IT'S THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!!

Well, not really. It is for a few of them, but not all of them. Here's the crazy breakdown: Full day started today for Kara and Brian.... half-day for Ben...... no school for Sara, Philip or Kaleigh. Tomorrow, Full day for Kara, Ben, Brian and Philip...... Kaleigh goes to college on Saturday. Sara starts afternoon preschool next Wednesday SOOO, I am enjoying today however, Next Wednesday is truly my favorite day fo the year! :)
I have figured out that this year I will have at least one child in each school from preschool to college. That is sick and twisted and a LOT of fundraisers that I will have to deal with. Not to mention parent/teacher conferences. So please, do NOT ask me what cluster my kids are in, as I will always say "8-1" no matter what.
Today we realized that Kara has one pair of shoes that fit. Barefoot in the summer is one thing.... they frown upon that at school. So, one more shopping excursion and we should be good for a while. School shopping for and WITH 6 kids can be somewhat of a nightmare. I went to the mall with 5 of them on Monday. I giggled a bit because the only people at the mall were moms with 3 plus kids with them. The line at Burger King was very very long. I told the kids that we were getting 2 pairs of pants each and 4 shirts, MAX! They stuck with it. No one argued back. Hooray! Mission accomplished. I am sure They will all grow in the next 4-6 weeks and I'll have to shop again but this time, I will shop alone. ;)
Kellie

Day - O! Daaaaaay - O......

Forgive me, for it has been a week since my last blog. I was sick..... then the husband...... then one son..... then one daughter..... then BAM! THREE at once..... one little indian left who hasn't gotten the vicious sniffles. THEY ARE VICIOUS! Not sure what the deal was with this cold but it was killer and not much keeps me down. This knocked me down for two days straight, and I am still not completely better but you know the rule; "MOMS CANNOT BE SICK!" It simply is not allowed. I do not understand this rule. Don't get me wrong; I don't enjoy being sick but how come no one tucks me in or waits on me when I'm sick? I still hear "MOM! I'M BORED!! CAN I HAVE $20 TO WASTE?" "MOM! WHAT'S FOR BREAKFAST/LUNCH/DINNER?" "MOM! I NEED SCHOOL CLOTHES! LOTS OF THEM! MAKE SURE THEY ARE FULL PRICE RETAIL AND NOT ON SALE!"
This makes me insane.
For the littlest indian, the 4 year old, she has been able to dodge the cold however, it was brought to my attention that she was exposed to the chicken pox. Yes.... her little friend has been vaccinated and caught them anyway. The two week incubation period brings us right into the first week of school, of course! We'll see but as my luck goes, we'll have the "birdy things".
I would like to also share something gross... this past weekend we went to Water Country. Us and everyone from Massachusetts, I believe. I have never seen it so crowded. There was a waiting line to get in the wave pool!! Anyway, Sara and I were partners so I took her on the kiddie stuff and the lazy river (my personal favorite... I could stay on that all day!). One of the kiddie pools has an octopus water slide in it. Sara was LOVING that! I saw one little girl (2 yrs old maybe) with her overzealous mom in an almost exploding diaper; not a swimmy one, a regular one. If you are a mom, you know what those things look like water logged. SO, I asked one of the lifeguards what the rules were on diapers in the pool? I was completely ignored. Not five minutes later did I notice poo near me in the water....more and more as I looked. The lifegaurd saying "please move away from this part of the pool". GROSS ME OOUUUUTTTT! How about "GET OUT OF THE POOL! GRAB A BRILLO AND SCRUB DOWN YOUR SKIN AND YOUR CHILDREN!" Bathe in the Purel!!! I wanted to vomit. I soon saw a couple of my teenagers who had been awarded entry into the wave pool. They said the water tasted like sweaty human! eww. and ewww. SO..... I am thinking there better be a whole lotta pool shock going into the water at Water Country or people all over New England are going to be suffering from cholera!
Alright... a good note. School begins next week! My kids are relatively healthy and safe. The dishes are done for the moment and dinner tonight is potluck at church so no dinner dishes at home! yay! It's the little things that keep me happy!

Kellie

WEDNESDAY'S CHILD FULL OF WOE! or WHOA?

SO just when you think you are at your wits end with your kids, they ALWAYS do something or say something that erases your negative thoughts.... or you get to watch them sleeping, when they always look so peaceful and innocent. This is how we get through it! I believe they are SUPPOSED to push us to our wits end. This is how we know how much we love them, because we keep them. :)
Speaking of parenting, I found myself watching an episode (and a half) of Malcolm in the Middle last night. I do not watch much TV and never watched this show when it was on primetime. Let me tell you, I was about in tears watching this show last night! I was laughing! The mom is psychotic, but realistically so! The tv show house is a wreck, like a real life house with a family of four boys! I definitely need to watch more episodes of this. It makes me feel good to know that there is at least one show that depicts real life!! (other than Seinfeld...)
Football starts today for the boys. They had to be there for 7:30am. They will be exhausted when they get home (not until 6:00pm) and then do it again tomorrow! and Friday! and all next week! :) THEN SCHOOL STARTS! HOORAY!
Check out the Frugal Feast recipe today! I'm making it for dinner tonight..... but with chicken. :)

Kellie

16 days!

SCHOOL STARTS IN 16 DAYS! My favorite commercial ever is the Staples one where the dad is dancing through the aisles to "it's the most wonderful time of the year!" while his kids just stand there. This is exactly how I feel! The summer has been LOOOOOOOOOOONG to say the least. We haven't gone on a family vacation this summer due to budget constraints and Kaleigh is off to college in 2 1/2 weeks. Are the kids on my nerves? Of course! 'Tis the season! Am I on their nerves? Of course! I told them that would happen at the beginning of the summer. I also told them that if they didn't go to camp, they would be bored. Guess what? I was right! and now they want to go to camp..... too late, people. Next year you are going no matter what!
On the upside, we have definitely bonded with out most recent family addition, Brian. We have seen everyone's good, bad and ugly side this summer.... more than once! We are all still here!
I am also on a "pitching" spree. I have pitched so many articles of clothing, stuffed animals and un-essentials from this house in the past week. Not exactly thrown out, since that actually costs me money to do now with the purple bags.... they have gone to assorted places like Goodwill, Salvation Army and Ch. II Thrift Shop. I spread it out because there is so much of it, it would be unfair to inundate ONE place with my chaos. I have MUCH more to sort through. I haven't even STARTED with the downstairs yet! Or my own bedroom! I really to rent that dumpster and throw everything out and start over. I will refurnish with Ikea. :) I just love it there.... if you haven't been, you gotta go. It's a full day's trip there and wear your sneakers!

I hear a 4 year old crying (fake crying)... better check it out.....

Kellie