You're Fired

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QBRIsCkGQ0

What a mess! Please...vote these crooks out of office. Barney Frank and Christopher Dodd, you should be ashamed of yourselves! And all of these congress people with their hands in the pot, you are a disgrace! You work FOR US so if I had my way I'd pull a Donald Trump and say, "You're Fired!"

Caption Contest

 

Emmy took this picture last winter and I just found it on the computer. (Fresh fresh fresh!) Poor Lulu had no idea why her brother asked her to show her chipped fingernail.

Sarah Palin as McCain's VP Pick

Wow! What a surprise! I thought for sure that "the maverick" was going to pick Mitt Romney as his running mate.

My first reaction to the govenor of Alaska was... Who?

My second reaction (shamefully) was...

Geesh, I can't even keep my laundry in order as a mother of five, how the heck does she do it?

My third reaction was...

How does she find the time to have ___with her husband and keep five children happy and healthy, as well as run a state?

(Mum, if you are reading this, I am really sorry, but I am trying to remain honest here.)

After all of our little ones are happily tucked into bed, I will try to learn more about this (what seems to be an amazing) woman. That is unless I find time to...
never mind. ;)

Grumpy Mom Strikes Again

Oh how I love summertime. At our house (and I imagine most of yours as well) most days are beautifully carefree...just the way I like it. We lounge in the mornings and chat about what we can do that day, and usually end up doing something fun(in between some sibling bickering) but all and all it really doesn't matter most days really. Unfortunately, last Friday didn't exactly turn out that way. (Okay it did, but there was a HUGE speed bump on the road to getting there...a grumpy mom!)

The morning started out very nicely. Me with a hot cup of coffee in one hand,our sweet little one Allyson in the other. She was doing her new thing...pointing at everything in sight then looking brightly up at me to ask,"Whasat?" Ryan and Zach were playing "something" in the playroom and Em and Linds were loudly munching on a bowl of cereal. All was well with the world.

I decided that I really needed to get out of the house, so I had made plans in my head to go to the library in the morning and the mall to pick up Allyson's pictures in the afternoon. But my plans were swiftly pushed to the side by the kids.

I came downstairs after putting Allyson in for her morning nap to find the remaining four kiddos breaking out a game of...Monopoly. (Monopoly?) I took a step back and observed as the older two children patiently explained the rules to the younger ones then handed out the money and enthusiastically began. (Wow, how sweet, but honestly, I had some serious doubts about this. Lately Ryan and Em begin arguing after "Good morning" and Lindsey and Zachary are lovingly referred to as Oil and Water at our house.)

Surprisingly, they were still happily buying properties and getting sent to jail after an hour and a half. But when lunchtime came, things began to get ugly. It was almost three hours into the game and Lindsey had quit (I don't know how she stayed in that long--she's four!) and it seemed like the road to Boardwalk was all down hill from there!

Conflict after conflict after conflict!!! We tried rock paper scissors, I attempted to let them duke it out (big mistake) I reasoned, mediated and listened to the unfairness of it all and then it happened. Without warning...after the eighteenth time they shouted "Mom!" I had had it! (This is where I felt like I was on the outside looking in.) I stomped into the dining room with a scowl, "Enough! Everybody-not you Lindsey (who was like a deer in headlights with peanut butter on her forehead?) go upstairs!" Everyone sat scared there for a moment...I am not sure why (okay because my response was out of nowhere!) "Now!"

I was quickly ambushed with questions like "Why?" "What did I do?" "Can't you just listen to my side?" I sternly piped up, "For your own safety,go up there and stay there!" (For there own safety? What was I planning on doing to do to them?) Luckily, I resisted flinging the game across the room and left it intact. Next,I quickly took a trash barrel up and put it in the hall announcing. "Please clean your rooms while you are up here!" And they did.

They instinctively knew that their mom had lost it, the poor loves. Meanwhile downstairs Lindsey kind of hung around close by waiting. Waiting to see what I would do next. It was kind of annoying actually because I didn't know what I was going to do next. Allyson began following me again asking, "Whasat?" (Somehow it wasn't cute that time?)

I quickly realized (after talking to myself for a few minutes) that I simply needed space and uninterrupted time. This happens to me every once and a while (please tell me it happens to you too!) Being home with the kids is something that I absolutely love! But sometimes a little "Metime" is in order.

Needless to say, the kids bedrooms look great, the Monopoly game continued until 4:00 without any major disagreements, and I swiftly went downstairs for a great workout shortly after Neil came home. And when I came back up to put Allyson to bed she pointed at my headband and said...

And it was back to being cute!

My "Baby" is Growing Up

We took her for her one year pictures (a bit late) today. She was a doll! All of the kids helped. I can honestly say that it went really well. Phew.

Vacation

Ahoy!










Just popping in to post a few pictures from our vacation that my dear sister in law took. Thank you Kerri!




Allyson and Daddy.

Allyson (or shall I say Gidget Jr.) absolutely LOVED the beach! She dove right in and never once looked back!




Ryan and my Godson Sean skillfully digging for sea life.
All of the kids really enjoyed discovering new creatures on the shore.



Here are Zachary and Billy on the hunt for crabs!





Lindsey and her cousin Sean taking a break from mini golf



Here is Allyson "riding a horse" with her biggest fan Zachary right behind her.




Here is Emmy doing her very best Jan Brady imitation! (Too bad most of the kiddo's have no idea who Jan Brady actually is!) Gotta love the bikes! Watching all of the sweeties zooming about the resort was one of the highlights of my week.





And we even had a make over session for Lindsey Lu...

Before:


After:





The kids had such a great time. My heart is filled with joy just thinking of the many memories from this one trip.

I am not sure that cousin Rachel's heart was filled with joy when the crew decided to help her overcome her fear of clowns. You are a great sport Rach! ;)

Bad Bad Blogger

Hello Friends!

Life is indeed great...isn't it? It can also become extremely hectic at times...well at our house it does anyway. I really wanted to check in briefly since I've received several emails asking where I am. Well...

I am happily immersed in life and simply unable to sit and blog at the computer. (However, if you follow me around the house and listen really carefully I blog verbally to myself...much to the dismay of my children whom often wonder who the world I am talking to!)

Allyson has officially become a proficient climber, so I am on constant patrol. Lulu has decided to teach herself how to swim in our pool, therefore I have suddenly become a valiant life guard. Not to be outdone, Zac is currently working on his curve ball. I happen to be his biggest fan. His current favorite phrase is, "Mom, watch this one!" I am also wearing the hat of guidance counselor since our sweet Emmy is preparing for her entrance into middle school. And since Ryan is enjoying the freedoms that Neil and I have given to him now that he has proven that he is a very responsible young man, I have taken up the odd habit of pacing about while feeling like I am missing something. (Don't ask, I can't explain it.)

And since my handsome husband is working very very hard to provide for us all and then jumping right in to play hard when he comes home, I have very little spare time!

So I needed to make a choice...find time to blog, or time to nourish my marriage, my children and myself. Obviously I didn't choose the blog. I guess you can say that I am a really bad blogger.

Hopefully in the fall I will have more time to spend here as well as catch up with all of you! In the meantime I will continue my patrol while cheering, pacing, listening, and talking to myself as I enjoy my days of summer!

Have a WONDERFUL summer too! xoxoxoxoxo