The Insane-ness of it all!

Alright, everyone here is familiar with the list of school supplies kids are required to bring. Sometimes the said list can be ridiculous, but Terra's is outrageous this year. Seriously. There are 3-4 Kindergarten classes in this school and they all have the same supply list to bring. Most of the list, I can see, but there are some that just make you kind of scratch your head a bit.

Backpack with name
2 pocket folders - horizontal pockets with name
2 pocket folders w/3-hole paper fasteners with name
1 pair blunt-end metal blade scissors
6 #2 pencils
3 pkg crayons (24 pack)
1 pkg colored pencils (16 colors)
4 pkg markers (large)
2 pkg thin dry erase markers
1 pkg water color paints (8 colors)
3 pkg (3-pack) playdough
2 (4 oz) bottles white school glue
20 glue sticks
3 boxes quart sized Ziploc bags
1 box gallon Ziploc bags
4 pkg antibacterial wipes (no disinfectant wipes)
1 pkg plastic spoons (last name a-m)
1 pkg (5 oz) Dixie cups (last name n-z)
2 boxes kleenex
3 rolls paper towels

No, there are NO typos in this, I've double checked it a couple of times. So, go ahead and scratch your head a bit. If every child, in every one of those 3-4 classes brings everything on this list...that's a lot of supplies. If they go through EVERYTHING then (and this is probably my Grandma coming out in me) that's kinda wasteful, don't you think?! And, yes, I must remind myself, these are 5-6 year olds here. I get that. But twenty glue sticks?! Really?! Wow is all I can say!

On another note...

The other day, we drove to the library to pick up a book they had on hold for me. On our way there, we passed a rest stop (we live near the interstate, so yes, there's a rest stop between here and the library) and there was a truck pulling a passenger rail car as it's load. Terra got all excited about it and was bouncing up and down in her seat pointing at it and telling everyone to look at the train. When James looked, he got a rather confused look on his face and asked me if the train had gotten lost. The only thing I can think is that since the tracks were so far away, that he though the train had "wandered off" and gotten lost from the rest of the trains. LOL, I laughed for a while about that!

We just had to go to Savers to buy James more clothes since he's starting to out-grow his size 4T clothing. We only had a few pieces of clothing left from the hand-me-down boxes from Chris's sister's kids. After we got back, we started to notice that Tyler was starting to fit into James clothes that we were trying to pack up. So, both of the boys were going through a growth spurt. We also started to notice that the diapers were starting to get tighter and tighter on the poor guy. So we figured we could get away with buying the size 4T pull-ups and just slowly start training him. Well, something I should have thought of while buying these pull-ups was how different the sizing can be between the different brands. He fits into the same size of pull-ups as James does (which is the largest size they make...and is Huggies brand, since those are the most lose-fitting of them all...we had to experiment with James to see what wouldn't cause skin irritation due to tight fitting ones). We thought about the boxer-looking (overnight) ones, but they're so expensive and you only get a few per pack. So, it's a sad life when you realize that you'll probably just have to bite the bullet and potty train your toddler that just barely turned 2!!!
*Please, don't send any comments about how his health or eating habits are. He has the same diet as my other kids, and the doctors have pretty much ruled out a thyroid problem since his height is proportionate to his weight and he's very active. He's just going to be a tall boy! The tall ones usually start out larger than normal!*

Excitement!!! (and a quick catch-up of our life)

I hope that by posting this, I'm not jinxing myself! No, I'm not preggo (in case you were wondering...LOL)! I get to go home to visit my family next month! I'M SO STOKED! It has been FOREVER since I've seen them (since Christmas) and that's just not acceptable in my world!!! I will be expecting streamers and confetti...wait, then I'd probably have to clean that up, so nevermind! No, really, I'm so happy and excited about this!

Life here has been just the norm...completely chaotic! I'm still unpacking boxes (I really should downsize) and chasing kids around. Celeste is pretty much mobile now, she just needs to work on perfecting that "talent". So, we're having to block off areas and...get this...I actually have to (*shhh*) CLEAN!!! LOL, totally kidding, it's good for me...really (I'm trying to be positive about this...LOL).

Today I finished sewing a couple of dresses I'd promised a lady I'd make for her girls, so that was a relief...now I'm just waiting for her phone call back to schedule a time to meet up. I actually had a moment to myself this afternoon (a rarity around here), so I was able to sit quietly and read my book. That was SOO nice!

I'm also including in this post a couple of pics.
This is what happens when you let 3 kids paint with water colors....they all wind up looking like this!!! (Tyler got the worst of it, of course, and it's worn off throughout the day)
This is what happens when it rains outside and the kids sneak out back to play. Poor Tyler (are you seeing the pattern here...the other kids are clean and innocent too) got pushed, tripped and then fell into a mud puddle. The other kids tried to help him up, but they had muddy hands too, so it just got more mud on him. He laughed at this, so they laughed at this and did it more. Then they realized that they just might get in trouble for this, so they tried to wipe him off, just causing the problem to get worse!

We've also discovered that there were more than just the one bald spot on TyTy's head. We're hoping that the medicine (the last dose is tomorrow) helped to get rid of whatever it was, so then we won't have to take him in to the dermatologist for further examination.

Terra is being mommy's helper, but also being the tormentor of her siblings. James is going through a shy stage again. He's rather clingy, but still has bursts of laughter and joking that I love to see. I'm hoping that he'll do well once in a school setting.

Chris and I are muddling through the best we know how and most of the time are enjoying it all. Hope things are going well for you all too!

"Hope ya know, I had a hard time"

This video made me cry. It is so true though...no matter what we're going through, look around, someone else has it much worse and we can always reach out a loving hand to figuratively (and sometimes literally) pick them up! Recent things that we've been going though have put me in a stupor, but seeing this lifted my spirits so much. I hope it can do the same for someone else too. Love to all,

Sandi

How Firm A Foundation

For the past couple of days, I've been emailing a lady back and forth trying to set up a time that I could meet her to exchange some things. She had a baby walker I wanted, and I had somethings I was trading her for it. We decided to meet this afternoon. She lived about halfway between a couple of places I frequent, so I was originally going to meet her at the southern place, but as I was writing the email, changed my mind and put the northern place. As I got there, I called my hubby to have him check my email to see what vehicle they were driving (since I hadn't checked it before leaving my house). As I was on the phone with him, it started hailing, some store employees were running up and down the front of the store, pointing to the southern sky and taking head counts of how many people were in the parking lot. That made me nervous, so I got Terra out of the suburban, and went into and alcove off to the side of the entrance and started talking to one of the truckers standing there and he told me there had been a tornado just a minute or two prior. We started examining the sky further and saw a few more clouds that looked like possibilities of tornados, so I took Terra inside (after meeting up with the people I had gone there to meet), and we got drinks and a chocolate cake to share. As we sat there, they had the Weather Channel going and it was showing flashes of what was going on around Denver. It kind of scared me and I texted Chris to have him call me and tell me when the warnings had passed so that I knew when it was safe to come home (it's a 20 mile drive for me). After we'd finished our snack, the skies were starting to somewhat clear and I decided to go outside to take a look at the clouds, and then Chris called and said it was probably safe to venture home.

Terra and I jumped in the car and I had a very nervous feeling, so we said a prayer that we'd be safe and protected, and that the Lord would comfort those already effected by the storm, and then we set off. We'd gone probably 8-ish miles and a bunch of rescue crews rushed past me on the freeway, so I slowed my pace up a bit (the roads were wet and I'd seen people hydroplane), and within a mile, I saw the cause for the rush. It looked like the wind (maybe the beginnings of a tornado?) had picked up a semi and thrown it on its side about 20-30 feet from the shoulder. There was already a news crew present. A couple more cars were involved too. About a mile past that, I startd to get blown all over the road, so I hit the 4-wheel drive button (thinking that it might be a mixture of water on the road and the winds). Pretty quick, you could almost see the water flying from the ground in the wind bursts that were happening all around me! I started to almost panic and then I heard a familiar song playing through the stereo system. I turned it up and heard the words to the 3rd verse of the Hymn How Firm a Foundation (85).

Fear not, I am with thee; oh, be not dismayed,
For I am thy God and will still give thee aid.
I'll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by my righteous, upheld by my righteous,
Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.

Imediately I felt at peace, knowing that because of that prayer we said before starting home, the Lord was promising me that we'd make it home alright. I was still a bit nervous in a few places, but still KNEW that we'd be ok! I'm grateful for that reassurance that the Lord gives us when we do what he expects us to! All will be alright, just have faith!!

Look-A-Likes

I got bored (imagine that...this never happens around here...don't have time to) and decided to do these look-a-like meters for the kids. What do you all think? Are they accurate?

Always good for a laugh...well most of the time anyway!!

My kids have, yet again, succeeded in changing a serious moment into a moment of comedy, or at least lightened it up a bit!

Story one - Recently we went to a family reunion and "camped out" with Chris's family (staying in a cabin, in the middle of a city with running water isn't exaclty camping to me, but oh well)! While there, we were in a cabin that had 2 rooms and a fold out bed in the living room area. We had Chris's brother and his wife in one room, the three older kids in the other room, Chris and I in the living room and Celeste on the floor beside us. Bedtime is usually a chore to get through normally, can you imagine what it was putting them in bed there? One night in particular, it was pretty hard getting Tyler to stay in bed. We kept putting him in bed over and over again. Well, finally, I decided to put him in bed and stand outside their door to surprise him when he came out again. Very shortly after I closed the door, I heard Terra and James giggling and telling Tyler to "go on...go get mommy and daddy!" So, I went in there, and scolded them thoroughly...however, I really should learn to word what I say a bit better than I do now (you'd think I'd have learned that by now, after 4 years of living with a literal child)! I started wagging my finger at them and telling them that they "just can't do stuff like that, it is rude and awful and you just CAN'T do that!" To which James replied, "Oh yes we caaaan!" Little imp!

Story two - Many times when I go out into public when it's just the kids and me, I get a lot of comments about how I "sure have your hands full, don't you?!" Most of them made pretty snide with a nose all wrinkled. Well, yesterday I went to the store, got all the kids out of the car and started walking inside, arguing with Terra almost the whole way. I finally stopped and very sternly asked Terra if she wanted to go and sit in the car and wait for the rest of us to get done shopping, she sulkily said no and calmed down for a minute, so we continued on to the door. One of the employees was out taking a smoke break and said, "my, my, don't YOU have your hands full (and then under her breath, 'should've planned that one better')." Terra thought she'd use this opportunity to complain to the lady, and normally, I'd stop her and tell her not to bother that person, but, since they were rude, I thought I'd just keep quiet and keep walking. Terra said, yes, my mom's hands are full, see, she's carrying Celeste, and because she's carrying Celeste, she won't carry the rest of us. She's not that strong, only my daddy is!" Leave it to kids...

Story three - My cat, I swear, is half skunk. SHE STINKS SO BAD, especially if you startle her. She was in the house wandering around and all of a sudden both Terra and James came running in to me telling me that Ariel had pooped out in their play room. I rolled m eyes and thought, oh great! So I asked them where she messed and they said, "We don't know, cuz the poops are hiding!" I immediately sat down and tried not to laugh, knowing full well that she'd probably been sitting under the couch and passed gas, and that's what they were smelling. So we chased her back to her "domain" and went back to the play room and search for the mess, which, miraculously, we couldn't smell anymore!

Story four - We were looking on craigslist.com and found someone giving away manure, all we had to do was go get it and load it ourselves. So we loaded up the kids, attached the trailer to the suburban and went on our way to go get it. Chris and I started shoveling it onto the trailer. Terra got out and came to talk to us and immediately held her nose.
(Terra) "What is that smell?!"
(Chris) "It's horse poo!"
(Terra looks completely disgusted.)
(Sandi) "It's not JUST horse poo, it's MAGIC horse poo! It'll make the garden and flowers grow all big and pretty!"
(Terra, wrinkling up her nose.) "Ew!"
I don't think she was all that impressed with our "magic horse poo."