Turn Me On Tuesday

Here we go with things I am currently loving now.

1.  Crazy Love by Francis Chan

Our church just wrapped up a study of this book.  I really can't say much other than read it.  I promise you will love it.  Or it will make you uncomfortable because it makes you aware of certain things in your life.  But uncomfortable is good, promise.

2.  The 5000 Year Leap

Our financial advisor recommended this book to us.  It is about what principals the US was really formed on and how far we have fallen from this.  That we have moved from a land of freedom to a land that is giving away our rights out of fear.  I have to admit, a little slow going compared to CIA novels, but very, very interesting.

3.  Italian Sweet Cream creamer

I totally drink coffee for the creamer.  I even drink decafe because I don't drink coffee for the caffeine.  This one is super yummy.  I probably should invent some type of desert with it because I love it that much.

4.  The Olympics

I love the Olympics.  Back when we didn't watch tv, we made a small exception for some of the Olympics.  My hands down favorite summer event is gymnastics.

Here is a picture of the men's gymnastics team.

Aren't they just a cute group of young men?  Lots of things in the Olympics impress me, but watching these young men perform in so many different ways is amazing.  My favorite is the floor routine where they go running as fast as they can and throw themselves up in the air and do flips.  I can probably still somersault if I try really  hard.  Also, I have a special spot in my heart for the young man on the right of the coach.  They did an interview with him over the weekend, and his mom and dad are white.  I have to admit that every time I see an older black man I always think of Moyz, and it was neat to see his parents and hear their story.  He sounds like an exceptional young man who has overcome a lot.  

Chris was equally amazed at their abilities, and probably just a tad envious.  

5.  School Supplies

I think I have mentioned before how much I love school supplies.  I don't know what it is, but when they come into stores I just love it.  I will buy 10 packages of 24 count crayons.  I do this for several reasons, 1. they sell them for under 50 cents a pack, 2. we go through a lot.  But I also buy notebooks, pencils and pens, and every time I am in a store I drift through the section in case I missed something the first time around.  Maybe it reminds me of new beginnings from when I was young and excited about the next grade?  

Of course, now my kids see all the cool notebooks and want to buy the ones with fancy covers instead of the 15 cent plain ones.  I usually let them pick out one or two fancy ones and then the rest are plain.  But then I let them decorate the plain ones with permanent markers.  And if there are any left when they go 75% off after school starts we pick up more.

Is anybody else in shock at how much a quality school bag costs?  We make our kids have theirs for several years.  And I won't allow them to pick out one of the cheap ones with a picture of a transformer or something equally dumb because they are usually made out of the cheapest material, and then the next year they decide to out grow whatever they were interested in the last.  

Owen's bag was originally seventy dollars at ShopKo.  Now, that store is generally more expensive than any other one unless you get stuff on sale.  We ended up getting his back pack for $20 bucks. It was originally on sale for $30 but then we had a coupon as well.  Who in their right mind would spend $70 on a school bag for a kindergartner?  I don't spend $70 on a purse for myself.  

That's it for this Tuesday.  

What's Around You?

I saw this quote on another blog and found myself laughing out loud:

"Before you diagnose yourself with depression, make sure you aren't just surrounded by a**holes"

And then I found myself trying to make something up that I could tell my kids when they asked me why I was laughing.

But isn't there a giant grain of truth to it?  Like maybe I should really look at my life and perhaps all of my friends aren't crazies who drag me down, but where in my life have I surrounded myself with crap that makes me feel like I am losing my mind?

Maybe it's Pinterest in your life.  You know how it is, you have boards and boards of stuff that you were inspired by and have pinned.  And yet you haven't done a single one of them and you wonder who these perfect women are that have the time/money/patience to make gummy worms from scratch or to spend hours felting rocks just because they are pretty?

Maybe it's the design magazines/blogs you read that constantly make you unhappy with the state of your house.  And that life would probably be a lot better if you had $4,000 to buy that designer chair, or maybe even just $400 for the knock-off of it.

Maybe it's facebook and all of the posts that people leave.  The ones where they rant on and on about the glory of God and all things happen for a reason, and you just want to punch them in the face and say that it absolutely wasn't God's will for bad things to happen to you or your family member. Sin isn't from God, people. Or maybe you just want to punch them in the face because they constantly post dumb stuff about the weather and how great their family is, when you've seen how they act together and have a pretty good idea that all is not roses and ponies at home.  I hate that, or did, I no longer have a facebook account, and I don't miss it at all.

It may even be the fact that people go on and on about what a good mother you are with all of those kids and what you really want to say is that you make mistakes and yell at your kids and threaten that if you have to get after them in Target they will all regret it. And that you use tv to get small moments of sanity.

Why can't we just be honest with ourselves and others?

I don't have time to hand-dye cool looking linens for my kids or make my house exactly how I want it because I am too busy raising 5 kids, which involves things like wiping butts and boogers off the wall and keeping a whole bunch of kids from physically attacking the others at times.  I would love to do all of the things that I have pinned  but when my kids go to bed I am just so darned tired that all I want to do is sleep.

I have come a long way with not putting up a front about how my life really is.  It used to be that when I was asked how things were going I would say good.  When a lot of the time that was a big fat lie.  I don't answer good anymore if it's not true.  I also don't ramble on and on about what currently sucks in my life, but I give a short, honest answer.

Life is too short to be fake.  Take me or leave me the way that I am.

It seems with all the time spent on the internet we are used to seeing people at their best and think that is how they always are.  Nobody wants to post the crap in their life.  So instead, everyone feels that they just don't add up to all the rest of the people that they have only blog stalked on the internet and never met in real life.  We end up feeling like less of a person because our blog "friends" have their lives together and our underwear has holes in them.  I think that us women need to give ourselves a break.

So that's what I am encouraging you to do- a hopefully small encouragement for the day- really, I swear it is!  Take a peek at all the stuff/people in your life and do some re-evaluation occasionally.  I think it will do us all wonders.

Um, I am going to go with a big yes on this one!

10 Crazy Kids in an Itty Bitty House

This week we had some friends over, see their craziness here.

Between us two ladies, we have 10 kids.  Now, I should probably preface all this with the fact that I used to be the mom that hated having play dates for her 18 month old because it was really just an extra kid to watch, and why ever would I want to do that??

Can't you see God just rolling his head back and laughing at my life now?  I can.

The best part about having play dates when your kids are old enough, you know, to actually play, is that the Mommas can get a moment or two to actually talk like adults.  And let me say how much I like to be an adult.

Plus, I have come a really long way compared to my former child-phobic self.  The kids ran in and the kids ran out (remember the worms crawl in and the worms crawl out song?  yuck)  They ran up the stairs and down the stairs.  Where, I am ashamed to admit looks like I should be on an episode of hoarders.  I'm working on it, I swear.  But honestly, I can barely keep the upstairs level of my house clean and it is just so much easier to ignore the basement.

The best thing, aside from us girls just chilling and chatting to the best of our ability, is that one of the boys told Owen that "your mom makes the coolest food ever".  Which made me feel like mother of the year, because I loathe lunches with a passion.  I can never, ever figure out what to make, and my kids seriously only want ramen and mac n' cheese, which isn't happening.  So gold star for me for that day.  And the lunch fare?  Pizza potatoes.  Put potatoes in the oven, cook for an hour, take out and add cheese, pepperoni and pizza sauce and walla- super awesome lunch fare according to the kiddos.  And not bad for the adults either.

Broken Nail Polish

Nope, my kids didn't do it, but they probably would have.  Just got back from Walmart which probably ranks right up there in my top 10 hellish trips.  Where my kids noticed a beautiful display of nail polish.  And then some other kids promptly knocked it over and broke all the bottles and spilled everything while my kids watched.

Can I say how relieved I am it wasn't me?  Mostly because for the last 15 minutes we had been in the store all three of the babies were crying and whining, Owen was running around like a mad man, and Ava was irritating Owen.

I am so tired I can barely function right now.  So instead, I am threatening my kids that we won't go to the beach tomorrow with our friends if they don't get their act together.  It's mostly working, probably because all of the babies are currently sleeping, and if I was smart I would be too.  But alas, now I have to unpack $200 worth of groceries and clean the house that I left a disaster when I went out this morning.

I hate days like this.

I have a yeller (and a biter)

Look at this kid.

So cute right?  Well, let me just say that the above mentioned child is NOT the same kid that we had when we left to Montana.  Some time in the 10 days that we were gone he decided to "flourish".  (See my attempt at a Made By Girl artwork in the back?  Not my best, but we had people coming over and I had to do something or they would see preggo Jess there, not a good alternative.)  He found his lungs to a remarkable degree that I have not often found in children.  And he found his teeth.  

None of my other kids were yellers or biters to the level that this little man is.  And I guess I get it.  He needs to yell above the noise created by his two year old holy terrors that he calls family.  Not to mention the bigger two kids.  And I suppose he bites because he can.  I should put that on a t-shirt for him.

But seriously, he turns red in the face and holds his arms all wonky while he lets us know how he really feels about the subject.  He also loves to yell when other people do it.  Kind of like a "look, I can do it too!"

Plus, while we were gone he decides to pull himself up into a standing position and walk around furniture.  They had to lower his crib while we were gone.  Before he could roll over, he just wouldn't.  We had maybe seen him do it less than 5 times.  Now, he is on a mission and finally realizes this whole mobility thing kinda rocks.  I think full on walking isn't too far down the line because since we have been home he will get himself to a free-standing position in the middle of the room all by himself.  My teeniest baby is growing up.  (That's how Owen referred to him when he first came home and couldn't keep all the new baby names straight!)

Here is an example of Truitt.  And we totally tried to get him to do his copy yelling thing, but it's not quite up to par.  He probably was annoyed that I kept shoving a camera in his face.  Still, it's kind of funny, and almost all the kids make an appearance, so someday, when they are all out of high school, we can look back on this and they can bust a gut laughing at themselves!

Not to mention that yesterday, all was quiet, never a good thing in a house with 5 kids, and when I went to hunt my little tribe down, I found Truitt playing in the toilet.  I cannot even try to explain my level of disgust at this.

Welcome to 3 toddlers.

Turn Me On Tuesday!

So I thought that I would try something new.  Every Tuesday I am going to post some things that I am loving.  Several blogs I follow have done stuff similar to this and I always love it because I find out about new things/ideas without having to search hard.

Without further ado, here is my first week:

1.  Garnier BB Cream


I am very low maintenance when it comes to make-up.  For the longest time I was a mascara and eye-liner girl.  Then the eye-liner slowly got dropped from my routine.  I have never done anything with foundation or powder or anything of that nature, mostly because I could never find a product that matched and I was too cheap to spend $35 on something from a fancy store.  However, I love the polished look of someone who has just a little bit on, like you can't even tell that they are wearing anything.  Due to a slight case of Rosacea, that is almost never me.  But one day I got a good coupon in the mail, and thought, what the heck.  And I bought this in light/medium.  Oh.my.word.  Love it.  I would wear it everyday except I don't like to wear stuff like this in super hot weather.  I put it on over my moisturizer/sunscreen.  It makes a world of a difference.  I probably will forever have this in my very limited arsenal.  $11.99

2.  Burts Bees Lip Shimmer




Still on a make-up kick- I truly swear to you I am low maintenance!  I happen to love a little color on my lips if I am going somewhere and not just kickin' it in my house.  But full on lipstick seems too heavy, and lip glosses can seem to "I am pretending to be a teenager with all the shine and goop".  In Montana my aunt had this in the color fig.  It is the perfect color- slightly more than your lip shade, but not too overwhelming.  And apparently in Montana it is THE hot seller.  I had to go to 3 separate stores because it was sold out.  I also just recently bought plum, which is a darker shade, I have a weakness for a dark plum-y lip.  The above shade Rhubarb is their number 1 seller according to the website, so I may have to give that a whirl as well, although the cap is kind of an intimidating pink for me.  $4.99

3.  Acrylic Paint Kits



I'll admit it, I am a wannabe artist.  I cannot for the life of me come up with anything on my own, I can however copy exceedingly well.  I recently bought a set of acrylic paints on clearance at JoAnn's for $6. (At the very least of if I flop, then I can use it for homeschooling Ava under art) The one above is $25 at Target online.  Mostly I did this because I have a frame on a wall in the kitchen that had a picture of me when I was pregnant with Owen on it (it was never on display, thank goodness!), I had it because I wanted the frame there but not the picture.  I needed something fast, and I decided to do something similar to a Cocoa and Hearts painting seen
here.  I am going to be 100% honest with you.  I really like Jen's blog Made By Girl, she is super trendy, lots of good ideas, and I love it- a christian.  However, her artwork for a small painting goes for $90.  And it is essentially strokes of a paintbrush in a row with different colors.  A great way to do a color scheme, but I won't pay $90 for it.  I can, however, do something similar.  And so I will.

4. Greek Gods Honey Yogurt



It looks like this, only with honey in the title.  This is serious yogurt, super thick and a very unique taste.  The best way to eat it is a dollop or two with blueberries on top, don't eat too much as it is extremely thick, a little dab will do you.  It rocks.  That is about all I can say about that.  $4.99 for a tub.  Too expensive to feed to your kids!  

5.  Paris Hilton Perfume  (This specific one below, not all of them)



Okay, so before you all drag me out behind the barn and shoot me for such a seriously faux pas, just go and smell it, okay?  I smelled this on a woman that I passed one day several years ago, and I had to stop her and ask her what it was.  She very quietly said that it was Paris Hilton perfume.  To which my jaw hit the floor and I said something intelligent like "really"?  Anyway, as ashamed as I am to admit it's beginnings, I love this perfume.  So much so that it has become my signature scent.  A 4 piece gift set at Target is $32.00  Just so I can have some dignity left after this post, I also love J'adore, and Pleasures, both of which are considered high falutin' types of perfumes.  There, now I respect myself a little bit more!

My Wheat Berries (That just sounds wrong!)

Once upon a time, you know, before baby fest 2011 and we went from 2 to5 kids, I used to make my own bread.  I did this because 1. it was cheaper and 2. it tasted better.  Plus, if I am honest with myself, it kind of made me feel good to be so Martha Stewart about something.  


Then everything went crazy at our house and making bread is something I no longer had the time for.  Did I mention it was by hand and not cheating with a bread machine or mixer of any sort?

Shoot forward in time about 7 months or so and I read a couple of Survivalist blogs and start freaking out because I have about 5 cans of food in my pantry and if the end of the world as we know it happened my family would starve because cream of mushroom soup and tuna aren't all that great together and are really hard to stretch to feed a family of 7.  I learn that wheat berries will store for 30 years in the right conditions and are what flour is made of anyway.  Plus there are tons of ways to use them and they are super beneficial if you sprout them, and since I have been trying to be on a get-more-healthy kick, I considered myself sold!  Lo and behold my local Walmart (sigh) has them and pretty reasonable too.  So I buy 25 pounds of wheat berries.  And then I buy a couple more sacks of wheat berries.

Now I am the proud owner of about 100 pounds of wheat berries.  But to make flour you need a grinder of some sort and so I get one of those.  Now I am the proud owner of 100 pounds of wheat berries and a hand-crank grinder and guess what?  No freshly ground flour and no hand made bread.  Although I did bust out the grinder to make sure that it does, in fact, grind the wheat.  Just in case it didn't and I had to return the thing.

One of my bags-o-wheat.  

I am blaming it on the fact that my life is just too busy to  make bread, let alone grind the flour for it.  You know, because reading all those design blogs is just so time consuming.  And it's not my fault that Word World on public television is such a great show.  I suppose I could line up all my kids manufacturing style and make them all grind the berries into flour, and when it comes time to kneading they could each take a turn starting with the oldest down to the youngest for maximum kneading impact, but I am not sure that is such a good idea because Truitt just learned how to pick his nose, and I am sure this is something he learned from his older brothers and sisters....

Good thing that wheat berries last for so long, because I am not sure I am going to get around to them any time soon.  Although, now that I am thinking about it, we did get our tax return and if I bought a bread machine that would cut down on a lot of the time involved with making bread.  Hmm, I wonder if I could convince hubby that this was a good idea?  We do go through a lot of bread, so much so that Kembia and Moyz have started turning up their noses at peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

Plus, I am pretty sure that I am home-schooling Ava next year, so maybe I can make her grind the wheat berries and make bread and write it off as home-ec.  Do the even require home ec any more?  Well they will at the Nelson School of Life.  I remember when they used to make classes take home the little battery powered babies that poop and cry and all that stuff.  Ava would be like whatever, I can do this with my eyes closed.   Give me three of those things to take care of and then maybe it might just be a challenge.  I always thought that they did it to discourage kids from getting knocked up in high school, but perhaps they need to up the amount of children you take home seeing as the rate of young, still in school, minor-aged mothers seems to still be increasing.  Maybe I should offer the local school a chance to send their kids to my home for that portion of the class.  It seems like a pretty good way to help promote abstinence.

Okay, back to the wheat berries.  I just learned that my uncle is a wheat farmer, and berries is a yuppie term for it.  They call them wheat kernels.  He grows wheat in Montana where I just learned an interesting fact that 70% of the wheat grown in Montana is exported.  And my awesome price for wheat that I was paying actually sucks and is expensive compared to just buying it off the farm.  But this is all okay, because if wheat berries can truly last for 30 years, they could theoretically outlive me (that's a depressing thought) and I can just bequeath them to a lucky family member, who I am sure will be more than ecstatic about the gift.  Probably, just for fun, I think I will have them go to my new niece, who currently is 1 month old.  Sweet little thing that she is.  Mostly I would do this because her parents are the yuppiest, high maintenance people I know.  And in the off chance that they are reading this blog, I love you to death! But truly, they are great parents and I really do love them a lot.  But it would be stinking hilarious to see their expressions when their first child gets 100 pounds of wheat in the event that I kick the bucket before I use it all up.

And until I either kick the bucket, or actually make bread with my wheat berries, at least I have the comfort that they last forever.  Some day, I swear I will make the best loaf of bread known to mankind and then I will kick myself severely for wasting money on store bought, laden with all sorts of preservatives and crap, bread.