Vacations over :(

Thanks to our friends over at Joyful Noise, we were able to go on vacation in the Wisconsin Dells last week. They got a 3bd townhouse for 6 days and invited us to go with them. So we packed up the kids who did could leave and we left! Cody stayed home to watch the dogs, Devon and Kaytlin couldn't leave school. So, Trinity, Sam, Nicole and Drew's fiance, Jannessa came along with us.

The resort had a great kiddie pool area with a toddler slide and an older kids slide for the kids to enjoy. Sam loved the frog slide. He even enjoyed the big slide when Nicole forced him to go on it while Jannessa was at the bottom to catch him. However, later he decided to try it when noone was there, and I had to run and rescue him as he came out the bottom. I just missed him by a split second and had to fish him out of the water. He was NOT liking slides after that, lol.

The resort had lots of activities for the kids to do at the clubhouse every day. One day we went and decorated cookies. The kids really enjoyed eating them! Then we went off to the playground.

The playground didn't go so well. Sam walked in front of the swings and got kicked face first into the wood chips. "I HATE swings!"

Another day they went to do a coloring contest. Jannessa won for the adult category and let Sam pick out some bubbles for a prize.


Donnie and Dan took the kids out to fly kites. They loved it!

On Wednesday we took the kids to Mt. Olympus for a few hours. Jannessa took Sam on a slide off the pirate ship. That was it for him, he got his face drenched, so he wouldn't do the slides anymore.

Later we forced him to go on one of the huge tube slides with the girls and he loved it. So Jannessa and I took him down it again. However, Jannessa and I are too much weight together to stay on the tube at the bottom and we flipped, nearly drowning Sam, and hobbling my foot, lol. Needless to say, Sam never did another water slide.

One of the nights we went out to eat, just us parents. That was nice, except the guys ended up picking some barbeque joint, which is a story in itself.

The older girls did so much to help us through the week with babysitting, playing with the kids, and cooking that we wanted to give them a special treat. So Donnie took them horseback riding.

Trinity wasn't ready to leave on the last day. She wanted one more fun thing to do. So we drove around town and nothing was open in the off season. So we took them to a candy store and she was satisfied. So we were able to head back home.

I have lots more stories and pics that I will post here and there, but this is our trip in a nutshell!

Sleep! Precious, sleep!

Samuel SLEPT last night!

Do you get the significance of that? I got to sleep! I did! Sam went down about 11pm last night and woke at 3am-ish, he wasn't up long, and then stayed down until 6am-ish. Yeppers! And then he didn't get up until after 9am!

I think I got so much sleep last night that there may be some crazy amount of posting going on. And maybe some cleaning around here. Maybe. I have been working on the cleaning already, but I may just get something done today.

Or torture the kids. That sounds like more fun. Torture the kids and do some online Christmas shopping. I'll post some great gift ideas and places to find things later today.

Sweet Spot!

Sam has been such a grump. He is getting teeth, probably his molars, and has been drooling, snotting, feverish and biting.
I took pity on his misery and nursed him after going over 24 hours without it. (I may have been a mite full and needed relief, too)
I nursed him a bunch through the night. This morning at 8am he wanted to nurse, and I fought it, but gave in. He bit me. So I cut him off. Teeth and a bad mood do not mix with my b00bs. Well, he was furious! How dare I?! He was throwing himself all over the bed. Flopping this way and that. Finally landing himself across my neck. So I grabbed his hips and started pushing around like the chiropractor does, and I shoved into this spot and he stopped crying instantly. No, I mean it, INSTANTLY! Within 30 seconds he was SNORING. Donnie is a witness.
We now call that "The Sweet Spot."

Another thing to be thankful for!
Happy Thanksgiving!

Sleep, Sleep, Where are you?

I am getting so tired of not getting my sleep. I don't think it is Sam's fault, I know something must be bothering him to keep waking him up so many times. Unless maybe he really isn't awake when he fusses.
Last night was better and worse. He woke up less, but fussed longer and louder. Instead of several times an hour, he woke up every hour.
He fell asleep at 12:02, yes, I was watching.
Woke up at 2:05. Cried for about 2-3 minutes.
Woke up at 3:05. Cried for a few minutes.
Woke up at 4:05. Cried for a few minutes.
Woke up at 5:05. Cried for a few minutes.
Woke up at 7:05. Cried for several minutes.
It is almost 8, so I expect him to wake up soon.
It is weird, because I have been nursing him all those times, which number more than above, to get him back to sleep quickly. But yesterday I cut him off, and he didn't ask to nurse at all through the night. Maybe he wasn't looking for it before? He did take a bottle 2 of those times last night, but only a little bit of it.

We are done nursing now. He asked to nurse last evening, and he was cranky because he is getting sick, but as I was trying to undo my nursing clip he bit me through my bra so hard that it wasn't milk, but blood coming out. I was in agony for a long, long time last night. I am pretty sure the neighbors heard me scream. Maybe even the next block. My kids were pretty sure I over reacted a bit, until I offered to show them the blood as it dripped out of me.

So, Donnie says that we should have Drew sleep upstairs for a week so we can let Sam cry it out in his crib at night. Oh, no. Not gonna happen. I know people do that, and the kids do learn to sleep in the crib without crying. But I can't do that. Not because my kids are spoiled, but they are only little once, and you can't undo damage. Can you imagine being constantly touched, lovingly caressed all over by your mom while in utero, and then being forced out and into itchy clothes, and then not even being able to be touched? Even if they are older, I think how here is this little guy who just needs his mom's loving hugs and singing and he is plopped in a crib to cry and cry alone until he passes out in exhaustion. What is he thinking? "Why won't mommy come get me? Doesn't she love me anymore? I just want my mommy, where is mommy? Mommy! Don't you love me?!" No, I can't do it. I know that sweet baby is not in that crib thinking how he can manipulate mom with his crying. They do eventually learn to sleep alone, I'm not going to torture them when they don't understand.
If you do it that way, I'm sorry, but I just can't, and I don't judge you for it, but my heart breaks for my child crying for me. If I can meet my child's legitimate need, I will.
8:06, Sam is crying. Gotta go!

The Car Killers strike again!

Oh, yes. So, Donnie gets the Geo working this morning by replacing the battery. No problem! He went all out and bought a great quality one, even, against all tight-waddishness I have in me.
I head to the school to get Trinity and he heads off to work in his good, working car. The school is roughly 4 blocks down our street.
Trinity LOVED play school again, she didn't even want to leave, so I was glad I was going to go pick up grandma and go shopping so she had something to look forward to.
Then, it happened. The Geo wouldn't start. I was stuck at the school. I could walk home, but I didn't bring my coat for such a short trip in and out of the car. UGHH!

I called Donnie, who was almost 2 towns away, about 18 miles. He decided to take the day off of work and fix the cars, so he told me to stay put. While sitting there I read through the Geo owners manual. Well, what else would I do? Clean out my purse? Not!
So I started thinking about how the car was turning over no problem but was making an airy puffing noise. I wondered if it was the air filter.
It was! So Donnie replaced that and it is good to go! He decided to go ahead and get the tire replaced and is also replacing the muffler and the windshield wipers while he is at it.
Wooohooo! We're back to two cars for the 11 of us!

I took Sam to the chiropractor. That was great, I am so glad that I did. She works wonders on Devon, and I wouldn't have any need to try anyone else. She figured out Sam wasn't "eliminating" correctly, he's a bit backed up, just by touching him! She did a bunch of adjusting, which Sam ate up! We sat in the waiting room for the whole thing. She just followed Sam around and did this and that on his time and he had a blast, he really enjoyed some of it and would stand there like "Oh, yeah, that's the spot!" It was funny! He didn't care for the neck adjustment, but basically he just whimpered a bit, then went on to play.
I'm taking him back on Friday and she thinks we'll see big improvement in his sleeping after that.
His ears are not that bad to explain the night issues and no day issues at all. If she gets him to sleep at night, we'll be going back when ever she wants him. And Donnie said he'd even be sold on chiropractic and start going.

Monster Cookies

Last week I was getting the boys from their house to babysit them and on the way to my house Isaac, the first in this pic, stuck his foot toward me and said "My toe a monster cookie." What? Your toe is a monster cookie? "Yes!" and Jonah chimed in and they got all excited about it and then I hear this noise behind me coming from their seats "Arrrmmmarrrr-aaarrrrghhh" "Oh!! You guys are being COOKIE MONSTER!" "Yes! arrmm yumm armm" They were being Cookie Monsters! LOL Gotta love it!
Today, these three little monsters are at play school at the high school. The child development class is studying them at play all week. You can bet their mom and I are taking advantage of that!
Trinity went this morning from 8:15-9:10 and had a blast, then the next session is from 11:30-1:30, and all of them are at that one.
Trinity didn't even look back. She went right in and stared shyly at the teens, but didn't want me to stay. And when I got there she was talking to them and having fun. I can't wait to see how it goes this second session today. Trinity is TIRED. She only got maybe 8 hours of sleep. And as soon as play school is done we have to book it a couple towns away for an appointment. She needs to get her finger pricked, ouch!

Update on Sam! He ate an entire McDonald's hamburger by himself! Not that McD's is healthy, but he ATE a BUNCH!

Crazy for Samuel

Sam is walking about half the time now.
Look how proud he is! I'm so sad that he is growing up, but I love to watch him toddle around and to gain confidence in his growing accomplishments.

See how proud he is of walking to mommy! Mommy loves that he prefers to walk to her over anybody and anything else!

Here is Sam in his adorable Rockstar shirt I won. He is making the cutest mean face ever!

He is starting to really wrestle and play with the kids and it is so funny. He growls and attacks, but he also gives those sweet open-mouthed kisses still. (but only after we all give kisses and he has to get in on the action.)

Of course, he is one tough tattooed dude, don't ya know!

And the trouble begins....

Sam is learning to walk. He's been taking steps when we force encourage him to walk to us. But recently we've been letting the dog in the house, and Sam loves the dog. But the dog is HUGE. So Sam stands up so he can get a better view or something, and he's been walking a bit toward the dog. And then he has been working more and more on walking. So he is walking about 1/4 of the time now. He stands a lot to play with toys. He is a speed demon crawling, so he uses that when he wants to chase me down and demand if feed him NOW wants something.
Soon he will be running around the house and I will think I had it easy with the twins I babysit. OK, I'll never get there, but still, Sam will be a terror, just like the rest of my kids are were.

The real question is: What am I going to do now that he isn't a baby????? Oh, Donnie!

Sam's 1 year pictures

I went to get Samuel's one year pictures taken last night. I had some errands to run, so I had Cody give Sam a bath. Later I was talking to Cody about getting Sam dressed and Cody went off on how the outfit I had hanging up for him to wear in the pics was "for a funeral." This is his rant:
C: Yeah, you are dressing him for a funeral!
L: What are you talking about? His clothes are cream and blue colored.
C: Look at these! They are "Drew" aren't they? You know it, they are so Drew you can't deny it! I mean LOOK at them! They are........ kinda.......... nice....... and if they maybe.......... came in a bigger size......... umm, I'd wear them. Yeah, you should make Sam wear this outfit for him main picture and the other one for the other pics. Definitely this outfit. It is really nice. Just perfect for Sam to wear. I really would like an outfit like this one in my size.

Yes, my jaw dropped to the floor. Weirdo.

So, we rush off to get the Wallyworld before 4pm for his appointment, and we were there early. I sat there from 3:50 to 5pm before she took Sam's pics. And then she screwed up and an 8x10 I ordered isn't on the receipt, and I saw her put it in the computer. I have to call and fix that.
The pics were really cute. Sam smiled for every one, despite the aggravation of having to wait so long.

Never leave chocolate unattended

This adorable face is what happens when you leave your chocolate sitting out and open on your desk.
See how much he loves me for it? LOL Can you see his little fingers? He enjoyed every bit of it.
But I don't like to share my chocolate.


My shirt I ordered from Trendy Tadpole came in yesterday! Oh, it is so cute! I got this design in a long sleeved t-shirt. It is so soft and cute, but they do run small, like the site says. I did order larger.

This is what Tired looks like:

Kaytlin called me out of my room to look at something, and this is what she showed me.
Sam was conked out but good!



Can you see his bottom sunk way down deep in the cushions? His bottom was so far down that his knees were almost in his armpits, lol.



But he is oh so cute when he is recharging, isn't he?
How do kids fall asleep in such weird positions, and then when you want them to sleep, they won't.


People, I am fit to be tied with excitement over something I found at the store yesterday! I can't talk about it though, because it is going to be my Wordless Wednesday post! But it is so weird and funny.

If I were a cat, I'd have one less life...

First, I'll quickly explain the hand injury, then the title to this post!
The end of May I went to the zoo with my two best friends, Sarah and Jody. I rode with Jody in her blazer or whatever it is. (sorry Jody, I know its cool, but I don't remember vehicle names) Anyway, I was putting her oldest son DJ and Trinity in the back seat in their carseats and as I put my hand on the middle seat to pull myself out of the back, my hand slipped and my thumb bent WAY back. I was sure I had broken it. But who breaks their thumb by bending it backward? So, I let it go for months. Then in September Trinity ran into my thumb and jammed it again. It hasn't gotten better since. So I went in. The doctor thought a tiny bone was out of socket, so sent me to an orthopedic surgeon today. He had me move my hand in a weird position and oh my word the pain! And not where it has been hurting. So he says "Ah, that makes much more sense. You have tendinitis." I injured the tendons in my thumb, well, the base of my thumb and wrist. So, he injected the tubes that the tendons are in with cortisone and put me in a splint for 6 weeks.

So, after my lovely day with the concern over Sam, and then my lovely splint, things got even better!
I was about to head out to the store with Kaytlin and my mother in law when I went to get Sam to leave with a big kid. But we couldn't find him. We searched and searched the house, the yard, the garage. We checked the toilettes for drowning, the laundry chute, the oven, closets, cupboards. Nowhere.
We searched the alley, the sidewalk up and down the street. Nothing.
I called my friend's house and asked if they could reach the kids, Hope-Anne was on a walk with them and maybe she took him?? The strollers were all here. But maybe. Drew came home and I sent him out looking for them. Kaytlin took off in another car looking. My mother in law walked over looking for Sam along the way.
Then my friend drove up with the girls. And no Sam. I lost it. I just saw a horrid nightmare flash before my eyes. A life of investigations, a missing child, years of searching, finding a dead child. How could I face that? I fell to the ground in tears.
Then my phone rang. Devon had taken Sam and not told anyone. He never takes Sam. Kaytlin had come across him at their school, where I had sent Devon to go get something he left there. She told him I was going to kill him and he better call me and let me know Sam was safe.
I was THAT close to calling 911. I couldn't stay standing for some time.

I want to thank my friends who are leaving messages of encouragement and prayers for Samuel. I will work on the iron. I have no idea when they will let me know about the test results, but I covet each prayer for Sam. He has been eating SO much better tonight after seeing the doctor. Doesn't it always go that way? LOL

I can't belive this!

Blogging is going to stink for me for the next 4-6 weeks or more.
I don't have the use of my right thumb.
I am right handed.
I use my right thumb for the space bar.
This stinks.
My typing is more than half as slow as it used to be.
All because I went to the zoo in May.
Now I had to get a shot and wear a splint for 6 weeks.

That is the good news for the day. Samuel is a little guy, always has been. At about 5 months old he hit a little fat stage because he fell in love with table food, but lately he hasn't been gaining weight. He isn't losing it, either, but he is only 18lbs 12oz naked. He went from the 26th percentile to the 4th in weight. So he is sort of "failure to thrive" though he doesn't have the usual things with that, like developmental delays or weight loss. He is being tested for celiac disease, which the doctor does not think he has. The presumed cause is probably low iron, which we knew he had slightly low iron a couple of months ago. When I started hyperventilating over the "failure to thrive" she stopped saying it, lol. Sam is a VERY active guy, and not behind in anything. You would never know he isn't perfect, because he appears happy all the time and is always moving and playing. The doctor said he probably isn't very sick because usually if it is serious they look sick.

Anyway, I am a little freaked, but we'll get through. On top of it all, he has a double ear infection, which could be the middle of the night crying jags we've been going through. He doesn't cry when he is nursing, so we didn't think he was in pain. He sure let us know it hurt when they drew his blood today!

It's my party, and I'll cry if I want to...

Sam's 1st birthday party!Mmmm, lunch time.
Sam fell asleep right after eating.

He was out cold!

We woke him up for cake, he was not happy.

He did not get happy, either.

Until he got a taste of the sherbet we forced into his mouth.

Why are you torturing me with this stuff?

Leave me alone!!!

Ohh, what is that?

Ahhh, cars! That's awesome!

Back to clothes? Well, ok, but where are the cars?

Sam loved the balloons and the cars. He didn't touch his cake that I slaved over until 1 am, and then had to deal with his crying behind until 2:30am when I decided he had won the fight and let him nurse again.

Happy First Birthday, Samuel!

Happy 1st Birthday, Samuel Isaac! You were born on October 27th, 2006. A little miracle child.

This is hard for me, I don't want you to grow up. You are my little baby. I prayed and prayed for you. God told us we would have you, and we waited for 7 long years for your birth. I love you so much, Sammy!

Here is another slide show of Samuel in color.

That's it!

I have had enough of Sam biting me!
He bit me while nursing today, so I flicked his mouth and told him "No bite momma!" and stopped nursing him. He was furious and decided that he needed to take a chunk out of my shoulder.
Fine, you must be hungry, I'll cook something for you to eat. I handed him to Cody. He started hitting Cody in the face, so Cody grabbed his hands and Sam gave him a headbutt.
Alrighty then.
He would not eat what I cooked. Spit it right out.
Fine, you get a bottle, dude, no more momma's milk! Here, have some Mellow Yellow, I'm out of milk.

I got a call from the Sheriff

Oh, yes I did. About one of my kids.

My little prankster called 911, again.

That's right. Sam is a little trouble maker.

We're getting there!

I thought you would all enjoy some pics of Sam and his obvious love of our kitty, Midnight. They will entertain you through my boring post.

So, we finally are getting there! Yes, getting through all the crazy stuff that has been happening to us.

Can you believe that we have fixed the washer and dryer and Donnie's car? Plus the fridge is replaced with the fridge that came with the house. Donnie fixed the furnace for $13!!

The van and the Geo are next, plus getting a new fridge, but that can wait a bit.

Now we just have to finish getting the house ready for our guest. Make the DVD for my dad's 60th birthday. Survive.

Hmm, I just may get there! (we're pretending the roof leaking will go away if we ignore it)

Awww, doesn't he just love the kitty soooooo much!?

(that is a part of a grape in his mouth)
Doesn't Midnight look like she's having fun? She really doesn't run away from him, either. She just gets him back when he is standing in front of the couch. She sneak attacks his feet. He thinks its really funny.

Sweet love!

Snorgtees.com

snorgtees.com and fuelmyblog are having a contest for $500! Check out the competition page for details.

I am a big deal blogger and deserve to win this funny t-shirt and win $500 because no one else is willing to amuse you and entertain you and horrify you like I am with just my daily life as a parent. It is funny to you, because you are not the ones dealing with these things.
I lived through the 2 years Trinity would play with her poop. Painting her crib daily, finger painting her sheets and walls with poop. "White washing" her doll house fence with poo. She even made little poop figures to decorate my staircase with. I survived that. Just those years alone should qualify me to win that $500, or at least a t-shirt, but it didn't end there.
Now I have Sam. This is Sam. After his trip to the litter box. Yes, that is cat litter stuck to the snot on his upper lip. Why, yes, he does enjoy eating cat poop.

And lest you think I am kidding, click on this picture and you will see the litter inside his mouth. I know, he seems to be such a cute kid, but really, he's a disgusting monster.

Don't believe me? This is the SAME night. That is not cat poop. That is HIS poop. And yes, it IS on his mouth. He decorated the chair, the carpet, his sister's toy AND ate it.

But he sure cleans up good!

So, who else is willing to not only admit that their kid does this, but also post pics of it to amuse and horrify you? That's right, only me.

So, since I need that $500 to help us fix all the things that have decided to die around here recently (furnace, van, car, dryer, washer, fridge/freezer, to name the biggies) I would appreciate it if you would all show me the love and go vote for me and put me in the top 100.

I promise you, if I am elected the winner of the $500 I will end the posting pics of my child eating poop. I will bring you more entertaining stories of my life with 7 kids. And I will even make a cake.

Please go vote! You do have to register and confirm your email, but after that it is easy to do, I promise! Remember, if I get in the top 100, I will never post another poop picture on my blog again!

My bookends

Sam and Drew have both given me a great deal of laughter recently.

Yesterday I was at the computer and Sam was behind me crying, so I turned around to get him and couldn't find him. But I could hear him crying, then I saw something moving through a little slit, he had fallen into the toybox and the lid had shut on him! LOL

Drew came home from work today, he takes care of a kid. He supervises his soccer then drives him home. Today it is raining. Drew comes home and tells me "OK, it's really wet out there. So I took shelter under a tree, which really wasn't shelter at all. And the tree is covered in moss. And that moss, when it gets wet, smells like butt. I smell like butt."

I have been rolling since he told me! It is just so comical! He keeps saying "I smell like butt." because it makes me crack up.