Our Seven Qtpies

Christmas is coming!

2009-11-22T20:41:00.004-06:00

I tried to fight it, but Christmas is coming fast. My neighbor has at least 3 Christmas trees up in her house already, and everywhere I turn I see lights going up on houses. I don't like Christmas coming before Thanksgiving, but I can't fight it anymore.
The Christmas spirit is working its way into my heart, though. Samuel and I got an opportunity to preview a new Christmas movie Holly and Hal Moose: Our Uplifting Christmas Adventure. It is a one hour movie that will be on ABC Family on Tuesday, November 24 at 7PM ET/PT. It will also be on Saturday, November 28th at 10am.
Hal and Holly Moose are the very first characters to inspire a book from Build-A-Bear characters, and now they have their first movie.
First stop on our special day, Sam and I (along with our friends Jeannie and her grandson Christian, and Sarah and her daughter Maddie) went to the movie theater at the Mall of America to watch the new movie. We got to meet Hal and Holly Moose, brother and sister. Sam and Christian didn't feel comfortable around the giant animals, but Sam did consent to sit on the other side of me for a picture op. The little girl is a stray who got in the pic. We were all given a cute little bag/backpack from Build-A-Bear with coupons and yummy fruit snacks.
Then we went to see the movie. Hal and Holly Moose came in to start off the show and Sam just loved waving and saying "Hi, Hal!"

The movie was really cute. Hal and Holly are siblings and Holly has to stay home from a big party to babysit her brother. Hal dreams of flying with the reindeer on Santa's sleigh one day. The Aurora Borialis sets of dreams of finding the North Pole for Hal, who tricks himself out of his sister's care. They end up finding the North Pole only to find a big storm coming that will keep Santa from being able to deliver the toys for Christmas. Of course they find a way to save Christmas, and their dreams are also realized through the coarse of the movie. It is a great message of believing and never giving up your dreams.

After the movie we went to Build-A-Bear to make Hal and Holly Moose dolls. Sam was just amazed at being able to help fill his Moose with stuffing. He was happy with the flat animal, lol, he didn't know any different, but he sure does love his Hal. In this picture he is holding Hal while stepping on the peddle to fill my Holly for me.

After the animals were stuffed, their little hearts were kissed and put inside of them, and then they were stitched up, we went over to give them a "bath" with air and a brush to fluff them up. Sam was super cute brushing his Hal.

It was a great experience getting to make animals with the kids that will always remind them of the movie. Build-A-Bear is a great experience anyway, but to have an animal that you associate with a movie makes it special.

After we made our Moose we put the kids' Moose in their new backpacks to carry around with them. Here they are standing in front of the store with their moose.

It was a super special day for us! I loved watching Sam enjoy his day without his siblings. I so appreciate the experience that Build-A-Bear provided for us. The movie was just adorable and I can't wait to share it with the rest of the kids on TV. It is also going to be on DVD November 25th. You can check out Holly's Blog, too.

Aren't the kids cute staring up at the super tall (3 stories) Christmas tree?! They were just in awe!

Look for the new Christmas movie Hal and Holly Moose: Our Uplifting Christmas Adventure on ABC Family November 24th! You can also enhance your movie experience by making the characters at Build-A-Bear! Sam is totally in love with his Hal Moose, whose antlers have Christmas lights that really light up.

Thank you Build-A-Bear for the great day with my son and for the wonderful gifts!

Richard Scarry's Busytown Mysteries‏

2009-11-20T15:11:00.003-06:00

Do you remember Busytown books by Richard Scarry? I know I have read them to all of my kids for the last 20 years, they are classics! I don't know what is more memorable, the apple car or the worm wearing a shoe and walking, lol. I have fond memories of reading these books to my older children who are now grown.

Cookie Jar Entertainment launched Busytown Mysteries on CBS based on the beloved characters from the published works of Richard Scarry. You can check what time and channel they are available in your area at Cookie Jar TV.

Kids can play games as one of the characters, choosing a crazy car and driving around the cities finding items and going in buildings at the BusytownMysteries.com website. I found that the games were just too tough for the kids to play alone for the most part. Especially the sing-a-long area. Much of the games required reading of difficult words. But if you are playing with your child it is a great place to go and play together.

Trinity likes the shows, which are made up of The half-hour program is made up of two 11-minute stories per episode. Sam was not interested in the show, and would not even watch it. This seems to be more interesting to 5 year olds than the toddler crowd.

The Busytown Mysteries series follows the lives of the most beloved Scarry
characters, lead by Huckle Cat and Lowly Worm, as they solve the many every day
mysteries of Busytown. Where is Mr. Frumble’s pickle car? The
Busytown kids will find out! How can they help a lost parrot find its
owner? Leave it to Huckle and friends to solve the case! Busytown
Mysteries engages children with fun storylines and lovable characters, while
introducing them to deductive reasoning skills. Who? What? When? Where? Why?

We received a DVD of Busytown Mysteries to watch from One2One Network for review. I was not otherwise compensated for my time.

From weird to freaky!

2009-11-18T22:08:00.002-06:00

I am not the only person in the house having weird or bad dreams lately. Donnie can't even begin to try to interpret Kaytlin's dream from the other day. She said we gave her 3 eels in a tank in her room, but we didn't know there were frog eggs in there. The frog eggs hatched into hundreds of flies that looked like moths.
Weird.

Donnie and I had a freaky dream coincidence this morning, though. Very freaky.

I had this weird dream about trying to find underwear (don't ask) and I finally had one good pair and I went to the bathroom, but the toilet was in this bathroom with showers all over. Like a wall of showers in a locker room. When I sat down the showers all turned on and got my undies wet. Ticked me off.

Donnie had a dream that someone was asking for the bathroom and he brought them to the bathroom, which was really a shower room with a random toilet in it.

How on earth does that happen? We didn't watch a show with showers or toilets, or talk about bathrooms. Nothing to have brought it to both of our minds like that.

The only thing I can think of is that the bathroom door connects to our bedroom and Devon was up early and showered before school. He maybe used the downstairs bathroom before showering instead of the closer bathroom upstairs.

Still, someone showers every morning before we are up, whether it is Devon, Kaytlin or Cody, it happens every day. We've never had a dream about it before, much less on the SAME day.

Freaky.

Donnie plays Dream Interpreter

2009-11-17T10:04:00.002-06:00

I have been having bad dreams for about a week. It started with dreaming that someone took all my dishes off my decorated table for our Old Fashioned Christmas Banquet and I couldn't find the dishes anywhere. I woke up crying! lol
It has been a series of bizarre since that day.
This morning I was dreaming that for some reason Donnie and I had a female lion as a pet and she had a cub. We were out walking and a male lion was trying to eat the cub and all 3 ended up going down a river. The adult lions ended up going over a waterfall, but the cub didn't. Donnie and I saw the male lion waiting behind a rock for the cub to come down and the mama was waiting right at the falls for the cub.
I left Donnie there watching while I went and grabbed the cub and went to our apartment to get his gun. I searched and searched and I could not find his gun, even though I knew right where it was supposed to be. So I went for his bow and arrows. I found an arrow, but couldn't find the bow. I finally grabbed a hammer since I couldn't find anything else.
But then Donnie walked in and I ran to him with the hammer and saw he was all mauled up and mouthing "I'm sorry." I ran to call 911 and then
I woke up.

Weird, huh?

I told Donnie about my dream and he said "Maybe it is prophetic."
"Maybe you will be mauled by a lion?"
"No. The cub could be our boys and you are grabbing them and running to a different church to save them and leaving me behind to fight the lion."
"Um, what?"

I have been feeling strongly led to bring our kids, especially the boys, to a different church because there are no real friends or strong programs to challenge them. They don't have friends who sharpen them like iron sharpens iron. They have been really challenged and excited listening to sermons online from a different church. (the church for people who don't do church) Donnie has taken them a couple of times to the Saturday evening services. They are LOUD, LOUD rock music worship services, lol.
I'm not entirely sure about leaving our church altogether, but Donnie is so excited about where his men's ministry is heading right now that he won't even consider it. He does watch the sermons of the other church and takes the boys there, but he won't make the move permanent.

So, that is how he saw my dream. Not that the church is a lion, but that he feels Satan is attacking us because of the growth in him lately and the exciting growth coming to the men's ministry. He thinks I am running away instead of fighting and making a place for the boys that we feel they need.

I think it was just a dream.

The Potty Training Chronicles

2009-11-17T09:53:00.002-06:00

I really think that should be the name of my blog. Or The Poop Files. Because I have been neck deep in potty training disasters since the start of my blog. Trinity was a disaster to train, and Sam is not much better.

I am doing the serious training with Sam, too. He was trained and then stopped suddenly, so I have started spanking him when he poops his underwear. He knows he is going to get a spanking, so why doesn't he just use the toilet? At first he would cry not to be spanked. Then he started lying about pooping. Next he started hiding and even spraying himself with Febreeze to hide the smell. None of that worked, so he is on to his next scheme.

Last night Donnie smelled the evidence of poopy pants and asked Sam if he pooped his pants. "No!" And off he ran to the bathroom. Donnie and Cody could see him through the crack in the bathroom door. Sam took off his pull up and dumped the poop in the toilet and then wiped his bottom and flushed.

So, should we take that as a victory or spank him for it? LOL What do you do when you are dealing with an evil genius?

Annoying or funny?

2009-11-16T13:22:00.003-06:00

My mom asked me to find the origin of the phrase "So, sew a button on your underwear!" She wanted to ask my kids, but I was afraid the what the search engines would come up with searching for underwear and buttons............. lol.
I came across an old forum topic on annoying phrases and words. The topic started with "I just threw up in my mouth a little bit." I don't mind that one, as long as it isn't over used. Some of the other things were using weird spellings for things like "kewl" and "gurl." How about the oft used "Totally!"
Someone mentioned some locations drop the words "to be" in a sentence, such as: The car needs washed or The grass needs mowed. Those would be annoying.
That made me think of Donnie's family saying "I drove stuck." I do not get that. You can drive while stuck. Can't do it! You drove off the road and got stuck in the snow or mud? That makes sense. Drove stuck does not make sense. LOL

I know, right?

What bugs you?

My son, Sam

2009-11-13T15:57:00.002-06:00

That boy baffles me. Sometimes he is just a huge pain, sometimes he is just weird, and other times he is so smart I can't imagine how it happened!

Most of you are very familiar with what a pain he is with all the disasters the Tornado of Terror has made of our home. So I won't go into those days, but the weird and smart I will do.

Sam does not like heat of any sort, even for food. He prefers his food cold. In fact, the colder the better. Really. Not so abnormal for a toddler? Well, by cold, I mean frozen. He eats frozen corn dogs and Hot Pockets. He will FREAK OUT if you cook them. He will eat almost anything frozen. Getting him to eat supper with us is just about impossible, he won't touch it because it isn't cold, cooled off is not cold enough.

Today when Jody and I took 5 little kids to a toy store opening we kind of got lost getting out of the shopping area parking lot. It is a new area, and none of us had ever been there before. Not that we didn't know where we were, but we were heading the wrong way on the access road and planned to just circle around to get to our road. But Sam freaked out. We didn't discuss being lost, just which way we should go. Sam was almost in tears pointing behind his head and yelling "That way! Mommy, turn around! It's that way! Mommy, that way!" So finally we turned around so he would calm down and he said "Thank you, mommy." in a sweet whimper. Jody and I just cracked up at him! It was a mixture of amazing and cute.

How on earth did he know we were heading east when we should be going west? How could he know that?

Creative Kidstuff!

2009-11-13T14:41:00.004-06:00

Earlier this week I got an invitation to a sneak peak at the new Creative Kidstuff store in St. Louis Park. (which is really in Minneapolis??) I have never heard of Creative Kidstuff before and I had no idea what it was until this morning. It is a really neat toy store! The toys are creative, of course, and high quality. It is a great place to get wooden toys, musical instruments, science type stuff, games, and many types of building toys. (including Toobies, which we LOVE)

So, my blogging friend Jody and I made the hour drive with 5 of our kids starting before 8am. Promise of breakfast treats and a gift bag helped make the early rise a little easier.

I was really impressed with the layout of the store and all the items the kids can play with. Our kids played with the kitchen set and made us "ice cream cones" for quite a long time while we were checking the store out. I couldn't believe what I found there! A rolling pin for kids, but not just any plastic thing, it is weighted so it will actually work, and it has a non-stick coating to keep the kids from getting frustrated with sticking dough! We have been looking for a rolling pin the kids can use, and that one was great and a super price!

There is a great birthday party room where they spend an hour on activities for the kids, and then the parents supply the cake or food from there. Plus they host events for parents and kids, alike! There is an upcoming holiday shopping time for parents only called Early Bird OR Night Owl Shopping Event for Grownups Only Saturday November 21. They serve mimosas and breakfast treats in the morning or wine and desserts in the evening. FREE gift wrap on all purchases made during the event.

I am going to try to talk Donnie into going tomorrow night to a Kreetures event that is free, but requires registration.

Hamster on the loose!

2009-11-12T19:19:00.002-06:00

Actually we have several hamsters on the loose in our house. Thankfully, they don't leave droppings behind or chew up our furniture like real hamsters would. We have Zhu Zhu Pets and a bunch of the accessories that you can get for them. It is all the fun of real hamsters without the mess, smell or biting. (or kids killing them and being traumatized)

Sam and Trinity play for hours with the Zhu Zhu Pets. We set up the whole system and let them go at it. The hamsters run through the tubes, and some of them have little bumps in them to tell the hamster where it is so it does hte appropriate actions. It is really neat! Like there is a garage that they can drive a car out of, or a bedroom to take a nap in.

They have 4 different colors, so the kids all have a different color. They make cute noises and run around.

There are so many accessories to get, too. You can keep them busy for ages!

Sam loves the tubes, but Trinity loves the wheel, and Hope-Anne likes the car. This product has kept the kids busy for long hours when we pull it out. It is great for those times when I want them to be quite but not watching TV. These are a GREAT investment!

Check out Shop.com to find the best deals on them.

Shop.com sponsored this post, however, I did not recieve the item from them, I genuinely love the product!

Disney on Ice Princess Classics~ Giveaway for Minnesota

2009-11-12T17:34:00.005-06:00

I am so excited to be able to share with my Minnesota (and surrounding states) readers that Disney on Ice Presenting Princess Classics is coming to the Excel Center in Minneapolis in December!
I have never been to an ice show before, and neither have my children, but this year I get to take Trinity and a couple of her friends and cousins to the Princess show on ice! It is going to be such a memorable experience for her. I am a Feld Family Activator, and I help get the word out about activities like this to my community. In exchange I will occasionally get to attend the shows for free, this time we get the added perk of bringing the kids to a pre-show meet and greet with the characters! Can you imagine the little girl hearts when they meet their idols?!

I have good news and great news for my readers, too. The good news is that you can get discount tickets to the show using a code I will give you, and the great news is that I am giving away a 4 pack of tickets to one lucky reader in the Minnesota area! (I will also include people in surrounding states that are close to Minneapolis, such as in Western Wisconsin)

Show Dates:
Thursday, Dec. 10: 7:00pm
Friday, Dec. 11: 10:30am, 7:00pm
Saturday, Dec. 12: 11:00am, 3:00pm, 7:00pm
Sunday, Dec. 13: 1:00pm, 5:00pm

Coupon Code Details
The coupon code is ‘MOM’— four tickets for $44 for weekday shows Monday-Friday and $4 off all tickets for weekend shows. Any additional tickets beyond the 4-pack for shows during the week are still priced at $11.
The tickets can be purchased from Ticket Master and by entering the MOM code in the “MC promotion” box when purchasing tickets.
Offer not valid on Rinkside or VIP seating.
Cannot be combined with other offers. Service Charges, facility & handling fees will apply.

Now for the giveaway!

I am giving away a 4 pack of tickets to Disney on Ice for December 10 at 7pm at the Excel Center in Minneapolis, MN. This is opening night, the same night I will be attending. Because this is local I am restricting the giveaway to people close to Minneapolis, but no other restrictions apply.
To enter, leave a comment about what attending this event would mean to you and whomever you would be bringing. Be sure that I know how to contact you, or I will be choosing someone else, this is time sensitive.

For additional entries, do the following and leave a comment for each one:
1. Become a fan of Disney on Ice Presents Princess Classics Twin Cities Area.
2. Follow my blog in some way, email, feed reader or public following on blogspot.
3. Blog about the giveaway, two entries, make two comments, with the link.
4. Follow me on twitter (Qtpies7) and tweet the giveaway.
5. Tell your friends about this giveaway on Facebook.
6. Once a day you can come back and kiss up to me, flattery will get you everywhere!

Winner will be chosen on November 30, and announced on December 2. I must hear back within 24 hours in order to be able to give the winners name to the sponsor. Good luck!

Thank you to MomCentral for hooking me up to be a Feld Family Activator!

What is that SMELL?

2009-11-12T12:24:00.003-06:00

Today I started smelling some nasty poo and asked Sam if he needed his pants changed and he went screaming and running away, falling over his own feet with the speed of his getaway. I'm letting him sit in it because I am sick him doing it. You'd think he would want to get the smell off, right? Well, yes, and no.

Donnie works from home, so I left Sam at home while I went to pick up the big kids from their class today. When I got home I could smell someone had sprayed some cucumber body spray in the house. Weird, but didn't bother to track it down.

I keep asking Sam if he pooped because he really stinks. He keeps denying it. And I keep smelling cucumber. It is getting stronger.

So Sam came up to me and pointed to his face. His eyes were wide open and his bangs were slightly damp. And his bangs smelled like cucumber. He sprayed his face with cucumber body spray to stop smelling like poop! LOL Yes, our sniffer is where we smell things, but the poop is what he should have sprayed.

Update: I actually found out the smell was Cranberry Febreeze, lol. And it is really, really strong right now, as the older kids have been using it to clean the house. But the poop smell is gone now.

And the truth comes out

2009-11-12T11:11:00.004-06:00

When Donnie and I were dating we were both a lot thinner. In fact, I was a cheerleader my senior year and had been in years of dance before we met. I was in good shape. Curvy, not skinny, but not fat. Donnie for years, even after we got married and started having kids, would tell me I am too skinny, he can see my ribs, I am too boney to sit on his lap, etc. He thought I was too thin. I wasn't, by any means, but I wasn't fat.
Several years ago Donnie stopped saying that. Well, you can't see my ribs anymore, but I am still boney and can't sit on his lap, but I don't get that since my bottom is well padded.

Last week Donnie and went to Chipotle's for supper. If you haven't eaten there, you should, they have giant burritos. I am not kidding. (I think I posted a picture of one on the blog) They are so big and fat that you can stand them on their end and they stay there. HUGE burritos. It is over kill. But amazing!

We were joking about the portions and not needing that much when the conversation naturally went to our joint need to lose weight. So I asked Donnie about how he stopped saying I needed to lose weight.
"Is it because you like the size I am now, or because you are scared?"
"Oh, well, I mostly like the size you are now, but also I'm scared."

This one's for you, Mom.

2009-11-12T11:06:00.003-06:00

Last night at church Sam was playing in the gym kicking balls around with some other kids and he kicked something too hard and made his toenail tear a bit. There was blood. Not much, but it is blood, so the world was ending. I got him a band-aid and he was good. He went off to play, but walking with his toe raised because it really hurt. He was sensitive to touch anywhere on the toe.

A couple hours and a band-aid change later we went to bed. Sam was laying between Donnie and I and he lifted his feet out of the blankets and squeezed his band-aided toe and said "Owie!" Donnie was all sympathetic. But then I noticed something. That wasn't the toe he hurt. Donnie said "But the band-aid is on that one." "Well, that is not the toe I put the band-aid on." So he looked, and sure enough, the owie was on the other foot.

Yeah, I don't think it really hurts so much anymore.

Back on the Sensa wagon!

2009-11-11T13:57:00.002-06:00

I was thrilled with the results I had with Sensa when I was on it. I lost 20lbs with only sprinkling it on my food, I didn't change anything else, no exercise or added water to my diet. It works, and if you do it right, with the eating 3 meals and snacks and drinking the right amount of water, throw in some exercise, I think you have an amazing power behind your weight loss!
So what happened? Well, right at the end of the 6 months I found out I was pregnant and then had the tubal rupture. Emotionally I quit everything, and now I am ready to get back on Sensa and get healthy.
Back to square one, I am going to be sprinkling again, and I am going to try to increase my water intake, but don't hold your breath on 8 glasses a day. I am also going to work toward more exercise, but don't hold your breath that it will be daily or hard. I will walk more and try to make every day chores into exercise.

I am really excited about the upcoming book by Sensa: The Sensa Weight-Loss Program: The Accidental Discovery That's Transforming the Way People Lose Weight. It is very exciting to use Sensa and find your appetite not only diminishing, but also craving healthy foods and having no desire for the bad foods. But what I think is exciting about the addition of the book is that I am hoping to be inspired in the harder things, like exercise.

Summary:
This is not a diet book. The Sensa® Weight-Loss Program is a complete, overall health system that is anchored by the Sensa® Weight-Loss product and helps you to lose weight while eating. The program not only includes an explanation of how the product was developed, but goes further to include an exercise plan, foods and fabulous recipes that you can include in your regular meal plan. This book will explain how our ability to taste and smell is part of the protective mechanisms that encourage us to eat, and is also part of the system that sends signals to the satiety, or fullness center in the brain that tells us to stop eating. The Sensa® Weight-Loss Program is simple and easy to incorporate into your everyday activities.
"Dr. Hirsch presents a most practical and innovative approach to weight loss, incorporating as well the tenets of his prior works on taste and smell--an enjoyable read." -- Dr. Edward, J. Herba

If you would like to try Sensa with me, as a reader of my blog you can try Sensa for 30 days for free, and will get a $25 discount card to Glow.com. You pay shipping and get a 60 day supply, if you don't like it (but you will) you keep the supply and will be billed for the 60 day supply, if you don't like it, return it and you will have only paid shipping. (and I am sure you will have lost 5lbs)
If you would like to order, head over to Sensa, I don't think you will be sorry you did.

Weird Science

2009-11-11T12:39:00.003-06:00

Some of the best parts of homeschooling are the weird ways you can get lessons in without doing "homework." And wacky science adventures are always a hit with the kids! I love finding things that teach the kids through play or experiments.
I was given the opportunity to try out two great science kits with the kids. The first is Mythbusters Weird World of Water.

We are big fans of Mythbusters on TV, so this kit sparked my interest right away. Cody enjoyed doing the experiments, but I knew he would, what I didn't know was that it would actually teach my younger kids anything. Both Sam and Trinity were fascinated with the whirlpool experiment. I was shocked when Trinity finally was able to make one on her own, and she was so excited and proud of herself!
The kit is under $20 and it is for ages 9 and up and it won the FamilyFun Magazine 2009 T.O.Y. award. I loved this kit and I am more than happy to find other kits to expand our learning fun! It will also make a great Christmas gift for any young kid on your list.

Aspiring mythbusters will test the secrets of water as they uncover its
many mysteries. Water freezes and boils and turns into gas - is there anything
it can't do? They'll find the mythbusting answer to that and many more
questions:
Can water suck a ship down the drain?
Will you find hot water
at the North Pole?
Can water blast a rocket into space?
Kids will test
the power of whirlpools, create a liquid rainbow, learn how to walk on water,
and much more with the Mythbusters.

Hope-Anne got the kit that I was the most thrilled with, the Magnificent Manicure Kit, and let me tell you why: I got a mani/pedi and called it a "chemistry lesson." Oh, yes, I did! That rocks!
Hope-Anne really got into this kit and enjoyed it. She made lotions and mud packs and filed and pumiced and polished and shined. It was fun, it was girly, and she learned about chemistry. This kit rocks!
Again, this kit is less than $20, and packed with fun and learning!

Young ladies will learn all about cosmetic chemistry as they give themselves and
their friends a magnificent manicure! Using this kit, they will:
turn their
hands silky soft with crystal mud,
soak hands in a sea-salt scrub,
create their own custom scent of lotion,
buff and shine nails and much
more!

I received these products to review as part of a campaign through Team Mom.

Wowser, where did the time go?

2009-11-11T12:19:00.002-06:00

My mom has been harassing me for not blogging lately. To be fair, she was patient for awhile. We were really sick for a month, it just wouldn't end! But then I just haven't been blogging due to many things. But I have to get back to work now that I am not sick, the kids are not sick, and Donnie has the day off, so I can commandeer his office and make him watch the kids. LOL

The kids have been keeping us busy, doing cute things, running places, smarting off, etc. The usual. Samuel turned 3 years old and that was bitter sweet. I love him at this age, but I am so sad that he is probably our last baby. Not by choice, but that is how it looks like it will end for us. I so enjoy every cute and funny thing the little kids do. I never want my house empty of babies and toddlers. I am looking forward to the years when I have grandkids around. I heard they are even more fun than your own toddlers!

Sam lost my phone awhile ago. Or at least we think it was Sam. I plugged my phone in to charge, ran to the store for 30 minutes, leaving Cody and Sam home. When I got home, the cord was sitting there empty and no sign of my phone has been seen since. Usually it turns up down a couch cushion, but not this time. So we were quite glad to find out Donnie had ordered insurance on my phone.
Amazingly the phone arrived at our house LESS than 24 hours after we reported it! I let it charge for 24 hours before I activated the phone. Donnie got it activated about 10AM and I gave the phone a swirly about 9PM. Yes, I ruined my phone less than 12 hours after I got it activated. I am drying it out for the second day now and praying my phone will forgive me for the swirly. I didn't mean it.

I have a few frustrating situations going on in my life that have really taken my mind hostage and I am hoping to just plow through them and get busy with my life again. Some of them have come to temporary good outcomes, like Donnie's job has been extended to March, so we at least know he isn't being let go right before Christmas this year. And we have cancelled our health insurance, which was costing us $300 a WEEK. Hopefully with that bill gone we will be able to make ends meet again, but that doesn't happen until January. We are looking at Medishare, anyone with experience with them? I would love to hear experiences either way.

I also have some really great news for my readers! At least my Minnesota/Wisconsin readers. I am going to be giving away 4 tickets to Disney Princesses on Ice in Minneapolis for December 10!! I will be going, too, so it would be a super fun chance to meet in person! Look for that post!

Hmm, anyone try this?

2009-10-24T14:18:00.002-05:00

This is just too funny! I have never really had the opportunity to do this in public. I have done it at home, though. Scared the kids silly! Stopped the tantrum, too.

My kids were pretty much always good in public after we got through Drew, he was bad for a year or so there. But other than that, the kids have always done well. I had a rule, if I took the first 5 out in public and no one told me how good they were, they were all in trouble. Sounds mean, but it wasn't. I didn't punish them if they were good and no one said anything, but it was rare that someone didn't comment on 5 well behaved children under the age of 9.

Drew took some quiz on facebook about spanking saying he felt that kids should be spanked. I commented that we must not have spanked him much if he agrees with it, lol. He reminded me of when they were young. We would go shopping and see some kid throwing a tantrum and they would stare at the kid, and then they THANKED ME for spanking them so they wouldn't act like that. At a young age, they were thankful that they were spanked so they would not be out of control brats. (not all tantrums are the child's fault)

Time for a Trinity Funny!

2009-10-24T12:45:00.002-05:00

Trinity used to be the one I was always blogging about for saying funny things, but then Sam started in, and she seems to have stopped. But lately she has cracked me up a few times!

The other day she took a really long bath. She came to Donnie and I and said "I was in the bath a looooong time. I got out so I wouldn't turn into a grape!"

We were at Walmart in the pet department and she saw a fish tank with an odd design and asked about it. I told her it was a bubbler in the middle of the tank to look cool. She replied "Can we not call it a fish tank and start calling it an aquarium? That is what they call it on Calliou."

Sam is almost 3!

2009-10-24T12:22:00.002-05:00

I can hardly believe that Sam is going to be 3 this next week! Where did my baby go?

If we are all well, we are planning to have a party for him. I wish I had planned it out well in advance so I could order invites from Tiny Prints, I love their stuff. I see they even have invites for holiday dinner parties, who could turn an invite like that? I'd go! lol Their holiday cards are really nice, too. I will probably order from them. I better start planning now, huh?

For Sam's birthday party we are going to make a cake. We are torn between a 3-D B.O.B. from Monsters VS Aliens, or a train with dinosaurs from Sam's favorite new show, Dinosaur Train on PBS. The more I look at the train and sculpting dinosaurs, the easier I think it would be to do a 3-D Bob with fondant.

I'm trying hard not to be sad that he is losing his baby status and growing into a little boy. I miss the baby snuggles, but love the new chatter and cute sayings.

I'd like that for my birthday!

2009-10-20T13:26:00.003-05:00

We don't let our kids say "I want that!" when they see things they want. It is annoying! So Donnie has always trained them to say "I like that." or "That would be a great birthday present!" It has stuck pretty well.

Hope-Anne is frequently reminding Trinity to say those things when she sees what she wants. Sam is Trinity's shadow and has to do and say whatever Trinity says and does. So lately he has been seeing things he likes on commercials and he says "My birtday."

Last night a commercial came on TV and Sam looked at me, pointed at the TV and said "You birtday."
I said "You think I should get Advil for my birthday?"

Sam said "Yep."

Sounds about right.

Sam always finds a way to surprise us

2009-10-20T09:23:00.003-05:00

We thought after the first 5 kids that we had seen it all. Then we got Trinity. She terrorized us with her poop art every day. Surely we'd seen it all after her!
Nope. We got Sam. And he made all the other kids combined look like angels. If you've read my blog long, you know how gross this kid is. He is almost 3 and still eats dog food, but he at least seems to have stopped eating poop.

Last night I asked Sam to go get a soda for me. He went to the kitchen and came back with some Cocoa Pebbles bars. (like rice krispie bars) So I sent him again. 5 minutes later he came back with nothing. I sent him again.

Why? Why do I think he is capable of something so simple? Could it be because he brings me soda all the time when he wants a drink of it? I know he can handle the task itself. But why do I think he is going to do it when I want him to?

He came back in the living room with more Cocoa Pebbles bars. So I asked him why he can't bend over and get a can out of the box on the floor when he can climb up on the counter and get himself a bar. He walked off, and soon we noticed that on his feet were slippers. Slippers made of Cocoa Pebbles bars. Which he peeled off and ate.

We just looked on in horror and said "At least it isn't cat poop."

I think it is time for another poll

2009-10-19T13:11:00.003-05:00

Have you ever been stuck on what advice to give to someone? Yep, I'm there. Not sure what is the right thing to do.
There is a teenage boy who likes a girl but isn't involved at the moment. The mother of the girl thinks the boy is great and would like them to be involved in the future. She is including him in everything they do. I don't think the daughter is even doing the inviting, just the mom.
The mom texts the boy, private messages him on facebook, chats with him on facebook, and comments frequently on his facebook status. The daughter has never commented on his facebook, and doesn't private message him at all. Supposedly they do text.
There is nothing in the boys life to indicate he needs an adult mentor, and it isn't that kind of relationship.

Nothing inappropriate in any of that has been found. However, do you think it is inappropriate for an adult woman to be so involved with a teen boy?
The boys mom feels very uneasy with the situation. Her sister even said that she thought something wierd was going on, without even knowing the mom felt weird. Another teenage boy said that it is weird. It isn't just the mom.

What should the mom of the boy do? Should she tell the other mom to stop private messaging the boy? Just let it be since there is nothing to indicate it is a bad relationship? I am at a loss on what to say.

Craig's List Trolls

2009-10-17T12:28:00.002-05:00

I hear people talking about the great deals they find on Craig's List all the time. It is supposedly a great place to buy and sell. But my experiences have not been positive at all. Because of Craig's List Trolls.

If you want to give away your kittens, your post will be deleted. If you want to give an animal away "free to a good home" your post will be deleted. At best. At worst, you will be spammed with puppy mill and animal researcher garbage from people who think animals are gods or something. They may even start making posts that attack you by name and quote your post. Heave forbid you mention a pet store!!!! That will be the end of a good experience on Craig's List!

Don't even try to get help in the help forum. You will get cursed at, called names, and be attacked, even stalked. That is my experience. I had to file a harassment claim against a Craig's list troll.

This has happened to me twice. Which is the extent of my use of Craig's List.

Apparently, from what I could decipher between the swear words in the forums, if you don't word your post exactly right, according to the CL trolls, they will flag your post to get it removed. It doesn't matter if it doesn't violate the terms of service. They will get it removed. If they don't like that you can't spell, or that you were too wordy, or you didn't elaborate enough, you will get flagged and sworn at if you ask for help in the help forum.

Seriously. Do people really have nothing better to do than troll through sale lists to make people conform to what they think is the right wording? And to troll through the forums swearing at people? I didn't find one normal person on the forums. they were all psychotic. I looked at other people's questions, same thing.

I highly recommend people stay away from Craig's List.

Sometimes, you just gotta do it

2009-10-14T13:21:00.002-05:00

I can't even bring myself to remember my teen years. You need friends, but sometimes friends are not friends, and are just plain stupid. I had to tell to save a friend one time. It was hard! But I had to do it.
What do teens do now when their friends are on drugs, or seriously depressed and suicidal, or saying threatening things about others? Saying something can send someone over the deep edge and get you killed! As if being ostracized for being a narc wouldn't be bad enough?

It has to be truly challenging being a teen today. It is really tough as a parent to stay connected to your teen, too, but you have to try. And you have to encourage them to do the right thing, even if it is the hard thing. But it isn't easy being the parent of a teen, either. How do you encourage them to do what they know is right when they see all the crazy teens going on killing sprees? You know, and they know, that it could cost them more than friendships. Even in a small town.

But are you being a true friend by letting them go down a path that is going to hurt them or get them killed? Doesn't a true friend risk it all to help you?

Kiss Me Again

2009-10-13T16:00:00.003-05:00

This is a book review, not an invitation, lol.

One of the things that I always use to tell teens about staying pure is that they give a piece of themselves away that they can't get back and it affects your marriage. Even when you marry the person you messed up with, it still has an impact. I put a piece of duct tape on their arm while talking and then have them pull it off. I tell them to put the hair and skin back on, which they can't, of course. And I explain that intimate actions have the same result, you can't put that back!

Kiss Me Again, by Barbara Wilson, is a book about restoring intimacy and passion to your marriage after having given in to temptation before marriage. I have not finished the book yet, but it is good. So timely with the world's view of sex and marriage. I'll let the synopsis tell you, because I can't say it any better than this:

Do you ever wonder why marriage can seem like the end of intimacy and sexual desire instead of the beginning?

Ever wonder why it was so hard to resist sex before marriage—and so easy to resist it now? If so, you’re not alone! Many married women genuinely want to feel more desire toward their husbands…and can’t figure out what went wrong. But there’s good news. In Kiss Me Again, Barbara Wilson shows how powerful “invisible bonds” from past relationships can cause heartache, disappointment, and distance for couples in the present. Then—with sensitivity, honesty, and hope—Barbara walks you step by step toward healing…and a rekindling of the closeness and passion with your husband that you really want.

You don’t have to live any longer with confusion, disappointment, resentment, or shame. You can rediscover desire. You can say Wow! again.

With assessment tools, write-in exercises, and gentle guidance, Kiss Me Again offers a biblical plan for rekindling the closeness and passion women long for in marriage. Because no past is beyond the reach of God’s healing touch.

In Kiss Me Again, Wilson:
· Shares her own story of healing and renewed desire
· Helps women forgive themselves and their husbands for past choices
· Shows readers how to break free from “invisible bonds”
· Explains God’s plan for helping a husband and wife to re-bond
· Includes conversation helps for both wives and their husbands
· Helps couples reignite the passion that they thought was lost

Barbara Wilson is the author of The Invisible Bond and former director of sexual health education for the Alternatives Pregnancy Resource Center in Sacramento. She speaks nationwide to youth and adults with her message of sexual healing, and she teaches frequently in the women’s ministry at the multi-campus Bayside Church in Northern California. Barbara and her husband, Eric, have been married for twenty-eight years.

You can purchase a copy at Amazon and Christianbook.com.