That's what it's all about.

Every once in a while I think about making my blog more specific, ie. baking, money-saving, cloth diapering, cooking/recipes/OAMC, homeschooling, frugal tips, etc.  I have also thought about splitting it up into several blogs.  Why?  Because I know I could make some good money reviewing products with a more specific blog (or get free products in exchange for reviews).

Then I am reminded (because if I have held a coherent thought that long it is most likely daytime and there are children all around) that I have 7 children home all day long because I want them here.  I homeschool them.  I sing to them.  I read to them.  I feed and clothe them, potty-train them, wipe their noses and tushies, kiss boo-boos and train them up in the way they should go.  They are my priority - not a little extra cash.

I started this blog after the birth of our third child, Bun, as a way to keep grandparents and aunties and uncles updated with pictures and the latest goings-on of the residents of Pookieville.

So mostly it is: 

a mish-mash of daily life complete with tried and true recipes from baking to

Once a Month Cooking,

horrifying potty-training stories,

pictures of kids on birthdays,

when homeschooling makes me want to poke my eye out,

cloth diapering three at a time,

frugal living,

being green,

Christmas Eve nativity,

when Danny risked his life to bring me a bag of chips,

stories about how my carpet looks like oatmeal with raisins,

exciting news like when I was expecting triplets,

to the mundane news like trying to move out of a mold-filled home,

Kiddie Kwips and on and on and on.

It will likely stay this way.

Do you feel like you're spying on my daily life?  You are.  And I'm okay with it.

I like to think that others will learn from my mistakes and have a good laugh at the crazy things my children do.  I also like to think that you can benefit from my experiences-- as I benefit from yours. 

Thanks for being with me for the last 804 posts.  I hope you'll join me for the next 804.  Follow me now and live happily ever after.  *snort*

Dust, vacuum, laundry, repeat.

My ENT put me on Prednisone for 10 days to reduce the swelling caused by allergies in my sinuses and nose and whatever else is in there behind my face.  My legs swelled like tree trunks and my face was rosy for about two weeks due to the Prednisone.  But I got my sense of smell back.

I had my allergy testing the next day and could start up my Allegra again (after it).  So far, I can still smell.  We're thinking the loss of smell was directly related to the allergies.

Which, by the way, cuz I know y'all are just dying to know what I'm allergic to, I'm gonna tell you.

Horse hair (picture found here)

Guinea Pigs (Charlie pic from Danny's blog.)

and two varieties of Dust Mites.

Dust mite picture.  Click on link for some itchy reading.

The horse hair was in the middle according to the test.  Positive allergy-- which would cause a reaction being near them.

The guinea pig result was at the top of the chart.  Makes sense.  Good thing Charlie has a new family now. 

And the results of the dust mites were clear off the charts.

 "Man girl!  You got some good ones!  You look like a leopard!" were the comments from one very nice lady who came in for some allergy shots.

So the ENT's assistant gave me some literature on ridding my home of dust mites.  And that has been on my to-do list ever since.  Wash sheets and bedding on hot weekly, dust weekly, vacuum weekly.  Get rid of knick-knacks. I'm not a knick-knack person. phew! Vacuuming at least weekly?  I can't imagine vacuuming only once a week.  The Cheerios and Goldfish would take over the dining room and spread beyond the living room completely disguising the oatmeal with raisins carpet.

Hammy's 4 year old Friend Birthday Party

The decorations you can kind of see in the background were 12-inch colorful circles cut from scrapbook paper.  My friend Sarah gave them to me after an activity at church they were used at.  Hammy loves circles.  So these delighted him to be the decorations for his polka dot party.  We also had about a dozen balloons just kicking around.  No streamers.  I ran out of time.

This boy here is the older brother of Hammy's friend.  We invited him along too.  Gabbers and he are in the same Primary class at church.  They have to be separated though (during class) because they talk too much.  haha

The bean bag toss.  A.K.A.  The sock toss. 

Even when you plan for two months in advance, sometimes life gets busy and you find yourself tossing your daughter's balled up beaded socks into empty bakery buckets instead of lovely circle shaped bean-bags as you previous daydreamed about.

There were two spots on the floor marked off with masking tape.  Everyone 5 and up had to toss from the further mark.  But Hammy and his friend would NOT be thought of as little and tossed also from the "big kid" mark.  This was by far, the most popular game, and the hardest to cheat at.  ;)

The prizes were the most brilliant last-minute idea EVER.  I went to the BX (store on base) and happened across the discounted Easter baskets.  I bought two.  One was $2.47 and the other was $1.57.  There was sidewalk chalk, a jump rope, a cute pink bucket hat, top spinners, jacks, candy, etc.  I divided them up and wrapped up a few of the bigger toys as prizes.  The smaller ended up being prizes for children that didn't win prizes in a game.

 musical chairs

This one is probably better for older children-- like 8 and up.  There weren't too many tears.  (Pookie is not actually crying here-- just being a spazz for the picture.)

If your twins decide it's a good idea to open the CD-rom drive and sit in it during the party, you may want to strap them into their high chairs and hand them some wrapping paper to play with.

And right here is where you imagine pictures of the Pin the Tail on the Donkey game.  Half the pictures showed that I indeed have had 7 kids in 8 years (ie. not your slim and trim mama) and the other half had me lecturing Pookie about cheating. 

The birthday cupcakes were a hit.  I hate cupcakes.  But my kids are thoroughly enchanted with them.  And since this was a party for Hammy, and not me, I honored his wish to have cupcakes instead of cake. 

They were lemon cake (from a cake mix) with yellow frosting (I followed the Wilton Buttercream recipe) and brightly colored sprinkles. 

I didn't get a picture of the presents or the goodie bags.  The goodie bags had Wal-Mart's Fruit Smiles fruit snacks (since they're circles), a balloon, a parachute animal for boys and butterfly sunglasses for girls, and a circle crayon we made out of melting broken pieces of crayons into mini-muffin tins.

Everyone had a blast and we had a good review on being good sports and playing honest.  lol

My fourth child turned FOUR.

Almost two weeks ago on Friday, May 13, 2011, Hammy turned four.  It was the day before his friend birthday party.  He wasn't at all interested in hearing how he bounded into the world Mother's Day morning without enough time for me to get an epidural.  So we skipped ahead to the grandparents' presents.

Gabbers reading birthday book titles to Hammy.

Later in the evening, Hammy went on his first camping trip, along with Bun, Pookie, and Danny.

Ham, Bun, Pookie 5/13/11

They got lost on the way there (to the Stake Father-Son Campout).  There was only one ice cream left.  Two boys were not as happy as the boy with the ice cream.  And since they were a little late, it was a little too dark to set up the tent.  But three little boys were pretty happy about sleeping in the van.  And getting their own row to themselves.

Pookie, being the tallest of the three boys, got to sleep in the back row of the van.

Bun, being the middle boy of the three big boys, slept in the middle row.

And Hammy, being the shortest, slept in the front row.

And the Daddy got the short straw and slept in the passenger seat-- which did not recline as far as one would think.

Meanwhile, the Mommy, Gabbers, Peach, and the twins were preparing the home and cupcakes for Hammy's Polka Dot birthday party with friends that would be the very next afternoon.   ...to be continued

Learn to Sit Baby Boot Camp

Gabbers is helping Peach balance on a cloth diaper (and protecting her from smacking her head backwards) during Learn to Sit Baby Boot Camp.

I don't know about the pot holder on the couch. 

Cloth Diapering Twin Toddlers and a Peach

In the 17 days that I have been cloth diapering the twins and Peach, I have spent $1.19 on detergent to wash them.

I used cloth for running errands and going to church.

I had to switch Peach to 6-9 month clothes and the twins to 24 month clothes to be able to fit their pants over their cloth-diapered tushies.

I have used a disposable diaper every night for each of them. That totals $9.18 for 17 days x 3 diapers. And now that I type that up, I realize it would've been cheaper to just wash their bedding if they wet out (which was the worry). 

I have not made my usual homemade disposable baby wipes. 

Instead I have made homemade baby wipe solution to use with flannel wipes. 
For approximately 22 wipes, some two-ply, some single ply, I added the following mixture:

2 tsp. baby oil
2 tsp. baby bath
1-2 drops of tea tree oil
and 2 cups of water heated to boiling in the microwave

Then I put them in one of three containers I normally put my disposable homemade wipes in, and have used them with much appreciation. There's no poking your finger through a flannel wipe when tackling a particularly poopy mess!

How much money have I saved by NOT using disposable diapers during the day?  $61.20 for 17 days.  I could save $1314 in a year doing this-- more if I stop using the nighttime one.  lol

Another benefit, my laundry has not fallen behind in the 17 days using cloth diapers.  Usually, I'm behind on laundry.

I have a nicely organized laundry room counter with my cloth diaper set-up.  Diapers ready and folded by size:  Twin size and Peach size, the container of wipes, and a spot also on the counter to do the changing. 

Having three in diapers means having a full-load of diapers to do daily.  This means the diaper pail isn't sitting around stinking up the bathroom, laundry room, or house for more than a day before being washed.

My hope?  I hope that cloth diapering the twins so exclusively will result in earlier potty-training than the typical for my boys (which is 3 1/2 fully trained).  If anything, I'm saving some good money.  Cloth diapering works for us!

Dear Auntie Leslie,

I love the sweater you made for me. 

Now that I'm six month's old it fits pretty good! 

I'm so glad I have such a talented Auntie.

Love,

Peach

Totally Tactless Tuesday on a Monday

When you are sitting in sacrament meeting and you witness the mother of 7 leave the meeting to nurse the infant, here are some dos and don'ts for you to consider should things get interesting for the father and the 6 remaining children in the pew:

Do

• Ask a child to come sit with you so he doesn't get smacked in the head by a flying hymnbook.
• Offer to hold a twin.
• Entertain the twin or twins with whatever you have on hand-- be it post-it notes or just a big helping of patience.
• Offer to sit with a few of the calmer children while the father separates the two in a brawl.
• Offer up silent prayers on his behalf.
• Go get the mother so she knows what's going on.

Don't

• Ask the mother after church if she fed her children breakfast that morning or didn't get them to bed on time. 

Peanutty Double Chip Cookies in a Jar

These soft and chewy peanut butter chocolate chip cookies are sure to please your neighbors. Layering them in a jar as a gift is another fun alternative that lets them do the baking.

Start with a clean and dry 1-qt. jar. 

Layer the following ingredients into the quart jar packing down ingredients slightly before adding next layer.  It's hard to fit your hand inside a regular mouth canning jar.  So use a wooden spoon or something similar to try to smoosh the stuff into place. 

2 cups all-purpose flour-- if you're going to scoop your flour instead of measuring properly just use about 1 1/4 cups ;)

1 tsp. baking soda

3/4 c. brown sugar (be sure this is a packed 3/4 cup before adding)

3/4 c. white sugar (granulated)

3/4 c. to 1 c. chocolate chips

1/2 cup peanut butter chips (optional)

Cover top of jar with fabric circle and attach directions for mixing and baking.

Type up the following on a piece of scrapbook paper and tape to the jar.  I like to use cardstock, punch a hole, and tie with raffia around the neck of the jar.

Peanutty Double Chip Cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup chunky peanut butter

1 jar Peanutty Double Chip Cookies Mix

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.

2.  Beat butter in large bowl until smooth.  Beat in eggs, one at a time, until well blended.  Stir in vanilla.  (Mixture may appear curdled.)  Beat in peanut butter until well blended.  Place content of jar in another large bowl; mix well.  Stir dry ingredients into butter mixture until well blended.

3.  Shape dough into 1 1/2 inch balls; place 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheets.  Flatten slightly with fork.  Bake 12 minutes or until just golden at edges.  Do not overbake.  Remove to wire racks to cool completely. 

Makes about 3 1/2 dozen cookies.

Now the variations:

The first time I made these cookies I used 2 cups all-purpose flour measured properly.  I also added the peanut butter chips.  They were very rich. 

Today when I made them (the ones in the pictures and my stomach), I used 3/4 c. soft white wheat flour (I had plenty left over after my bread kit fiasco), plus 1 cup all-purpose flour.  I omitted the peanut butter chips.  I liked them better this time. 

Make your own changes.  I'd love to hear what works for you!

How to get your rain gutters cut

As mentioned in my Mother's Day post, Danny installed rain gutter bookshelves for me as one of my Mother's Day gifts. 

I, however, was the one to do the research, measure, and shop for the right equipment.  I read online (on blogs) that Home Depot would not cut the rain gutters for you. 

So I figured that I'd have to buy a hack saw too.  That's what Kimberly used to make hers.

I loaded up the kids and went to Home Depot. 

I put Peach in the backpack and the twins in the driver's seats of the shopping cart.  Hammy sat in the main basket of the cart.  Gabbers and Bun held onto one side of the cart and Pookie on the other.

And we balanced the 10 ft. rain gutters in the cart precariously trying not to take out anyone's unsuspecting eye when we turned corners down aisles.  We found a spot at Home Depot that looked like they cut things.  I asked the man, "Can you cut these into 4 ft. sections for me?"

He said, "Not here.  But they can in plumbing.  Let me call down there and make sure he's there."

He sent me down to the plumbing department and the man cut them for me.  And it looked like a lot of work!

So if you want to do rain gutter bookshelves yourself, and you don't own a hack saw (or even know what one is), just grab a half dozen kids plus one very smiley baby, and shop at Home Depot. 

And bonus, I just found out our Home Depot offers a 10% military discount!






This is not a paid post.  I just happen to like Home Depot.  This is also where I got my supplies.  However, if Home Depot would like to sponsor a giveaway or some such awesomeness, they are welcome to contact me.  ;)

Oatmeal with raisins! Kiddie Kwip

We've had a lot of oatmeal this past week due to an unexpected blessing in our food storage.  All the kids down to the twins love it.  I'm sure Peach will too when she has solid food one day. 

Pookie is kind of getting a little disenchanted with oatmeal everyday.  Sometimes twice a day.  With the exception of Bun, they all LOVE raisins in their oatmeal.

Picture from here.

Friday morning we had oatmeal again.  It was Hammy's birthday.  I told him excitedly, "Hammy, since it's your birthday, you get to pick what we'll have for breakfast!"

And with just as much enthusiasm he requested, "Oatmeal with raisins!"

While we were setting the table and singing all the birthday songs we know to Hammy,

Bun said, "Mommy, our carpet looks like oatmeal!" 

and Gabbers quickly quipped, "Yeah, it's the color of oatmeal and the black spots are the raisins!"

gross.







To read more Kiddie Kwips, click here.

And the Danny can now check off Mother's Day 2011 as a success

I just had the best Mother's Day ever.  And I hope you did too.  I want to journal this for posterity.

I woke up to the smell of a hot cooked breakfast. 

1.  I could smell!!!! 

2.  Someone was making breakfast and it wasn't me!!

When I walked out into the living room there were beautiful drawings taped on the wall as well as a banner that said, "Happy Mother's Day."  There were stick people on one picture that had Squdge upside down.  That one made me laugh out loud.  Nary a days goes by without one of the twins being upside down or in a predicament. 

Tater on left in Gabbers hooded towel, Squdge on right in Peach's towel (inside out) after a bath.  Squdge reached up on the counter for something to eat and dumped a whole bowl of raw eggs all over himself making Mother's Day morning even more exciting.

I was still excited thrilled about receiving an early gift Saturday from Danny.  Danny installed Rain Gutter Bookshelves for me!  I've been wanting these ever since reading about them on my bloggy friend Kimberly's blog around the time the twins were born. 

I fully expected that was my gift, and a TOTALLY ROCKIN' AWESOME ONE, and didn't think there would be anything else.  So to find the living room decorated and three boxes wrapped up with ribbons and bows was such a bonus!

My love language is "Acts of Service."  The Mother's Day gifts that truly pleased me, more than the chocolate covered macadamia nuts and Nestle's Peanut Butter Crunch eggs, were the acts of service. 

Danny put up a beautiful framed corkboard that my brother-in-law, Mark, made me for my birthday.

Danny agreed to my suggestion to put all three diapered ones back into cloth. 

In church, no one had to be escorted out of Sacrament Meeting.  One of my favorite brethren in the ward gave a talk that nearly had me rolling in the aisles.  I remained composed (mostly) for the sake of teaching my children reverence.  *snort*

No one beheaded my carnation before I got it home to a drink of water. 

Only one child cried that he didn't get a brownie like Mommy.

Even though I'm on Prednisone for my nasal passages, and it makes me feel like ugh, and gives me hot flashes at night, I feel positively optimistic about my recovery back to the land of smelling and tasting things.  Although, this may not be good getting my sense of smell back now that we've made the switch back to cloth.  lol

And that is all Dear Journal. 

Thanks for listening!

Dare I say life was simpler then?

I was reading a wonderful post this morning, chuckling to myself because it wasn't my children, and then I rememebered this. 

The following is a repost from August 2006.  It was originally titled, A bedtime tale for you.  This is a true story.  And I bring it to you in honor of Mother's Day. 

I was 29 with only three kids:  4 1/2, almost 3, and a 1 year old.  We were living in the Frozen North.

Once upon a time, not so very long ago, in a place too close to home, there were two lonely cups of orange JELL-O ®. These two orange JELL-O cups aspired to greatness and would discuss daily how they could achieve such a lofty goal.

One beautiful summer day at noon they were greeted with the opportunity when two willing participants, Gabbers and Pookie, came into their lives. Gabbers and Pookie were the perfect subjects to help them. For you see, Gabbers and Pookie rarely came in contact with orange JELL-O —for that matter, JELL-O of any flavor.

This beautiful summer day started with a very nice combined neighborhood yard sale with Pookie and Gabbers’s mommy and Ben’s mommy. Pookie and Gabbers had lots of fun playing with the neighbor children, Adam and Ben during the yard sale.

As lunchtime approached, Adam’s mommy brought out a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for Adam. Suddenly Pookie, Gabbers, and even toddler Ben, jumped poor Adam like a pack of wolves trying to devour his peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Adam’s mommy decided to make one for each of them. Pookie, Gabbers, Ben and Adam happily and somewhat messily enjoyed their own peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. As Pookie and Gabbers were finishing up their sandwiches, their mommy told them it was time to go home for naps. Adam’s mommy told them they could each take a cup of orange JELL-O with them if it was okay with their mommy. Pookie and Gabbers’s mommy agreed.

Pookie and Gabbers were elated to have such a yummy treat after such a fun morning. They happily skipped across the lawn back to their house. As Pookie and Gabbers got inside, their mommy opened their orange JELL-O cups for them and had a teeny-tiny spoonful out of each one (to check for doneness of course) and sat them (Pookie and Gabbers) down at the dining table to eat.

Their mommy said, “Pookie and Gabbers, I’ll be right back. I’m going to go get Bun from Adam’s mommy and bring him home. Stay right here with your orange JELL-O.”

Foolish Mommy should’ve said,

“Eat your orange JELL-O.  And do not get out of your chairs.  Please don’t decide it’s a good idea to lock the screen door as soon as Mommy leaves the house and then shut the front door and not know how to open it again. And if you can sense that Mommy and Adam’s mommy are concerned when they are talking to you through the door and then later through the window and air conditioner and you then realize you’re home alone and locked inside with four men trying to take off the screen storm door including Daddy’s former commander, do not decide it would be a grand idea to smear orange JELL-O all over the dining chairs, the entryway, the kitchen, and the stairs, Mommy’s special memory quilt, and Mae. You see, kitties don’t like to be covered in super sticky orange JELL-O.”

Pookie and Gabbers sadly have been forbidden to partake of orange JELL-O for a very, very, very, very, very long time. But there is a happy ending . . .

Mommy’s floors have now been mopped for the third time in 24-hours and they are super-clean. And they all lived happily ever after . . . well, until naptime was over.

Can you guess my new hobby?

A sad story about bread kits and a cry for help!

Guess how many bread kits I wasted before I realized what was wrong with them?

FIVE

I thought I killed the yeast the first time.

The second time I thought I must've forgot to add enough flour when measuring them.

The third time I thought I was using old yeast that wasn't good anymore and wouldn't rise enough-- so I added more yeast, and a little more flour-- just in case.

The fourth time I decide it was my bread machine and must be flaking off bits of coating causing a reaction and killing my dough (which happened to me a few years ago with an old bread machine). So I decide to make that loaf by hand-- using the bread kit.

I ended up adding probably more than an additional cup of flour. It seemed very dense but seemed the right tackiness-- you know, smooth and elastic.

So I left it to rise in a lightly greased bowl in a warm spot (on top my preheated oven). 45 minutes later, no notable change. So I took it out, formed it, and put it in the loaf pan to rise.

More than 1 hour later it was barely as high as the top of the bread pan. I was fed up with it. I put it in the oven for 30 minutes expecting it would rise maybe a little more.

No, it shrank and baked into a hard anemic-looking brick.

The twins were most entertained by the looks of it (sitting on the cooling rack on the table) that when I was nursing Peach, they poked it with their fingers and a baby spoon. They even said betwixt giggles, "poking!"

Squdge (the instigator)

Tater (the follower in this occurrence)

The fifth time I used only 1 1/4 cups of water (versus 1 1/3 cups) that was barely tepid (so no chancing killing the yeast), an extra 2 tbsp. of gluten, an extra 1/2 cup of flour and an extra 1/2 tbsp. yeast.  It's in the bread machine right now.  Will it work?  *crossing my fingers*

What did I figure out the problem is?  After checking out my food storage and my wheat buckets, I determined that the wheat in my regular hard white wheat bucket is actually soft white wheat.  It explains why my soft white wheat bag is missing, why the wheat looked different when I ground it last week, and possibly why my bread will not cooperate!

The question for you, is what would you do with the remaining 11 bread kits? 

They were all made with the soft white wheat ground into flour. 

Do you throw them out and waste all those ingredients? 

Is there a save?