Hi, my name is Holly and I am a book addict

I have always loved to read, collect paper, and notebooks, etc my entire life!! If my magazines came in the mail bent up, I would cry. I have a book that I got in 1988 that still looks brand new. I love books and I love to take care of them. So, this has been a sore spot in my parenting life, because while I love them, I dont want my kiddos to mess them up. I have somewhat gotten over that, because I truly want my children to read. Take a look at the photos of my addiction.

The above is my homeschooling books. Some of these are double rowed. You know what is bad? I have 10 1st grade book curriculums, and I only have 4 potential 1st graders. I guess we need to get busy making more??

This is our personal collection of grown up books. I almost said adult books, but we don't have anything to do with those at all, and don't want to appear like we do, either.

This is some of the books on my bed while I was sorting them. Stay tuned for the next post. It has something really really cute on it.

Thursday ramblings...dentist and laundry

Why do I love Dr. Pepper so much? Why can't it taste like crap? If it did, then I wouldn't want it. Sheesh.... Okay, today is a new day and I haven't succumbed to the temptation. It is so hard to give it up, but then when I do for weeks, just one brings me back. I am glad it's not drugs I am addicted to.

On to other things....Today I take my 6 year old to the dentist for a baby root canal. Sounds painful, but my 9 year old has had 3. Its kind of nice to take someone else to a doctor for a change. Rachel went yesterday for her 1 year (2 months late) and she is weighing in at 14 lbs 15 oz. Head is 15 cm. That means, it has grown 2 inches since birth. You would think that is tiny, but compared to the rest of her body, she is completely proportionate. And beautiful...if I do say so myself.

I finished the laundry!!!!! I washed so many loads that I went through a huge box of Gain. I got rid of about 20 boxes full of clothing. Now I just need to have a garage sale or consign them all. Clothing is just one of the many things we have too much of. When we have this sale, I am gonna be rich!!!! I wont buy more stuff with it, you can be sure of that.

Last night, we went to Wal Mart and bought diapers! Tons of diapers. I bought some coupons on Ebay and plan to use them all by march, when they expire. So, we bought 5 bags yesterday. I don't know where I will put them all, but when you got two in diapers, you need to stock up. It is only the right thing to do...LOL.

Hi, Joann. I am glad you like this rambling blog. You need one! They are great...just type your feelings, and retain it for posterity. Let me know where yours is, and we can read each other.

tuesdays failings...

2 pops today!!! Many many loads of laundry done. Nuff said...

Sunday morning blahs

Boy, I really fell of the wagon this last couple of days. Kitchen-horrible//paperwork-not done//pop-2 yesterday//fast food-wendys chicken sandwich and caeser salad. MAN!! Failed big time. BUT.....I am back on track and ready to start over. Its not hard once you set it in place. Wish me luck...

Heartburn, and other agonizing thoughts.

Went to the eye doctor yesterday for Rachel, and she has made alot of progress apparently. She looked at more cards this time, and doesn't appear to be crossing her left eye as much. I think the first time, she was tired, so it may not have been an accurate test, but who knows. She does appear more alert though, so that would help her focusing ability.

Yesterday, no ear ringing. WOOHOO!! I thought it was done. Until this morning.....its like a little faithful pet, just there in case I decide to pet it. UGH! I am not enjoying the thought in the least. Jaw hurt all day yesterday, but feels better today. I would almost prefer the jaw pain over the ringing.

Last night stunk!! Hubby and I went out to eat and enjoyed a baked potato with bacon and cheese. Drank water with lemon. Got broccoli cheddar soup to pour on potato. Not a bad meal at all one would think. Went to bed at 11. At 11:30 it felt like heartburn coming on. OH NO! Sure enough, 12:30 full blown heartburn attack that made me cry, it was that bad. At 1:00 I decided to go sit in the recliner, because I couldn't lay down at all. Stayed there until 3:00. Couldn't get to sleep due to the heater off and on noise. Crawled back in bed, still hurting but not as badly. Fell asleep shortly after 3:30. Woke up at 7:30. Wouldn't you love to be me?? I have never had an attack that badly, and it makes me mad, because we ate early enough, I didn't drink soda. I didn't gorge. So why does this happen. Nothing over the counter works at all....so I am forced to endure the agony.

Weight is 242.6....Hubby was 206

Kitchen messy but manageable. No pop...No fast food.

Paperwork a day behind.

Family happy...God bless em.

Ear ringing, and sick child...FUN!

Okay, so....I missed yesterday. It feels strangely disconcerting. I was doing multiple posts everyday and then to miss a day is odd. Oh well...I am here now anyway.

Still no pop or fast food, BUT for some reason this morning I weighed 245.7. HUH?? What is that about? I did drink a TON of water yesterday, so maybe I am retaining. I do think I am ovulating, but does one retain water when they ovulate? I usually weigh less when I am on my monthly, so maybe I do it backwards. Anyway, TMI....but no one reads this anyway.

My right ear is killing me with all this ringing. It is intermittent, but constant. Meaning I can move my jaw and it will go away for 2 seconds, but then starts again immediately. It isn't making me dizzy and it doesn't hurt, but dang, the annoyance!!!! I have tried drops, popping my ear, smacking it in frustration...Nothing takes care of it. The drops filled my ear, like when you submerge it in water, but it still rang. Weird!! Just as I was typing this, I moved my jaw yet again for a little relief from the loud buzz and my jaw bone popped very loudly. My daughter sitting next to me heard it. Now its making a crackling sound, but the ear is still ringing. Too bad it didn't help that. ARGH!!

On to other things. Last night, at 4-H, Aaron decided to throw up outside the church. That was fun. Poor guy. He woke up at 4:30 feeling sick to his stomach, and then proceeded to throw up every time he walked around, but when he would lay he was fine. So, I didn't think he was sick per se, just nauseated or dizzy. I let him go to 4-H because he was fine from 3:00 on, so it may have just been the ride to the church. He was okay for the rest of the evening. Hope no one else decides to do this.

We go tomorrow to the big city to take Rachel to her eye doctor. She is crossing her left eye, and they think its due to the brain disability, so she sees a pediatric, neurological eye doctor. I still cant believe that a regular optician told me that she wasn't crossing at all, that it was just due to large nasal skin folds. Hmmph...I was right!

I keep wondering if I should make this blog somewhat public. I like the idea, and it scares me to death all in one. I am a very private person mostly, unless you are a very close friend of mine. I don't seek out relationships, and am much like a hermit. My social children don't understand that for the life of them. I have lots of wonderful things to share, and I have learned lots from other blogs, but I just don't know. I don't want scrutiny of my writing style, or my lifestyle for that matter. SO it will stay somewhat private for now. If you stumble here by accident, and like what you see, tell me. Otherwise, please move on. I am fragile. LOL.

Sunday afternoon musings...

I like this pound of weight loss a day thing. I have heard, however, that it's not healthy to lose more than 2 pounds a week. I am not really sure why it's coming off so fast, unless I really was ingesting alot of calories in pop and Wendy's. I was eating 1 or 2 chicken sandwiches every night, and sometimes we got fast food breakfast.

I am not exercising yet, unless you count the massive housecleaning stuff, which is tiring. I am not sedentary, so I guess I am just burnin' the calories.

Weight this morning was 243.0 the first time, and 242.4 the second time, but I will believe the first one. Hubby was 209.0.

Went to church and will go again tonight. We are taking a class on finances, so it should be interesting. We haven't had very good church attendance this last year, so we shall see how this year goes.

Saturday progress report #1

Kitchen-falling apart slowly...must get back on that.

Paperwork-kept up on...proud of myself. This was a big one.

Weight-244. Lost 2 pounds since I started. Most excellent.

Sugar-none except the very occasional bite of chocolate or bread

Junk food-nothing except a half a chicken sandwich from Wendy's tonight with a salad for dinner

I feel good about my progress.

The huge shoe fest of 2007

Okay, I promised to put this out there....so here it is. Shoes for a family of 10. Not even all of them. The line went so long, I had to take a second photo. This is only representative of matching pairs. Yes, we have some of only one shoe....
The buckets after we pared down to 3 pairs for each kid, with the exeption of the older people. We actually got 4 pairs. Casual, dress, slip ons, and work.
Wow....never been this organized before. Still is after 6 days too!! Even the 2 year old puts his shoes back in the "cubbie" when he is done. You cant see it on the pics, but we even have tiny little baby shoes, and they are on top. Not that she really wears them, but we have 'em.

Weight loss

Oh, the pressure. I just joined a community weight loss thing. No winners or anything like that, but its the accountability that will benefit me. Our state is too fat...like alot of states I am sure. It would be nice if they had some kind of winner from each county, but alas, that would be too difficult.

I have done perfectly on my sugar/junk addiction. I am not even craving it. It's weird. I had such a sweet tooth. I am just glad I am so motivated.

Hubby isn't that overweight, but he is somewhat. He is on the same diet as I am, and has also lost one pound since the 1st. WooHoo!! I have always been big. Even when I went on a radical exercise low calorie diet, I only got down to 182. Much better than now, but still large I suppose. He was big when we married, then got really little during our radical plan (like 155) and everyone thought he had cancer or something, then got to around 205-210 and has stayed there for several years.

It seems like we have so much to do, but it doesn't feel that overwhelming. Kept the paperwork in order...kept the kitchen up...kept the kids fed and happy. Go me!!!!

Homeschooling

Just got the kids into their school work. Homeschooling a lot of kids is difficult in that I have lots of 1 copy of curriculum's, and I have multiple children doing some of the same work. I don't want to spend all day copying it (and some you cant copy anyway) and they all like to write directly on the workbooks. Ugh! So, do I force them to write answers on paper, or do I purchase a copy for every child? That could be expensive. I have bought lots of lifepacs on ebay and they are what we are using right now. The oldest child is allowed to write in the books, because it keeps him focused more, but I am in a quandary for the rest.

They are enjoying snack time right now, so fudge bars and homework all around.

Homeschooling has been so rewarding for me, but it also has been the most difficult thing I have ever encountered. What if they aren't learning enough for the real world?? I am not the strictest of homeschoolers....I tend to focus on the reading, writing, and arithmetic parts of school, and let them lead the rest. I know I never use chemistry or geometry in my daily life...so why did I need it? If they show an interest when I introduce them to it, we go for it. But if not, we move on. Maybe they need it when they are a little older, and I just need to let them mature a bit.

My 16 year old loves history now...so he is voraciously reading and working on history. But when he was 10, he hated history. That's what I mean.

My daughter struggled for years with a reading disability that I am sure would have made traditional school horrible for her. We persevered and she reads fine now. We just have to catch up. That's the joys of homeschooling. You can work with the individual child until they get it. I love that. Too many parents give up when they think that the child is having problems, but that's just what they don't need to do. Children learn at their own pace, and if given time, will flourish just fine.

Good morning, Friday

Well, we woke up this morning and both of us lost a pound! Progress is needed to keep going, you know? So yeah for us!! It would really stink to give up all our vices and see nothing in return.

Still gonna put pics of the before and after of the shoes and possibly kitchen when we upload them from the camera. We are borrowing the coolest DSLR camera from one of the hubby's customers. It's worth over 1000.00. I want it soo bad!! He may sell it to us, and then buy the newest version for himself, but isn't sure yet. I am taking tons of photos while I have it.

Now that the kitchen is decluttered and shiny, I feel the need to cook all the time. Trouble is, I don't have any idea what I want to cook. I have a ton of those Taste of Home annuals. I love them....but it's the whole writing it down and shopping for them that makes it blah for me. I know, that's stupid, but when your unorganized and impulsive, you want it to be easy. Plus, every time I cook something new, it's guaranteed to flop for at least 2 or 3 of the pickier children. They don't like change much.

Onward and upwards......Must get on the living room now. I have maintained the kitchen long enough that it seems manageable now. With the 16 year old doing the dishes, and the 14 year old sweeping.....its only a matter of clearing the bars and counters and keeping up with the computer area. We have a big kitchen.......with lots of hotspots. I am doing it though!!! Thank God.

You can kind of see hubby in the back of baby girl

He didn't much like the other photos of him, so we settled on this one. Plus you get to see the cute baby again.

my oldest...the one who made me a mommy

Austin...helping serve at our church dessert theater. So professional looking.

The next two beautiful children

Ashley and Nathan....She is his favorite person in the house.

the middle boys

Counterclockwise with the biggest kid...Adam, Aaron, Braydon, and Conner

My little girl

This is my little baby girl. She is one year old here. Isn't she adorable?

me....

Here is a pic of me, should anyone care. I happen to like this picture. I rarely take good photos.

15 things I love about having so many children

1.Seeing them all playing together and having fun

2.Discovering legos again and again. Those things can build a ton!

3.There is never any time to groan about nothing to do.

4.Having a little tiny hand on one cheek, and a pair of toothy gums kissing my other cheek.

5.When your having a bad day, they can make you laugh and forget about it all.

6.When one can drive and do errands for me.

7.Playing hi ho cheerio keeps you young at heart.

8.Smelling the fruity hair fresh from a bath.

9. Going to the park and being able to have an excuse to swing or hang upside down on the monkey bars.

10.There is never any amount of quietness. I hate quiet.

11.When we go to the ice cream store, I can get samples from at least 6 childrens cones.

12.Buying in bulk really is cheaper.

13.Always having a reason to pull out those tiny newborn clothes.

14.Watching each one grow up and do amazing things never gets old.

15.Knowing that at any given time, I can grab any child and snuggle.

yet another post about stuff

Man, I sure hope my enthusiasm continues for this thing. If so, I will have lots to read through in a few years. I hope blogger doesnt crash and lose stuff...that would stink.

Another goal for this year....to keep track of our finances. My husband is self employed and I am the non paid secretary. This is the 5th year, and I never have everything under control at tax time. I procrastinate and cram at the last minute, getting it done, but with tons of stress and worry. I now have a goal to keep it all under control, and write down expenses and income the same day. No more writing it on a paper to reconcile later.

As day number 3 comes to a close, I am proud to say that kitchen and shoes still look good, no pop or fast food junk, and all business related items are accounted for. Only 353 days left....sheesh.

Off to purge the little boys room of toys that they dont play with. I did this already, but there is still more. I think they reproduce overnight. Wish me luck...