Happy New Year! (A little late!)

Love these little ones!  I'm a little late in posting this but better late than never! :)

David had to work on New Year's eve.  I stayed home with the munchkins who as you can see were all up and happy to celebrate at midnight!  Xander was in MI with his Grama and Papa, aunt and uncle and cousins.  We talked with him just after midnight over facetime.  David called home from Dave & Buster's to count down the ball drop and wish us a happy new year!  It was a nice relaxing night at home.  We're excited about what this new year will bring for our family.  It's already going by so quickly.  I can't believe that its already the end of February!

I'm hoping for a lot of things this year but most of all I'm just praying that we get through it healthy, with happy memories and less clutter :) 

Setting Up Shop

Love waking up to these smiley faces everyday.  That doesn't mean that doing it is easy!  Having five kids is a lot of work, noise and chaos but its also a lot of hugs, laughs and love, too.  There's not a day goes by that one of my children doesn't say "I love you, Mommy!"  How awesome is that.  Brandon and Xander are always telling me they love me and giving me hugs.  They are my big helpers.  It seems like they are so "big" because they are the oldest.  Brandon always seems so big to me because he's the oldest.  Every once in a while I get a reminder that he's only 8... almost 9.  He's so excited about his birthday coming up in 10 days.  At first he didn't want to have a party but then he changed him mind.  He wants to invite friends over for dinner and ice cream like we did last year.  They all get so excited about birthdays.  Not just theirs, they get excited any time its someone's birthday.  I'm looking forward to celebrating with him. 

 

Today the kids were playing "store."  They were so cute, setting up shops and pretending to buy things from one another.  Isabella had a dress shop and practically emptied out her whole closet and hung them around in her store.  I love to see them using their imaginations and playing nicely together.  The boys were just gathering random things to sell.  They borrowed some change so they had money to buy and sell.  Rosalie loves to play with her siblings.  The boys will fight with Isabella sometimes but they baby Rosalie.  Whatever she wants, they will generally give her.  I think a lot of that has to do with the age difference.  Rosalie still seems like the "baby" even though she's two and half and talks and plays with them now.  They remember when she was born.  She was their baby.  Now Michael is their baby and he is smothered by all!  They all love him and want to hold him.  The boys help with him a lot.  He's starting to pull up and crawl!  He'll be playing toys with them in no time. 

 

When I put the girls to bed tonight Rosalie said her usual prayer: "Thank you God for food.  Thank you friends and family.  Jesus name, Amen!"  I gave her a hug and told her I loved her.  She touched my face and said, "I love you, too, Mommy."  She's so sweet.  I told her as I always do, "Jesus loves you, too."  She said, "Jesus loves me?"  Yes, he does.  The Bible says he loves all of us.  As she prayed I thanked God for her.  I was overwhelmed by the thought that God trusted me to be the mom of each of these children.  I want to be the best mom that I can be.  I'm so thankful for each of my children and that they have the opportunity to know Jesus and follow him.  I pray that we will all be together in eternity.

2014 Came and Went...

Looking back through this blog today I realized that I didn't post a single post in 2014.  Life hasn't gotten any less busy.  Amazingly, I think its gotten busier.  In 2014, we moved to a new house, had a baby, celebrated our 10th anniversary, continued to grow Bobi Biederman Photography and homeschool!

We absolutely love our little Michael David who was born July 28th.  He is adored by all of his siblings and anyone who meets him.  He's got a smile that will win anyone over! 

I continue to have the desire to do more than I'm possibly capable of doing each day and its exhausting.  I'm slowly learning that I have to choose what it is that is most important to me to accomplish each day and most of the time I don't even get that done!  With five children eight and under there are a lot of demands on my time.  I know that this is just the stage of life that we're in right now and that's fine.  One day at a time.

Answer to Prayer?

I was reading through some old posts in my blog tonight.  Honestly, its been a while since I've posted much of anything on here.  There always seems to be more important things to do.  Whether or not that's true, I always enjoy going back and reading through my old posts.  Afterall that's what this blog is all about for me, preserving memories for the future.  I came across a particular post that brought tears to my eyes.  http://biederwoman.blogspot.com/2011/08/sorry-son-daddy-has-to-go-to-work.html

It's a short post about my son pretending to be his dad "going to work."  The boys missed their dad and always looked forward to his days off.  They would pray "that Daddy can play games with us."  David was working a lot back then.  He spent as much time as he could with them but it wasn't enough.  That was August 2011.  Fast forward to January 2012 and he lost his job.  Fourteen years with the company and just like that.  Boom.

It wasn't easy.  God had another plan for us.

It's been almost two years.  The boys still ask, "When is Daddy's day off?" but they get to spend so much more time with him.  He's able to be so much more a part of their everyday life than he was before.  They love their daddy and he loves them.   Did God answer their prayers?  I think He did.

Just another Midnight

All four kids are in bed asleep.  What to do? What to do?  Laundry?  Clean the kitchen?  Clean, clean, clean and clean some more?  No.  Even though I have a laundry list of stuff to do, I can't.  I've been cleaning and taking care of four kids all day and I'm too tired to do it half the night, too.  I need time to sit down and relax and often my time sitting down is spent on the computer (no, not just on facebook!) working on my photography - reading guides and tutorials, editing photos or working on my website.  There is so much to do that I feel like I can NEVER get caught up... EVER. 

Some days its really frustrating especially when I visit someone else and their house is all neat and clean. I come home and look around and think am I the only one who can't get my crap together.  How do people do it?  I just don't know how people do it...especially people who work full time.  Do they ever sleep??

Seriously, I'm hoping this is just a phase of my life.  Someday, my daughter is not going to rip all of her clothes out of her drawers just to get dressed in the morning... or the afternoon... or get her jammies on.  Someday, they're not going to leave their toys laying around for me to tell them twenty times to clean them up.  Someday, they'll get showered, dressed and brush their own teeth.  Someday, we'll have a class room so there won't be school stuff all over the kitchen table.  Someday, things will be different.  That's what I keep telling myself anyway....

Then I remind myself that I have four beautiful, healthy kids.  I woke up this morning with so much to be grateful for.  I can't let things like a messy house or a temper tantrum ruin my day.  I am so blessed to have a husband that loves me and works hard for our family.  I am so blessed to have healthy children and to be able to spend my days with them.  For the most part, I do what I want to do when I want to do it.  Sometimes its harder with little ones but they won't be little forever and from what I've experienced so far it doesn't get easier when they get older - it just gets different.  The best way I've heard it described is it goes from being physically demanding to mentally demanding.  No one said being a parent was easy.  And it's not!  It's what I wanted and its what I still want.  I wouldn't give up any of my children for anything in this world.  I think sometimes its easy to get wrapped up in the day to day drama of life and forget about the big picture.  I want to be a mom.  That's what God called me to do.  I can feel it in my bones.  Thankfully, he didn't expect me to do it alone.

My Sweet Girls

Wow! Time really does keep on ticking whether you want it to or not.  I'm ashamed to admit that I haven't been making all of those great decisions that I planned to and here comes Christmas a mere 27 days from now.  I'm not even close to my goal.  However, just as I predicted my sweet Rosalie is much bigger and smilier!  She's almost sitting up all by herself and she's rolling from back to front.  She's adorable and loved by all who meet her.  She wins them over with her tonguey grin!  Her brothers and sister all love her and enjoy having her around.  Isabella still likes to copy her and is slipping into a "baby" phase.  I don't make too much of a big deal out of most of it because I know it's just her two year old way of handling having a baby sister who gets a lot of attention.  She will sometimes put a pacifier in her mouth to try and get a reaction.  She is more attached to her bottle than ever.  She wants to dress like her baby sister and use "baby" spoons to eat her food.  Tonight we discovered that they just don't work too well with spaghetti! 
In spite of all her "babyness" Isabella is successfully training to go potty on the potty and not in her diaper!  Yay!  Potty training is tough.  It's a messy job but it's got to be done.  She's doing great!  Week one down.  I waited until she let me know she was ready.  She did this by wanting to purchase some Dora underwear at the store.  She's wanted underwear before but this time seemed different.  She opened them in the car and couldn't wait to get home and wear them.  I let her put a pair on when we got home.  She wore them the rest of the night without a single accident (going on the potty three times!) and then didn't want to wear a diaper to bed.  I let her go to sleep in them but quietly changed her into a diaper after she was fast asleep.  She didn't protest as much when she was sleepy.  The next day she did great except for pooping in her underwear and the day after that the same.  I set up a sticker chart for her.  She puts a sticker on each time she goes on the potty and when she gets 10 in a row she gets a small gift.  It's working!  She wouldn't poop on the potty and after several days I was desperate to find something to motivate her.  I went into the attic and got one of her wrapped Christmas presents.  I showed it to her.  I showed her her name on it and I placed it on the bathroom sink.  I told her when she went poop on the potty that it was hers.  Within a few hours, she finally pooped in the toilet!  She proudly called for me and informed me that "Now I can have my snowman present!" Motivation.  That's all she needed!  She still has a couple of accidents a day but she's going regularly and will even tell me she has to go when she has a pull-up on and we're out.  Hopefully this whole process will not take too long! :)

Using the Slight Edge To My Advantage

Still wearing maternity clothes because I
can't fit into regular ones yet.  Rosalie is
2 1/2 weeks old in this picture :)

I gave birth to Rosalie Faith on June 7th at 10:18 a.m. She is such a blessing!  She came into this world weighing 8 lbs and 20 1/4 inches long.  Even though she is much bigger than her brothers and sister were when they were born, she is still so tiny and fragile.  My beautiful baby girl is almost three weeks old.  To me she still looks like the same adorable little newborn that we brought home from the hospital, but each day she is changing and growing.  I see her everyday so I don't always see those tiny changes. 

One of my favorite books is Jeff Olsen's "The Slight Edge."  If you haven't read it, you should.  It will change the way you see life and time.  Time is always going by and whether we like it or not, the decisions that we make everyday are making tiny changes in our life.  Before I got pregnant with Rosalie I was already overweight.  I gained 40 lbs during my pregnancy.  So far I've lost 27 lbs since I had her.  My goal is to lose 73 lbs by Christmas therefore I have 46 more lbs to lose. 

Forty-six pounds in six months.  How do I plan to do it?  By using the slight edge to my advantage.  By making better decisions in my eating and activity everyday I will be able to lose this weight by Christmas.  My sweet little Rosalie is changing in tiny ways everyday that I can't see but when I look at a picture of her from when she was born to when she is a month old those changes will be obvious.  By the time she is six months or so she will be learning to roll over, sit up or scoot.  Her body is getting bigger and stronger everyday.  In a year, she will be learning to walk and talk and I'll think as many parents do, "I can't believe she's a year old already!"  That time is coming.  Every minute that goes by she gets closer to being a year old.  I don't want that time to come and have regrets that I didn't do the little things that could add up to big changes in my health and body.  In one year, when I celebrate my baby girl's first birthday, I plan to be in the best shape of my life!

One more day...

We made it through camping!  We ended up leaving for Cook Forest on Friday after Brandon got out of school and stayed until Sunday afternoon.  The kids had so much fun playing outside with their friends.  We weren't too far from the bathrooms and sleeping on the air mattress was just as comfortable as sleeping at home. I think I probably slept better because I was more tired when I went to bed.  We got up around 7:30 each morning which made for a long day.  We ended up leaving a couple of hours early.  It was pouring rain and I was having contractions.  Turns out, after five straight hours of them, that I was "dehydrated."  I was having contractions but they were not causing me to dilate therefore I was not in labor.  We went to the hospital where they gave me an IV of basically Gatorade and sent me home.  It was nice to be home Monday and not have anything we had to do.

I've had contractions for hours at a time on several occasions since then but still no dilation.  My body is getting ready but taking it's sweet old time.  I've had terribly swollen feet for months now and its gotten progressively worse.  When I went to the doctor on  Wednesday, May 30th, my blood pressure was 138/84 so my doctor ordered some blood work and another ultrasound.  The blood work showed that some things were a little off (literally that's what they told me!) but nothing to worry about.  The ultrasound was good.  They claimed she weighed about 7 1/2 lbs at that point.  I'm curious to see how accurate this is because that would put her over 8 lbs. at birth which would be crazy to me since Brandon, Xander and Isabella were 6 lb. 14 oz., 6 lb. 6 oz., and 6 lb. 11 oz.  Rosalie would definitely get the prize for biggest baby at birth!  I went back on Friday for a blood pressure check-up and it was staying steady.  I was concerned about preeclampsia but my doctor didn't seem to have the same concern after getting all the tests back. 

Went back again on Monday for another blood pressure check and ultrasound.  Both were good.  I got to watch Rosalie practice breathing even though it seemed very shallow compared to when I watched Isabella do that at 30 weeks.  Now we wait.  Isabella was born at 38 weeks 5 days.  Today was 38 weeks 5 days for Rosalie and she didn't make her appearance.  Tomorrow is her last chance to come on her own time and, if not, then Thursday at about 9:30 a.m. they will be wheeling me into the OR to take her out. 

The kids are in MI with their grandparents having lots of fun.  They went to the zoo today.  I miss them but it's been nice to have a couple of quiet days with David.  We have been able to get some things done that we've been putting off.  So many things to go through and organize.  Basically the extra cleaning that we don't usually get to.  We've had some fun too.  Sunday we went to the movies and saw Snow White and the Huntsman and The Avengers.  It was nice to go to the movies and enjoy a night out - just the two of us.  David had bought me a gift card to the movies for Christmas!  Still hadn't gone and it's June.  So I think it was worth watching two movies.  Who knows when we'll get to go again after Rosalie is born and the kids are all back home.  We have gone to some kids movies.  We just usually don't get to go to "grown up" ones.  Over spring break we went to see The Lorax.  Isabella was ok for most of the movie but she couldn't sit through the whole thing which meant I had to get up and walk around with her... Just not the same as going out with my husband!

So we're down to a maximum of 33.5 hours left in this pregnancy.  Knowing that is a strange feeling.  I'm going to miss my belly... Not going to miss my ogreish swollen feet, sleepless/uncomfortable nights, aching/swollen arms, acid in my throat... Just going to miss my pregnant belly and her little kicks, her little hic-ups and feeling her little body in my belly.  Carrying around another person inside your belly is a pretty awesome thing.  A special time that is coming to an end.  Now we're moving on and I'm ready to meet this new little blessing!  Come on Rosalie, we're ready for you to come out!!

To Camp or Not to Camp

This is the first time I've ever been at the end of my pregnancy and NOT wanted to go into labor.  We're hoping to go camping this weekend (Memorial Weekend) - well, the kids and I are.  David cooperates but camping is not his favorite thing to do.  I'm 36 weeks.  I'll be 37 on Thursday.  I know the chances of me going into labor before we go are about 50/50 and the chances of me going into labor when we're gone are probably more like 75/50 because Brandon and Xander were both born by 37 weeks.  Isabella hung in there for what seemed like forever and was born at 38 1/2 weeks even though I wanted so badly for her to come out!  What are the chances that the girls would be similar in that way?

If she's born then great! We stay home and have a baby but if she's not, why sit at home and do nothing when we could be out camping with friends?  I've been told by many people that I'm crazy for still wanting to go camping.  I blow them off of course, but a tiny part of me is screaming "They're right!  I'm going to go into labor and have this baby on the side of the road!"  That's probably extreme but I do have to admit it is a little scary to think of what COULD happen.  I did talk with my doctor though which gave me some confidence that everything will be fine.

So will we go camping or will we have a baby and stay home?  If we go camping, will we leave in a rush for the hospital?  Only God knows and only time will tell...

Isabella at 18 months

I wrote this more than six months ago but for some reason just never finished it...

My sweet girl recently turned 18 months old.  She is learning new things everyday.  Even though she is my third, I am still amazed at what she is cabable of doing at this age.  I love her big blue eyes and soft blonde curls.  Her stick straight bangs reach down to her lips now but I refuse to cut them.  Most of the time she wears her hair in a clip to the side.  Lately she's been pulling it out of her hair although I don't understand how she can tolerate her hair in front of her eyes! If I ask her about her hairbow she will say "hairbow" and run and get it.  She usually knows exactly where it is. 

She has become much more interested in watching t.v. lately.  She's been a Baby Einstein fan for awhile, but now she enjoys Blue's Clues, Dora, Diego or whatever her brothers are watching.  I've started putting on Care Bears and Strawberry Shortcake for her because I liked them when I was little.  She'll watch them but the cartoons are usually too long for her attention span.

She is saying many new words and will try to repeat almost anything you ask her to say.  She's not shy in sharing her feelings.  If she wants something, she will let you know.  Usually either by smacking you or getting in your face.  She loves her baby dolls.  She will carry them around, sit with them or push them in the stroller.  She calls cats and other animals - dogs - similar to the boys at this age. 

She loves her big brothers and wants to do everything they are doing.  For the most part they are good with her.  They give her a kiss and hug each night as she goes to bed and usually each day as she goes for nap.  She surprised me the other day as I got ready to put her down for nap.  I had gotten her bottle of milk (yes, she still takes a bottle for nap and bedtime and I'm not worried about it) and showed it to her.  She immediately stopped what she was doing and got up to follow me as she always does but I said to her "Go tell Daddy 'Na-night' and you'll see him when you wake up."  She ran right over to David and puckered up her little lips to him!  It was so cute!!  He gave her a kiss and a little hug and she turned and ran right back to me.  I guess 18 months of carrying her around to kiss and hug everyone before bedtime paid off! 

The end is near...

So much for blogging a lot through this pregnancy!  Our baby girl, Rosalie Faith, is expected to be born within the next three to four weeks.  She is a big girl.  At 33 weeks, she weighed 4 lbs. 14 oz.  I think she just might be our biggest baby at birth.  Brandon was born at 37 weeks - the biggest at 6 lbs. 14 oz.  Xander was the smallest born at 36.5 weeks. weighing 6 lbs. 6.6 oz.  Isabella was right in the middle even though she wasn't born until 38.5 weeks weighing 6 lbs. 11 oz. 

Of course, I've gained way more weight than I had intended to. I look forward to losing it all and more after the baby is born.  It should be easy to lose the weight chasing after four kids all day every day, right?  I know I'll have to work at it but I'm determined that I'm going to do it this time.  My goal is to lose 65 lbs. by Christmas.

We are all excitedly awaiting Rosalie's birth.  I have so much to do though before she is born.  I have bags to pack, baby stuff to wash and lots of cleaning/yard work to do.  I keep thinking that I have plenty of time to get all these things done.  I had my 35 week apt yesterday though and the Dr. told me that I am 50% effaced and dilated to a 1.  Doesn't mean she is going to be here tomorrow but it does remind me that the clock is ticking!  

Rosalie is going to stay in mine and David's room until she is at least 4-6 months old and then she will share a room with Isabella.  Eventually the two of them will end up with bunk beds like the boys.  I think it is so wonderful that we have two boys close in age and now two girls close in age.  How wonderful God is.  Jeremiah 29:11 says "I have a plan for you..." He certainly does.  God has been great to us and we're so grateful for all the blessings that He has given us.  I look forward to seeing what else He has planned.

Pregnant: Week 9 Rant

8 week ultrasound picture

I keep saying that this pregnancy has been rougher than my other ones but I think the reality is that its pretty much the same.  I think I've always been exhausted, nauseous, unable to eat very well and generally feeling pretty crappy the first trimester.  I think I just forget because in reality its only a couple of months and is quickly replaced with other concerns.  Its kind of like those first newborn months, for me anyway, after awhile they're all a blur!
 
This week I reach week 9.  This is especially important to me because I feel like I'm getting past the miscarriage worry.  I've seen the baby on ultrasound twice now.  Once at 7 weeks 1 day and once at 8 weeks.  The baby looked great both times and I could clearly see and hear its little heart beating.  The tech said it was about 133 bpm.  After losing three babies I worry a lot during those first few weeks.  This pregnancy I did have a small blood clot but, thank God, it disappeared by the 8 week ultrasound. 

I'm starting to realize that some of my stomach discomfort is being caused by my pants being too tight around my stomach.  Mostly when I sit down.  I guess its time to get the belly bands out.  Some friends recommended them to me when I was pregnant with Isabella.  They sure made a difference and I was able to wear my regular pants a lot longer.  They were nice after my c-section too. 

Thankfully I haven't really gained any weight to this point.  I'm trying to watch my weight and have a "healthier" pregnancy but it hasn't been easy to exercise since I feel so crappy most of the time.  I'm not able to eat much.  My stomach hurts all the time.  It will hurt when I'm hungry then hurt when I eat.  I can't eat anything spicy or drink coffee.  I have to eat very small portions when I do eat or I get really sick to my stomach afterward.  Its not fun but I'm hoping this stage will be over in a couple of weeks.

I started taking Zofran 4 mg that dissolves because I was having so much nausea that I felt like I was unable to function most days.  I have five kids to care for Monday-Friday so I have to be able to function.  So far it is definitely helping.  It's expensive though and I don't want to take it too much so I've only been taking it in the morning and not at night.  It has its own side effects but at this point I think its good that I'm taking it.  Hopefully by week 11 or 12 the nausea will let up and I'll be able to stop. 

So I feel like crap, but it won't last forever.  I know the ups and downs of pregnancy but in the end the little bundle of joy that will be placed in my arms in June will make all of this a blur just as the last three have.  I'm going to try to blog this pregnancy as much as possible.  It's fun to look back and who knows - maybe there will be a baby number five and I can look back and say "oh, yeah.  I remember now.  It will be over soon!"

We're having baby number four!

As we left the grocery store tonight, I had Isabella in the cart and the other two tagging along.  My stomach was bothering me and I was so tired.  All of a sudden, as if for the first time, I thought to myself "I'm going to have FOUR kids."  I unlocked the car and lifted Isabella out of the cart as the boys ran to the other side to get in.  Brandon can get in and buckle himself but Xander still needs my help.  I loaded the groceries into the car and  and then started to buckle Xander in.  I heard a woman's voice behind me.  "Do you want me to take that cart for you?  Looks like you have your hands full," she said.  I hear that comment a lot!

I'm excited about adding another member to our family and so are the boys.  David is, too, just in a different way.  He loves the kids and says that he will love any more that we have.  I'm lucky to have him.  The boys talk about "the baby" often and like to see what the baby looks like and hear about how it is developing at www.babycenter.com.  Brandon says he would like a brother and Xander says he would like a sister but I think they both will be happy whichever the baby is.  I will too but a girl would be "ideal" since she will be sharing a room with Isabella that is currently bright pink, the swing, jumparoo and carseat that I have are all pink and I have way more girl clothes and shoes than I have boy stuff.  That's what Kids' Closets are for though.  If it's a boy I will sell a lot of the girl stuff to trade in for boy stuff and we'll paint the bedroom a neutral color.

Telling people you're pregnant with your fourth baby is much different than telling them you're pregnant with your first or even second.  It's entertaining in a way!  Seems like it's not common for people to want to have big families anymore.  I've always wanted to be a mom and have a big family.  I love each one of my children so much.  I love that they have each other.  I can't imagine my life without any one of them and I know I'll feel the same way about any more children that God blesses us with. 

There's a new sherriff in town!

Seen one of these yet?  Chances are you may since Chrysler's Warren Truck Plant is making 250 of these big boys.  This is one big truck!  The boys enjoyed checking it out and I have to say I was pretty impressed as well.  This one was on display during the truck plant's Family Day that we attended since my mom works there.  According to DaveAdmin at www.allpar.com, "The Ram would most likely be sold as a “special service vehicle” rather than as a pursuit truck. Neither Ford nor GM offer a pickup with a specified police package, and there is a market: commercial enforcement, game wardens, and park rangers all use pickups, along with some specialized police officers (e.g. at weigh stations)."   Other than that, there is little information to be found about where they are going or when they will get there.  The boys enjoyed seeing where Grama works although we were unable to get to where she actually works because they had half of the plant blocked off.  The weather was quite cold and windy for early October but at least the sun was shining.  We were able to sign some pieces of a white truck which the boys thought was pretty cool.  Then walked around the plant to see different phases of trucks being built.  The boys enjoyed watching the "robots."  Then it was outside for lunch and the bouncy house.  They had veggie burgers!  Gotta love the veggie burgers :)

Brandon's playing soccer!



Brandon and some of his teammates at their first practice.  There are 11 boys on the team. 



Brandon, being five this year and starting Kindergarten, is finally able to play soccer through the city's soccer league.  He is on team Cosmos and plays his games on Saturday mornings at the middle school.  They practice there on Thursday nights.  He calls the middle school his "soccer school." He was not too thrilled with the idea of playing soccer when I first announced it to him.  He slowly came around though as he got used to the idea and eventually became very excited about it once he got his new gear.  We took him to the sporting goods store and got him some soccer shoes, knee socks, black shorts and a shiny new size 3 soccer ball.  He couldn't wait to get his jersey and was dressed for soccer by 10 a.m. the next day even though his practice wasn't until 6 p.m!  "I don't want to be late," he told me!

I was a little nervous about his first practice because we had tried basketball before and he clung to us for dear life not wanting to participate like the other kids.  He was more than a year older now, but I was still unsure of his reaction since he didn't know the coach or the other kids on his team.  He was great though!  He participated the whole time.  When he got in the car all red and sweaty I asked him if he had fun and he said that he did.  What a relief! 



He looks a little nervous out their but he had fun. :)



I was unsure about signing him up but very happy that I did after that moment.  After he had gotten upset when I first mentioned it to him that I was signing him up, I doubted that he was ready.  He would cry and say he didn't want to play.  It costs money to sign them up so I didn't want to do that if he wasn't going to play.  After talking with a couple of other parents I decided that it was worth a shot.  The advice that I received made sense:  This is the first year that he can play and the other kids his age would be "new" too.  It would be harder for him to join later when the other kids had more experience and knew each other already.  He was probably more scared of the idea because he didn't know what to expect.  If he didn't like it, at least he tried.  So I decided to go for it and I'm glad I did!

Their first game was rained out.  I had signed up for snack and made blueberry muffins from scratch.  They had team and individual pictures the following week before their first game which I'm looking forward to seeing... He made the goofiest smile!   He didn't score any goals but he enjoyed playing and that's what counts!  They don't keep score anyway.  At this age their just learning to play the game.  He did score a goal at his second game but I couldn't be there to watch and therefore have no pictures.  He will miss his third game when we're out of town this weekend but he'll get to play at least two more.  Hopefully they will reschedule the rain out, too!

Brandon giving his coach a high-five after one of his teammates scores a goal.

"Go Brandon!"

Xander was a little bummed that he couldn't get out there and play too but his day is coming...

Can't forget our little cheerleader!  She enjoys the games as much as the boys do :)

Brandon likes having his daddy at his games!  Hopefully he'll be able to go to all of them.



This goofy boy is enjoying his first year of soccer!  Doesn't he look so cute in his uniform!?

Making a home for "Froggy" :)

While on one of his trips to Michigan with Grama and Papa, Brandon acquired a little green frog whom he affectionately refers to as "Froggy."  Apparently Froggy was found resting on the hummingbird feeder when they got back from their trip.  At first they were feeding him little frog/tadpole pellets which he had no interest in.  About a week later we discovered with the help of a friend that he prefers live crickets.  The first time I gave him one (almost a week after he'd been captured) he attacked it pronto.  The poor guy was starving!!!  Since then he has been fed on a regular basis a nice diet of one sometimes two little crickets.  I feel a little bad for the crickets when I go and "choose" who is to die that day... oh, well, they're just crickets, right? 

 Froggy was living in a small maybe one gallon size travel tank for a couple of weeks but tonight we decided to make the little guy a "real" home.  So we decided to research terrariums and set him up with a more natural environment.  Froggy is about one inch long and a half inch wide - very small.  From my observations of him and the reseach that I've done on the internet I'm guessing that his is some type of tree frog, possible a White's Tree Frog.  I think that as he grows it will become more apparent exactly what type of tree frog that he is.  Tree frogs prefer to climb and stay up in the trees which is why I think Froggy likes to hide in the corners of his cage.  He would probably be happier in an arboretum but I had this old ten gallon aquarium and had to go with what I had.  I'm in no way an expert on frogs or terrariums, this is just what we did in order to provide a better home for our pet.  The munchkins enjoyed watching but couldn't really do much to help. 

So this is how we put together Froggy's new home...   

This is the "terrarium" with just some tiny rocks left from when it was an aquarium. They are for drainage and air for the roots of the plants.  They must stay in the bottom because if the frog accidentally eats one he may die of indegestion.



This would be Isabella posing complete with a "cheeeese!"  She likes to check out the frog and is excited about it's new home (and apparently her new seat in the kitchen!)  I put about 4-5 inches of humus (basically dirt) in the bottom and planted this viney plant (don't know the name of it.)

I then planted an ivy plant on the other side.  Both are small plants that I think will do well in the terrarium.  I can trim them as needed to keep them small and they should provide good hiding places for the frog and a "living" environment.

This is an overhead view of the frogs new space.  I put a couple of branches in there.  I plan to find more but this is what I had for now.  He likes to climb high up and hide in the corners so I was trying to help him out with that.



I put a small dish of water in the center of the cage for Froggy to sit in and keep moist.  I plan to mist the area once in a while to help him to stay moist as well.  I gave the plants a little water but I don't want to over water them.  I'm considering adding a couple of little worms to the soil to help keep it "clean" and provide air pockets for the plants. 



Here is Froggy enjoying his new home.  He looks forward to his meal of crickets in the morning.  Luckily our yard is full of them!  The family enjoys watching Froggy attack and eat.  It seems to be a highlight of our day these days!  Hopefully he will be happy in his new home.  He is our only pet for now.  We have a tadpole coming in November!

"Sorry, son. Daddy has to go to work."

Brandon and Xander were playing pretend as usual today. I let them play with David's old poker chips which they love to count and stack and play games with. They cleaned them up and had a snack. Brandon then grabs the metal case that the chips are in and says in a rough voice, "Sorry, son. Daddy has to go to work. I can't play games with you, son." He then heads down the hallway with Xander in tow and says, "I'm going to Applebee's."

I don't know if I can even tell you all the things that were going through my mind as I witnessed this innocent little moment in their play. Sadness, first and foremost, I would say. This is obviously something that has affected him as I'm sure it does any child who just wants to play games with his dad who has to work a lot. He'll often ask me, "Mommy, when is Daddy's day off?" He's too young to understand the reasoning behind David being gone at work all the time.

I was amused by my little five year old's attempt to pretend to be grown up. I was surprised even though I shouldn't be by how much his dad's absence is affecting him. Each day when we pray before our meals both he and Xander will add "Pray that Daddy can play games with us." They love their Dad and enjoy the time that he spends playing "games" with them - usually Xbox 360 games. That's their thing. It's very rare that I will play them with them so they look forward to playing with Daddy. Brandon will sometimes ask me when he can "teach" me how to play. I just smile and tell him honestly that mommy doesn't have time to sit and play. I'm content to let that be their thing that they do with Daddy. :)

Cake Decorating 101



Started a cake decorating class today. The class is supposed to be four weeks long but I missed the first week (although I didn't miss much that day.) We are going to ice a single layer cake each class. I will post pics of my cakes each week. Today we learned to base frost a cake, make stars and handwriting as well as transfer a pattern. Did you know you can transpose just about any image onto a cake using piping gel? Interesting stuff. Basically most of this I learned in a class by the same teacher at the public library. Terri Houdeshell is the owner of Sweetstuff Bakery and teaches classes at the library and Old Firehouse.

Brandon is a goof!

I was by far the oldest person in the class today however two people were unable to make it so hopefully that will change next week. The other three students today were about twelve. One of them lost a tooth during class! Then she accidentally threw it in the garbage. Fortunately though it was found. 

Isabella's word of the day "cheese!" 
She said it for her picture.  She is learning a new
word literally everyday.  She is awesome!

I didn't have time to finish my cake but the kids were all very excited to see me (the cake) when I got home! The boys had to watch me finish icing it of course and helped me decide what to write on it. They wanted all of their names on it :) Hopefully over the next couple of weeks I will learn more things to help enhance the quality of my cakes. In the mean time though my kids will enjoy eating them! ...And I get to enjoy 2 and a half hours of Mommy time! YAY! (I'm learning! I need some time for me so I don't go crazy!)

UPDATE:  During this class, we learned stars and shells, etc.  It was a review for me but I enjoyed making this cake for my kids and they enjoyed eating it!  I did turn out to be the only adult in the group!  I was also the only person to want to move on to further classes.   In course one, we went on to learn drop flowers, roses and leaves which were all a biggie for me.  I've had a few occasions in which to practice but I'm sure it takes lots of practice to get really good.  I'm hoping to eventually be able to make and sell cakes to other people.  In the meantime, I'm continuing my cake decorating education with another class!




So proud of Brandon...

Brandon is five and a half now. I've noticed such a big difference in him this year. He's really growing up! He "officially" starts Kindergarten in a couple of weeks which I am excited about and so is he. He's still going to be homeschooled but on more of a schedule this year. Xander will be doing pre-school along with him. Brand will be playing soccer for the city for the first time this year. Hopefully he will enjoy that. Xander will be playing on a league at the YMCA.

Brandon has been much more helpful with things lately although he still gets into lots of trouble with his brother. He knows better now a lot of the time, but he'll do things anyway and then he'll say something like "well, Xander said to do this or that." He's got to stop listening to Xander!

A couple of weeks ago we were at Applebee's and Xander had to go to the bathroom. My first thought was "oh great, now I have to drag everybody into the bathroom". Brandon spoke up though and said "I'll take him." I happily agreed and they were back in a flash. (We were very close to the bathrooms so I could see them. Besides, it was David's Applebee's...) My baby is growing up to be a big boy!

He does so well coloring and doing worksheets now. He is really patient and able to sit for long periods of time while doing these things. He follows directions very well and is able to put together things with his trio-blocks or legos by following the directions. Sometimes I just sit and watch him do these kinds of things...

I've seen many babies turn into kids or teenagers, but this is the first time that I've seen a child grow from birth into a little person. I'm continually amazed by my experiences as a mom and I can't even imagine what my "babies" are going to be like in ten years or even twenty! I continue to pray that the Lord will be with them and help me to raise them to be the best that they can be. :)

Mommy loves you Brandon, Xander and Isabella!

Spending the day with Isabella...

The boys went to MI for the weekend. David has had to work most of the time so Isabella and I have been enjoying some "Mother-Daughter" time. When she's napping I get some much needed "me" time. Now that we've got the new carpet in, I have to finish putting the house back together! My little helper usually slows down the process :)

Yesterday Isabella and I went to a little girl playgroup at a friends house. The girls were all 16 months and under and didn't much care to play together but someday they will. We had lunch there and then stopped at a garage sale on the way home. Much easier to do when you only have one munchkin with you! She took a nap. I read a magazine (Above Rubies - great read!) Then I decided to take her to get her picture taken at JCPenney's. We hadn't been since her one year pictures and she changes so much at this age! I always go to Penney's for pictures. Their prices are reasonable (for most things when you have a coupon!) and they have the FREE Smiles by Wire which usually beats me home. Our photographer was Sarah, again and she did a great job with Isabella. Isabella had lots of fun. We were the only ones there so we were able to take our time and get some adorable shots.

After we left the studio we went to look at the clothes (why do I do that???) I found some adorable clearance shirts for Isabella one of which I had my eye (and hands!) on last year but decided not to get. They had ONE left and it was a 3T. Isabella wears 18 months, but I thought "she would grow in to it." She grabbed it from me - literally! She clung to it until we got to the register and didn't even want to give it up to the cashier. I had to pry it out of her hands!! After she rang it up, I gave it back to her. She was happy to hold it in the car and then when we got to Michael's she didn't want to let go again so she held onto the whole time we were in Michael's and then all the way home! This is a shirt I'm talking about! She LOVES this shirt. Such a girl!

While I was feeding her dinner, I was telling her "hot" as I cooled down her food (which I usually do.) She started saying "hot, hot" and has been saying it ever since! She even said it for Daddy when he came home.

I let her wear her oversized shirt today and she looks so cute! She's wearing it in the picture on her way to take her nap :) (Picture is a little fuzzy because I took it with my phone.)