r.a.b. - remember Alex Brown

Last night before bed the kids and I sat down and watched part of an episode of Extreme Makeover Home Edition. I'm a sucker for these shows for a couple reasons... 1) I absolutely LOVE everything about building a new home; and 2) the stories usually make me tear up.

At the start of last nights show I didn't expect to be touched as much as I was. The stories are usually extreme... things I pray never happen to my family or any families I know. Last nights show opened my eyes.

I'm an EMT here in our hometown. Every year our ambulance and fire departments help out the local high school and create the scene of an accident for high school juniors and seniors... kind of an eye opener. This last summer I participated and the scene was that of a student texting while driving. This is supposed to be an eye opener for the students and I now feel guilty having participated when I'm guilty myself of texting while driving. Well, after watching the Extreme Makeover Home Edition last night, I will no longer be texting while driving. I'm making the pledge. And I hope everyone who reads this does the same.

For more information, visit their website here. Very touching story.

** IDEA - if you check out the remember alex brown page on Facebook listed under their info section, they send you a package of these neat thumb bands (like all those rubber type bracelets everywhere) to keep you focused on NOT texting while driving for donations of at least $25. Anyone interested in pitching in a few dollars let me know.

congestion v. (kən′jeschən): to ruin innocent lives

This last week we've been dealing with the fun usual illness that accompanies this time of the year... The Cold. In some way, shape, or form, all 6 of the kids have at least one of the symptoms that go along with The Cold. This infamous, more-often-than-not, aggravating Cold usuallllllly causes little problems because who can't cope with a stuffed up face and runny nose?

Well, last week Austyn developed a fever with her cough, congestion, runny nose, and on and on and ON. From past experience when Peyton was hospitalized with pneumonia, I knew a fever with these symptoms and that kind of barky, hacking cough was not good news. Alas... Austyn had/has pneumonia. Fortunately, a course of amoxicillin is doing the trick and dodging a hospital stay! Unfortunately, Drew is extremely congested but the doctor assures me she "looks good" and "keep doing what you're doing." So no worries (too much) there either. Humidifier/vaporizers have been running nonstop the past couple days.

For the most part, we venture out of the house with minor symptoms that are not contagious (I promise) but this last weekend the 4 little gaffers and myself had to miss Peyton's basketball games on Saturday. Leaving the house in sub-zero temperatures with coughing, hacking children was not on my list of Things To Do that day. I love to watch him play so was disappointed but I know my Mom got some great photos of him, which are mostly the same from game to game seeing as they are at the learning stage of the game, but I enjoy seeing them anyway. My sister, Casey, caught Peyton's near-game-winning-shots on tape a couple weekends ago and it. was. Awesome! Casey also got a bunch of good ones that you can see HERE. So even though I missed this last weekends games on account of illness, I'm glad we stayed out of the cold to hopefully keep healthy, and I look forward to the next batch of photos. This week is proving to be healthier than last so far and I hope it continues.

clenched fists

One of my favorite things about newborns is the clenched fists... immediately adding that to my list of "Things I'll Miss..." One of my least favorite things is the amount of crying during bath time. This poor little girl screams right up until the time when I put her diaper on. Warm water. Hate it. Washing her hair. Hate it. Lotion. Despises it. I'm just glad she's big enough now to use the tub that I use in the sink. She looks so chubby and is starting to get those classic Smith chubby thighs and arms. (comparison below) Maybe not much of a difference to the naked eye (pun intended) buttttt I love it... yet I beg her every day to ssslllooowww down on the growing! 

2 weeks



just about 1 month



diva

This adorable girl has been a diva almost since the day she was born. She loves singing, dancing, and all things princess and/or pink. I asked both she and Lia if they wanted to participate in the mini pom pon dance they were having at the local high school. Lia gave me the "HELL NO!" look. Not on her life. Austyn... beyond excited. Ecstatic.

The Entrance

(She's the little blonde second from the right.)
There was dancing. There was singing. There was excitement.
Now more than ever, I am thoroughly convinced this child has song and dance in her future.

The Exit

and then there may have been some "progress"

After my bold revealing of resolutions for 2011, I had some strong consideration of these resolutions/goals/ambitions again and... I quit.

Kidding.

Sorta.

Nah... I can do it, and I honestly appreciate all the accolades, kind words of encouragement, and even some of the tips I've gotten in the last couple days! You guys are too kind!

Slowly and steadily surely I'm changing some things and a few things suggestions will be applied shortly. I'm excited about these changes and wanted to share a few things here, not to shed light on my progress, but to possibly help someone else out.

I was given a couple tips regarding my second resolution. I really like the idea behind both of these suggestions and that combined with my love for anything paper and/or writing utensil related and I mayyy end up with a couple things in my cart after my outing to the local grocery store this afternoon. Anyhow...

First suggestion - carry a small notebook everywhere you go to write down anything you don't want to forget. Now... here's the thing. I have this wonderful phone that I love to use for everything so I'm still debating whether to actually use a notebook or use the notebook feature on my phone... still contemplating that one. Like I need an excuse to get another notebook.

Second suggestion - use a large desk calendar with coordinating colors for each child and their activities. I've actually tried this 'technique' in the past in my planner instead but now that I don't use a planner (my calendar/planner is on my phone now), I think reserving an area in my office and hanging a large desk calendar for the kids to see and help out with is a GREAT idea!

Also in the last few days, I've started my reading goal. So far, so good. This may be cheating but the first book I'm reading is from a blog I read almost daily. I very much enjoy the blog and the book is also an easy read... so... cheating? possibly... but I never said what types of books I needed to read. So there. :) Heather Armstrong is hilarious! You might enjoy her as well. Check out It Sucked and Then I Cried: How I Had a Baby, a Breakdown, and a Much Needed Margarita.

belated resolutions

I've never been one to make resolutions or goals much less keep resolutions or goals, but this year I'm determined to change some things about myself and in turn hopefully my life. In doing so, I hope to instill some better habits, traits, and/or characteristics in my family around me.  Some of the ways I currently do things don't really please me so I'm determined from here on out. I've been thinking of a few of these since the new year but just haven't really defined them entirely or written them down. In revealing them here, I hope to hold myself a little more accountable and actually accomplish something. So here goes...

1. Be a better me.
This is more of an ongoing resolution/challenge. Who doesn't aspire to be a better person? Give more. Try harder. Be kind. Do the extra little things that make a difference.

2. Organize and schedule. Everything.
You would imagine with 6 children the routine or schedule in this house would be almost perfected by now. And you would be mistaken. Example: Almost every Sunday as we're loaded up and driving the 5 blocks to church we say... we're always late! We have to be one of the closest families to church! This is very aggravating to say the least. My goal/resolution entails being more organized and scheduled so we don't rush everywhere. So when we get home the house isn't a complete disaster from the tornado that hit it when we left. So I remember school activities before they happen. So our finances are in order. So I can relax at the end of the day instead of worrying about a million things I need to or should do. So I can remember. Period. In setting this goal/resolution, I hope it carries over and helps me to be a better me and remember and actually dot he little things I always want to do but always, ALWAYS forget. My intentions are always good but I fail to accomplish 98% of the things I want to do on a daily basis.

3. Read.
And by read I don't mean the weekly church bulletin or the newspaper. I want to read 2 books a month. This is a very lofty goal considering I'm not sure the last time I read a book cover to cover. I have a hard time even finding time to read a magazine from start to finish. If I sit down and read when I make the kids read, there really is no excuse. We have an entire shelf of books waiting for me!

4. Exercise.
After the recent birth of our SIXTH child, I've sorta kinda wanted to shed some extra pounds ;) I know, I know... most of your are gagging right now because the thought of losing weight isn't appealing. And hearing about someone making exercise and dieting a New Year's resolution is even less appealing. Here's the thing... I don't diet. I don't exercise. I just don't do it. This resolution is more for Dave. He wants to exercise more and I promised we could do some Wii Fit workouts together or maybe some bowling on the Wii. Our local high school also has a family night in the pool so this might get worked in to the resolution but no promises because getting me in a swim suit is not going to be an easy task. This might be the extent of my exercise resolution... more to come on that. ;)

So... those are my resolutions, goals, ambitions... and now I have to be accountable... yikes! I hope all of you have thought about doing something to better yourself this year, whatever it may be. Best of luck in your 2011 endeavors!

deceivingly adorable

This child may have the most squeezable, kissable cheeks everrrr but he is truly The Beast. I am not even exaggerating! He might be the one and only reason I couldn't get anything done as a stay-at-home mom. I think he believes God's purpose for him is to destroy. Everything. Just the other day we spent the entire morning tidying up but I'm not sure any visitors could tell I actually did anything besides light a candle before they walked through the front door and kick shoes around to make a path in.

First, I caught him in the garbage. And when I say "in," I mean IN! The bag was on the kitchen floor waiting for more garbage and apparently Nash didn't agree with me about throwing out the Risk pieces lacking a board... He was in the bag retrieving them. And retrieving them from his death grip is nothing unlike wrestling a stinky, buttered piglet. Even the squealing is the same!

Usually lunch and supper are the times I enjoy because I can strap him in and know nothing will be destroyed because of his containment. This particular day he filled his shirt with bits of hot dog. I'm surprised he didn't feed them to the dog.

Most of the madness that he gets into happens when I'm sitting down to nurse Drew. Granted, I've nursed many a baby in my day so I have NO problem launching myself, baby in tow, off the recliner or couch to retrieve him from death or the frig but on this particular day all I could do was watch from the recliner as The Beast launched marker after marker AFTER MARKER over the upstairs banister. He thought he was HILARIOUS! Beast.

Use your better judgement and think twice before trying to indulge in a kiss of these cheeks...

the last of the celebrations

And THIS is the last of our Christmas celebrations! Dave's side of the family comes over every Christmas as well to celebrate and partake in some White Elephant exchanging. As you can see below, lots of food and lotsss of laughs. We look forward to seeing Dave's cousins and their significant others most and hopefully with Casey and Jake's wedding later this year, we'll be able to visit with them twice or maybe even thrice ;)

repeat in 355 days

Every year growing up this was by far one of me and my sisters favorite mornings...

Christmas Day!

I just hope our kids enjoy it as much as we did when we were younger.

This is the after math of the morning. Dave probably took 10 toys out of the box that morning before church.

After Christmas morning mass, we came home and opened gifts with my parents and sisters. Then my mom's family came over for a late lunch and visiting. As tradition has it, this day ended in a Nerf war... as you can see in the last photo. :)

Christmas name exchange

Last year Dave and I kept our names out of the Christmas name exchange on my dad's side. Maybe it's the kid in me, but it just wasn't the same. I know Christmas isn't about receiving gifts but there's something about being involved in the giving/receiving tradition. This year we were included in the name exchange and although the gifts we both received are very much appreciated, it is WAY more fun to watch the kids get their gifts.

Tayt wanted to be surprised until the last minute so he opened his Christmas gift with his eyes closed. He's been carrying this Woody doll around non-stop :)

Peyton = Nerf so his gift was dead on. Lia's face here says it all. She loves those Squinkies. Now if we can just keep Nash from chewing on them! Austyn IS a princess so this gift couldn't have been more perfect for her. And there is a classic shot of Tayt... not looking at the camera.

Nash loved his Batman car. Another reason to scream and fight with Tayt...the dirty "S" word... *whisper* sharrreee ;)

This is the craziness of the exchanging.

Mallory enjoying the left/right game ;)

After math of the princess's gift.

My nephew sporting his new gift.

Wishing for a girl ;)

A big Thank You to my aunt for hosting again this year. We love getting together with everyone. No lie... Christmas Eve with my dad's family is something I look most forward to every year :)

future allstar

While he may not yet be the most vertically equipped player on the floor, he sure tries his best. And we (and by 'we' I mean Dave ... a lot... ) enjoy watching him every chance we get! This was the boys' very first game, which they won because they ROCK... kidding. They did an excellent job for their first game. The very first games of any sports Peyton has played are hard to watch because of the lack of knowledge or comfort they have, but they do well and only have more experience to gain :)

December 18, 2010

to keep the rioters happy

To keep the peace, I'm revealing some of Drew's recent photos. She's not camera shy but she does have problems looking directly at the camera... it'll come. ;)

Tomorrow she will be 4 weeks old. Not sure where the time has gone but all the thrush and pain aside, it has been a wonderful 4 weeks. She has taken to the family nicely and fits right in. I can't be sure if Nash is having some withdrawal issues or if he truly is a beast. I think it's the latter. Beast. Only time will tell...

Christmas cut out fun

Grandma may have agreed to Christmas cut outs with the kids before she thought about it a second time. I think they all had fun though. These photos are from before Christmas, but they're still fun to look back on :)

My camera found it's way into Casey's hands at some point during the chaos...