Who needs Cracker Barrel?

Well half of us went to church today.. Dolly had a fever. We were fashionably late of course. Which meant that I had zero time to put the brisket in the crockpot. So after we got home I decided that we were going to have our breakfast-Which of course I didn't have time to eat before we left for church. So I threw some heart cloggers, I mean strips of beef bacon into the pan, fried the last of the eggs, and made I don't know how many pancakes on the griddle. When it was all over, bellies were full and I was happy. Unfortunately I didn't make myself a cup of coffee- which I rarely make myself anyway but, it would've been nice.

After my cafe b.k.a. kitchen was cleaned up, Rocco and I went to 7 eleven where he got a Slurpee and then I took him to the mall so we could find some sneakers. The first store we went to had sneakers but, I don't believe in buy shoes for $50.00 plus tax for 5 year olds. So we went on to Payless. Now you got to understand that I made the huge mistake of buying him Sneakers that lit up several months ago. Something I vowed I would never do. So he naturally has been asking for another pair that lights up. Ironman sneakers. He has only seen some Ironman preview a couple of times and saw the Ironman sneakers the last time we were at Payless. So I had to remind him, just as I have been reminding him for the last 2 weeks that I will not be buying sneakers that light up because they don't last long. And I also reminded him of how his movie Cars sneakers were all busted down and pointed out where the sole was coming off. I also told him that if light up sneakers get dirty, I can't wash them and he would be stuck with dirty sneakers. We found a pair of shoes that we agreed on but not without him picking up the Ironman sneakers and looking at them. He wore the new sneakers home and he hasn't mentioned Ironman or Light up sneakers as he calls them, since. Yet at the end of our little excursion, I thought about dinner and wished that I could have Cracker Barrel. (Because I just didn't feel like cooking-again).

NOAHKEEM IS THREE TODAY!

Well another birthday is here (10 days after Rocco's). Today, Noahkeem is 3 years old! He was the smallest of all my babies. 5lbs 110z and he is baby #3. And today, 3 years later he is proud to hold the titles of :Most Demonstrative, Most Likely to be Loud, & Most likely to be the first to call you "Poopy". I don't know where he gets the Loud Stuff from. Rocco was a quiet boy and never even made car/truck/lion noises. And Noahkeem never followed suit. I guess Noahkeem figured he was gonna shake things up a bit (and he has).

Why I love my Noahkeem

• He seems to give me kisses when I need them. (i.e. when I'm clearly trying to do something important).


• He has a plethora of facial gestures that confirm that he is one funny dude headed for stardom.


• He has sayings like, "Yes, May I help you?" and "It's later now"


• He is my only child who has ever eaten sidewalk chalk.


• He is my only child who finds crayons tasty.


• He is my only child who hides game pieces, playing cards, matchbox cars, pencils and other important kid stuff in the depths of the couch.


• He is proud of peeing in both his pants and the potty.


• He still likes to play baby.

Happy Mother's Day, To me!

THEY'RE KIDS!

Today I just had to say what was in my mouth. We went to the Children's Museum today . It was pretty quiet. No crowds, not many people. So as my crew got off of the elevator they excitedly ran over to an exhibit that they like to check out each time we go. As they did one of the works turns around and gives the one hand closed gesture as if to say, "shut your mouths your too loud". Then she said "Volume". I came toward her and stopped my big double stroller by her and said, "Is there a problem?" "Yeah the yelling and screaming..." Before she continued, I said "IT'S A CHILDREN'S MUSEUM, THEY'RE CHILDREN. CHILDREN ARE LOUD AND MINE ARE LOUD!" "KIDS , YOU CAN'T TALK". "Oh I didn't say that" she said. And we proceeded to another area. I was so annoyed. Soooooo annoyed. How are you going to tell children to be quiet in a children's museum? Clearly she was in the wrong profession. After a while I calmed back down and contemplated whether or not I should write a complaint to the membership director as this was the first day we used our new membership.

Later we went to the Planetarium, yes all of us went and there were children in there crying and talking etc and not once did the "Planetarium Guy" turn all the lights on and remind us about our volume. But once again at the end of the day do I decide to hold a grudge or do I just let it go?

Why does it happen like that?

Why is it that after you had your baby, Target comes out with all of these cute maternity clothes? I was in Target last week and saw tons of maternity clothes that I liked but there was only one problem, I had no need for them. Of course I didn't buy them but, I wondered why they couldn't have all of those cute dresses when I was pregnant with Dolly. Thats a pic of me pregnant with Dolly. My belly was so round. Very Very Basketballesque

Why is it that when I went shoe shopping for a pair of shoes to wear to a wedding this weekend, I came home empty handed? I went to Payless, Jc Penny's, Sears, Rack Room Shoes, and Naturalizer (not in that order). What I did find were shoes that had heels that were toooooo high or I couldn't fit my foot in them because they were too narrow. Interestingly enough, I know that God cares about every detail of our lives, (Psalm 139) . And I am utterly convinced that he wanted his daughter to be happy with her shoes. Would you believe that while I was in Payless I heard that still small voice reminding me of my shoes from my wedding that were sitting in the top of my closet. I thought to myself " No... I couldn't wear those, they are too off white". My dress is a pink gingham taffeta like material that is straight, knee length and has spaghetti straps that tie behind my neck. A dress I hadn't worn since Cookie was 1 (almost 7 years ago... the only reason why I kept it 3 more babies later was because I was hoping to squeeze into again someday... this Saturday will be that day) The shoes haven't been worn in 10 years and 9 months. And I thought that the next person who would wear them would be Cookie when she gets married in about 10 plus years from now. So about an hour after I got home, I took the shoes down and tried to try them on- of course I couldn't get my foot in them. My mother assured me that it was because I was on my feet all day and it was the afternoon . I tried to get them on a little later and they fit! My dear mother was gracious enough to come down (10 hour bus ride) to watch my kids so that Just Big D and I could go to the Wedding-overnight in the Empire State.

So needless to say, I'm excited but, I miss my crew already. Rocco is going to have his 2nd T-Ball game and I won't be there to see it. But they will do fine if they stay busy. They have tons of books and movies from the library, there are parks nearby, they have their grandmother, Nanny, the phone number to Papa Johns Pizza and my cell phone number. What else do they need?

My Momma didn't raise no fools!

I used to make granola and the kids would have it as cereal and it would last about 3 days if we weren't having midnight snacks. Anyhow, I found some in the Organic Section at one of the supermarkets and bought a box and my family fell in love with it. After eating this for about a month, I went to get some for a snack and what came out in my bowl along with it? A baby moth! Yes ,a moth! Was I grossed? yes. Did I loose my appetite ? Yes Did I use my common sense? Absolutely. I was fortunate to have a mother who allowed her children to see what you do in a situation when a product you get is defective. If you are at a clothing store and an item you want is stained ask management for a price reduction, the worse he/she could do is say no. I was fortunate enough to have a mother who took her children to the courtesy booth and ask for rain checks, refunds and process returns. There were times when we went food shopping and if a product on the shelf was sold out and was on sale, she would tell us to go the courtesy booth and get a rain check. Do you think I wanted to go to the courtesy booth by myself? But doing it engraved something in my brain as a child, "If its not right, send it back, you're paying money for this". Armed with all of this knowledge, what did I do? I got on the horn and called the manufacturer to no avail and while I was on hold for longer than I cared to be, I simply went online to their website and filled out a customer dissatisfaction complaint form and included my phone number and address. Within 24 hours I got a call from the company on my voice mail and they apologized and said that they are working on it right away and would send me some coupons for free product. In the meantime I took the box of cereal back to the store where I bought it-without my receipt. No one gave me a hard time they just apologized 10 times over and looked at my four children and probably wondered who got the moth in their bowl not knowing that it was me, Big Momma. They scanned the bar code and gave be back my $5plus dollars-which I think is ridiculous for a box of cereal in the first place and I happily walked out of the store. Much to my surprise when I checked the mail, The manufacturer of the cereal sent me $15.00 worth of coupons for free cereal! I ended up with $20 for a box of cereal that cost me a little over $5. And in the midst of all this I found the same kind of cereal at Walmart for $2.79.

Mommas, do your kids a huge service and explain to your babies what your doing at customer service. It is so easy to try to distract them with toys, juice and cheerios so that you're not interrupted and so that you can just "get your money back" and go. Let them see you handle your business diplomatically with poise and grace even if you are disgusted by the whole event. They will soon see and believe that they too can handle transactions with confidence. Trust me these lessons will transfer well into adulthood.

That's not my job! I don't work here.

I love all of the wonderful opportunities I get to practice what I preach. Today after camp, we went to the library. And returned all of our materials with the exception of 1 book on cd (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory). I asked the checkout girl how much we owed in fines and she scanned the card " $4.95" What a relief!

Then about 20 or so minutes we went to check out and she asked me did you return any of your items today? (Forgive the lack of punctuation I'm just trying to get the story out) SO I thought to myself, "didn't she just see me, the cute lady with 4 well behaved kids 20 minutes ago?" So I said yes all but, one. she then said, "Oh, because um, since you returned your items in the book drop, you are at your limit, I can't check out the rest of these items for you", I had another thought...."What do you mean since I returned my items in the book drop? was I suppose to return them somewhere else? Was I suppose to place them in her hands?" I then looked at her and said , Can somebody go and scan the books in then?' "I'll go check" she said.. The next thought that popped into my head was , "wow some people don't want to do their job, look at the expression on her face because I asked her to have someone go scan in the books that I returned, I never have this problem at my local branch- and I felt like letting her know"... At this point Cookie said, "what 's going on mommy?" I noticed at the corner of my eye that a woman was watching me I guess waiting to hear my answer. SO I turned to Cookie and said, She said we are over our limit , because the books we returned weren't scanned in, that's not my job, I cant go scan them in-I don't work here". SO she came back and didn't say a word and started scanning the rest of our items to be checked out. Probably because whoever was in the back told her to get back to her post and check out our books and put in the override code so that I can get the measly 10 extra books out. "Next time count your items before checking out, you have 40 out now and your only suppose to have 30". I looked at her and as pleasantly as I could said, "Okay". I then gathered my crew and my cart of items and left. Now looking back I can see how this event could have been very different if I said everything that came to my mind out loud. In this life I know one thing that is so true.. No, maybe two things, God doesn't lie and as the book of James puts it, the tongue is unruly, no man can tame it and it can set ablaze a forest. With it people bless God and curse men. My flesh so desired to give her a tongue lashing and I could have said, "Was I suppose to put the books in your hands and not the book drop, What do you mean the books aren't scanned in, Scan them in and check out the rest! Do I look like I work here? I never have this problem at my library". But instead, I calmly asked if they could be scanned in, and waited patiently even though my well behaved boys were twisting a pole and giving Dolly a copy of one of the books on display as she was minding her business in the stroller. For anyone who thinks keeping your mouth shut at times means your a wimp and your not sticking up for yourself, look at Jesus example and see how many times he kept his mouth shut. Sometimes keeping your mouth shut simply means not having to say your sorry. And if mine was wide open today I would have had to repented and I also would have clearly communicated to my 4 disciples that the only way to get your way in life is to be brazen, ugly, condescending, and sarcastic. What life lesson did they learn today?

Happy Birthday to you... Happy Mother's Day to Me.

ROCCO TURNED 5 JUNE 16TH!

I can't believe my Rocco Roo is now 5. He wanted a family party this year so. In the morning he played golf with Big D while Cookie started her first day of Drama Camp. and Noahkeem, Dolly and I went to the Dollar Store to get stuff for the pinata and came home and baked the Strawberry Cake he picked out that he coincidentally did not eat LOL. So after golf and picking Cookie up around 1, we went out to eat, then went to the mall to buy him a lil kinz (baby webkinz). Then he wanted to come home and have computer time to do his webkinz.. so we did. While that was going on I was putting the strawberry mist icing-that he picked out on his strawberry cake. By this time it was just getting later and later and golf was on so he was distracted by his favorite "Tiger Woods". So when 4 pm rolled around I told everybody we were doing cake because Cookie had Karate at 5. And of course Rocco had to watch Tiger's "one last shot" . And then wanted to do the Pinata next. So we went outside, the Pinata malfunctioned and the Rocco just ended up beating it with a stick and successfully decapitated him. - It was a traditional donkey pinata and yes, I will tape the head back on and use it for Noahkeem-if he wants to. After the pinata we sang happy birthday and had cake but, of course being SuperMom, I forgot the ice cream which still remains untouched in the freezer. I just don't care for ice cream like I used to. So after I inhaled my cake and threw out the pieces that weren't eaten we all headed to the Y for Karate (Cookie is the only one who takes it). I dropped Dolly off in childcare , and the boys and Big D headed to the gym to shoot some hoops. I usually get coffee and chill out but, since it was Rocco's birthday I played around a little in the gym. Then we went to the play ground then back to the gym and soon karate was over. After Karate we ended up at Chuck E. Cheese. (I haven't been there in 2 years). and played till 8:30 or so. The crowd was really dying down so I figured they must be closing. As I walked outside, I noticed that their sign said that they close at 10pm! We could have played some more until they closed but, Cookie had camp and it had been a loooooooooooong day. I I had so much fun and Rocco said he did too. I was so happy and proud to be his mom and that he was now 5.

I of course ran around so much to even treat myself to a special bouquet of flowers and wish myself a happy mothers day for all of the labor, and literal blood sweat and tears I poured into that little life. As a bit of exhortation, Honor your mothers on your birthday(every year), with flowers or something memorable, it was her special day too.

Forgiveness

Forgiveness is a long journey. God has been dealing with my heart about unforgiveness. You would be surprised (or maybe not) how many in the body of Christ who harbor unforgiveness in their hearts. Quite often, the offenses have been forgotten about but, yet we are reaping the fruits of these seeds sown. Out of desperation I cried out to God for Answers and the keys to unlock heart issues in my life. I got so tired of seeing or hearing advertisements for the secrets to spiritual success and spiritual not to mention financial prosperity. So many "resources" came with a price tag. "God your Word is Free! I don't want to have to pay to hear what you have to tell me in your Word!". So I climbed on to the Spiritual Operating Table so that I God may do Open heart surgery. And since then, He has been revealing to me the concept of mercy over judgement and to even cry out for mercy for those that have offended me. I have asked him to specifically call to my remembrance instances where I have judged/cursed others because they injured me by some offense. Hebrews 12:15 "See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many". Could that verse really be talking to Christians? Could it be we have hidden unforgiveness against those that have impacted our lives so greatly like teachers, doctors, former employers, family, friends, spiritual leaders, roommates, police officers, strangers. What patterns are we repeating because we have judged someone and have not forgiven them? God has showed me faces and places of unforgiveness even against those that didn't quite mean what they said. How many times have we put up walls and defenses because we misunderstood someones actions? Was Jesus serious when he said that we must forgive 70 X's 7 ? When the Lord's pray says "Forgive us our debts, as we also forgiven our debtors" could that really mean: "Lord with the same measure of mercy I have given, give me that same measure"? "In the same way I have forgiven, forgive me"? Would I really be able to walk in the fullness of God's love if I don't truly forgive my brothers and sisters in Christ? How can I go around touching lives from a heart that is clogged.
The good news is is that God is slow to anger and full of mercy and he is not mad at us but, mad about us. We don't have to strive, we don't have to follow rules and regulations to get God's approval. We just need to give our hearts to Him. Including those places that have been closed off and sealed with a sign that reads "DO NOT ENTER".

"Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit in me".Psalm 51:10

Thank you Lord for your mercy.

102 degrees

This weather has got to stop. The weather girl said that it was suppose to be 102 today. So we went to the Y for and hour to get wet and then had lunch and then went back out to see Horton hears a Who. After all that activity, the kids wanted to ride bikes when we got home. "Too Hot kids, maybe after dinner". I'm hoping it rains and cool things off. But all that means for us is crazy humidity.

Anyhow I came up with the 10 minute rule. After we get home from any given place or an adult parent comes in the house from work, do not ask for anything or ask to do anything that requires adult assistance for 10 minutes. This allows me to get my barrings (remind myself that I just returned to headquarters and that my occupation is stay at home mom and this is my occupation for the next 18 years and that I need my union break because my offspring have 10 times more energy than I have). So the 10 minute rule is more for me.

So tomorrow-Aquarium. The only way to maintain some kind of order in the house - once it is cleaned is to stay out of the house. A word of caution and encouragement: Don't waste your time surfing and reading blogs about how clean the homeschoolin mama's house is next door. Now, I do believe that a house should be clean enough that the board of health would not condemn it but, not so immaculate that you spend 80% of your day training or not training your kids to clean with you. I'm embracing this truth more and more each day. Don't get me wrong. I love a clean house. I have a chore schedule some times I follow it, sometimes I don't- who cares! A spotless house doesn't mean that I am closer to God or my family is happier. So don't believe the hype. Don't get sucked in to the bondage of having the most sparkling homeschool house in the county. You will quickly find yourself not being able to enjoy your kids, your hobbies, the outdoors because there are dishes in the sink and a pile of laundry to be done. I am proud to announce that at the publishing of this blog the play room is a disaster and the laundry has been summons to wait til tomorrow. And in the words of our beloved little tiger from Winnie the Pooh- "Ta Ta for now"

101 Degrees!

Today was 101 degrees. Lovely. If you can imagine functioning in a warm oven with 4 kids then, you can partially appreciate the weather we are having.

"The American Indian Festival is boring" Rocco made it clear that he was not happy with the heat, the lack of food vendors and the number of souvenirs we came home with. We bought a head band with a feather and leather tassel on in. Rocco on the other hand wanted flute of course, a bow and arrow set and a buffalo helmet made out of a brown terrycloth hand towel-something I could probably make myself- and he wanted "Indian clothes". His birthday is in 9 days and I told him I would make him an Indian costume. I don't like saying Indian (my great grandmother was a Native American from what I am told). Rocco seams to think that Indians are kind of like the ones he saw in the Peter Pan movie which of course I told him that they're not.

We never made it to see Horton Hears a Who but, if its going to be 101 again tomorrow, we just might be sitting in the dark smacking down on Popcorn and slurping down fruit punch, all under the silver screen.

Updates

Yes, the dishwasher is fine! After about 4 washes I realized, I was using the rinsing agent as detergent because I thought it was a liquid detergent. Needless to say The rinsing agent is in the rinsing agent compartment now, where it should be.

This week Big D and I boarded the Potty Train. Noahkeem has been going to the Potty "every" 20 minutes- and of course at times against his will. So this week I threw out 1 filled pair of Bob the Builder big boy pants, cleaned up a suspicious brown log from the playroom floor and 2 unidentified yellow puddles. Yipee what a great week! This is exactly what I bargained for. During all of this I thought to myself, What to the bushwomen in Africa do? They position their feet to mimic a toilet seat and sit their babies down on them and the babies pee or poop. No diapers, No wipes, no diaper rash. That's it. If only I spent the last 8 years in the Mother Land I could have returned to America and all 4 babies potty trained. Yet I read on the internet about women who have successfully potty trained their kids without all the drama of diapers, pull ups and diaper rash. I am so praying that this trip will be over soon because I am over it already. Dolly will definately start early with potty training.

Speaking of Dolly she said and I quoate, "Apple Juice" with the most clearest ennuciation and pronunciation, I was shocked and did a double take. One of my neighbors said that her daughter was talking at 18 months and now I believe her. Okay lets run down Dollys 15 month word list . She says:

• Apple Juice
• Chips
• Cheerios
• Cheese
• Thank you
• Momma
• Dada
• Bye-Bye

That's pretty good for 15 Months! Once again, I think I'm gonna have an early reader on my hands. This summer all 4 are participating in the summer reading program. Rocco & Cookie are quickly approaching 10 hours of reading time since Monday. So that is at least 2 hours a day reading! I was going to start Sing spell read write with Rocco but, I need a break. So Maybe, and I mean maybe we will start sometime later in the summer.

Did I mention they (Cookie and Rocco) are riding without training wheels? It is a very big deal around here. Now I just need to start riding. period. And walking to get some fresh air in my lungs. This week it's been in the 90s so outside activity has been limited. We went to the pool, the library, and there was a little bike riding and back yard playtime and lots of reading. Big D has been working hard-outdoors in all of this heat. My job (Stay at home Mom) on the other hand requires alot of time indoors enjoying the air conditioner. Today looks very cloudy so we might go see Horton Hears a Whoo at the Cinema Cafe. We only pay $1.50 Monday-Thursday and $1.75 on Weekends.

So this weekend is the convention and I will not be going. Instead I will take Cookie to Karate, eat lunch and then go on the American Indian Festival. Every time we go to these festivals and Craft shows, Rocco asks me to get him a wooden flute that has about 8 wooden pipes in various size. Its small. But the last one he got, he took apart and then wanted me to save the pieces to put it back together again. So should we pass by the table again this year or stop and buy another? Or should he collect his allowance that is in various spaces and places in his room and buy it himself?