Three questions for Thursday

1.  If your children have a tendency toward irreverence during pack meeting, would you:

a.  Spend the time traveling to the meeting in full-lecture mode.
b.  Bribe them. 
c.  Threaten them.
d.  Forbid them from going.

2.  If the day is unseasonably warm and your children remember the promise of playing in the water on 80°+ days, would you: 

a.  let them play in the sprinklers (after they pull the weeds so they don't grow more) and then plan on doing two extra loads of laundry that day.
b.  Send the oldest four to the beach with Daddy to get covered in tiny bugs and sand and almost wash out to sea and plan on doing two extra loads of laundry.
c.  Point out it's really only 76°.
d.  Tell them they can choose a or b if they do the laundry.

3.  Would you rather take the time to wash 600 diapers a month or pay for 600 diapers a month?

How to make your own homemade cereal on the cheap!

Disclaimer:  This is not a serious post.  I am certain that Fiber One cereal would whole-heartedly disagree with the way Danny describes how cereal is made in this slideshow.  Any resemblance to any worms living or dead is coincidental.  No royalties are being collected from this presentation.  Please make any charitable donations and comments directly to There's a Hole in the Earth blog. 

In an effort to not get diabetes and to ward off obesity, I've taken up eating Fiber One cereal on the days I'm not eating oatmeal with nothing tasty added to it (aka oatmeal ala bland). 

Danny has found much amusement in this. 

He made a spoof about making your own Fiber cereal.  You can witness this in its original form at his blog There's a Hole in the Earth by taking this link directly to his post.  Or just watch it here.  I have his permission to post it.

Click on MENU in the lower left corner and then View Fullscreen.

Homemade cereal

This post is linked at WFMW.

Birthday Thoughts

Today is officially the start of the last year of my not-yet-middle-aged life.  I'm 34 today.

When I woke this morning I realized, menopause, diabetes, and arthritis were just around the corner.  And I got scared.

Planning your 4 year old's party- part 2 Goodie Bags

We are 7 1/2 weeks out from Hammy's big 4 year old birthday party.  Planning a little at a time will prevent lots of undue stress.  This week's topic is fun and easy:

Goodie bags

You don't have to rush out and get your items this far in advance;  but if you have a theme and an idea of what you want and what you don't want, start a list.

Goodie bags are important when entertaining four year olds.  Four year olds have a hard time coming to a birthday party with a present that is not for them and then leaving without it.  I love to tell the kids, "Goodie bags are our little gift for you!"

The actual bag that the goodies go in does not need to be themed.  Cut down your expenses and use white or brown lunch bags or clear cellophane bags.  Last year when we did The Ultimate Star Wars Party for Pookies we used clear cellophane bags tied with curling ribbon that matched the theme.  Don't pass on the brown lunch bags; the element of surprise is in not knowing what you're going to get at the end of the party. 

Use what you have or buy cheap.

We are going to be gathering up dying crayons to do this little craft and then add them to the goody bags.

I despise junky little toys in goodie bags.  I prefer to pick things that are consumable-- like crayons, pads of paper, stickers, balloons, a treat.  I'm okay with noise-makers as well. 

But little cars (that will lose their wheels first try) or parachuters (that will come off their parachute) or choking rings with possible lead paint, bleck.  I wouldn't want them coming home to my house so I'm not likely to fill bags with them. 

Bouncy balls I'm up in the air about.  haha.  No pun intended.  No bouncy balls this year though because I'm certain two little toddlers will try to ingest them.

My goodie bag brainstormed list as of today:

• Circle crayons (mentioned above)
• A homemade oatmeal cookie with Hammy's initial on it (Sesame Street letter of the day)
• A yellow balloon -- All kids love balloons and Hammy's favorite color is yellow

That's all I have so far.  And I'm not worried.  You don't need to be either with a little prior planning.






Bonus tip:  Earn money with Swagbucks to help pay for your party.  Read part 3 here.

Walk On The Wild Side

Turn on your sound.  You won't regret the next 4 and a half minutes.  Plus it's safe for your eavesdropping kids too. 

When I'm feeling cranky from  overwhelmedness and Danny not coming home from work until well past the kids' bedtime, I click on over to Kayleen's blog at Our Family Feil and watch this post. 




My favorite parts are the dentist monkey and the prairie dog yelling "Ellen!"






P.S.  Click here to see yesterday's post "Planning a 4 year old's party-- part 1" which starts the planning process for Hammy's upcoming 4th birthday. 

And click that down there if you want to join Swag Bucks as my referral so we can BOTH earn bucks for searching.  It's cool.  It's safe.  It's free!  Swag Bucks is the thing to do.  Trust meeee.

Planning a 4 year old's party-- part 1

Brainstorm and pick a theme, pick a location, pick a date.

The following questions will help determine the theme. 

Ask your almost-four year old (if you are unsure) and write it down (so you don't have to rely on memory): 

What is your favorite book?  Harold and the Purple Crayon

What is your favorite show?  Gumby and Diego and Sesame Street

Who is your favorite character?  Cookie Monster

What is your favorite number?  3

What is your favorite color?  Yellow

What is your favorite animal?  Duckies!

What is your favorite shape?  Circle

Tell me your friends names. Bobby, Buddy, Billy, and Bug. (not really.)

Hmm... I've actually been thinking about this one for a while.  We're either going to do a colorful polka-dot party or Sesame Street.  I'm leaning towards Sesame Street.  Why Sesame Street?  Because I threw a Sesame Street friend party when Pookie turned 4 and I've still got most of it in my memory.  I can see incorporating all the things he loves-- except maybe Diego. 

Location:  Home.  With a young, small group, I think he'll feel most comfortable here.  He is a homebody and more shy than the other kids.  His siblings will also enjoy the decorating process for the few days before.  No renting fees.  Just some clean up will work.

If you choose to use a rec center or a community park, check to see if you need to make reservations, how far in advance, and if there's a fee as well. 

Date:  I like to check for the Saturday before or after the birthday.  Then it does not interfere with the Sabbath.  With a group this young (and having the benefit of being a homeschooler), I might also consider a weekday for the party.

Hammy's birthday is May 13-- which is a Friday this year.  A quick phone call consulting with Danny brought us to the date of May 14.  This is good.  We're 2 months out still.  Calendars are marked.  No need to procrastinate.

One more thing, as a general rule of thumb, I do not like to feed other people's toddlers/preschoolers during parties.  We get into pickiness and slow-pokiness (including in my own kids). 

So, I plan the birthday party for two hours starting right after lunch like 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. I can focus the bulk of the party time to games and fun with a little time for eating (cake) at the end. 

This post is linked at WFMW.  Read part 2 here.

Having a Hammy is a one in a million chance.

I am a lucky woman.  I have been thinking about what a blessing it is to have this sometimes crazy Gremlin little guy in my life.

Almost four is a really fun age.  Kids this age say and do the funniest things.  I haven't checked, but I'd make a guess that most of the Kiddie Kwips are of the kids between the ages of 3 and 5.

Hammy attempted to drag me out of my office/school chair, 

"Mommy, mommy!  Come see, I cleaned my room!"  

"Really?  You picked up everything and made your bed?"  I inquired.

"I cleaned the WHOLE room!" he beamed proudly.

A sight like this just warms my heart.  

After sending Hammy back to bed one night, we were surprised when he didn't try a half dozen more times to stay up with Mommy and Daddy.  Then Danny found him cuddled up to Gabbers and quickly returned with the camera to capture the moment.  update:  Okay what??  I just clicked on this picture to look at it up close and realized he has my spa-socks on his arms that Danny gave me for Christmas.  lol

A few memories:

Hammy was the ultimate Mother's Day gift. 

We thought the contractions had calmed down and weren't changing the cervix.  The doctor was planning to send me home on bedrest .

But Hammy had different plans and arrived early on Mother's Day morning.

Hammy weighed 6 lbs. 12 oz. at 34 1/2 weeks gestation.

He came so fast there was no time for an epidural.

At only four weeks old he experienced his first roadtrip with his three older siblings and Momma from North Dakota all the way to Utah for a special occasion.

Everywhere we went people would say, "Wow!  That baby has the biggest eyes I've ever seen!"

Hammy started reading at the age of 22 months.  We were surprised to discover this during Sacrament meeting one Sunday.  We thought, because he didn't say many words, that he was delayed.  Boy were we wrong!

Even though Hammy is smack dab in the middle of 7, he is never forgotten.  This boy makes his presence known.  He is also quick to remind us that he's a really good helper and a big kid too!

It's time to plan another friend birthday party.  Every four years the children get to celebrate their birthday by having a themed party with friends.

Hammy will be four in two months and will get to invite four friends to share in the fun!  Stay tuned to watch the thought process and fine-tuning that goes into planning friend birthday parties in Pookieville.

A memoir in NUM8ER5

Tomorrow we say good-bye to a dear friend.  This dear friend will be leaving at precisely 2 a.m.

60 minutes for Pookieville is:

20 time-outs for a Hammy

12 time-outs for a Bun

4 little people's bathtimes

6 times watering the lawn

1 mowing + 1 weed-wacking in the backyard

a Saturday privilege for each of the 4 oldest little people

a load of laundry on the extra dirty setting

a load in the dryer

a quiet time when it's from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m.

a visit with the home teachers or visiting teachers

120 hand-washings

an appointment with the Occupational Therapist

a visit to the library

60+ chances for a 3 year old to ask "Why?"

how long it takes to get to the zoo

300 pieces of folded laundry

Daylight Saving Time.  Yea or Nay?

I put on a pair of tie-up shoes today.

Dear Journal,

I put on a pair of tie-up shoes today.  I haven't done that the entire time we've lived in Sunny California. 

I just felt like I'd protect my toes a little bit while mowing the lawn.  I had a good friend lose two and a half toes.

My dad referred to him after that tragic incident as "Toeless Ben."  My dad is awesome like that.

I didn't want to be "Toeless Nikki."

When I was 16ish I romanticized the idea

 of losing my sight or hearing.  (Think Anne of Green Gables type imagination.)  Wouldn't it be tragic?  Which would I pick if had to give one up?  Which one would go if I was given a choice? 

Definitely my sight.  Then I would still be able to hear music and sing and play the piano.  I could get a seeing-eye dog.  I love golden retrievers.  This would work out great.

Po doggy picture from here. 

No.

Definitely my hearing.  I could then still see the beauty of the world.  I know sign language.  I'd be set if I lost my hearing.  Yes, I'd like to go deaf please if I'm going to lose one of my senses.

It never entered into my preconceived notions of all that is sad, and romantic, and tragic in my highly vivid 16 year old imagination to lose my sense of taste and smell.

And that's where I'm at.  It's hardly romantic. And it all started last July. 

It's not completely gone.  not yet anyway.

On my best smell/taste days, I can detect about 25%.  But on most days 5-10%.  Some days there's nothing there at all.

Yesterday was one of my good smell/taste days.  And while babysitting two toddlers I learned (while changing them) that they had Rotavirus.  It is extremely pungent.  I was like, "What the heck?  Why do I have to smell this of all things?"

It took a few minutes to decide to bother their mother and inform her in case she wanted to call the Pediatrician before they closed for the day.

And it took me another few minutes of observing her daughter talking sweetly and quite closely to Peach and my twins drinking out of her children's sippy cups to help me make the decision to send them home.  RIGHT THEN. 

I felt really bad about sending them home a half-hour early.  Her hubby is deployed and this is why I take her kids on Monday afternoons-- to give her a break.  She felt bad that her kids likely contaminated mine.  She couldn't know, ya know? 

I, however, have had the pleasure of at least four bouts of Rotavirus run through our family and I know how to recognize it.

Anyhow, last night at about oh, midnight, I had a meltdown.  I was confused and overwhelmed and downright annoyed that I had to add sanitizing the toys and everything in the living room and dining room on top of everything else that overwhelms me. 

I lamented to Danny about my nose and its state of affairs.  I even told him,

"If you decide to remarry after my nose offs me, pick a wife that is highly organized and efficient."

All I got was a mumbled, 

"You're not gonna die."  *zzzzzzzz*   *snore*

Run, run, as fast as you can

People, I am overwhelmed.  Do you ever feel like your life is running faster than you and you can't keep up?  That's me right now. 

Two things at the top of my list right now are:

• Homeschool the kids.
• Learn to coupon.

Occasionally I am reminded that all this could be taken away.  I live in fear that Danny is going to be in the RIF (Reduction in Forces) this year.  Last year we watched several friends and neighbors make the switch from Air Force life to civilian life after being reduced.  Danny's year group is up agan for the cut. 

I am thankful through the last six children and their high-risk pregnancies we had the blessings of an excellent insurance coverage provided to us through the Air Force. 

Suppose that was it and there are no more high-risk pregnancies. 

Suppose I figure out how to be a Krazy Coupon Lady and can feed these nine mouths for pennies a meal.

Suppose I make bank with Swagbucks and never have to worry about school supplies again.   

Suppose I can move to a temperate climate where they allow us to have baby chicks on our property and a cow grazing on a grassy knoll that will provide fresh milk every morning.

In the meantime I need to learn how to coupon like a queen and save every last penny in case we need to buy a house next year-- and cloth diaper as soon as the size 2's run out for Peach.  (She's a sweet little peachy-haired fuzzball.  Good blog name, no?)

Next time you go to the zoo

and you happen upon a Momma with a Baby Girl in a sling, twin toddlers in a double stroller, and four pint-size people following her around it is not okay to tell her how impressed you are with how well-behaved they are. 

This will guarantee in a matter of 90 seconds their rapid-decline into fighting children with horribly bad in-a-public-place-manners.  Gremlins and angry eyebrows will emerge. 

Bookworms of the World UNITE!

Today is National Read Across America day.  I am posting what books I'm currently reading. 

 Slow and Steady Get Me Ready, has week to week activities to do with your children from birth to Kindergarten.  Yes, every single week!  It is AWESOME. 

As paraphrased and recommended from another book I've read,

"Combine this with plenty of physical activity and you have an excellent preschool."

So, even though I read one page a week per child under five, I've been looking ahead for any preparations.

 I just started reading Teaching your Children Values. My sister, Rachel, highly recommends it.  The values I'm especially looking forward to learning how to teach are:  being a good sport and having integrity.  I'm sure all the others are important as well, but we need a boost with these two lately.

Ahh, this book, I didn't plan to be Witch, also by the same author as Teaching Your Children Values has me bursting out laughing at times.  It's an easy read that I can just pick up for a few minutes here or there.

The Sensory-Sensitive Child, I just started reading as well, was recommended by Pookie's Occupational Therapist.  We've been evaluating Pookie for some time now and it appears he has a Sensory Processing Disorder.  This book is helping me understand the way thinks and acts.  It's also teaching me how to understand Hammy.

I love this book.  Whenever I'm discouraged or lost when it comes to homeschooling, I pick it up and am reinforced in my decision and backed up with recommendations and resources.

In addition to scriptures, that is my personal reading this week. 

What are you reading?  Do you prefer novels?  How-to books?  Non-fiction?  Biographies?  Any great books you want to tell me about?

Also, do you have something you've read that you can recommend to me about what I can do with twin toddlers when the Sensory-Sensitive 9 year old and Gremlin 3 year olds have made a choking hazard mess and the only way to confine the twins are in high chairs or car seats?  If so, PLEASE TELL ME.

Barbi's cheeseball in a bowl

I got this recipe from my friend when she served it at a baby shower.  She said it is supposed to be a cheeseball recipe but sometimes she just leaves it in a bowl instead of shaping it.  Thus the name.  (I don't know what she really calls it.) 

Imagine a picture [right here] of cheeseball (in a bowl) perfection. 

(I didn't have time to get the camera and yet protect the mouth-watering cheeseball.  And in no time, there was no cheeseball to take a picture of.)

8 oz. cream cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar
5-6 slices of bacon cooked and crumbled (You could try to freeze the remaining slices of cooked bacon before the minions discover there is more bacon to be snitched.)
3 Tbsp. finely chopped green onion
1 1/2 tsp. dill weed
1/2 C. mayonnaise (not Miracle Whip)

Let the cream cheese soften on the counter while measuring and prepping the other ingredients.  Combine all the ingredients in a bowl.  Use your hands to get the ingredients well incorporated.

Serve with Ritz whole wheat crackers.  Or Wheat Thins.  Or a spoon.

For the best taste, and if you can practice self-control, let it sit in the fridge overnight to meld the flavors.  Cover it of course.  Dairy picks up fridge odors.  You don't want any of that going on.

When we made it at home, Danny (under my suggestion) sliced up a Roma tomato real thin and placed it on top the dip and the cracker.  Super yummy!  If you have a tomato-shy child, like Gabbers, try thinly-sliced cucumber.  Also tasty.  :)