, zucchini, garlic, diced tomatoes and onions (which also came from our garden). I seasoned it with some French herbs - Chervil, Lavender, Tarragon and fresh parsley and served it over Quinoa. No picture of the Quinoa - it is pretty dull to look at. The broth was so good and the Quinoa soaked it up nicely. The kids were not as impressed as I was with this - but poked at it and nibbled a bit with very mild interest (mild bordering on dis-interest - sigh). Even when I told them that we grew some of the stuff in it - I got a few "that's neat" mumbles and that was it.

What the kids did find very interesting was the fresh pineapple and strawberries I cut up to go with dinner. Fruit Salad - yummy, yummy!

Soon to come: pictures of Sadie's Summer School play (which made one of the little regional papers!), Trent's birthday, a very belated Garrett's birthday and to illustrate even further how behind and what a slacker I am - Easter!

Happy Independence Day!

2009-07-04T22:34:00.006-05:00

What would the 4th be without Fireworks? This year we had two extra kidlets at our house - our cousins, Gwynn and Sylvia, to share in the fun and fireworks!

Nathan: Hey mom! I'm gonna get a sparkler!

Gwynn likes Sparklers

Garrett likes Sparklers

The camera likes sparklers

(I was trying to get a picture of Gwynn,Sadie and Nathan enjoying their sparklers. Adam ran up with his sparkler right in front of the camera just as I snapped the picture. OOPS!
Guess I better take off the portrait setting!)

Daddy lighting more Sparklers

Next we had fun with Poppers. The kids LOVED them! I loved trying to get pictures of the kids in focus as they ran around flinging Poppers on the ground like crazy people. Guess I better figure out that setting on the camera too . . .

The kids loved the fireworks. Nathan and Adam really liked the spinners. Adam kept saying "Wow-ow!" and Nathan just laughed and laughed. I could NOT get a picture of the spinners to save my life - miserable blurry and half the time they shot out of the frame just as I snapped the picture. I did a little better with the fountains. Even then, those sparks come flying out so fast! This first one shot up really high - it was so cool! I tried to get pictures of our other fountain - it shot out different blobs of color and was really neat, but all my shots were a blurry mess. These were the best ones.

Happy 4th of July!

Sinus Surgery Superhero Meets Bacterial Kryptonite

2009-06-10T23:16:00.002-05:00

Low grade fever, chills, all over body aches = 10 day course of antibiotics.

Nothing like a post-op infection to kick a superhero's hiney and hamper any serious recovering.

I just want to say I love my oldest daughter! (I love all my kids of course!) Jessi has been an amazing help and has taken over in the afternoons looking after the little ones so I can rest and recover quicker.

Matt and Trent are in Kentucky this week - they always miss out on all the fun.

Tonight it was Flash Flood and Tornado warnings. The kids and I hung out in the basement and watched a movie during all the "excitement". We watched "Men in Black" and Sadie commented that she was glad she has never seen a cockroach as big as the bug in the movie. I am very grateful for that also!

Sunday Special - June 7th

2009-06-07T12:03:00.004-05:00

Sinus Surgery Suggests Superhero Shenanigans

Batman only wishes he were as cool . . .

Today's Sunday Special brought to you by the letter "S" and by:

Saline Spray and Starlight mints.

Nathan's Adventures in Same Day Surgery

2009-05-27T21:59:00.007-05:00

I had to get up really early.

Got my binky

And my zebra buddy - they gave me new buddies too, a couple of frogs!

I helped take this picture - see my finger?

They also gave me this really nifty bracelet for my ankle - I kept trying to take it off. Sadie drew smiley faces on my legs so that I would remember to smile.

"Ready to go?" the nurse asks. My part was easy, I got to sleep!

Afterward, mommy held me until I was ready to go home. Here I am in the car - new tubes in my ears, I can hear! I'm all ready to go now - got my buddies, my blanky, my binky, and my cup of juice.

The end

Sadie Rose Turns 6! (Belated Birthday Post)

2009-05-11T11:49:00.006-05:00

Yes, I am a bum - a blogging bum. I plead camera woes. I plead scheduling woes. I plead my camera batteries died and I can't find the cord woes. I plead exhaustion. What??!! You say you don't care? You say you need your fix of cute little Schucklets - because what is witty prose in the face of such scrumptious chubby-cheeked cuteness? Okay . . . please accept my apologies for being a blogging bum and as a show of good will, I give you the following pictures to satiate your cravings for all things winsome. (And no, I did not save you a piece of cake - remember, I'm a bum!)

You may have noticed the wardrobe change. Poor Sadie, her birthday fell on Wednesday! Wednesday night is Cub Scouts, Young Woman and Older Scouts (and daddy gone to Scouts). We celebrated in shifts. I let her open one of her presents right after dinner before everyone left. Then I got them in pajamas (or not - since cake was involved!) and when everyone was home again, we finished our party.

As you can see, lots of pink, princesses and ladybugs! All things Sadie!

The Cake

Mama said use my spoon.

Now we are Six

Happy Birthday 6th SadieBug LadyBug
April 15th, 2009

(Now, that should hold you until I can get the Easter pictures up. No whining!)