Can You Moo Tru?

Thanks to BzzAgent.com our family got to try out TruMoo milk AND enter a fantastic Goosebumps giveaway! What's stopping you from doing the same? 

Product Accolades!

Have you tried the Comfort brand of baby products yet? Well, what are you waiting for? We have been using a certain name brand to cover the princesses tushie for quite some time now, but after being invited to try them thru the Bzzagent.com website we have completely made the switch over to their products. I was amazed at the quality and how they held up to all the shenanigans our extremely active little one gets into. The Comforts brand has a wide variety of products to try so make sure you try them all out. I was NOT paid to write this review, I was however provided with the means to purchase these products thru BzzAgent. I highly recommend you join their site, you wont be dissapointed.

Words That Bang Around In My Head...

and fight to get out. I am in a writing mood, not bloggish type of writing honestly, but story and poem and just stuff kind of writing.

 Its been building up for several days, the thought of writing each of my children a letter or even letters to be opened on a certain special days has been tugging at me as well. 

Stories for the younger ones, poems for the older girls. An account of my first and only hunting trip with my dad for Bubba. He needs to know that grandpa took me hunting but didnt have the heart to kill anything in front of me so he kept me chattering about anything and everything to scare all the animals away, and then we went home and shot at coffee cans. I was 12 then, same age he is now. 

There are days I want all of them to have letters for, graduations, wedding days, the birth of children and other things as well. I dont know why this is pressing so hard at me but Im going to do it. Maybe they will each end up with a stack of crazy ramblings and memories from their mother and roll their eyes thinking Im sappy and ridiculous but I feel this is something I need to do. 

I have no idea how to wrap this post up so I think I will just leave it with this little quote.

God gave us memories that we might have roses in December.
JM Barrie

Liebster Day Surprise!

So it's been pretty hectic around here the past couple of weeks, my father in law has been in and out of the hospital, hubby was out of town for a week, I had an injury that put me back on crutches and then just your general every dayness that goes on. I finally get a chance to log in this morning and have a little message about the Libester blog award. At first i was like, huh? What's a Libester? So after checking in to it I got all excited because I like participating in fun things. In case your wondering what a Liebster is, it's a fun little thing for blogs with LESS than 200 followers. I found this handy dandy little explanation pic on google.

Not my image

Thank you to Krista over at Rollin with the Fruit Punches for the award! If you have a minute click the link above and check it out. They have an adorable little family and Buffalo Chicken Pasta recipe I'm going to have to try out soon! 

So 11 random facts about me, well, let's see:

 1. I have a creative soul. I love to create and just DO stuff. From writing, cooking, carving stamps, making up games or projects for the kids, crafting... oh the crafting! I have a friend who calls me the crafting queen, but I promise I'm not THAT bad. Really I'm not, you believe me right? :)

 2. I'm generally a rerun junkie. My tv watching habits consist of things like Charmed, Full House, House, Monk.. you get the picture. However I/we have been branching out and trying newer shows, still mostly they aren't new and are already well established shows.

 3. I'm obsessive.. When I get hold of a new idea or into something new that i like I get a taaaad bit obsessive. I will research and read everything I can about it and think about it before I pass it over to the normal state of liking things. My mother says I have always analyzed everything to death, even when I was a baby lol.

 4. My favorite season is winter. Now you have to understand that our winters in east Texas are fairly mild. Occasionally we reach the upper teens and if we are really lucky we will get a bit of snow. Generally we hover in the 30's and I kinda like it because you can always put on more clothes and get warm, but their are times in the Summer that no matter how much you take off your still hot and I don't like being hot.

 5. I love to fish. I don't often get the chance to because I'm helping Brudderbear or Dede with their poles but when I have the chance to dip a pole in the water I'm a happy camper. I hope to get the chance to go deep sea fishing someday.

 6. I am an only child and my parents were married 20 years before they had me. It wasn't from lack of trying, it was just how it happened. I'm kind of grateful they didn't have IVF back then because chances are I wouldn't be here now if they did. Oh and no, I wasn't spoiled like people think only children are.

 7. I'm emotional, sensitive, compassionate and frequently get called naive. I'm one of those people who wear my heart on my sleeve and tries to look for the good in people. 

 8. I love the Statte Farm Mayhem commercials. By far my favorite one is the GPS one where he hollers (yep, im east Texan I say hollers) "RECALCULATING!" after the car crash.

9. Speaking of east Texas, I do have a bit of a twangy accent. My ex husband and I lived in Houston which is just a couple hours from where I grew up and also currently live, and was shocked that people weren't twangy there as well. I used to get so embarrassed because people there would tell me my accent was cute lol 

 10. I love to read, when I was a kid my mom would say I'd read anything, including the back of a cereal box, like it was a best selling novel. Ive gotten a bit more picky now, but I still read a wide WIDE variety of different things.

 11. In school even tho my grades didn't always reflect it, English and History were my favorite classes. I still enjoy the reading and writing side of English class and still get a kick out of the story behind the history. Don't ask me dates however, that involves numbers and God forbid we get into my math insecurities!

Wow, that was a little more difficult than I thought. I didnt want to just throw out basic boring facts so I did try and put some thought into it. Ok, so now on to the 11 questions from Krista's blog.

 1. If you could have a superpower for a day, what would it be? I would have to say the ability to freeze time. I would love to be able to have a little extra time in those special moments, the cuddles, hugs, perfect family moments.

 2. What is your guilty pleasure song? Guilty pleasure? Ummm, I can't really think of one. I'm pretty open about what I listen too. I embrace my weirdness in everything including my music and listen to what I like whether others think it's silly, boring etc etc. My main favorite kinds tho are oldies from the 50's to some 80's and country. However I lisen to a bit of almost all kinds of music.

 3. What would your plan of action be if there was a zombie apocalypse? Shoot them in the head and burn them on a pyre, Winchester style! :) (Please forgive the obvious Supernatural reference here lol)

 4. What is your favorite cartoon character? Michigan J. Frog! Also Eeyore. i wish it was as easy to find Michigan stuff as it is Eeyore stuff.

 5. What does your blog name mean? It's a nod to the fact that no matter how crazy and mixed up life can get it's still a pretty sweet deal. Whenever I seem to forget that fact all I have to do is look around at my family and I realize how blessed I am.

 6. What inspired you to start a blog? Basically a way to satisfy the need for another creative outlet.

 7. What is your favorite vacation spot? There is a family oriented resort we go to every year that's actually pretty close to our home. We've been going there since I was a kid and some of my happiest memories are from there. Granted it has changed and grown so much that my children will never experience the freedom and whatnot that I did there but they all really enjoy it and talk about it all year long.

 8. What is the last good book you read? LOL, here we go with me embracing my weirdness again, I have been rereading the Babysitter's Club books with one of my daughters. I forgot how cute they were and I would definitely recommend them. My favorite is Kristy and the Snobs. As far as books a normal adult might enjoy, Id have to say anything in Kim Harrison's The Hollows series.

 9. Mention one of your obsessive compulsive habits. The older I get the more like my dad I get, we call it quirky in our family lol. I guess I'd have to say over organization. I know, I know, most people think there is no such thing as being OVER organized but I promise you there is. I have a tendency to organize to the point that it's impossible to keep up with which in turn causes utter chaos lol.

 10. If you were given a million dollars to donate to a charity, which one would you choose and why? Definitely something for kids. I would really have to research to narrow it down, and then I still might have to choose a couple. I'm thinking Autism research and maybe the Make A Wish people as well.

 11. Who was your childhood idol/hero? You know, I honestly don't remember having one? I mean, I went thru the fad fan stages just like everyone else but an idol or hero? I just called and asked my mom and she said with the way I always had my nose stuck i a book (yep, nerd right here!) that it was probably an author but I honestly just cant think of anyone. 

 Ok, that was fun and probably waaay to chatty lol. Here are the 11 blogs that I choose to nominate, take a minute and check them out if you haven't already.

Alphabet Soup

Teacher Momma

The Resourceful Mama

Crazzi Mum

Life With Four Boys... Coffee Please

The Pursuit of Normal

Step-ville

26 With 4 Kids

Creative Mess

Crazy Little Love Birds

Eating In The Shower

Choosing 11 blogs was the hardest part, there are so many good ones out there! Here are the 11 questions I chose for them:

 1. When do you find the time to blog?

 2. If you could be any animal, what would it be and why?

 3. Describe what you feel when you see your favorite color.

 4. What is your favorite television show?

 5. What one thing would you like your children to take into adulthood?

 6. What does you family think of your blog?

 7. What would your dream vacation be?

 8. What is your favorite midnight snack?

 9. What daily chore do you despise the most?

 10. What advice would you give to a first time blogger?

 11. If you had 3 wishes what would you wish for?

Ok, have fun!

Warning: Teens live here!

This should be a sign hanging on our front door: 

That's still probably not a significant enough warning for those unknowing, unsuspecting, teen free souls who come into our home. Maybe I should get more specific and use one like this instead:

There needs to be a universal symbol however when you are entering the home of a teen, especially a teen girl. That way you know you are on thin ice and that anything you say is liable to be taken sideways, turned around and inserted backwards, to not resemble anything you said or were trying to say at all. 

Something seems to happen in our brains around age 12 or so, call it hormones, puberty, asserting independence, hell, call it the exit of all common sense if you'd like, the point remains the same. It's somewhere along this time with each and every flock member so far where they have decided that running their mouths, back talking, and even going so far as to basically tell a parent to shut up has occurred  Yes, this is all a part of growing up and learning how to and how NOT to respond to matters in the real world, but at what point does it go past that and turn into a lack of respect? 

I've heard its all in how they are raised, kids are given to much freedom, not enough freedom, they aren't taught manners or what respect is, they are given to much, they aren't made to do chores or don't know what it is to work for something, and almost always someone, somewhere, pulls the discipline card. If you had (insert speakers favorite discipline here) when they were younger you wouldn't have this problem now. More often than not that comment has been said by someone whose children are either still young or doesn't even have children yet. I always want to say "Yeah, because I spent the first 11 years teaching them it was ok to argue with me!"

Fact of the matter is however, for the most part the entire flock is very well behaved. Yes, they do have their moments where they could make a preacher cuss, but on the whole, we rarely go more than a couple of days without someone praising the actions of at least one of them. People have stopped me in the middle of the grocery store to compliment me on their manners, good behavior & willingness to help not only me but those around us as well. I don't know how many times I've been asked how do I manage keeping the flock under control, I almost always respond with "They are good kids!", and I make sure they hear that. Because they are, each and every one of them is a good kid. Right down to the one who is going thru his "big & bad" phase, and they need to know & hear us say that they are good kids. Each and every one of them would drop what they are doing to help someone in need, I've seen them do it repeatedly. In the end that's one of the most important things we can instill in our children, there is the respect, the glimmer of hope our world needs. 

Yes, tempers were lost this morning, and a talk is in order for this afternoon. The prescribed discipline will still stand as flat out disrespect and disobedience are not now, nor has it ever been, a welcome addition to the household. It isn't about shutting a child up, squashing who they are, robbing them of themselves or their independence, rather it's about teaching them to do it constructively, respectfully and smart. So that once they enter the real world they understand that doing things the right way is much more rewarding. So yes, a certain teen and I will be discussing how we each could have handled ourselves better this morning because this is not only a learning process for them, but every day provides a parent with the opportunity to learn and grow as well.

the Day The Mishas Took Over The World...

Or at least the internet.

So yes, I am a recent newcomer to the Supernatural Fandom and Im glad I became a convert when I did or i would have been very confused with what has been going on today. For those of you that somehow missed it, today was the Mishapocolypse. Misha Collins plays an angel named Castiel on Supernatural and his fans basically took over Tumblr, a large portion of Twitter and there was even spillage over onto Facebook.

I have laughed so hard all day at the excitement and posts and downright hillarious pictures and gifs that have been posted in this mans honor. Even tho Im in the minority in our household by being a die hard Sam (played by Jared Padalecki ) fan (all the girls in the flock prefer Jensen Ackles as Dean) I still really enjoy Misha Collins and did BEFORE he was Castiel. So I can understand the fandoms love for this man, I mean look at him!

Not my photo

Ok, done with the silly teen type fan talk lol.

Easter or Frat Party?

Wow, as I'm looking around the house this morning I'm seriously wondering how I let this happen. We are usually pretty good at cleaning up before bed time rolls around, but I guess we were just too into the family fun yesterday and last night. It looks like a frat party (minus the keg and beer bottles)! The house is trashed! It seriously looks like there was a wild party going on here lol. I would share a pic but because of my OCD'ness thats just NOT going to happen! lol

So I guess I know what Im going to be doing after while, besides laundry that is. In all honesty, the flock had a great weekend, Sissy, Mimi, and Dede celebrated here on Saturday and then off they went to their dad's to celebrate there on Sunday. Bubba, Brudderbear and the Princess woke up here to little toys and chocolate for the boys and a big zebra, onesies and suckers for our allergic spoiled princess. Along comes Dede back home in the afternoon and a spirited game of whack 'em with Bubba at grandmas next door. What is whack 'em you ask? You know those giant pool noodles? Not the skinny oes, but the fat ones? Yeah, I think you get the picture. That afforded us a pair of broken glasses and a little girl with a headache from being without said glasses but from what I could see from our back door into grandmas yard, Dede gave as good as she got. I think Bubba forgot that even tho shes small for her age shes quick and cunning.

Guess I better go start cleaning the mess up, anyone have a backhoe and a dumpster I can borrow?

Saturday Centus: Deviled Eggs

Once again Saturday has rolled around, and that means it's time for the Saturday Centus blog challenge from Jenny Matlocks blog. This weeks challenge is a photo prompt and we are to write 100 words in rhyming form using this picture.

If youd like to give this a try (its a LOT of fun) or read more blog entries you can check them out HERE. Now on to my entry.

Little fingers creeping over so slowly,

Across the counter they inch towards the plate.

Blue eyes watching moms face so closely,

If she was caught, who knew her fate.

Almost to the plate, and mom cracks a smile,

Hands her a deviled egg and places a finger to her lips.

As parents we have to play along once in awhile,

Indulging little ones and not always with denial.

A smile and a hug, and away she will run,

All to soon she will be grown, moved, gone.

Relax and love, have some fun,

And cherish every stroke made with crayon.

Me Late? Never... Well Almost Never

The flock likes to claim that they can count on one hand with fingers left over, how many times they remember me being late. They are probably right, I have this thing about not only being on time, but being early. It could probably classify as OCD if you want to get technical. If Im on time for something I feel like Im running late, and if Im late even by a minute or two it affects my whole day, leaving me feeling rushed even when Im not. It is nothing for me to be 15 to 20 minutes early for things.

One thing I am almost never on time for is tv shows. I cant remember the last time I started watching a show when it first came out. My favorite shows were all watched by accident when my regular schedule was changed for some reason. I started watching House in the 4th season, Charmed in the 6th season, Supernatural just last week actually and its in the 8th season. See Im normally a creature of routine, I constantly watch the same old shows over and over again. Nick at Nite and TV Land are some of my best friends. So if youve started watching this great new show, dont worry, I'll catch up with you in a few years.

Saturday Centus: Thank you Beryl!

It's time for the Saturday Centus challenge once again. In case you don't know, Saturday Centus comes from Jenny Matlock's blog. if you would like to try it out or read more versions you can do so HERE. Todays prompt is "Thank you Beryl!" and we have 103 words to use it in... Ok, off we goooo.....
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Sitting in the lawyers office in uncomfortable clothes, watching, as the family of the little old man who lived on the corner fought and argued, wondering why I had never seen any of these people visiting him before. I spent alot of time over there, sometimes I straightened up his house or made him a snack, but mostly I just listened to the stories he told of his life. I hadnt seen him since I left for college so why was I here... what did the lawyer just say? He left everything to me because I was there for him? Thank you Beryl!

Eyes On the Tiger...

Wow, spring break has been good for the most part. A few blowups have happened, but isnt that part of family life anyway? Weve played, enjoyed staying up late, sleeping in, shopping trips, homemade milkshakes and so much more!

Yesterday we took the flock to a big cat refuge a few towns over from us. This is one of our favorite places to go. It isnt anywhere near as big as the zoo and they have guided tours telling you about each of the cats they have. So much more interesting and the kids learn something new every time we go.  

This was our favorite big cat shot of the day, its amazing to think that a tiger, even in the wild will eat several pounds of food a day, and then spend 20 hours or so lounging around and napping!

This is one of my favorite shots of the day, Dede just looks so thoughtful and reflective. Its not often that the whirlwind comes to a complete and utter stop in this manner. I think I took this as the intern was telling us about how our favorite tiger from last year had passed away. His name was Puppy and he had such a goofy personality, he "talked" to and showed off for us as we stood watching him. 

To me this is one of those places that is a big families dream. We  can get a years family pass for cheaper than we can get in for one days visit. Those are always great deals in my book.

Its a great deal as far as the flock is concerned too! 
Yes, we are THAT family, you know the ones... we dress similarly quite often, not because its cutesy, but because its so much easier to put your eyes on your flock when they all match to some degree.

What's An Hour?

An hour.... at times it seems like forever, other times its passing in the blink of an eye. Look forward to something and that hour passes as slowly as the changing seasons. Spending time with the one you love? That hour will never last long enough. Take that hour away completely and you have a houseful of little lambs who will spend the next week trying to adjust their sleep patterns. 

Thank goodness time change coincided with spring break this year. Sissy and the princess seem to be having the most trouble adjusting. Its amazing how something like that can throw their little inner time clocks so out of whack. I'm sitting here now waiting for the princess to enter that magical place in dreamland where she can be moved to her bed without waking up. I don't think we are far off.... 

She is very well equipped, a paci in her mouth and one in each hand! Some nights that is just the only way to keep those little hands still, she often wakes herself up searching for something to hold, her blanket, her shirt, most often her paci which is when she wakes up because she pulls it out of her mouth. 

We have had a very good start to our spring break around here, Mimi has her first formal dance coming up in a couple of months, it just makes my heart ache to think of my 7th grade daughter attending a formal dance! I took her out yesterday for her birthday lunch and a bit of window shopping and... well... we did more than window shop lol. We found her the PERFECT dress at a FANTASTIC price and there was just no way I could pass that up. So of course, any woman knows that the next stop is SHOOOOES! So she is now ready for her dance, whether momma is or not.

We took part of the flock out to eat tonight, half of the lambs are off having sleepovers. What good is spring break without a sleepover or 2? While we were out our waitress actually fussed at one of the lambs for using manners and saying "Yes Ma'am" and "No Ma'am" and that her mother had given her a name to be used, not replaced with a word like that. I was in such shock that I almost responded to her in an ugly manner, I mean, I myself had been saying "Yes Ma'am" and "Thank you Ma'am" to her. My first thought was how dare she undermine my position as a parent. However tho, I politely told her that our children have been taught to use their manners and to respect other people. Why is it that so many people are uncomfortable when people use manners? Yes, I know it is common place for hatred and ugliness to be the norm, but you would think seeing a teenager using manners, being polite and having respect would be something that an adult would appreciate BECAUSE of all that ugliness we see every day. What really got me was that she said absolutely nothing to the people she went to after us who were rude and hateful to her. As we left I wished her a goodnight and shook my head as we walked out the door. 

Once we got home the princess once again reminded us that you don't need a bunch of expensive toys to have a good time. I snapped this shot of her bypassing her toys to play with an empty peppermint bucket.

And now that the little princess is good and asleep this tired momma is off to catch a bit of a nap before the rest of the household wakes up.

Saturday Centus: Code Red!

I'm going to try something new, it's called Saturday Centus and its from Jenny Matlock's Blog and if you would like to give it a try or read more for yourself you can do so HERE. Now without further ado..... 
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So living in a houseful of very excitable little lambs, sometimes the most simple thing can turn into an epic moment of what you would think is code red proportions by the over exaggeration that can go on. Little Princess has a simple dirty diaper? Youd think she smeared it all over the house! Dinner time? They havent eaten in months! Hugs? You can bet they will be the tightest, most loved filled hugs youve ever received. Would I change anything? Not on your life, it may be pure chaos at times but I hope to continue to encourage their heartfelt enthusiasm!

Whipped Cream and....

Birthdays! It's official, we now have another teenager on our hands. Today was Mimi's 13th birthday. We usually do a small family thing here at the house with a cake and then the birthday lamb and I take the day together on the weekend and go have lunch, window shop and just spend a little time together. It's so hard to comprehend that she is already 13, wasnt it just yesterday that she was watching the Tigger Movie and snuggling beside me? Well yeah it was but you know what I mean, Im sure. Kids grow up so fast, they grow up faster now then we did. They go from our little babies to these half grown strangers that we dont even recognize seemingly over night. See what I mean? 

From this

to this

Even having a messy hair day she is still so photogenic, she always has been. I could probably count on one hand how many bad pictures shes taken in her lifetime.... unlike me lol

We tried a new recipe tonight, the flock all really enjoyed it. I thought it needed more cheese personally lol. Look how cute these are.

They are super easy to make, heres the recipe:

Create Your Own Signature Mini Pie (and an easy way to get rid of leftovers!)

Mix 1/2 cup of Bisquick, 1/2 Cup of Milk, and 2 eggs together for a base. (put about 1 tablespoon in each muffin cup)

Top with about 1/4 cup of any "fillings" you want. - Cheeseburger, Pizza, BLT, Chicken and Veggies, etc.... You can mix it up in the pan (any meat should already be cooked)

Then top with one more tablespoon of the "Bisquick Mixture" - and bake at 375 for 25-30. It's a great way to get rid of your leftovers! These can also be frozen! Just pop them into the microwave for a quick meal on the go!
Recipe from Betty Crocker

We used ground beef and cheese in ours but the flock came up with so many interesting ideas, I do believe we will be having these again soon. Paired with a salad they made for an amazing meal!

Well I better bring this to a close, tomorrow I get to go to town to buy the items needed to make a 3rd grade solar system with Dede.

The Joy of Homemade Toys

So today I made the flock a Sensory Find It game. We had seen one in a learning store a couple of years ago for almost $40 It was so much cheaper to make it myself. I used a 2 liter Dr Pepper bottle, filled it with rice and a bit of glitter and then wandered around the house picking up miscellaneous items. I found, well rather stepped on, a little yellow lego, (Holy sheep dip that hurt!) various buttons, beads, rubber bands, just the typical junk that collects around a house. After my collecting spree I had a total of 67 objects of varying size, shape and weights (don't forget to include a penny) I then made a printout list of each object and laminated it with clear packing tape so the kids could use an Expo (dry erase) marker to mark out each item as they found it. I then attached the list to the bottle with a piece of ribbon and screwed the lid on. I might go back and GLUE the lid on to make sure it doesnt "accidentally" come off lol. The kids sat and played with this for hours this afternoon  taking turns doing it alone or helping each other, even the older kids had a blast with it. I sat and helped Brother Bear by keeping track of the items as he found them. I was super proud as he managed to find all but 9 items by himself. I was truly amazed at how long this held his attention, I finally had to make him put it up for bed time.  With all of his special quirks there isn't much that holds his attention longer than 10 or 15 minutes but this was a real winner! Here is a pic of our game. If you try making one Id love to hear how you did it, what you used, and how your kids enjoyed it!

I sat for the second night in a row watching the princess attempt to climb into her crib. I think Ive mentioned before that she has already managed to escape from it once. She piled her blanket at the end of the bed and reached out and pulled herself up with the bookshelf and then climbed down the shelves. She hasnt been able to do it again since we moved her bed away from the shelves. Last nights attempt to climb in was done from the end of the bed, tonight's was from the side. I swear she is going to grow a little monkey tail any day now lol

The Art of Catching the Bus

Maybe I'm weird, well there's no maybe about that. Anyone who knows me will be glad to tell you I'm plenty weird, but I own that weirdness in an amazing way lol. So let me start that sentence over.

 Maybe I'm the only one who does this, but it works for us. I have multiple alarms on my phone to start our every school morning. At 5:30 the first alarm goes off rousing me from whatever amount of sleep I've managed to attain, letting me know that I have 15 minutes to shake the exhausted stupor from my brain before the next alarm goes off at 5:45 signaling that it's time to get the grumpy little lambs up and ready. 6:00 am, there goes another alarm signaling each and every straggling lamb that they only have 10 minutes to finish their tasks of getting ready before time to walk out the door. 6:10 the final alarm rings as books are gathered, jackets are put on, back packs hoisted, and little feet tromp out the door and down the driveway for the 3 minute wait for the bus. 

Barring that inevitable, last minute, frantic rush, to find that misplaced object, (jacket, backpack, homework, a left shoe) that never crossed the mind of the little lambs in question, even tho they have been questioned and reminded multiple times, until that last alarm rings signaling time to walk out the door, we have that timing down to a science. (Note the run on sentence, much like our run on lives  lol) 

Yes folks, its a science... No, no no no.. It's an ART, (yeah, that's it, an art) getting our flock of lambs out the door, to the bus, with all the needed (and occasionally some not so needed) objects, at the same exact time every day, so much so that many of our bus drivers set their route time by our kids. See, we live in the country and our little driveway is the first stop of the morning. Our route is one of the largest as well, and we have a high rate of turn over on drivers for our route. 3 or 4 and sometimes more drivers per year. With the exception of one day out of the past 5 years (other than the first day of school) that day happened this school year, after a particularly long string of sleepless nights with the princess. I somehow managed to sleep thru every alarm. Yes, all 4 blaring, screaming alarms. Funny thing is that even tho I never heard those screeching alarms I did hear the bus and it's not like our house sits on the road either lol. So the flock got to be car riders that morning. 

What goes on after the bus pulls away? Well it's nap time of course.

Meet the Lambs...

7 kids, all ours whether we conceived them or not, fall into the category of our children. Most days you would think it was more like a house full of roaring hungry lions than cute fluffy sheep. R and I were married just shy of 5 years ago. It was just me and my 3 girls, who for all blogging purposes will from now on be called, Sissy, Mimi, and Dede. R had his 2 boys, henceforth known as Bubba and Brudder Bear. Along with his 2 boys he often had his ex step daughter with him as well, let's call her Nikki. (All the aforementioned little lambs picked out there own names, so I say A+ for each of their participation skills) We made an instant connection, we hit it off as well as the kids and did lots of things together as a family before we WERE a family.

We made an interesting site going places like the zoo. People often stopped to stare at our group which stair stepped so perfectly it was ridiculous. Many even made comments to which R and I just smiled and chuckled over later. 

So anyway, off to meet the lambs... 

First we have Sissy who is now 16 with a diagnosis of ADHD. She chose two years ago to go live with her father. It was a rough move on the other members of this household, like so many things a teenager does, there was a better way to handle it. She lives roughly 3 miles down the road and we get to see her every other weekend and the typical divorce holiday schedule. She was my first baby and to my dying day she will always be my baby. I hope and pray that one day our relationship will again be as strong as it once was.

Second we have Nikki who is now 15 and has a diagnosis of Bi-Polar and ADHD. Nikki led a rough life with her mother and ended up moving in with us for awhile. Our area lacked the proper resources to give Nikki the proper help that she needed so she ended up settling in with a member of her biological family in a greater metropolitan area. The resources available to her are outstanding. 

Third we have Mimi who is almost 13. Every other weekend she goes to her dads house where Sissy now lives. The rest of the time she is the oldest little lamb in the house. She takes her job as the oldest quite seriously, sometimes TOO seriously. Mimi is the type to stand up for the under dog, if someone is in need of a friend, she is the first to step up. She is a loyal and a sensitive soul.

Next we have Bubba who is 12 and has a diagnosis of ADHD. He is a little powerhouse, who flies thru his day at lightning speed. He talks as fast as he moves, getting in 4 times the words as the average person lol. He's a typical brother, likes to pick on his siblings but look out if someone wrongs one of them. As quick and scattered as he is, he has proven more than once that he can be counted on during an emergency.

Then we have Brudder Bear who is 10 and has multiple diagnosis including, Aspergers & ADHD. There has never been a sweeter, more loving and compassionate child than Brudder Bear. He almost always has a smile and a ready hug for whoever he thinks might need one. 

Next we have Dede, an 8 year old whirling dervish of blonde hair and big blue eyes. Dede has been diagnosed with ADHD. She has been my sick baby from day one, if there is something going around you can bet shes going to catch it... twice. She is also our child with no volume control, hard to believe that when she was born her cry was so quiet you had to be next to her to hear it. Guess shes making up for lost time lol.

Finally we have the princess. At just over a year old it's probably safe to say she's the spoiled princess as everyone dotes on her. Certain members of the lamb population have to be watched for endless spoiling. We don't want a rotten princess after all. Her current hobby is climbing, I don't think there is a person or object in the house she hasn't tried to climb. She has even managed to escape the confines of the crib with some well placed blankets.

So there you have it, our little flock of lambs and probably the longest blog post I will ever make without pictures lol.

Starting over.. kind of

So, it's been quite awhile since I started (sort of) this blog. The fact that life went nuts and I never posted anything and the blog took a back seat is testament to our world. Its been almost 3 years to be exact. So much has happened in that 3 years that it is unreal. We've had a new diagnosis on one of the kids that sure made a lot more sense, even tho at times it still doesnt make any sense. We went thru our fair share of hell to be honest, and our share of happiness with a new addition to the family as well. Technically we probably dont fit the Brady Bunch logo anymore unless you want to throw cousin Oliver into the mix lol.

Last January we were blessed with the precious little princess. Shes more like a spoiled princess now with the way her brothers and sisters and, yes, even mommy and daddy, dote on her. She has filled out our not so little family quite nicely, and brought some much needed smiles along the way. She delights us daily with the way she quickly learns something new and has such a happy, loving, playful personality.

Along with the smiles and laughter there have been many tears shed. 2 of our lambs left the flock, our guardian child moved to be with some biological family members in an area where there are more resources available for her needs. Thats part of life in a small(ish) town, you just dont have access to mental health professionals to the extent you do in metropolitan areas. We still struggle with that on a daily basis with our 10 year old. The other fleeing lamb decided that it was time to go live with her father, the way that was accomplished left some emotional and trust issues scattered throughout the family. I remembered that being a teenager was hard, I never realized until I became the mother of a teen, just how much harder that job was. 

Here we are now, left with 2 preteens, a 10 year old, an 8 year old and a soon to be toddler. Wow, how crazy can you get? I'm not sure, but we are about to find out as I attempt to chronicle the perfect messes we tend to make! Come along and join us for the ride.