Busy

I can't keep up these days. Hopefully soon. When does soon come anyways? Who am I kidding? So the 411 around here is that I do not have thyroid cancer. Both nodules are benign, one nodule has abnormal cells. If it grows at all I get to have them out. Not too worried about it. Lot's of people live with thyroid nodules. I am done with radiation and right around Thanksgiving I will be starting my monitor mode. I will have blood work every six weeks and CT scans every 3 months. I am going to go to Mayo for a second opinion. It is not because I do not like my Doctor's, it is just a smart move to get a different angle on things. I am told the biggest worry is recurrence, and the most likely place for that is my right rib cage where the first tumor was and or my lungs. I feel better every day and have more energy it seems. Some days I I feel worn down so much quicker and others it's like I never had a tumor. I can't lay on my right side. That missing rib sure messed that up for me. For what I have been through I feel really good. I am grateful for every day with my family. Things could have been so different for me and I am so thankful to be where I am!

My kids never stop, in the last two weeks Wild Thing broke the neighbors window. Miss M and Sweet K went door to door collecting Money for the starving children in Africa. I am am making them donate their meager earnings. We went to see Grandpa and Grandma M in Prescott and had a fun eventful fall break. I kept them busy and tried to spend as much family time together as we could. I have been MIA with this darn tumor and just wanted to give them as much of me as I could. Baby J sleeps through the night and has since he was 2 months old. What a good boy!. We sure love him and his big smiles. Life as usual, that is the way I like it.

T-Ball

Bubba and Wild Thing discovered they actually like baseball this year. I don't know why I didn't sign Bubba up last year, but I didn't.  Mr. M pulled some strings and got them on the same team even though Bubba is too old and should be in Coach pitch. The same team was easier for me. The best thing about T-ball is just watching them get used to the game, where is 1st base? My boys like to stick together.

This(iPhone)photo cracked me up. He has zero skills but tons of gusto. Love this kid!

The best part, the trophy's. They sleep with them. So cute.

Let's not forget the cheering section who really just come for the treats

Oh and the official glove holder, poor baby.... never left alone
The season was short due to lack of teams and I forgot my big camera except for one game . I got there too late to get any shots, I am slacking. So maybe I will do better next year.

Better

Things are much better around here. Still crazy, but back to a manageable crazy. I do not think we are out of the woods by a long shot, but so much better. We have a team in place and new medication and it is improving daily. It improved enough for me and Mr M to be able to farm out a few kiddos and get a sitter for the rest (THANK YOU Heidi!) and get the heck out of dodge. It was only two days. I want more, but I am grateful for what I can get. I got my time share to cover the room and gas, when are they going to start covering child care? Asking to much, maybe? It would be so nice though wouldn't it? We snuck off to Sedona again.


We have enjoyed the food in Sedona before so we wanted something new. Mr. M loves to ask the locals where to find the best grub. They usually know best.  So we left Sedona behind and headed to down town Cottonwood.


I just love small town America, don't you? We ate at a fun little place called The Tavern. It did not disappoint. Oh and the shops, I just love the shops, and even better Mr. M does not mind taggin along with me. He may not like to shop, but he finds a friend along the way every time. There is no such thing as a stranger to him. It was a great trip. Spring anywhere is good for me.

We came home to resume life as normal and went straight into Birthday mode.These three boys have Birthdays two weeks apart beginning mid March.


There Birthdays happen in the order they are sitting in. They all pretty much wear the same size clothes and there is a 3 year gap between Tankster and Wild thing. My Tankster is going to live up to his name.
Bubba is obsessed.....well, with lots of things.


Right now though these birds and all that goes with them tops the list.
For the Tankster it was a bike.







It is all he has talked about for months now. I had to drag him off of it so we could move on with his big day.
Wild thing is just chompin at the bit for his turn. Something dinosaur is in his future.
I am glad things are calming down and life is good and we are moving on one a day at time. That is how it should be.

LOVE these boys of mine!

Full Swing

Summer is in full swing around here.

 What's not to like, right? I will be honest, summer kills me.
It means my small army of destucto rangers are in high gear. Water balloons thrown and popped in the basement.I am pretty sure the friend who snuck those in may never come back...Okay, she can come back, but with out those blasted balloons!
 I am woken up almost every morning to some sort of fight or a tattle tale. I am not kidding, almost EVERY morning. Almost every routine we have has to be tweaked. Strict limits enforced on t.v. watching and computer usage. No couch potatoes camping at my house. I must referee 4 fights before swim team and swim lessons each morning. These kiddos are having a hard time adjusting to each other this year. Too much of a good thing I guess.The pool is great behavior leverage. More than one kid has stood outside the pool fence wishing their consequence away. I have things scheduled for them to do and we have gone on some fun, and some not so fun outings.

Waiting in the AZ summer heat to see Lightning Mc Queen and his pals was a wretched idea. The ice cream fixed all the whining, mine included.I am sure I will get it figured out and have my kids trained and the fighting to a minimum just about the time school starts. I still enforce bed times. I still enforce quiet times and sometimes I enforce friend time just to give me break from the continual pestering of one another. I have two kids to potty train this summer, a family vacation to pull off, and a month with hardly any plans. June is booked solid and July has left me scramblin. I need some fun indoor activities.Going to have to get really creative.
Don't get me wrong it's not all bad. I am just feeling a bit tired as I adjust too. My feet scream at me by the end of each day. We have to renew our Foster care licence which means some more parenting classes and Dr appt's and running around. I have been having some PCOS related health crap and a good skin cancer scare so I am already running extra places. We will more than likely have our two little tykes adoptions both finalized by the end of this year. It is all worth it. I guess it's up to me to find the good in all this craziness and enjoy the chaos.Here's to another crazy summer

This week

I sat back and just listened when I could.
 Some inconsequential thing happened, but I new I was being lied to. I hate that, so I sent my Irish triplets to their rooms until some one could tell the truth. Little H came down swearing her innocence. I knew she was in the clear so I sent her off to play. I announced to the hoodlums left in their rooms that Little H was off the hook. They were surprisingly calm, so I listened,

Bubba, " So what are we going to tell her?
Wild Thing, "I didn't do it!"
Bubba, " Yeah, but Mom is mad."
Wild Thing, "I DIDN'T Do it!"
Bubba, "FINE, I will just go tell the truth!"
Negotiations over........... He was so sad when we were all swimming and he was stuck in quiet time for lying. Hope he enjoyed his nap.

My kids were amazed a lady as old as me could actually swim.
I was amazed at how few laps I could do, yikes...

I left a child at home, SCARY! I was misinformed of a baseball playoffs games starting time.(Duh, the messenger is a 10 yr old boy!) So when the coach called frantic telling me my son would be the reason they forfeited. I threw the kids in the car and drove off. We were halfway to the ballfeild when  Sweet K screams, "We forgot Miss M!"  I dropped off my half dressed baseball player just in time and drove home. The front door was wide open. This is where the what kind of Mother am I doubts started screaming through my brain. Who runs off with out a child? The door being opened sent me into panic mode. Mind you it has only been 8-10 minutes. My mind went crazy, I ran in the house and down the stairs and there sat Miss M in all her 7 year old glory watching Mickey Mouse Club House. She was totally oblivious to her plight. My only thought was maybe I need to pummel one 10 Year old boy into learning to close doors! Okay, I don't pummel my kids but I wanted to right about then. Really it's my fault for not counting kids. I Know I over reacted a little, but it scared me that the next time we would be on vacation, it would be a gas station in the middle of Idaho and I wouldn't notice for over an hour or more. My folks did that to my brother. It's funny now but my parents were not laughing at the time.

We have an adoption day and time for Tankster!!! Yippee!!!! Now we pray every day and night and any prayer in between that some bio relatives do not file a motion to intervene. He won't leave, it will just delay the adoption and we do not want that or the legal hassle.

10 Reasons I Love my Redneck Swimmimg Pool

1, It is a hole, and is filled with cool refreshing chlorinated water.
2, It makes even the grumpiest of small people smile.

3, It promotes sibling interactions that are sparse.

4, It provides a learning tool for slave labor work ethic.

5, Keeps bored kids from complaining.
6, Has the possibility of removing pasty white coloring from the resident lifeguard.
7, Helps me coin new Mom phrases I am sure to repeat until I am blue in the face,  "Walking feet, walking feet, I said, NO RUNNING!"
8,It increases creativity.

9, Makes the kiddos so tired that sleep comes five minutes after their heads hit the pillow.
10, Summer entertainment without sopping wet car seats.

Have you always heard that pools are money pits? We had heard similar. When we found our new house that met all our criteria and it just happened to have a pool that was outdated and in need of a complete overhaul. What were we to do?  Fill it in? Pay thousands to bring it up to date? Not buy the house?  I loved the idea of a pool with 8 small kids to entertain. Mr. M. Not so much. It could have been a deal breaker.  Well a money pit it is..... whether we fill it in or remodel/re-do it. It is still usable so until all plans are final we are taking advantage and just livin with it's issues. We are hoping to have it all spruced up by the actual true beginning of summer. We will see...

Words and Pictures

This was our week.
Green crayon all over the basement bathroom toilet. Not the canvas I would have chosen, but it sure beats my walls.
A bath tub full of toilet paper while two girls were bathing. That means two heads of hair full of soggy shredded toilet paper. That was not the most fun I had all week.Thanks Bubba and Wild thing, sure hope you liked your no bath, early bedtime consequence.
Lots of time playing with friends
A new bike rack for the garage.
Bedroom painted and new beds put up (pics later) Oh, that was the week before oops.....
2 games of Uno won, one of Golf and one of Phase 10, I rock!!
Lunch with a great friend.
A fabulous lazy start to our Saturday morning.

Sometimes it is so nice just to hang with them on my bed. Sorry Dad you had leave for work so early.

This week I did Birthday pics as per the post below with my resident tattle tale, and the bossy one. Can you guess who's who?

The kids played with their food. This is an every day occurance, this is play I am actually ok with.



They really are a very entertaining bunch!

You should stop by some time or just sit behind us in church. That is a show all on it's own.
They do more than just perform tricks. This little tyke got awarded the "Winning Worker" award at school this week. Great job Miss M, we are so proud of you!

It has been a good week.

Coming up for air...

I should not be doing this. Blogging that is. I really should be editing photos and designing Christmas cards I owe people. I have not comented on very many blogs because I force myself to stay away. Can't comment if you don't read. My google reader may rebel against me any day now.I tell myself  I can when life slows down. I feel like I just can't catch up. If I concentrate on my house my kids and photography suffer, and if I concentrate on my kids I am up all night long playing catch up. I have tried to strike a happy medium. Not there yet, but close. Had to finally get rid of my November header. I NEVER want to do a November like this last one again! I finally took a break from all my other demands to put up Christmas decor around here. My kids kept saying "Mommy everyone else has Christmas but us!" said in their best whiney voices. What's a girl to do? If I can dig in for the next couple days I will be caught up.I want to enjoy this season with my kids and that is something that is totally up to me, so after this week  if no one throws a monkey wrench in my carefully laid plans I might get back to MY life and my pre- move schedule. That schedule makes me happy and leaves room for extras and rest. I need a three day nap badly, and I am no loafer. Do I sound like I am whining? May be I am.....I mean to just state the facts, it is what it is........

P.S I did manage to get my Christmas cards done amid the chaos. Didn't even have to leave my house, best plan evah!!

"One Day Every Child Will Have A Family"

It is heartbreaking to to know so many children need a family.This was written on Wild Things bag of toys they gave him as we headed to our court room for his adoption. Bitter sweet.... I love my little man with all my heart! My heart aches though for the children who need the simple necessities of life and a lot of love and they are with out both. We feel so blessed to have the children God intended for our family. Wild Thing was meant for us and we for him.
  We dressed him in his finest duds,

Man is he handsome in a suit!

I know I am biased. The extra special thing about his adoption was his opportunity to be adopted on National Adoption Day. The state went all out and brought in local mascot's and super hero's.

There was face painting and games. Yummy food, and lots of celebrating. Even the man with the big white beard braved our warm climate for a visit.

 He was a hit with the middle children. The big were to big, and the small were frightened half to death.

It was AMAZING and special!!
 Wild thing was dropped off on our doorstep by his Birth Mom when he was alomost 8 months old. She promised a return that never happened. I worked hard to get him added to his Brothers case. He and Bubba are full biological siblings. I knew if I had any chance of keeping him I needed the courts on my side. He has not always been an easy child. Poor kiddo came with so many issues due to poor choices in utero made by Bio Mom. I do have a great relationship with Bio Mom and now know she wanted him to stay with his bio brother and with us. She new she was not prepared to raise children. I often tell her thank you for such a choice addition to our family. We would not be complete with out our Max man.We love you goose, welcome home!!
I do truly hope that "one day every child will have a family!!"

He is the Reason

we need to move and pronto. This sweet boy has been waiting to be adopted. Waiting for National Adoption Day. November is National Adoption Month and with that the State holds a fun Saturday at the court house. I think all adoptions should be celebrated with this much fan fare. A child in need finding a forever family. That is huge! It is a big deal! He will be the sixth child to officially become ours and not the last. We love this little nut with all we have. Everyone who meets our Wild Thing does. He loves to say hi, introduce himself, and ask you how you are. He loves having quarters in his pocket. He loves to be outside. His best buddy is Bubba. He is sad and always tells me how much he misses him when they are apart. He is amazing and we are so glad to call him ours.
  With his Adoption being on National Adoption day came some fun unique opportunities. We have been asked to tell our story. To tell his story, and in some ways speak for all those who may not have a voice. We are being interviewed by Fox10 News at our new home 3 days after we move in. (YIKES)  Now you see why I needed my keys sooner?  No stress... We could have said no. I didn't want to because I feel I have an opportunity and responsibility to shed a positive light on Adoption. In this case Adopting out of Foster care. It's the only form of adoption I am familiar with on a personal level. It is not the way for some, and will surely work for others. Adoption is a subject that is dear to me and is a part of my everyday life. Adoption is how we created our family. It is amazing and special, and a one of a kind experience. We hope with our two minutes of air time to touch a heart or two.
     I am going to move, adopt my sixth child, and ignore my little bit of cyberspace for a while. I will post more, post move, post interview, and post adoption. Exciting busy times at our house.

Pumpkins, Pigs, and Packing

That sums up my week.
Pumpkins,

Pumpkins,

and more pumpkins...

Pigs,

and a friendly hay munching goat who looks a little possessed if you ask me.

Did I mention Pumpkins?

Oh yeah, packing.... use your imagination, we have all been there and it's not fun.

Moments

Do you ever wonder what moments you miss while you are off  getting to those things your other hats require of you? I did today, wondered what I missing.  I put down the clothes I was folding, headed out into the still blistering heat and tried to melt into the background.(almost literally) I am so glad I did. I am sure I will cherish these images just a little more than the ones where we tried to hard to get everyone to smile at the same time.






This little wonder is finally smiling full time hopefully putting some of the past behind him.



This little exchange made my day. How sweet that Mommy was right there but she was happy to get the love she needed from an adorable big brother. Makes me happy to know when I am am doing those other things that need to be done that they are taking care of each other. He even went inside got her a wet paper towel and washed  her boo boo. Awwwwwwwww.....