The Tree Hunt

It finally snowed for real this week in Nampa, Idaho. The temps have fallen to below freezing at times. Because of Justin's weird work schedule, it was hard to find just the right time to go Christmas tree shopping. So, I decided to take matters into my own hands. I loaded the boys into the car & went tree shopping without Daddy. As you can see, the boys were freezing.

Creepy giant snow man on the Christmas Tree lot. (Adding to the creepiness, is the absence of Seth's face in this picture....)

Standing in front of a really BIG, awesome Christmas tree that we found. Tree shopping with the boys was fun. It made me feel nostalgic about the days when my Daddy used to walk down the street in North Seattle, with my sisters & I, to Chubby & Tubby's. He'd let us help pick out a tree & casually sling it over his strong shoulders. Then we'd make the 3-block treck back home. It's not exactly going up into the mountains & chopping down your own tree, but I still enjoy those memories. I want my kids to look back at these times with same fondness. (As you can see, Isaac is thoroughly enjoying the experience.......)

Jarod's creation

This is the tree we actually bought. What? I'm not actually Super Woman. As I have tried to explain before, even though I am a mother of 6 boys, I don't REALLY leap tall buildings in a single bound or stop trains from crashing. And I don't try to buy, haul & assemble HUGE Christmas trees. I usually try to take the easy way out.....truth be told. For me, it's all about basic survival. So, THIS (pointing to above pic) is what happens when I try to "play Daddy". Also, don't TELL Justin, but I didn't even use the Christmas tree stand. I let Seth help me hack off the bottom of the trunk (more like thick stem) with our hatchet which Seth dug out of the camping gear in the garage. I was only struck in the forehead by one flying wood chip (eye gear might have been a good idea....). I stuck the tree in a large cooking pot (also taken from the camping gear in the garage) with rocks from the yard & some water. Whatever works, right? I think I did pretty well. And I think the kids did a great job decorating our little tree. However, I hope next year the real Daddy will be able to help us with the whole Christmas tree experience. He does a much better job, he remembers his eye gear & Christmas-tree-shopping memories are much better with him in them. :-)

SNOW!!!!!!!

I realize that this looks like white-ish dirt to many of you, but the Winter's first .735 inches of snow is always a big deal around here. The kids wake up, look out the window and jump up & down screaming, "Snow! Snow! Snow!" There is NO peace for me until I finally give in to their 5,000 desperate pleas to let them go out & play in it. So, I spend the next 45 minutes getting everyone's snow-things on them so they can go play for 20 minutes in their now .628 inches of snow. But they love it, I get cute pictures.......it all works out in the end. I can't help getting a little giddy with them when I see the flakes fall. Maybe next time we'll get enough snow to make a snow man! The dog & her boy.

Abigail's been having some "cheese-issues" with the camera lately.

Olivia's snow ball. When she threw it, it broke apart in the air & looked more like a mini-snow-blizzard than a snowball........but I give her an "A" for effort.

Snow buddies.

Baby's First Snow! (I made him watch from inside......poor kid.)

Titus had a nice time outside........as opposed to last year when he HATED the snow because it was too wet. Hooray for progress! :-)

Love this smile. It's how I feel inside, watching them all play.

Game Over (The Talent of My Children Knows No Bounds)

This is what you get when you ground an artistic boy from his Wii. Translation, "I am Mario." "I am King Boo." "I will kill you now." Stomp, stomp. Game over. "I am dead."

Some Reasons I Homeschool (It's ALL about the jammie pants!)

The Home Economics Class is top notch!

Can't wear your jammie pants or eat lunch on your rocking dinosaur at public school.

{I guess I have never explained how, in addition to Titus' extreme aversion to getting wet (which oddly, does not apply to bath time; he would stay in the tub for two hours at a time if I let him), he also has a jammie-pants obsession. When we are home, he is wearing jammie pants. And nothing else. Goes commando. Almost always. If we go to the store, I tell him he has to wear real clothes. He begs me to let him wear his jammie pants. I say no. But the very minute we get home, OFF go the clothes. ON go the jammie pants. And nothing else. Of course, most of my boys go around the house at least half naked most of the time (this includes Daddy). Getting actual clothes on is a special occasion. It means company is coming over or we are going somewhere. Jammie pants are VERY important around here.}

Can't really do THIS at public school.....

................or THIS ................

Definitely couldn't do THIS at public and school!!!!!

Need I go on? I think I made my case rather well. ;-)

Fall

Family Vacation to the Oregon Coast

Low-Budget Halloween

Soda Thief

Never heard of a Nerf Sniper? Now ya have!

Last year's costume.

Don't even know what year we got this costume, but Micah wears it well!

My Life in Facebook Status Updates

As a stay-at-home-homeschool mommy, I sometimes can feel a little stranded & alone.........trapped in my busy little world of hugs, kisses, boogers & poo-poo. While I indeed LOVE my life & LOVE all my children, it is nice to be in touch with the outside world a little bit. (Especially since we've only had one car & we can never really venture into the outside world when Justin is at work.) It is hard to talk on the telephone. That takes time. And while I am completely used to the noise at my own house, when friends call me, the noise in the background stresses THEM out. I tell them to ignore the noise, because I AM. But then strange things happen to my friends. For example, one might suddenly have a long lost uncle show up at her door for a visit & she needs to hang up immediately. One might suddenly feel a strong need to go "wash her hair". Or another might need to "walk her dog", which is weird because I thought she only had a cat. Whatever their excuses, I realize they simply do not have my expert "coping-with-the-noise-of-6-boys-skills" (AKA......."ignoring", "zoning out", "going to my happy place"). Either that or they just don't like me. Either way, if it were not for Facebook, most days, I would be completely alone in this world (except for all these kids, of course). So, I will often go back & forth between my mothering tasks & the computer to see what everyone else is doing out there in that strange world of adult humans. For instance, my friend Heather (no, not myself. I may be pathetic, but I am not my only friend........yet) is having chili cheese melts for lunch right now with her hubby & little boy. Sonya is really MAD at Verizon. Lynn is busy doing LOTS of housework (I am sure Justin wishes I was too). Kara is going to the pumpkin patch with her family. I also share the things that happen in my life with everyone else, so they can comment, & I can feel special & less alone on the planet. Below are some posts just from yesterday & today. My life in Facebook status updates.

Heather Haukaas Sturgeon is so happy that her 9 year is describing his big giant snotty sneeze in vivid detail. MAN, I wish I had seen THAT. Except not.
Yesterday at 11:54am

Me:
PS. Jarod is very proud of this post. BOYS.
Yesterday at 12:13pm

Bradley:
Don't you mean . . . Except snot? LOL
Yesterday at 12:36pm

Me:
Yup. I thought that. But I didn't say it. I'm not a boy. (Though I suppose it's bad enough I thought it!)
Yesterday at 12:37pm

Laryssa:
do u remember when Aly put a nasty booger on Sally in the nursery when she was preggers with Annie? she almost puked! boogers r funny! ;)
Yesterday at 1:05pm

Me:
boogers are God's most disgusting creation

Heather Haukaas Sturgeon OH MAN. I just heard Jarod ask Seth, "Do you think the girl I marry will eat her boogers too?!" *sigh* That's one son doomed to bachelorhood.
Yesterday at 5:37pm

Lesley:
Don't worry. Plenty of girls eat their boogers! I have a nine yr old here for him!
Yesterday at 5:42pm

Melyssa:
Me too! they can pig out together! ugh.
Yesterday at 6:40pm

Me:
That is such a relief, albiet......a twisted relief.
Yesterday at 7:02pm

Laryssa : YUCK YUCK and YUCK!!!! ;)
Yesterday at 7:39pm

Mark:
Hilarious!
Yesterday at 8:45pm

Kara:
Hilarious!!!
Yesterday at 8:58pm

Becky:
Cheers!

Heather Haukaas Sturgeon
OK. Just wanted to share this. I noticed a spot on the burner before I started cooking, but didn't think much of it. I have lots of spots on my burners. As I started smelling this awful smell, coming from under my pan as the heat rose, I remembered. Seth & Jarod were cooking flies on it earlier in the day. Nice. I'm smelling re-fried flies. Yum. Yesterday at 9:52pm

Laura:
Great dinner! Do you need more recipes?
Yesterday at 9:55pm

Deb:
it is never a dull moment at your house, is it?
Yesterday at 9:57pm

Shanna:
Boys! Gotta love them!
Yesterday at 10:03pm

Becky:
What kind of sauce did they use?
Yesterday at 10:39pm

Sarah:
Yum-O!
6 hours ago

Gail:
I have heard flies are an excellent source of protein! :)
5 hours ago

Laryssa: remind me not to eat any raisins from your house. ;) 4 hours ago

Heather Haukaas Sturgeon Oh..............and...............20 min before that.............pulled a necklace bead out of Titus' nose with tweezers.
Yesterday at 10:12pm

Shanna:
Is it bad that I just laughed?
Yesterday at 10:15pm

Me:
nope....I did. actually, Justin pulled it out.
Yesterday at 10:21pm

Me:
I pinned him down.
Yesterday at 10:22pm

Melissa (not Melyssa):
At least you were able to get it out and didn't bring him to the ER for me to do it. LOL. Too funny. Gotta love boys.
Yesterday at 10:25pm

Me:
Awww man!!! Passed up a chance to see you???!!!
Yesterday at 10:27pm

Me:
PS. We are nose pickin' experts, Lisa!
Yesterday at 10:28pm

Melissa:
LOL!
Yesterday at 11:34pm

Michael:
How in the world did that happen?
12 hours ago

Me:
Um......he stuck it up there.
11 hours ago

Sami Jo:
You've got to write a book deary!
5 hours ago

Laryssa:
you could call it, "6 boys & their boogers". 5 hours ago

Heather Haukaas Sturgeon So.......Titus was chattin' me up today. I was kinda sayin', "Uh-huh. MMMmmhmm. Yep!" and only half listening (like a good mother would). But, he got my attention when I heard him say, "Mom. You are WAY bigger than daddy. And daddy is a GIANT." Nice. 45 minutes ago

Heather Haukaas Sturgeon just overheard Seth & Jarod fighting over Isaac. "He's MY padawan." "No! He's MY apprentice!" "No! He's MY padawan!" "No! He's my apprentice!" "He will one day be a Jedi, like me!"
about a minute ago

No comments on the last two. I feel so alone.

Titus Does NOT Need to Go to Bed EVER EVER AGAIN!!!

Titus has informed me that he does not need sleep. I am inclined to disagree.........call me crazy. When I forget to give him a nap, THIS happens............ (So, I'm a little behind on folding laundry........)

..............and this............

..........and this.....................and THIS!!!!!!!

Protection & Healing

I. want. to. eat. it.

Boise River.

My new look.

Pet Replacement Therapy

Daddy's big catch.

Bunk bed forts.

In the hospital. Titus got a tetanus shot.....just in case.



Safe For Play/Keep Away poster Abi & Gideon made "in school". I guess they should have put a picture of a nail in the "Keep away" part too.

Enjoying the fruits of their labor. I guess I have some blog updating to do since the last blog I posted was so depressing with beloved animals dying, broken hearts, the trials of motherhood & all that. And then I left you all hanging, wondering if we would EVER recover. Well, Jarod had one more sad, horrible night of heart-wrenching grief. Then I took the boys out the next day & bought them goldfish. Who knew goldfish had the power to heal a broken heart? Not I. Jarod named his fishy Hannah after our dearly departed kitty. He stood looking at it swim for hours, talking to it, he even shot a movie of his fishy swimming. He was SO happy. Of course, 5 days later, the stupid thing died (I don't know why Jarod's fish died & not anyone else's............) & he cried again. We said goodbye & flushed it down into the Great Swirling Beyond. But after I promised Jarod another fishy, he was happy again. He's been fine ever since. One heart mended. Thanks, God...........and little dead fishy.

Many other things have happened since then. Like the flu bug going around again, this time making mommy & daddy sick too. I can't keep track of when one bug stops & another one starts, so I have given up trying.

We've been to the river a few times for some end-of-Summer fishing & swimming. On one of those trips, Jarod went missing for a couple minutes & I thought he had drowned. Turns out he had just wondered off around a corner in the river in search of the perfect crawdad. These river trips have turned into great crawdad-hunting expeditions for the boys. When they find them, they chase Abi & Yaya around with them, then put them in a bucket & take them home. Justin cooks 'em up & they eat them...........or parts of them anyway.

We started up our home school lessons again last week. Abigail & Olivia are coming over for a few hours a week while Deborah goes to school. Abi & Gideon are having fun doing "school" too.

I dyed my hair black the night before last. No not because of all the grey hair my children are giving me. Surprisingly, I don't really have any grey hair yet. I just did it for fun. Guess I needed a little change. It's not permanent in case I hate it, but I think I like it.

Oh, yeah, and Titus swallowed a nail. Yes, a nail. That was another fun evening at the ER & heart attack for mommy (we went because of the nail, not the "heart attack"). My house is about the most child-proofed place there is. I have covers on all my out-lets. I keep my sharp kitchen knives on the highest shelf in the kitchen cupboard in a box so the kids can't reach them. If I need one, I have only to reach waaayyyyy up & pull the box down on my head. I have all medicines & house cleaning supplies up on high, out-of-reach shelves. I have padding on every corner of the wall & table in the house (OK, not really..........). I even cut their hot dogs LENGTH-WISE so that they won't bite off a circle piece that could block their airway if they choke (yes, REALLY). I don't let them cross the street until they are like 13 (small exaggeration.......). I am a TOTAL OCD mom. BUT, Titus found a nail I had accidentally left in his room while hanging pictures a while back. Then he thought, "Yum. I think I'll eat this.".........and he did. Fortunately, the chance of the nail perforating was very low, according to the Dr. He said that nails are not a big deal but straight pins can do a LOT of damage. (Good thing I keep my sewing stuff up too.) He sent us home with instructions to give Titus lots of fiber & not to let him wrestle his brothers for a couple days. I got to do some fun "treasure hunting" which wasn't a big deal as I am used to this sort of thing. Usually, however, I am searching for coins, Lego pieces & other fairly harmless items which the boys think look appetizing for whatever reason. This was a little more nerve-wracking for me. But it passed with no harm done, other than a few years taken off of my life due to my newly developed heart condition.

Over all, life is great! These kids are just keeping me on my toes..............and never letting me take life for granted!!! It could all be over in one swallow of a straight pin or in one river-hunt for a crawdad. ;-) Fortunately, God loves them more than I do & I constantly find myself thanking Him for His protection.