Awesome Organic Give Away!

Go check out this really awesome giveaway over at Green and Crunch from my blog list! She is giving away some free MiEssence totally organic make up and skin care stuff. I've always wanted to try this brand as many of my UBER crunchy friends will only use it.....but it is super pricey and I just haven't given it a blow money priority yet. I'd just be soooooo thrilled to get to try it for free!

Flashback

The weather has been really beautiful here lately but today and yesterday there was a chill in the breeze and I grumbled. So, to remind myself, I pulled up some picks from last April. I really gotta work on this contentment thing!

First, my babies last Easter. Leah and Hannah are soooo different!

Then this. Grumbling no more!

Movie Idea

Robert is out of town this week. Last night, as I put the kids to bed, I was thinking how much better at it he is, than me. See by the time bedtime gets here, I'm done....D O N E DONE! He's had time to recoup from his day and so has a whole cute little routine with the big kids. He brushes their teeth and brushes out Leah's hair, then they all crawl into Joshua's bed together and snuggle up and read the bible and another short story. Then they have prayer time with its own little traditions together. Then Leah goes to her room and Robert and Joshua snuggle up and get some manly time in. Then Robert goes and snuggles with Leah and ta da, everyone is happy. I read the bible, pray and turn out the light.

So, last night I was thinking about how alot of people talk about the fact that no one can understand the 24/7 stress on a Mom, stay at home Mom in particular. I had an idea for a funny comedy movie. It could start with your average american family....or even better, one with more than two kids. Dad goes off to work, Mom stays home and does everything and Dad comes home and wonders why she's tired and dinner isn't ready.....you get the idea. He grumbles about what does she do all day and somehow, either a dream or weird alternate reality, the next day, his job becomes a 24/7 ordeal like hers. He wakes up with a jr staff member or two crawling into bed asking what they are having for breakfast at the board meeting that morning and if he can reach a file folder for them on the top shelf. Someone interrupts his shower with a mundane question that could have easily have waited. He heads down stairs to get coffee but the coworker before him is drinking that last cup and no one bought any more to make, oh and the donuts are all done too and three others are asking him what else they can have for the visiting high school kids for bring your kids to work day. He breaks away for a necessary bathroom trip only to be interrupted as he drops his pants by someone needing an emergency signature..... His day continues in a similar fashion. As he heads to his car, he realizes that his boss is in it with him and making the drive home talking about high level, A game stuff....oh and he's staying for dinner too. Finally dinner is over and bedtime approaches and a call comes in from a foreign customer with urgent, but unimportant assistance needs. He's woken up several times in the night by same customer whining over minute details that don't really matter and just when he finally settles into a good sleep, those same two jr associates wake him up wondering again about a breakfast option.

You get the idea. Anyway, I think it could be made into a hysterical movie if done by the right people.

Friday Kid Update

Joshua- My sweet boy is a big kid now. He can be the best helper ever, like last week when he woke up early on laundry day, and so gathered up everyone's laundry and took it down to the basement before I was even awake. ***He also LOVES to help with Toots. He likes getting to her after nap before me because he's figured out how to push the rocking chair over to the crib and then get her out. He only bonks her about half the time....which are odds that he finds completly acceptable. I think she must too because she never fusses when he comes to get her. ***He does wonderful school work, when he feels like finally doing it. He must have a fabulous imagination because he can sit in front of his work book for hours doing nothing....then when he decides to finish he just whips out great school work. I flipped thru some school eval books the other day at the library while the kids played and I think he's about 2nd or 3rd grade reading level and probably 2nd grade math. So, I'm counting this year of school a success! He's fallen in LOVE with the Billy and Blaze books. I got two from the library for him and he's read both of them every day since...must find some more in the series! He loves to read and is thrilled that he nows get quiet reading time instead of naps most days. He quite happily stays on his bed and reads for 2 hours.....I can say that he gets that from me!

Leah- She's my little princess....that just happens to also play in the mud and dirt. She will quickly let you know that she only likes to play with the little worms, not the big long ones like Joshua. ***She also is a little helper. This morning after breakfast, she cleaned all of the downstairs rooms so they would be ready for me to vacuum. I went upstairs to work on some laundry and heard her messing around in the kids bathroom. I walked down to find her cleaning it too. Now if I can just get her cooking, then I can almost retire, lol! ***She has a big scratch across her neck right now. She fell off of a friends slide last weekend. Poor baby. It is healing really well though, thank you Lord for Super Salve.

Hannah- Is a bouncing, busy, blond haired, blue eyed little charmer. She's growing quickly too. ***She has begun idolizing her Lala and follows her around all over the house playing. This morning while Leah cleaned in the bathroom, Hannah happily sat at her feet playing with the pony tail holders. I asked Hannah if she wanted to come back down with me and she said NO***which, btw, is her new favorite word, sigh. She sits and just says NO NO....NO NO LALA, NO NO BUBBA.....NO NO. We are working this week on her learning that that sentiment doesn't work for Mommy. ***She eats like a horse. Seriously, girl out eats me every meal and most of the rest of the family too. She wakes up saying, oatmeal?, breakfast?, Lunch??, EAT??***She calls Robert, Doe. It is pretty funny. The other kids have started calling us Doe and Moe and so she calls him Doe. It is so cute. If he is the one that puts her down for nap or if she knows he's home in the morning, she calls "DOOOOEEE" "DOOOOEEEE" and if he doesn't answer she's say, in a sassy little voice, "DOE, TOOTS!" He and I die laughing, every time.

We again attended the Medina Tax Day Tea Party today. It was really really wonderful. You want to know why? Every speaker, every single one of them that we got to hear, stood, literally, in the town square and talked about turning our country over to God again. I was BLOWN AWAY! Praise God for His name being proclaimed in the town square!! May He be praised and worshiped thru the actions of this current administration.
********************************************

In other news, I feel really fat. I'm heavier now than I've been non pregnant ever. For some reason, I am putting weight on. I'm not eating great, but not horrible either. I've actually reduced my overall calories a good bit since weaning Hannah. I'm working out, though sporadically. It just doesn't make alot of sense. I could understand if I wasn't losing right now, but putting weight on is making no sense at all. Guess I'm going to have to buckle down and cut out all of the bad stuff. This is pushing my limits here.

I am doing some intense cleansing right now. I did the Young Living 5 Day Nutritive Cleanse. Then, I immediately started a YL Liver cleanse support, Juvatone and two digestive enzymes to help with the lack of digestion that was creating my gout problem, Essentialzyme and Polyzyme. I've been doing that for a few weeks now and now I've added in a kidney and bladder support, K&B. It should take me another month to finish all of these ups and get back to just a maintenance level of the enzymes. Hopefully then, my liver and gall bladder will be healed enough not to cause me problems if the Lord blesses us with another arrow for our quiver.

I feel like I should post something here, but don't feel like there is much to post right now. Things are clicking along well, funny how that coincides with the BEAUTIFUL weather we've had the last week. We've had 5 record breaking temps already this month. We are LOVIN it!!!! The kids are getting an awesome base tan for the summer, although I am learning about the different skin of a blond haired blue eyed girl, than my two darker children. Gonna have to put sun block on Hannah often. She has ended up slightly burned every night....oops. The rest of us don't burn unless we are in full sun for a full day.

Robert has decided to join me in the Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred program. He is dieing.....it's that good! Seriously, it is the best workout I've ever done. If you are a workout kind of Mama, or need to be, this thing will kick your tail into shape real fast. And hey, it is in your own home, so moan and whine away. You'll be glad you did it!

Trying to get our diets back in line with a healthy lifestyle. So much easier to do in the summer months with abundance of fresh produce and warm salad weather. I'm going to try soaking our oatmeal tonight instead of quick cooking it like normal. Also looking into more probiotic foods, on the list to try next is Miso soup.

HE IS RISEN!!!!!

Today we celebrate Resurrection Day, aka Easter. It is the celebration of the Messiah's resurrection from the tomb, conquering death and sin! For us, he made himself sin, who knew no sin to be sin. He was cursed, mocked, beaten, broken and hung on a cross. Three days later he rose again and showed himself to hundreds of people walking, talking and eating. He ascended to heaven and TODAY he sits at the right hand of God the father and intercedes for our sins. Our sins are forgiven, if we will confess them and accept his sacrifice for us on the cross. We are then a new creature and walk with him daily until he calls us home to be with him for eternity. If you don't know these truths in your heart, ponder them, read a bible, ask a friend. I'd love to talk to you about it. He changes life. He is life.

I am blessed.

Friday Kid Update

A little comparison picture from our recent visit to the Creation Museum. Amazing how fast the littles are growing up.

I'd love to post about all of the kids doings for the week, but we are too busy outside soaking up sun and 70 degree weather. So enjoy the pictures!