And you thought it couldn't get worse...

So if you thought yesterdays post was bad.... you won't believe today.   It's actually too bad to even go into details about.  However, it clearly ranks as the second worst day of "mom duty" I have ever had.   Which of course bears the question, what was the first worst?   You may be sorry you asked.

When my oldest son was between 10-16 months old, we went to Damon's with two other couples friends of ours.  (Luckily, they are still our friends, even today)   We were eating dinner and hanging out with my son in a high chair at the end of the table.   Within a short period of time, he went from being happy and okay to having this look of "not okay" on his face.   Of course, I got concerned and started to watch him more closely to make sure he was okay.   Then the smell came!   I thought, "well that must be why he didn't look okay, he just filled his diaper."   Oh no, it was much worse then that.    He had exploded his diaper!   Not just seeping out the sides and onto his pants; no exploded out the top, onto the highchair and even the FLOOR!   In the middle of Damon's!!!!   I'm getting ready to carry him to the bathroom to basically give him a sink bath in the restaurant, when my husband declares he has to leave for work.

Now granted, staying did mean he was going to be late, but how could you leave your wife in such a situation!!!   Luckily my friend followed me to the bathroom as I carried my son at arms length out through the restaurant.   The other members of our party, covered the "evidence" on the floor with napkins and moved to another booth close by.   I must have been in the bathroom about 20-30 minutes trying to clean off my son.   I ended up trashing the clothes (which probably made the bathroom smell lovely for the rest of the evening).  

Then I returned to the table, kindly cleaned up as much of the high chair as I could and informed our waitress of the "issue".   Then I had to sit and continue to hang out (when I of course wanted to run home and hide my head in embarrassment) because I was riding home with our friends so my husband could go to work.  

That was truly a horrible evening.... of course, no fault to my son at all.   I guess part of it was first child syndrome and not really knowing what was going on.

So today only compared lightly to that, but it was still bad.   I'm guessing we went through about $15 worth of pull-ups between my two completely potty trained twins. 

Yep!  This is my life :D

Another one bites the dust...

Beware... puke stories ahead... do not read if you're stomach turns easily...

Well, I'm pretty sure it started with the Superbowl game.   Our family all gets together, including 13 children, and we seem to always exchange germs.  I got sick first and was down for pretty much 2 days.  The my oldest got it while at home group on Thursday.   Luckily, we stayed home from church on Sunday to give everyone a chance to rest and to try and prevent the spread of more sickness.  My daughter got sick, luckily no throwing up, on Sunday with a fever and one of the twins got it Sunday afternoon, again no throwing up.  However, the luck didn't last long... last night, the other twin threw up in the middle of the night and just now my 2nd oldest was bowing to the porcelain god.   Does it get any better than this?   My parents and husband may have the bug too, although it seems to be working the other end for them.   I know, I know... TMI!  Sorry.

I'm just looking forward to the day when everyone is old enough to make it to a toilet or a bowl.   Unfortunately, this was not that time.   I've spent two nights cleaning up puke which is absolutely NO FUN!  

However, in the midst of all this, I am thankful for a few things.  One, the kids got it before performance time for the play.   Two, I think we're done now, it's been through everyone in one form or fashion.  Three, my house was overdue for a good bleaching, and this certainly calls for a good cleaning.  

So to all my readers, I hope your families are well and if you get a second today and think about it, please pray for the health of ours. 

Good night....

What's Your Superpower?

My kids love playing all of the Mario Bros games on the Wii.   Currently they have been spending time playing Mario and Sonic at the Olympics and Mario Super Sluggers.   In the game, each character has a superpower that helps them get ahead or win.   One of my older sons said the little ones weren't winning cause they didn't know how to use their superpower.  

Then I thought, wouldn't it be cool if we had superpowers.  Some unique power that enabled us to help people that not everyone could do.

Then the lightbulb went off over my head.   We DO have superpowers.   God has gifted each of us with unique talents and giftings.   Some are great at hospitality, some at administrative, some at leading, some at executing, and so on.   These gifts are given to us to help people with things they themselves cannot do and to support  the overall body of Christ.

Scripture supports this in 1 Corinthians 12: 27-28

"Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.  And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues."

With the volume of people in the world, sure there are others with the same gift or superpower as you.   But in your local body of Christ, you have a place to fill, a job to do, a purpose.   So I encourage you to find out what your superpower is and USE IT!! 

Dances, Cheesecake, and Snow

What a crazy week.   I got sick on Sunday of this week with a cold.  Then we had family over for the Superbowl game.   We all exchanged germs and since I was already sick, I came down with a stomach bug.   It didn't hit until Tuesday, but then I was out of commission until part way through Wed.   I was hoping no one else in the family would get it, but unfortunately, my oldest got it on Thursday.   Oh how quickly plans get changed when you've got a stomach bug going through the house.  

My daughter went to her first Father Daughter dance last night at her school.   We did her hair up in hot rollers and she wore a beautiful Cinderella dress that was given to us by her cousins.   She looked gorgeous and what better date could she have then her daddy.   Here's some pics from last night...

Then my hubby and I got to enjoy a date night out to The Cheesecake Factory.   YUM!  It was so delicious and we had a good time.   I've been counting calories since the beginning of the year and realized today that my meal yesterday was 2000 calories.   Holy cow!   I figured when we were going there that yesterday was shot, so I enjoyed it regardless.   He also got me a dozen pink roses before we left, what an awesome guy!

Everything else has been going well lately too.   The kids are enjoying play practice and it's been fun to sit and watch everything they are learning.   I think it's going to be a good show.  Who knew Shakespeare could be so funny -- well I guess it is a comedy... so there you go. 

I've been enjoying our "winter" weather lately.  Its the middle of February and we've had more sunshine than I can remember.  We even pulled down the kids bikes and had them outside quite a bit over the past few weeks.   Alas, the fun is over though as I look outside to the blizzardy weather.   I'm just thankful for the sun while it lasted.

I hope all is well with all of you.   Have a great weekend and Happy Valentine's Day!

Still hanging in there

It's been much too long since I've been on here.    It seems like the same old stuff is going on, but in truth lots has been happening.  

We've finally hit the financial woes I've been expecting.   Praise the Lord we didn't hit them until January when I honestly expected them in November.   My husband is working full time in the trades now and one of the major downfalls is the up and down nature of work, especially in the winter.   The blessing, I've been able to see lots more of my husband this week and I enjoy spending time with him.    The bad side is our stock on everything is running low.   I ran out of laundry soap, light bulbs and batteries last week.   All necessary but slightly expensive stuff.   Praise the Lord, I found another jug of ALL in the laundry room.   Most of our monthly money goes to my parents for rent and payment on a loan.  They were gracious enough to let us pay our other bills for now.   So I was able to buy batteries because some things in the house just needed them.   I'm looking forward to tax return time and praying for more money to come in the door.  

School has been going well with the boys.   We're definitely in a groove and I feel like they are learning things.   What more could I ask for :D

Our schedule has gotten really busy since the beginning of the year.   The boys started playing basketball and my three eldest children are in a local play.   So we've been bouncing between play practice and basketball for them.   My husband started playing basketball with some men from a local church which is great for him to get out and exercise too!   I've been hanging out with friends and getting the "me" time that I desperately look forward to every week.  

So I've been away for a while, but still hanging in there.  Please pray for God to continue to meet our financial needs.