The Holiday season is upon us...

Every year I say, " I am NOT going crazy this year getting all caught up in the shopping and stress and missing the real reason for the season" WELL this year I am doing it!! We talked to the older kids months ago and since their gifts are getting smaller and more expensive and the little kids don't really NEED anything, we are keeping it semi simple. They will still get what they want, just within reason. I will not buy "STUFF" just so they can say they had alot of presents under the tree. We will get what they REALLY want and maybe a thing or 2 that we think they will like. The little shopping I have done, I have done online and taken advantage of free shipping. I am also not going crazy with decorating, we will have our normal 3 trees, one of which we will go and cut down. I have put up the lighted garland in the foyer and we pulled out the dancing and singing elmo and the grinch b/c the littles enjoy those. I will do some baking with the kids and we will have Christmas dinner here but I will not get all crazy and then wish I hadn't stressed the season away. I am learning that time passes by too quickly and if we don't enjoy it we will miss out. We are really focusing on ADVENT this year with the kids and if it weren't for Jesus's birth we wouldn't even have Christmas. Jenna is really enjoying her ADVENT calander and book from church, and we are doing a daily lesson with our school work each day now. I am so at peace with it, and feel like I will be a calmer happier person if we can sit back and enjoy the season, and not get caught up in all the craziness.

the simple life

Wow, It's been a long time!! We had a little bit of a rough summer with Illness and injuries, hospital stays, anxiety attacks and John being out of work.. BUT we also had alot of good things Happen this Summer... we celebrated lots of Birthday's... Christina was 14, Jenna 5, Lydia turned 2 and Hanna 1.... WOW :) We also decided shortly after school started that we wanted the kids home schooled and we withdrew them from public school. The big kids are doing the Pennsylvania Leadership Cyber Charter School and I am doing a preK -Kindergarten program with Jenna ( we decided over the summer to also hold Jenna back a year since she only made our districts age cut off by 2 weeks). All the kids are doing great and I LOVE having them home all day. Jonathan's Anxiety is so much better w/o the daily pressures of timed classes and whatnot and Christina is not involved in any girl drama and daily fights. I know many people believe that the high school years are the best years of a child life, and I do believe some of that to be true but at the same time, the girls here in our district take drama to an all new level and they don't care who they hurt and how badly they hurt someone. It is very sad and we didn't want that for our daughter another year. We are happy with our decision and that is all that matters :)
In the beginning of July, Christina went to Mississippi with our Church's Youth Missions Team to help repair houses still in need from Hurricane Katrina. She missed home and we missed her so much, but it was such a great experience for her and we are so thankful she had the opportunity to go.
As always, I am longing for a more simple less stressful life and whenever I think we have finally figured it out something comes up and shakes us up... Almost as if we aren't ment to have simple and stress free.. BUT now that life is settling down yet again, I am attempting the simple life again. So far so good.. alot of decluttering, cleaning and re-evaluating what is important in our lives. I am blessed to have a wonderful Husband and fabulous kids and at the end of the day, if they are all healthy and happy then we have done our job!!

Where does the time go??

In less than a week, I will officially have a child in High School and Middle school.... Jenna could possibly be starting Kindergarden if she tests well enough, but if not that is ok and we will have another year of pre-school. This was a very busy,stress filled year for us... so I am looking very forward for a slower more relaxed pace. I have a list of things I would like to acomplish over the break and hopefully I can get the list done doing a few things a day. The biggest task I would like to accomplish is decluttering and living a simpler life. We fall over toys, shoes and clutter and the reality is... the same toys get played with day in and day out, the same shoes get worn and I could de clutter the things I am tripping over and the owner of the item wouldn't notice for days. The kids will also be starting back up with chores, they think I am a terrible mom for making them do " WORK" but there is nothing wrong with them helping out a little....
As I am so looking forward to relaxing this summer, we have a summer full of Birthday's starting with Lydia. Lydia will be 2, Christina will be 14, Jenna will turn 5 and Hannah will celebrate her 1st Birthday... I truly don't know where the time goes. I am hoping to blog about what we acomplish so I will feel like someone other than me cares..lol I will be starting next Friday...

50 things you may or may not have known about me ( or have cared to know..lol)

I thought I would do a little something different after seeing it on another site....

50 things about me

1) I HATE putting away laundry

2) I love taking pictures of my kids and have thousands on memory cards and hard drives but don't know which ones to print so have very few on display

3) I LOVE to cook and try new recipes

4) my husband and kids are my world and w/o them I think I would be useless

5) I think in another life I was a country girl

6) I would love to own a farm

7) I don't have many IRL friends, but the ones I do I love with all my heart and we stick together

8) I never tell my husband enough, how much I appreciate him working long hours so I can stay home with my babies

9) I sometimes wish I had more room for rabbits

10) I love to drive aimlessly with my family but hate wasting gas... go figure

11) I miss my boxer Squirty, we lost almost 2 years ago, as much ( if not more) as the day we had to say good-bye. he was my first " child" and I still secretly shed a tear or two.

12) when we are driving through the country, I feel at peace and love to breath in the country air

13) I wish Jonathan didn't have the daily struggles he has, that cause him anxiety and depression

14) I have ( what some people may call irrational) fear of dying and leaving my children, or losing my children to the point that it keeps my up at night

15) I spend so much time playing and laughing at my kids during the day that come 8pm I realize I got almost nothing done and I am too tired to do it..lol

16) I don't know what I would do without my parents and the thought of losing them truly makes my stomach turn

17) I HATE HATE HATE drama and I am not fans of the few who bring it to my family

18) I have learned my husband would probably do just about anything for me and I take that for granted sometimes.

19 ) some would consider me spoiled, I like to consider it loved.. lol

20) if my house isn't clean when John gets home from work, I feel like I am letting him down

21) I am addicted to sweet tea, diet coke and coffee

22) I am terrible at making important decisions b/c I always wonder if I made the right one...

23) I wish I was better adjusting to change

24) my house can be extremely loud at times, but when I think of the alternative, I would much rather the noise then an empty house and no kids :)

25) I have an over whelming fear of financial strain

26) we have a California king bed, and often times have 2 adults and 3 kind in it

27) I have a hard time believing that in Sept, 2010 I will have a child starting HIGH SCHOOL, one starting middle school and one starting Kindergarten..... if I give it to much thought I will without a doubt cry. Where does the time go??

28) my kids are spoiled

29) Jenna is a funny kid, and I probably laugh to much at what she does when I should probably discipline instead... but I don't, I laugh then tell her it wasn't nice or whatever

30) I feel truly blessed to have such great kids and a wonderful husband. I would love to have one more baby, but with todays economy I don't know if we should....

31) I would love to move to some southern hick state when you basically crawl to get where you are going, I hate such a fast pace. I feel we miss so much with the constant go go go

32) if nabisco stopped making oreo's, I think I may never feel the need to eat another pre-packaged cookie. Oreo's ROCK

33) I could wear hoodies and cotton yoga pants every single day

34) I love my dogs, but they really are a huge PITA most days

35) I beat myself up over not being able to exclusively breastfeed Hannah, but she just isn't always satisfied and that isn't fair to her. I have tried herbal supplements but they made me feel crappy :(

36) Hannah hates to be put down, and is picky about who holds her. I spend alot of my day wearing her :)

37) secretly doesn't want Christina to look at far away colleges, the thought of her leaving home makes me physically sick to my stomach

38) wonders why we spent the money on a hot tub that sits unused and we continue to run it....

39) Fibromyalgia sucks, but I know there are wayyyy worse things that could be happening to my body that could be devastating so I suck it up and deal with the bad days

40) watches country music videos when I can't sleep....

41) will never get the depo shot again

42) even after 15 years of marriage, I still miss John when he is at work... ( but sometimes after being home a short time I am ready to send him back...lol)

43) hates frying food b/c it makes the whole house stink for days

44) I need to be better at taking stuff out of the car daily so it isn't such a chore, I think we could probably live a weekend out of my car

45) I loveeeee snow, and pout like a child if the forecasters blow a big snow fall prediction

46) I look just as forward to a snow day as the kids

47) I love the warmth of the Florida sun, but wouldn't want to live there... if we lived there, where would we vacation?

48) I find it amazing that 5 children, with the same parents and same upbringing can have such different personalities. I love each and every one of my kids personalities for different reasons

49) I hate clutter but yet have it all over my house... that will be changing one room at a time

50) I started cloth diapering in July and kick myself for not doing it sooner... I love it

2010 is fast approaching!!!

Well, 2009 is winding down and to say it was a blast would be an understatement... like any year, it had it's ups and downs but I can't complain. We welcomed Baby Hannah into the world, celebrated a 13th Birthday, Jenna started Pre-school and I have 2 " school rulers" an 8th grader and a 5th grader.... The kids keep me on my toes, some more than others but I wouldn't trade it for all the money in the world. Looking back on the past year I can't believe how fast it has gone, and can't help but wonder what 2010 has in store for us. I know it will be starting off with Lydia getting ear tubes, but that is actually a good thing. Christina will enter high school in 2010, Jonathan middle school and Jenna Kindergarten.
I stopped making New Years Resolutions long ago because I felt like I was letting myself down when I didn't follow through, but I figured maybe if I set goals I REALLY want to see happen it will work out better... so I did make a short mental list of a things I would like to see happen this year!! First I would like to spend more time with my Husband. Second, It would be wonderful if I could re-gain organization of my house and de-clutter a tad.... (If I could accomplish that, it would be a fabulous year...) and the Thrid thing I am going to work hard on is saving more and spending less... We have a habit of buying things we don't REALLY need at the moment and it may sit around for a month or more before being used, I want to make an effort to be more conscious of " do we REALLY need that RIGHT now"? and if not, then DON'T get it.... I think I may be more successful at that then the organization... How does one become organized and STAY organized with the demands of 5 children ( some more high maintenance than others) and a husband???
Our family will ring in 2010 at home together and pray it is as fun filled and exciting as 2009. Here's to a healthy, wealthy and safe 2010 :)
much love to all!!

Hannah Marie

Hannah Marie made her appearance Saturday, August 29th at 9:33 pm....

I had been contracting and in L&D on Thursday ( 8/27) and after being checked it was determined I was 5cm, and 70% thinned, but I was only dehydrated so I was sent home... Friday I go to my weekly OB visit and was told it would only be a few days so keep timing my contractions... I contracted all day Friday but no real pattern so I go to bed, I don't want John missing another day at work so my mom stays the night and we time contractions all day Saturday... I am hell bent on holding off going back to the hosp. b/c I do NOT want to be sent home again... John and my mom talk me into calling the dr Saturday afternoon since I was still crampy and contracting and have a history of fast delivery... I go back to L&D saturday around 4:00pm and I am now 6-7cm and 80% thinned with a bulging bag of water.. I get my antibiotic for GBS and wait the time for the IV to finish.. they call for my epidural and break my water at 6:15... the anesthesiologist comes in to do mu epi and fails TWICE ( I have never had an epidural before so I had no idea what it was supposed to feel like), I tell my nurse I still feel everything so they move the epi and try again... same thing.... FINALLY another Dr came in and got it right and I was so much more relaxed, it was nice :)
I started to feel pressure around 9pm so the nurse get the dr to check my and I am 9cm, the dr and student suit up and break the bed down and after 3 pushes Hannah was born at 9:33pm...
We were given a big wake up scare at 5am Monday by the resident ped that Hannah's cord blood tested positive for STD's ..... yep she told us our 2 day old baby had syphilis and needed a spinal tap immediately to see if it had spread to her brain b/c it can be fatal.. I am looking at this resident like she is crazy and refuse a spinal tap until I see MY ped and only sigh for more blood work.. my OB comes in and I am tossing questions at him and he is chuckling b/c we KNOW I am NOT a carrier... they do more blood on me and while we are waiting I am ready to snap... the ped comes in at 8:30 and says,,,,, As I assumed... the tests are negative and Hannah is released to go home.... needless to say the resident ped and I are NOT on good terms :)
Sooooooo we are finally home where we belong and started our fist night home with a sick Lydia :( so I guess I should go give her more tylenol since I hear her fussing ( I just cant carry her yet)....

summer is winding down

I haven't posted much this summer so I am going to try to give a quick ( positive ) update.. It seems more nagative things went on here this summer than positive, and I don't like to be a downer in my blogs so I just haven't written. Just a quick rundown... We were enjoying the summer fine until July when our pool filter decided to stop working, after just about draining our savings we got it up and running and now we are trying to bounce back from that.... Just when it seems you may get your head above water, 3 other things happen... the A/C in my car went, my tire has a leak ( and they don't like you to replace just 1) and the tractor wheel somehow got bent so we need a new tire for the tractor.. among other things :( it has really been a very depressing August here.... Some of the more positive things that happened were out momma rabbit ahd 4 babies about 2 weeks ago and they are doing great, getting so fat and actually starting to look like bunnies and not naked mole rats.. we got bedrooms moved around and set up preparing for Hannah's arrival and I love the new set up. I have decided to CD at least when we are at home until I get used to how to CD when we are out. I am so excited about it and just wish I could expand my stash.. I will in the future. John started a new position with the school district and he loves it, he is on day work for the summer which is nice, but believe it or not the afternoons get busy and we don't get to spend much down time together, I am starting to really miss him.. Lydia is walking like a pro and is pretty funny to watch.. she waddles around and swings her arms and truthfully, she looks a little like a gorilla..lol
Well, it won't be long and I will be posting about a baby and back to school. I will really miss the kids when they go back but they are getting bored and need thier routines back. Jenna will be starting preschool Sept 16th and I am a mess about it already. I like having my babies home with me... Christina will be in 8th and Jonathan 5th, WHERE HAS THE TIME GONE????
I go next week for my 36 1/2 week c/u and I hope I haven't dilated too much. I have been having contractions off and on and some nights they are bad, but It is usually when I have done alot. my only hope is I am NOT in the hosp. on the 25th, that is Jenna's birthday and I would be really sad if I wasn't with her...
I hope everyone enjoys what's left of thier summer and I will be updating again soon, probably next week after my appointment... so exciting won't be long and I will have Hannah home with us too :)