the latest craze

care to play a round of Mexican Train??

preparing for a big birthday

this year we are doing things a little differently...

each of the kids took 24 paper circles,

decorated them,

and wrote little "gifts" they could give to 

Baby Jesus

for His

birthday this year.

as the pull one out of their envelope and do the task on the back,

they staple them to the string in the living room and make a paper garland.

i ran out of colored paper so we used white,

but

i think im going to have to have them refill their envelopes due to their avid  desire to

"clean the toilet" "make mama's bed" "clean out the fridge" "fold the laundry" "dust the cobwebs" etc.

the next paper garland will be colored and i can't wait to show you  how beautiful it will be

a little glimpse

of how we roll in the morning....

 the littles draw pictures with chalk in the living room while the big kids trickle out of their beds...
of course, the chalk is strewn about the house, buy the time  big kid #2 makes his way to the couch....
he steps on and crunches a few pieces that are in his path...
bubba now decides he's hungry and makes his way to the kitchen table...\
which still has my photo project on it from the night before...
baby z follows...
big kid #3 makes her way to the couch...
not enough room for  kids numbers #2 and #3...
they have a kick war....
#3 wins......
bubba is still hungry...
#2 fetches z from the kithen pantry...
he decides to make pancakes...
baby z is not happy about being exiled from the kitchen...
she bites...
bubba, also exiled from the kitchen....
starts playing with the chalk again....
curly top sits on the kitchen table waiting for her burnt pancakes...
big kids numbers #1 and #4 are still sleeping...
or at least pretending to...
but no one really wants to find out...
so we just let them be till they emerge..
#2 makes an airplane with  dad's new screw gun..
mama takes sits on the couch and drinks her coffee...
which someone put wayyy over there...

when #4 and #1 they wake up, we'll actually start our day...

 with prayers...
and burnt pancakes.

wordless thursday?

sure, why not?

some things are just to precious for words.

sometimes i worry about my sanity...

but weekends like this, quickly assure me that i still don't have any.

so, what's crazy about going on a two day camping trip with seven kids?

nothing really.

its actually a great idea....

if there isn't a seventy percent chance of rain.

need i say more?

probably not, but i'm going to anyway.

i wish you could have seen us,

all packed and ready for our adventure...

honestly,

we had to take two cars.

what we packed:

• one flashlight
• two tents
• 4 very large tarps
• 10 blankets
• 8 pillows
• enough clothes for each person to have three changes of clothing
• 1 sweatshirt for each person
• a large umbrella to keep out of the sun (or RAIN)
• toilet paper
• potty chair
• wipes
• diapers

an ice chest stuffed with:

• one watermelon
• 4 packages of hot dogs 
• 2 1/2 dozen eggs
• 1 lb of bacon
• 2 lbs hamburger
• sandwich meat

not to mention:

• a 4 lb bag of salt potatoes
• two very large cans of beans
• enough granola bars to feed an army
• 2 cases of bottled water
• chips and salsa
• fruit roll-ups
• bread and buns
• one case of flavored water

for cooking:

• one very large pot
• two frying pans
• hamburger flippers and tongs
• knife
• paper plates and cups
• paper towels

and don't forget:

• one canoe and oars
• 5 life jackets
• enough fishing tackle to catch a whale
• hatchet
• stroller
• ergo baby carrier

and most importantly:

• my camera

and now....what we should have added...along with a u-haul:

• a parka for each person
• another sweatshirt for each kid (especially for the one who was playing in the rain pouring off the cover of the tent)
• a few dry logs
• an air mattress
• another 2 1/2 dozen eggs
• 2 more lbs of bacon
• a picnic table
• a few towels
• a broom
• extra flashlights
• a lantern or two
• coffee

now, to make this long story short...

we packed for a two night stay...

set up our tents as it began to drizzle...

 questioned our ability to make it through the night, as it began to down pour..

figured if we made it this far, we could surely brave it through the night..

the insides of the tents and the blankets were dry, even if we weren't...

the campfire was raging, even if the wood wasn't dry..

and one of the kids brilliantly packed the sun umbrella, which was the only way we all got dried off and kept the fire going, while we cooked our beans and hot dogs over the fire...

worn out from setting up camp and finding firewood...the kids ate their "cowboy dinner" like never before,

and were more than ready to bed down for the night...

everyone, including the baby...slept like babies...

except of course for hubs and i.

next time..

yeah, we're that crazy...

next time, 

we buy an air mattress.

end of story..

we went camping in a torrential down pour, and had a blast...

the next morning, 

hubs took a canoe full of kids fishing, caught a few whoppers,

gave a few joy rides to the little ones, 

i stayed behind and made eggs and bacon over the open fire, best eggs ever..

(especially with the pine needle/dirt seasoning, compliments of bubba) 

and then we packed it all up.

its fine to sleep on dry blankets, but when there is no sun the next day, and its more humid than the inside of a green house, its time to call it quits, and go visit friends who have air conditioning..

and that's exactly what we did.

pack up, drive home, shower, re-pack clean clothes...

and drive another two hrs to visit one of our favorite people, ever.

and this is perfect proof that my sanity is still non-existent.  

my only regret is that i didn't take enough pictures,

 it was so wet, and i was afraid to take my camera out..

i wish i had a picture of our "camp"...

clothesline and all...it was so classy

 

Wordless Wednesday

 

 

wordless wednesday

we're almost there

from the remains of last year....

that looked likeTHIS...

and THIS...

we slowly dug through THIS...

and we ended with THIS...

now all we have to do is wait.

ready or not..next week we start.

a glimpse

....of our 4th of July weekend

carp bait 101

ok here's the scoop...

my dh and boys have found a secret fishing hole jam packed with monster bass and some some other sort of incredibly large and nasty fish

 which up until now,

 has alluded them...

up until now.

today is the day,

 apparently,

is the day that this nasty fish will become more than just a fish story.

we made carp bait.

yuppo, we sure did!

and...

 nothing is going to escape...

 MY BOYS CARP BAIT!

 (hopefully)

bait #1

(yeah, the apron,

 um..

compliments of his sister...

 who thought he needed to be dressed for the occasion)

bait #2

for some real recipes for bait...try this web site

BobberStop.com

don't worry

...i've got everything under control...HA HA HA!

ok, so maybe not, but hey...i did get the car key alarm thingy back together...and it even works :)

wooo hoo!

so after i put my mad swiss army knife skills to work last night i headed off to wally's world to do some much needed shopping for staples....tp, band aides (we go through them like water around here...you know, they cure just about anything), food, diapers, etc.....

but this trip was just a little different than my usual....i had an extra "helper" with me...(i wish this keyboard had a "thumbs up button" cause i would insert it right here)

boy #1 (he's eight) came along to help his mama out (wally's takes on a whole new look when you spend 15 minutes sniffing all the different shampoo flavors trying to find a manly one)..., actually he's amazingly helpful ...he pushed the cart, while i carried the baby....

oh and of course he had plans of his own...

• exchange his new bike for the second time due to a faulty tire...what a headache...why don't people care about quality any more?
• cruise the fishing isle ... apparently he is in dire need of a new tackle box and lures and what not... i think it MAY have something to do with this......

yes, he caught that this weekend....incredible, huh?

but you know, where there is one that big...

there are bound to be more...and hey, maybe even one just a tad bit bigger...and the only way to find out, is to spend 5 hrs in the fishing isle at wally's, apparently

the good stuff

....that's what's on my mind right now. this weekend was full of "the good stuff". good company, good food and good drinks, amongst a few other good things...things that don't happen everyday..

such as....

• buying a new pillow (i've yet to try it out for a full 8 hrs sleep, by the way)...



• i sneaked a box of better cheddars into my shopping cart on saturday (i'm hoarding them)...



• i managed to clean a 4 ft radius of the basement (now you can walk through the door without tripping over a multitude of basketballs and kites)



• i made a mental list if brilliant ideas for herb/flower gardens ( just have to convince dh of their brilliance)...



• i realized that i now have only ONE child in diapers.....



• i've discovered that mudslides make a great substitute for margaritas
  (especially when the blender explodes all over the kitchen..happily, not my kitchen)



• a few unexpected yard sale finds (yes, i'm a sucker for yard sales, i'll admit it)



• spending time with my dear sils and my mama (yes, there was a little knitting going on)



• remembering that i have an awesome photo prop in mom's attic (gotta figure out how to sneak it home)



• my dh surprised me with a dozen roses ( i think he likes me ;o))...



• did i mention i got a dozen roses??

so yes, my weekend was pretty sweet....but mostly it was just a relaxing weekend spent with family.... THAT's the good stuff!