Summer Reading comes Early ! !

I love Reading Programs and their REWARDS! So when my friend, Susan, emailed me this link I had to check it out! Scholastic and Kumon join together to offer free books for completing math and reading activities. I can't wait to include these activities into the kids' school work. They will enjoy picking their books out and getting their own package in the mail!

Quoteables Courtesy of Little Princess...

It has been a busy day! All seven of us had eye appointments. (Yep, that is right. We have a wonderful eye doctor who will give us an entire morning ! And we clear the calendar and do not let anything get in the way.)

So for about half of us the day started super early. We don't all go in at the same time. The beauty of being a 2 car family. However, the 2 car luxury is only a benefit if the car keys for the second car are left for the other parent. Oops! A panicked call and 20 minutes later, both vehicles are humming down the road.

Appointments completed and the first group is off to Grandpa's. Wednesdays with Grandpa! The girls and I complete our exams, select glasses and pay. Pick up lunch, stop at the grocery store and finally arrive at Grandpa's. Then a whirlwind trip home, a quick dinner and back out the door to church.

So where does the quoteable come in??

Well my sister has been trying to get a hold of me. If we didn't live in two different time zones our availability to chat with one other would probably be at the same time. Since she feels she must live near the mountains and so far away, we find it impossible to live in the same time zone and connect most days.

So on the way home from church with me yawning, I try to finally return all of her unanswered calls. Is she able to talk? NO! But she was quick to say, get the kids in bed quick when you get home so we can talk. Well the ever cooperative younger sister who listens to the Older Bossy Sister all the time is quick to announce to the kiddos, "Aunt 'Shell says you are to go to bed the minute we get in the door so she can talk to me!"

To which Little Princess responds with, "Why?"
Because..... she wants to talk to me and has been calling all day and if you guys go to bed she will be able to talk to me uninterrupted.

To which Little Princess asks very seriously, "Can she just call you on Saturday?" "At 8 P.M."

Really ? ? ? Did she really just ask me this? ?
To which Fun Mom chokes and responds with, "That is 3 days away."

LP responds, "Yeah, but I want to stay up."

The whole time, I am thinking Saturday... hmmm, bridal shower, dad has class, 2 kids have a birthday party to go to, one child has a church thing to go to, groceries, laundry... Yep, I am free on Saturday to schedule a phone call with my sister! N * O * T * ! ! 8pm....that is the getting ready for bed witching hour....showers, teeth, delays, one more thing mom! Oh yeah, no phone call happening there. No wonder they think I don't have a life.

Drugstore . Com ! !

So excited! I received an email earlier in the month from Paypal. If I made a $20 purchase at Drugstore dot com. I could get $10 off if I used my Paypal account to pay. Pushed it off to the side cause I couldn't think of anything to get. Got a reminder email today that the offer was expiring soon. So I did a quick scan through the coupons they were offering. Voila! A coupon for Zyrtec. I am needing Zyrtec alright. Sale + coupon puts me below the mark for free shipping. Add another bottle. Free Shipping and $11 cheaper than if I had gone to the store to get it with a coupon. Woohoo! Allergies ~ I am ready for you.

Wish I Could Sleep Like My Children !

But of course, he would tell you, "I am just resting my eyes!"

Because naps and sleeping at this age is an insult.

I just love how he started off kinda off sitting on the bedside table and then ended up sprawled out on the table and the end of the bed.

Spring! ! I love Spring! !

I love Spring! I love new flowers blooming. I love flowering trees. The poking ups of green stems and leaves of new plants breaking through the ground. I love new baby green grass.
I don't love pollen and sneezing and snuffling. But I love the warmth of the sun and the cool breezes. I love the sounds of children playing outside.
It doesn't mean I don't love the other 3 seasons. There are things I love about all the seasons and what they represent. So I try to be content in the season I am in presently. Figuratively and literally. Life. It is what it is. Sometimes, life is hard. Sometimes, it is really hard. Othertimes, life is not so bad, pretty good actually. But always there is something beautiful and something to love about each moment. God can use all these moments for His glory and I choose to focus and stand on that rock and promise.

This has been a difficult winter. I know I have posted that. I have struggled with how much to blog and share. So I have been mostly silent through the past winter. Instead, clinging to the promises in God's Word. He has a plan for our lives. Plans for our good, not to harm us. He uses all things for His glory.
Winter has a cozy effect on me. I like to curl up and stay warm. But I need sunshine. So much so, that during the winter I have been known to rearrange the furniture so I can curl up and soak in the sunbeams shining through the windows. I love sunshine. I open all the blinds much to the annoyance of some family members. Gotta have that sunshine. It has been suggested that I might consider getting a light or two for my home. The kind of lights that simulate sunshine and help with seasonal depression related to the gray and gloomy days of winter. It is being considered. We have had a child diagnosed with a mood disorder and have struggled through the process of medications this winter. We are getting to know this child for the first time. Who this child is without the mood issues. We know all of our children are amazing and fearfully & wonderfully made.
But we missed the sensitivity a child is able to express. The hugs that young children give. We are working on finding a balance with medications and side effects. On the other hand, we are enjoying some of the side effects... Hugs! Laughter! Contentment! Joking! The little notes of love and tenderness children leave all over the home. In the midst of cleaning this weekend, I rediscovered the window markers. This is what I found this afternoon on the windows. Along with the changes of season outside, I like the energy that seems to explode in our beings with the coming of Spring. The extra energy that enables us to clean the gardens. The energy that allows children toplay for hours on end outside. The energy that seems to encourage creativity and playfulness. So of course, I couldn't let him have all the fun. I like to joke and tease. That means when you have an ultra cool tween age boy who can't be caught dead showing any affection to his mother in front of anyone. He even waits to give good night hugs to me, when noone was around. Oops the secret is out! hee, hee So I couldn't help myself, I had to announce my love to this other son of mine. I got a shake of the head and a grimace smile. Sometime later, there was a response written back. Not sure if one of the girls tried their own hand at teasing their brother. Maybe, he wrote it. He won't ever admit it though. But I will take what I get. I will enjoy the seasons for all the bring.

On the front door no less. Wondering when he will wash it off. Before his friends come over?

So proud of me ! !

It is spring break in our neighborhood and I have 4 extra children in my yard plus 4 of my own.
I am loving the sounds of it.
Cause they are in my yard working, being silly and chatting like crazy.
They are pulling the weeds for me. :)
Of course, I told them if they cleaned out my gardens I would pay each of them $5.
But hey, it is getting done and here I am blogging about it.
So while they are hard at work, I shall get to the work inside that so needs to be done. The work I would rather do than pulling weeds.

We are soo stinking spoiled!

I must say, I love it!
The quick and easy answer to the following question, "How much longer?"
This site tracks flights for you and those desperate little ones who just can't wait to see their most loved one of the day.
They can, also, learn a little geography in the process.

GPS gizmos in the car are another fave. That little friend of ours, she charts our course and gives us an estimated time of arrival, how many more miles and how far to the next bathroom.