Moms sick day

We have all heard it...or of course know from experience that Moms don't get a day off when they are sick.

Sunday night, I was just hanging out, when I started to feel that little "tickle" in my throat. I even said, out loud to Ben, "It is probably just allergies".

However, Monday morning that tickle was still there. But life must go on. In this case, life meant a field trip with a group of 5th graders.

After dropping my middle schoolers off, I went and got my official chaperone badge, so that we could go to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum.

Even though I wasn't feeling well, I had an awesome time. The museum was so neat and while I can't speak for the kids, I learned a ton!

Did you know that Ronald Reagan kept a diary every single day? Except the night he was shot and in the hospital? Did you know that he didn't work out in a gym, but worked on his farm and ranch instead?

We saw a piece of and learned about the Berlin Wall. The kids all had a chance to shovel a tunnel through to get to the other side of the wall. Coming out on the other side to freedom.

We also saw the suit he was wearing when shot, with the bullet hole displayed.

While the kids were there, they did the "normal tour" and walked around and looked at the different memorbilia. However, they were all assigned a part, and were able to role play some of the different people involved with the Grenada conflict in the Discovery Center.

They were broken up into 3 different groups, the Oval Office, the Press Corp and the Military.

Connor was given the role of Vice President George Bush. He was very excited to be the Veep!

 It was so neat to see the kids sitting around the "oval office"discussing politics, and military movements. They really got involved and unfortunatley didn't always make the "right" decisions.

After a ride on "Air Force One" back into 2013, it was time to leave.

What an awesome field trip!

Being very young during his time in office, I really didn't know too much about the "Gipper". But from all that I learned...I am so very impressed.

 I can't wait to take the rest of my kids there...as long as I am not sick, of course.

If you are ever in Thousand Oaks/Simi Valley area, I would highly recommend you stop in. You can find more info about it here.

11 reasons

Yesterday was my husbands 35th birthday...and today is my son Connor's 11th birthday!! Born at 12:15am he just barely missed sharing a birthday with his Dad.

So here it is, 11 reasons why I love my 11 year old....

1. He has the sweetest heart
2. He is kind to everyone
3. He is a master Lego builder

4. He is very smart
5. He is a voracious reader
6. He is a total gentleman
7. He looks after his Mother :)

8. He loves to get dressed up
9. He is my little meat-atarian
10. He loves music and loves to dance
11. He hates that he is so skinny, but he is so handsome that it doesn't matter

Happy Birthday Connor! I love you a ton kiddo!!

ouch

Having 5 kids that don't seem to be able to get their teeth clean, you log a lot of time at the dentists office. And the orthodontist.

Ours both  happens to be in the same office. They rotate days & times. When I say we log a lot of time there, I mean ALOT.

Dentist appointments every 6 months & orthodontist appointments once a month. Ugh.

Today was Connors turn to go and get some dental work done.

All the hygenists are in love with my cutie.Telling me how tough he is but also how sweet. Of course they all want his eye lashes! Heck, so do I!

His appointment was a little less than two hours long, and he BEGGED me to let him stay home from school. Being the mean Mom that I am, I said no.

I did promise a milkshake for lunch as he can't chew at all. The flavor he wanted was out.

He is  not happy with me. Afraid he will never be able to eat real food again.

Right now, he is sucking chicken noodle soup through a straw. He is not a happy camper. And telling him that he will look so handsome in the future is not getting me any points.

Poor baby. I hate seeing him in pain. Even though I know it will only last a couple of days. I can't, and don't want to see him go through some real pain.

Boy, being a Mom is tough.

The sweatshirt

Over a year ago, I can't remember exactly when but...

I bought Connor this sweatshirt at Goodwill. It was in almost perfect condition. No holes. No stains. Nothing. I *think* that I even got it on the 50% off night. So a great deal all around!

He loves it. He wears it all the time. All.the.time. And it shows!

I am so glad that we got our moneys worth out of it.

big rips everywhere!

It is now covered in stains and rips. Holes and dirty.

It was time. I couldn't take it anymore. I told him it was time to let it go. He cried....ok not really but he really didn't want to give it away. I stayed strong. I bought him a new sweatshirt ($7.99 from Ross).

In to the trash it went. I only caught him trying to get it out of the trash can twice before the garbage man came!

So happy to finally get rid of the dreaded sweatshirt (:

weekend family update

walking on Stearns Warf in Santa Barbara

It is amazing how life can be boring and yet busy at the same time. Maybe a family of 7 can never have a truly boring life? That is probably it...

Harmony has spent the past week preparing to go to Girls Camp. She is so excited. Being a 2nd year means that they move up from tents to cabins. Harmony listens to music from the minute she wakes up (because it plays all night) until the minute she goes to bed...because yes, her music plays all night. She constantly has her ear phones in her ears. There are no ipods allowed at GC so she is not sure how she will survive the week!

Ethan was pretty bummed that there were no Scouts this week. However he managed to fill his time, as always, with video games. The kids drive us crazy because it seems that is all they want to do. I know it is summer, but I am afraid his brain has turned to mush. He has been having a lot of fun swimming and so at least there is that!

Connor has earned a new nickname..."the Mason whisperer". He can get Mason to do anything. Calm down, go to sleep, stop crying...the kid has the patience of a Saint. I have no idea where he got it from! Connor had a tough week with earning his allowance and then spending his money on something he didn't really want. Life is full of dissapointments and hopefully he learned his lesson!

Ivan is still a Lego building, Wii playing, run around like crazy 7 year old. This past Friday our family made a trip to the zoo & aquarium. Ivan got in big trouble at the aquarium when he ignored me, and ran off to a different section. Many "safety violations" later, he said, "Sorry Mom." Ugh. He scares me. He really enjoyed the aquarium as we haven't been to one since he was little. He loved the new Jellies exhibit.

Mason hasn't let Ben out of his sight. He follows him around everywhere and asks, "what are you doing?". He loves to feel Bens whiskers (when he has them) and plays with his "scratchies". He has turned into a bossy little thing and is constantly telling the older kids to do things. For the most part they just ignore him, but it is pretty cute to see him bossing them around!

Ben is in a word...bored. He has officially checked out of NMCB3 and is now a grad student...although school doesn't start until the end of August. He is filling his time with honey  do lists. Cleaning out his garage, working on the yard and designing and building projects & furniture. He is so talented and built me a gorgeous picnic table. We have all enjoyed eating outside.

Life is good and we are enjoying the somewhat relaxed schedule of the summer.

Weekly Family Update

Because I am no longer keeping up my old blog, "Maries Hectic Life" I have decided to do a nice family re-cap on Sundays so that I can share about the other things going on in our lives...

Harmony- This girl is growing up way too fast. I can't believe she will be a teen, next month :( Where has the time gone? She loves foreign languages, writing, reading, drawing, watching anime...She has so many amazing talents and I am so in aw of her. Is she perfect? No, but she is pretty stinkin' cute. We did a "girly" shopping trip and she has a new favorite store...World Market. How many teenagers have a home goods store as their favorite place to shop?!

Ethan- This kid is video-game obsessed. Seriously. It is hard to drag him away...but this week I did. Tuesday was hot. And I got some bad news. And some friends of ours moved in and we were keeping their kids entertained. So we went to the pool. That night he went swimming for Scouts. Wednesday we went swimming for playgroup. Friday evening, some friends took the 4 older kids swimming. He spent a lot of time in the pool!

Connor- He is just the cutest kid. A Lego maniac. An awesome big brother to Mason. He found himself grounded this week after throwing a fit about having to clean up. The next day however, he was very sweet and helpful. Did he learn his lesson? Only time will tell I guess. He is bummed to be missing Cub Scout camp this week. I had planned to be in OR/WA for the summer and so I didn't sign him up. Hmmm, maybe next year...

Ivan- "Is it Wednesday, Mom?" "Its July, right?" I have been answering these and similiar questions for a few weeks now. Why? Because Ivans favorite show, is coming back for the summer. Lego Ninjago. He has been watching all of the first season episodes over and over and over... Ivan is such a funny kid and just cracks me up. He threw a huge fit about me taking him to Costco vs Sams Club and informed me, " I am assuming you won't be taking me here again." Sometimes I don't know whether to laugh or wash his mouth out with soap!

Mason- just turned three! I can't believe how big my baby is getting! He is a typical 3 year old...one minute he is as happy as can be...and the next, he is whiney and pouting. He has turned into a bossy little thing and we have a hard time not cracking up when he tells someone to "go on timeout" or that we are "bad boys/girls". He has been having a ton of fun playing with his friend Brian and having playdates with him. They are so cute playing together!

Shock & Awe



While I began couponing lllllong before TLC's Extreme Couponing came on the air, I know a lot of people have been inspired after watching the show.



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I love to watch. It inspires me to work hard, grab those deals and feed my family on less. I like to see people workin' the deals. I like seeing their totals drop. However, there are a few things that I am not a fan of... lets use a bullet list shall we?



**Shock & Awe: every week you see totals go from hundreds down to pennies. So if you are not doing that well, you must be doing it wrong, right? WRONG. Not every trip is like that. And if you believe that, you are going to get bummed out by your savings and give up. Remember that this is a REALITY tv show. They are going for the "WOW" factor. Are you more likely to watch someone who gets 74 bottles of mustard for free...or one? Remember, shock and awe baby.



** While some have had it happen, and others haven't, many of the people featured...have had their stores "help" them get those totals. A couple of times you see people just grab armfuls or dump things in. Because the store gets publicity, they are not going to stop them. So they are willing to "over look" a few things. Some people have said out right that the store let them do something that they normally wouldn't. It all goes back to ratings!

** Once again, seeing as this is reality tv, people aren't shown in the best light. For example, TLC had another show where a woman was frequently featured yelling at her husband. (That show rhymes with Mon and Late plus bate) I cringe when I see the one lady yelling at her husband. I am sure it is humiliating to him. ):

**And last but not least, remember this is tv. They can show us what they want. They film for hours (days?) and then that person's segment is 12 minutes long. That is a LOT of editing!!



(My biggest fans!!)

Why am I talking about this? Well I have 3 gorgeous kiddos who want Mom to be featured on the show. They are so sweet and tell me, "you are as good as they are!!" or " you're an extreme couponer". In their eyes I already am royalty. So, they helped me clip, sort, and file. They looked in the ads to help me find what they wanted. They matched sales and coupons. When we got to the store, and filled our cart, they waited anxiously at the check out. As the total was working it's way down, my 9 yr old was very worried...when it went from $208 down to $108.



You could just see their faces fall. I tried to warn them, but I guess they have watched too many episodes with me. They were dissapointed and I felt bad. Connor had hoped it would get down low enough that he could pay with his pocket change. I tried to explain and convince them on the way home that they did a good job.

So, take it frome me...and my kids. You are not going to get every order down to pennies. Some you will and some you won't. But just keep doin' what you're doin' and you will do GREAT!!

C is for...

Connor, the commissary, cocoa puffs, crackers and corn dogs.

What? Yep, you read it right.

Today I attended a baby shower for a friend of mine. I had planned to go to Sam's Club afterwards but decided instead to just go to the commissary on base.

Here are the facts:
1. I hadn't planned on going to the commissary so I had no coupons with me. Dumb move I know.

2. I really didn't need very much. I never do.

So right now it is the commissary case lot sale. And can I just tell you, the prices are...AWESOME (: Sometimes being in the military has it's privilages! So I see a case of Cocoa Puffs. Which just happen to be my son Ethan's favorite cereal. Well it was originally, a case of 12 boxes for $20. Doing very quick math, I was just going to pass it up. I can usually get cereal for .50-$1. But then...what do my eyes behold? A coupon for SIX dollars off the case. Boo to the yah! $14 for 12 boxes of cereal makes for one happy Ethan!

Mason also noticed "Liberty" goldfish, that were red, white and blue. The nice big box was $3.55! Yay, we can never have to many goldfish around here!

We were just about to leave when I made a quick run down the frozen food aisle. Connor has been begging me for corn dogs. When I was at Vons the other day, I noticed that a 16 ct box of corn dogs was over $6! Cough, cough choke. It did have a refund for $3 back when you buy the Yogi Bear movie but there was no way I was paying that kind of $$ for corndogs!

At the commissary they were a measley $3.00 and they had the same refund. Now I just need to find a really good price on the movie! My kids loved it so I am envisioning a family movie night with Yogi and corn dogs (:

Even though the commissary is not as close as my regular stores, I may have to venture down there more often...only this time with my binder!

This was his "no one can have my cocoa puffs!!" look

Happy Homemaker Monday

It is so quiet! After a busy, rowdy, loud weekend, life has returned to normal. Husband off to work, kiddo's at school, and the baby (with no one to bother him!) is taking a nice long nap. Bliss.

The WEATHER in my neck of the woods: this morning was a chilly 55! The grey clouds and fog have broken and now it is sunny and warm.

Things that make me HAPPY:the quiet that comes with a Monday morning

BOOKS I am reading: The Hunger Game Series. These books are so well written and compelling but wow are they disturbing.

What's on my TV today: Matlock (:

On the menu for DINNER:hamburgers, potato salad and applesauce

What is on my TO DO LIST for the day: cleaning out the fridge! ugh I haven't done it since we have moved in!

New RECIPE I want to try soon: So many! Two I want to try are Pepperoni Pizza Pasta and Cookie Pretzel Peanut Bark

In the CRAFT basket:making vinyl signs

Looking FORWARD to this week: Our church womens group is meeting this week and making stockings for the troops. My husband will be gone over Christmas this year (sob) and so it just has a special place in my heart.

TIPS AND TRICKS: When cleaning up, grab and empty basket. Put everything in and go from room to room. When you put something away in one room, look for items that need to be removed. Make one big circle!


fAVORITE blog post of the week: See below

BLOG HOPPING: So this week, I was reading some of the links at Works for Me Wednesday. I clicked on one for a Star Wars cake and found the best site EVER! It took me all of 3 seconds to add it to my favs! Head on over to GLUESTICKS and check out all the fun crafty stuff she has going on! Adorable!

nO WORds nEEdED:My boys...being boys!

lESsoN LeaRNED tHiS week: To keep my priorites straight!

On my MIND: my sweet daughter. She is still managing the rough waters of middle school.

Scriptures & Devotionals: "No worldly success can compensate for failure in the home."

picky, picky, picky

How sweet is this boy? Pretty darn cute right? With those gorgeous blue eyes, eyelashes a mile long and the sweetest smile he just melts my heart. But when it comes to lunch...I have to really try not to strangle him!! This morning as we were making lunches he gave me the "run down" of all the things he doesn't like in his lunch...

pb&j (seriously what kid doesn't like pb&j? Oh that would be mine)
cheese (string, cubes, sliced etc)
oranges (except mandarin)
ham
wheat bread
cream cheese
honey mustard pretzels
dried fruit
yogurt covered raisins
nuts

I think that is it...note that most of it is pretty healthy. So what do I feed him? Here are some ideas that are *Connor approved* (:

chicken nuggets
pizza pockets (warm in microwave and wrap in foil to hold the heat)
mini meatloaves
bagels (ok he is weird he likes mayo instead of cream cheese) w/ lunch meat
pb & honey
turkey & ritz crackers
mini corn dogs
bite size pepperoni's
left overs of foods he liked at dinner
turkey sandwiches on a hoagie roll
tuna w/ club crackers
quesadilla


sides:
apples w/ fat free caramel
slim jims
yogurt tubes
apple sauce ( I buy the container and than put it in a small sized gladware)
cheddar pretzels
mandarin oranges(also in a gladware)
trail mix
Gardetto snacks/Chex mix
fruit snacks
Kashi strawberry cereal bars
Quaker low sugar granola bars
He also of course loves any junk food offered!



Those are just a few ideas. I don't buy individual packages for him. I buy in bulk and then divide it out.

I will probably discuss Connor more because he is picky at every.single.meal!

C is for...

Connor! My son and I got our signals crossed one night over dinner. He thought he was getting pizza...and he got chicken divan instead (poor baby!)The next day, Ben and I were supposed to go on a date. Unfortunatley, it didn't work out and we stayed home instead. However, I had already told Connor that he could choose what he wanted to have for dinner while the babysitter was here. So he chose corn dogs. While at the commissary, I noticed Cheetos were on sale. An idea started to form in my mind for a "C food dinner". On the menu was:

corn dogs
cheetos
cucumbers
carrots
chocolate milk
candy corn for a treat

Then we all sat and snuggled watching Fred Claus. The kids tried to use as many C words as they could.

Now all the kids want a turn with their letter! We thought of other theme nights too, like favorite colors.

It just goes to show that it really is the little things that make a big impression! And it was so easy too! Next up: Ethan...I am thinking enchiladas and...hmmm, still thinking!