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two more weeks!

wow have things been crazy around here! I am so stinking busy, I cant seem to keep my focus. I need a good course in balancing things. But....one thing I am looking forward to.....school is starting in two weeks!!!! Now....I was very, very excited that summer was here at the end of last school year...and it has been a busy, crazy, fun summer. We have gotten alot accomplished, and I got to reconnect with my kiddos after working full time for a year and a half. But now....I am ready for school to start. And so are my kids! They miss their friends, and their teachers....and I think the miss the structure of the school year. We are pretty lax around here in the summer....we... scratch that... they sleep in a little in the summer, and stay up late....they play games and swim...you know, the normal stuff. but we are all ready to start back up with the structure. I know I am....Working from home is just as hard sometimes as working away from home. Just in a different way. I seem to have a hard time balancing between working at my computer and cleaning my house....:) It is feast or famine with both....lol...but...my kiddos have been working hard to earn money to put in their banks, so that has been a big help. Anyone who has more than one child knows, however, that when you wake up to a nice, clean home in the morning, have a cup of coffee, enjoy a few minutes of quiet after the hubby leaves and before the kids wake up.....ends very quickly once the kids actually get out of bed.
well, I have about five min before the kids have to go to bed....we are easing back into early bedtimes so the school bedtime is not such a shock! Hopefully it wont be a month before I get to post again!!!

come and gone....

so, i had another birthday. Praise the Lord! Glad to be alive.
My 19 year old babysitter, that is more like a daughter/friend...well, she is more like a daughter...she is my friend. Anyway, she asked me the other day if she would ever truly feel her age. She is about to turn 20, and that realization feels strange to her. I think when you are a teenager, you expect turning 20 to be some amazing transformation from still feeling like a kid to being a mature, self reliant adult overnight. I just laughed. And then I told her that....I'm 36 years old. I have been married twice. I have five children. I have not lived in my parents house for 18 years. I have my own car, my own house, my own yard to take care of, dishes to wash, toilets to clean, dog to feed......you get the idea. And still....somehow, when I look in the mirror, I still see a 17 year old girl!!! Sometimes when I take a good, long look at my life, sometimes I still wonder, "how did this happen???"
I dont think this is a bad thing. I think it helps keep me young. I take care of my buisness....my kids, my husband, my home....my dog! I do my thing....but in my heart.....I am still a carefree girl. Nothing wrong with that!

funny bunny....

Meet Fluffy....full name Fluffy Peter Cottontail. Now, before you get all upset that I've captured this cutie little bunny and tried to keep it....I'm gonna say right up front, that after being certain that Fluffy could take care of himself....I let him go. But.....I cannot resist trying to give you a mental picture of what that experience was like.

So, with five girls who love soft, furry objects, it has been so fun to watch them with this bunny. They love to feed him carrotts and lettuce and pet him. Now, Fluffy is somewhat ok with being pet while in his cage, but the second he thinks your gonna try to pick him up.....the crazy wild in him comes out!....so, i have told the girls all along that we will have to release him when he gets big enough....of course, they heard me, but they did not "hear" me. So...yesterday, I decided was the day. I knew if I put it off any longer, they would really start getting attached, and it was just going to be even harder. So...I announced that those who wanted to say goodbye to come with me, we were having a "letting Fluffy go" ceremony. I grabbed the cage, and everyone followed me out back to the creek....there are tons of rabbits out there, and I knew he would have no problem at all finding food and shelter.

Now....our back gate to our fence looks out to the area where we were, and that fence is chain link. Meet Andie.

This is our sweet, gentle, loving puppy dog, Andie. She really is, sweet and gentle. She doesnt mean to kill bunnies. REally, she doesnt. She just like to chase them, and sometimes, well...she catches them. Actually, let me rephrase that. She USED to be able to catch them...she has not touched one in a few years. (dont worry, i'm not going to tell you she killed fluffy) Anyway....andie was looking at us thru the chain link fence last night as we stood there, saying our goodbyes to fluffy. As a precaution, I checked to make sure that andie was safetly tucked away in the backyard before letting fluffy go. So....goodbyes said, I put fluffy on the ground, and my sweet, sniffling children watched as fluffy loped slowly away.

Until.

Andie, seeing fluffy hopping away....burst thru the chain link fence and the chase was on. She ran past us so fast that she knocked a few of the kids over and complete and utter mayhem insued! The girls were screaming, I was screaming and chasing the dog, chasing the rabbit, running for its life! Luckily, we were close enough to the creek that the bunny was able to escape into the brush and Andie, knowing she was NOT going to find that rabbit, and knowing she WAS in alot of trouble, slowly came back to me. My kids were crying and screaming, and angry. One in particular was just traumitzed! She was certain that Andie ate Fluffy, and it took me 30 minutes to convince her that I promised with all my heart that Andie did not catch Fluffy, and Fluffy was safe in the woods.

It is amazing how, with children and animals, things can go from slow paced and gentle, to complete chaos in a matter of seconds! I was trying to give my kiddos a loving experience releasing an animal back into the wild and teaching them that, even though they really, really, really wanted to keep fluffy forever, that it was best for fluffy to be able to live in its natural habitat. Instead, I ended up giving them a fast paced, traumitizing episode of wild kingdom! ~sigh~ Oh well....i tried.

Thanksgiving......

Just wondering....does anyone else find it funny and unusual that I have a wild turkey on my house? Now, mind you....if I lived even remotely in the country, I would not even think twice about this. However....I live off Main Street. Literally, and figuratively. Yes, my house does back up to the lake, and yes, there is a creek that runs along my back fence out to said lake...but in the five years that we have lived in this house, these are the things we have encountered....a tarantula as big as my hand. Skunks, bunnies, snakes....lost of snakes....coyotes, opossoms, racoons, bats, owls, and now....a wild turkey. I know....this is random...i have lots of other things to post about, but another day....just wanted to put this out there for now!

nearly a month

i cant believe it has been almost a month since i last posted. And that last post was incredibly short!
I dont think my life can get much busier! um...maybe i shouldnt be saying that...but...its out there...so, i'll let life happen.
So...you know i quit my full time job at the end of april. I did this because we were moving to kansas and i needed to pack and prepare for that move...but then....as most of you know...we decided not to move. great...awesome...i'm so glad....so now, we have some new life changes.
A. we are doing Dave Ramsey's financial peace university with out small group, so we are on a tight, tight budget and getting debt free...yay!
B. my hubster has basically 3 jobs...he contracts for a servicing company, and he owns two buisnesses...he owns a landscaping buisness that keeps him very busy, and he also owns a vending company that is taking off! so...more work for him, and more work for me, as i now have lots of accounts to keep up. and...
C. I am now working from home for a staging company that stages homes that are for sale. I used to work part time for this company doing various things such as cleaning, painting, and help stage...now I am working for them with thier office stuff. I am going to love this. I am just getting started, but this will turn into a bigger job...but i am very much looking forward to it!

so....in the effort to get myself very organized, I have a daily "to do" list....and somewhere in there I have worked in a daily workout for myself....I go to the gym at least 3 times a week with my sis in law....we like to go four and we work out one day here....I have lost 19 pounds so far! and I am also scheduling in fun time for me and the girls and daddy....we swim and play....the kids have commissioned jobs to do around the house, and as soon as my car is in working order again, we will have a weekly library day. I cant wait for that one! not that i will have much time to read...but still....so far we are doing well....i am getting alot accomplished and the tv has barely been on this summer! usually it is on all day....i know, bad right? but now, we are living on purpose, and i cant be more excited! i will try to schedule in blogging too:)
for now...i hope you are having a great summer and i will try to keep you posted!
k

crazy train

The crazy train has left the station, and I was the first on on board!

This past few weeks, and more specifically this last week, have been so busy. No time, no time. And right now....well, still not much time. But I am hoping that after today I will be able to sit down and do some good, honest writing. I miss it, and miss reading the blogs I love...so bear with me. and after today, maybe I'll have the goods!