A Minute of Your Time?

OK, so I have a confession to make. I do NOT like talking on the phone. Let me make it clear, it is NOT that I dislike talking to the people on the other end of the line. I DO enjoy talking. I just have other issues.

First of all, if I'm talking on the phone, that means I am not doing something else. Now, I do multitask a bit, but I find it extremely hard to hold a touch screen phone to my ear with my shoulder. I have hung up on more than a few people - oops!

Secondly, I feel like I should give the person on the other end my full attention, and that is nearly impossible. After all, don't your children always need something when you're on the phone?!?

That all being said, I have now challenged myself to talk on the phone with an adult at least three times a week. Why? Because I believe it may just keep me sane!

Think of this. I have four children aged 5 and under. My husband leaves for work at 5:30 am (before I am awake) and he often is not home until almost 7 pm. Because he works two jobs, he often works 10 days in a row before having a day off. Soooooo, I really don't get to see an adult during the day.

This week I spoke with an adult every day. . .and it made such a difference! Not that I don't enjoy talking with my children. . .

Really, though, it is nice to have an adult conversation once in a while. So, if I give you a call, give me a minute of your time. It just may keep me from the "loony bin" - lol!

Easiest Cookies Eva (yes, "eva" is a word in New England) ;)

I tried these cookies last night and they lasted just a few hours. . .and the batch made 50 cookies!!! The recipe called for Spice cake mix, but all I had in the house was yellow mix. It turned out fine - I just added some cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice.

So, are you ready for this? All you need is a box of Spice cake mix, a can of pumpkin, and some chocolate chips. Yes, that is it! No eggs, no oil, no water!

Directions:

Mix together cake mix and can of pumpkin, then add in chocolate chips (I used half a bag).

Bake at 350 for 8-10 min.

Now, these cookies are very "cake-like" (can you imagine why), but I prefer that because it means less crumbs from my boys! I always bake cookies a little less than recommended, because they continue baking on the cookie sheet after removed from the oven, and I like moist cookies. Hope you enjoy!

A Large Family?!?!?

Our family went to have our portrait taken at Sears the other day. I couldn't resist the FREE collage print, so I had everyone coordinate and we headed out the door. For the past three years, we have had free portrait coupons from various vendors, but my favorite place (Picture People) closed, so we went to Sears this year. We had been to Sears once before, and the lady was efficient, friendly, and great with the boys. We loved the results. This year? Not so much.

The lady was a mother of three, yet she did not have a clue as to how to relate to our children. She did not ask them to say, "cheese" or count to three before taking their picture.It was extremely hot in the studio and the boys were trying to cooperate, but she was having a terrible time explaining to them how they should sit. She had tons of props and I assume she was trained, but she asked me, "How do you think we should do this?" Seriously?!?!? She was nice enough to tell me that our boys were the best behaved she had seen, but I really couldn't blame other children for not cooperating with her since she was not so good at giving direction. Anyway, I should not ramble about the poor lady's inability to be "comfortable" with children, my real reason for this entry is that she mentioned something about us having a large family, and I had some thoughts about that.

As you know, we have four children. This gives us a family of six. I do not consider that to be "large," but in today's society, I may be wrong. In public, it seems many people comment on us having three boys in a row, but in reality, it is not just odd to have them spaced closely as much as having three to begin with. Now that we have four, apparently, we have a "large" family. I'm thinking people must consider a family large when the children outnumber the parents ;)

Now, in our immediate circle of friends, most have three or four children, so we are not out of place. Personally, I think four children is "average." I don't think it is unreasonable or overwhelming to have a family of six. My husband is from a family of six children. Both my parents grew up in families with five children and both my in-laws had five children in each of their families. I think it is nice to have enough so that your children's children will have cousins, aunts, and uncles with which to grow up.

I love that we have four children (and especially happy about having a girl in the mix now!) They may outnumber us, but I don't consider them a "burden" or an "extra cost." So, for those of you who have four, five, six, or more. . .count your blessings! I know the Lord gives us children so that we may raise them for his glory, so I'm glad He saw fit to give us each of ours :)

And, for the record, the photo in this post is NOT from Sears - I took it myself, just so you could see our "large" family!

Who would have guessed?!?

Who would have guessed that a 3 year old could be so entertaining? I have three boys, yet only one is an honest-to-goodness comedian. My oldest is serious and responsible. He enjoys laughing, but not at himself. My middle son loves "goofing" around, but he tends to get in trouble for his silliness. My youngest son is just naturally "good natured". He laughs at himself and makes others laugh. Even his brothers say, "Evan, you are sooooo funny!"

Evan got himself breakfast : Cheez-its

(oh, and like the hat with the pj's?)

Today was a long day for me. My children have not napped for me for at least a week. Since I am nursing the baby, I get very tired and I miss my nap :( In order to have some "me" time today, I sat the boys down with a snack, and put some cartoons on the computer. I then went to take a shower in peace. I always shower in the boys bathroom because I like their shower head better and the master bath is in the back of the house, so if there was a true emergency, I may not find out until too late! After a few minutes in the shower, I heard the toilet seat go up. I asked, "Who's there?" "It's me, Mom," said my youngest. Then, in a very serious voice, he said, "There's a fish in the toilet." I said, "No there isn't, silly boy!" Again, very seriously, he says, "Yes, there is Mom!" We went back and forth, until I finally poked my head out of the shower curtain. He stood there, pointing at the toilet with a squinty-eyed smile on his face, and said, "SEE!!!" Of course, there was no fish, but he was quite happy that he made me look. :)

As a baby, Evan was very easy to distract. He would start crying and as soon as we'd divert his attention, he was fine. Even now, this tactic works for him. He just came to me and complained that his brother hurt him. I said, "Look, that's you on the computer!" He said, "I want to put that hat on now!" And he ran off without another word about his brother. It's nice having a child that can make you laugh, but I have found that it is difficult to stay upset when that child is just so stinkin' cute! ;)

Snips and snails and puppy dog tails. . .

Since I've been posting so many pictures on Facebook of our new baby girl, I thought it only fair to post some of my boys as well. These are just some photos of boys being. . .boys :)

Kyle trying on his Daddy's pants (my hubby is 6'5").

Kyle loving on baby Jessica (I think he'll really be connected to her).

Zack playing "Angry Birds" on my phone (I think he's an addict - lol!)

Two boys getting along (this doesn't happen all that often!)

Zack giving his brother's a "tow" (he figured this out all on his own)

Horseback riding with Daddy (oh, and a lollipop)

Evan watching his pet fish (I think they only lasted two weeks - lol!)

C is for COOKIE!!!!

Good news: I have lost 4 lbs in the last 5 days! Bad news: I still have many more lbs to go. BUT it is encouraging to see the numbers go down, even if it's just a little at a time.

I have not really altered my diet, but I have started keeping track of the calories I eat each day, and that seems to be a great help. Please tell me that I'm not the only one who will grab a cookie when I'm not even hungry or finish my sons bowl of cereal because I don't want to "waste" it! Keeping track of my caloric intake has kept me from doing those things. And for any of you that would like to keep track of calories and exercise, I suggest checking out this website: http://www.loseit.com (if you do like it, you can add me on there as your friend).

Well, anyway, I wanted to add a recipe to my blog that is low fat and yummy! I know, those two don't usually go together, but my husband and sons agree - these are gooooood cookies. I mean, you can't expect to stay away from ALL desserts while dieting, right? These are oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and the only change I made was that I used whole wheat flour. They call for dark chocolate chips, which are my favorite, but not my hubby's. The good thing is, he couldn't even tell! And I made a double batch, hoping they would last all week, but in one weekend, all but about 10 are gone!

I am not going to write out the recipe, but instead, put a link to another blog. I don't want to get in trouble for "stealing" someone else's good idea ;) Try them and enjoy!

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/03/low-fat-chewy-chocolate-chip-oatmeal.html

Do you remember?

As I sat rocking my darling baby girl, I looked around my living room. I saw the following: a game of Candy Land on the piano bench, a Buzz Lightyear gun on the floor, a baby blanket tossed on the couch, and two cowboy boots and a sand bucket by the front door. Now, none of those items should be in the living room, but I'm learning to adapt.

Do you remember what your house looked like when you were a young child? You see, my memories of the neatness of my house, are basically non-existent. What I DO remember is playing games and having fun. I know my mother let me put all the couch cushions on the living room floor so I could jump from one to another without "falling in the water." I remember my friends often came over to play, and you know, when other kids come over, ALL the toys seem to be taken out of the toy box! Oh, and lets not forget about the LEGOS! Now, as a mother, I know those things multiply, so I'm sure my own mother found them in various rooms of the house. I also spent a great deal of time outside, so I'm sure my mom spent a great deal of time washing my messy clothes and vacuuming the dirt I tracked into the house. But with all those memories, I don't remember our house ever being "messy."

With the arrival of a fourth child, I have finally realized that I will never keep my house "spotless." When they are older, they will help more with chores and their toys won't be so large, so I have hope. For now, I will try to be content with the clutter. I hope the boys remember that today we played Candy Land and made paper masks and finished our school work more than they remember the fact that I did not get around to vacuuming and have yet to run the dishwasher. . . I'm pretty sure they will :)