A Campout

I pulled the tent into the house and the kids have had fun all week playing in it. Today, we put a comforter on the ground. Everyone got a flash light, and we pretended to be on a camp out. The kids would take turn telling me which kinds of animals were outside the tent, and I would let them know if we were in any danger of being eaten. For example, they saw a giraffe, and a told them that we would just give him some grass to eat, but he wouldn't eat us. When it was an animal capable of devouring us, whomever told me about the animal would get eaten. So, Jaden said that she saw a lion, so I scared her by attacking her when she wasn't paying attention (with a quick and harmless grab on her ribs). They all screamed when someone was attacked, and of course, it got WILD. They had a lot of fun, so that's what matters.

A look back to the same season, different years

Jaden~ October 2004

Jaden~ October 2005

Jaden~October 2006


Morgan~October 2007
Jaden~ October 2007

**Where does the time go? Were my babies really this small? They seem so grown now!

Climb every mountain...

I almost completed the laundry mountain this weekend... just a pile of socks left to match up. When I put all of the clean laundry together on top of a couple of blankets, I didn't think I would ever be able to get it done in one weekend. Some how, I did.. I hope this coming week is not as hectic as last week, so that I can get some laundry done during the week.

That's what I get...

I don't blog complaints much at all. I finally had to get that off of my chest yesterday, and I made it worse for myself. FATE decided to give me something to complain about. I will not go into the details because I KNOW everything could be much worse (but it is still day care related). I am very grateful to have the life that I have... Did you hear that world?!?!?
So, on a different note. The kids have a new favorite book. It's called Five Little Monkeys Sitting in a Tree by Eileen Christelow. I have 4 of the Little Monkeys books that are in Spanish and English that I read to them, but this one is their favorite. When it comes to the part where the crocodile snaps, I randomly use my hand as the crocodile's mouth to snap one of the kids in the belly. It startles them, and they all laugh. I gets them REALLY excited, so it is definitely not something to do before a nap! It is even better when I read it t them in Spanish because they don't know when to expect the "snap". Plus, with repetition, surely some of the words will be remembered. I am VERY tired... So, I am going to dream of a CALGON episode.

My Little Rant

First, I will apologize to everyone who is waiting for an e-mail response from me: I'm sorry. I will respond soon. I promise. This week has been worse than others. The other weeks, I work about 12 hours a day with the kids. This week, it is even more. I get up at 4:45AM. The kids are here by 5:15AM. Somehow they have a lot of energy, even though they just woke up. The kids start to leave around 4:30PM, and the last one is usually gone by 5:30PM... It is this last child that is dragging my day out. It isn't his fault, of course. When 5:30PM arrives, I am ready to crash. After everyone is gone, I still have to give my kids a bath, fix dinner, and clean the house for the next day. Ideally, I would be in bed by 8:30PM. It doesn't happen that way most days, which makes my next day that much worse from lack of sleep.

Anyway, this last child... I have been having problems with his mother because she makes a lot of stops before she picks him up. She doesn't want to take him on her errands. I want him to be picked up by 5:00PM, and since she gets off at 4:00PM, this shouldn't be a problem. This week, she has training until 6:00PM. Today, she called me at 6:15PM to ask if she could stop at the grocery store before she picked him up. I said "No. Why don't you just let me pick up the things you need when I go." Of course, I didn't want to go out to the store after my long day, but I figured it was better than having to watch her son for an additional 30 minutes to an hour (with no extra pay, I might add). She said, "OK, that'll work." 7:00PM came and went with no sign of her. She showed up at 7:30PM with a full tank of gas and 10 bags of groceries... But wait, the story continues... She left my home, and 10 minutes later, she was calling me on my cell phone. She asked if I was going out somewhere tonight (at this point it is 8:00PM)... I said, "No, I am about to go to bed. I have to get up at 4:45AM." She proceeds to tell me about how she really would like me to drive 30 miles round-trip to pick up her son's prescription for her. This is the son that JUST left my house!!! 14 1/2 hours with kids that are not my own, and I just want to be with my family. Don't try putting logic here because she has a car, she has a full tank of gas, and she doesn't have to get up until 7:00AM tomorrow... Why would I be the one to pick up the prescription?

It has been a long road to get to that point because I am a very generous person. I do try to help people out, especially friends. She burned her "help" bridge several months ago when my whole day off was spent on running her around from place to place in my car (when she has a car and is a perfectly capable person~ she just doesn't want to do it alone)...

About a month ago, it got pretty ugly when she asked me to watch her son on a Saturday. I told her "no" and proceeded to explain why (5 days a weeks, 12 hours a day with 9 kids... I need my time with my family to recoup). Well, at 10:00PM, she sent me a text saying that she would be bringing him in the morning... The same morning I told her that I WOULDN'T watch him. I again told her "no", and told her I was serious. She was at my door that morning. When she came to pick him up later that evening, LeCount told her how wrong it was... She apologized, but it was over at that point. I had already watched him all day.

The only thing that keeps me sane at this point is knowing that they are moving to another city in about a month, so it will be over for me in a little while...

Sorry, some times itis best to just get it off your chest... WHEW!!! That feels better. Now I am going to bed. Good night!

Hip Hop Dancing

Jaden went to a Hip Hop dance class yesterday. The class was just an introductory one to see if she likes it. I am still trying to decide if we will continue with it. This video is part of what the group does. However, Jaden and the girls in her group are just at the basics. They did some dance moves including a line dance. The rest of the class was spent on balance, coordination and rhythm. Jaden LOVED the class. I could tell that it really boosted her confidence.

"I'm telling you"

I try to tell myself stories (lies) during the day in order to get through the day... Such as:
"all of this noise really isn't as bad as it seems"
"all of these 500 stains on the rug will eventually come out with dialy scrubbing"
"changing 20 diapers in a day is really not that bad"
"the children will eventually learn what not to do, and stop doing it (over and over again)"
"I won't need the time out spot in a week or two because they will all be perfect angels"
"One day, I will wake up, and I won't hear, 'uuummm, I'm telling on you!!"
You get my point. So, on with my story. One of the children I watch is CONSTANTLY telling on someone. It will be for things like:
she's looking at me
she is wearing her pink shoes, not her blue ones
she's standing on what we aren't supposed to stand on (a piece of paper)
(and the list goes on)...
Now, after weeks of hearing this, Morgan has started saying, "I'm telling... you" And when she tells someone that she is going to tell on them, she points her finger at them and scowls!!!
It was bad enough when one of them was always telling, now I have a mimic!!!
Anyway... Monday was a rough day... It started at 5:00AM, and my last child didn't leave until 7:30PM. I had 8 children for the whole day including the 10 year old. It is always harder when the older kids join us because the day is hard just having the 7 little ones at our home... add 1 more on the other age scale, and it flips everything completely. If it hadn't been for Grandma Leslie showing up for a few hours, I would have had to lock myself in the bathroom to scream for a minute or two. Plus, the fact that this week, the youngest one has to stay later than usual (and he is always the last to leave anyway)~It adds 2 more hours to my day. 14 hours of work, and I still have to clean up after they leave. I am so tired. Come back, Grandma Leslie!!!!

This video was taken at the festival.

Taking the babies to the park

Morgan abandoned her baby when she got to the bridge. I had to remind her that her baby was in the stroller.

Morgan left her baby at the top on the slide so that she could slide down alone.
Morgan finally let her baby go down the slide, but no one was there to catch her.
I'm glad this is just a baby doll. I don't think I will be putting Morgan in charge of any real babies any time soon!!!

Do NOT try these stunts at home. Morgan is fearless!

Fall Festival

We went to the annual fall festival in our small city. Our city grows every year, so this year there were even more people and more things to do. Last year, Morgan was only 9 months old, so she didn't get to enjoy it as much as she did this year. The girls got their faces painted, jumped in the bounce house, ate BBQ and snow cones, got wrapped up at the mini ER, and played a few games. There was music and entertainment. For me, it was just nice to be out of the house. Plus, in a town like ours, you are going to run into peple you know (hopefully, they are the people you want to run in to~ LOL!! Just kidding!!).

Who's Jack?

Kids can be so hilarious without even trying to be. It's funny how little sayings that we are used to using lose their meaning with small children. Of course, they learn what they mean eventually, just like we all learn. Whenever LeCount goes to put the girls in the bath tub, he always says, "Let's hit it", and Jaden knows that he is referring to getting in the bath. He used to say, "Hit the shower", even though they would use the bathtub. Along those same lines, Jaden has heard me say, "Let's hit the road" or "Let's hit the road, Jack" Jaden and I were out shopping, and as we headed to the car,
Jaden said, "Let's hit on the road"
I replied, "Hit the Road, Jack" (and then, I proceded to sing some of the words to the song)
Jaden~ "Mommy, who's Jack?"
and before I could answer that question...
Jaden~ "Is he your boyfriend?"
The first thing that popped into my head is what does a 4 year old know about boyfrends. LOL~
She learns a lot from the 7 extra kids that come to our house Monday through Friday. Especially the 10 year old (N'Yatti). She is in 5th grade. N'Yatti is constantly talking about boys, and even saying, "I am not interested in him because he used to date one of my friends!" When asked when this boy dated her friend she will tell me last year, which means 4th grade!!!! I know the "boyfriend" thing is not the same in elementary school as in high school, but still, even to do it to be grown is wild to me!! I am not ready for Jaden to be to that point. However, she did get married earlier this year... http://ilovemykids08.blogspot.com/2008/01/here-comes-bride.html
Of course, I knew it wasn't real, so it wasn't such a big deal. No boyfriends for Jaden or Morgan in elementary school, please!!

Excavation services available...

The kids have started an archaeological dig in the back yard. Now that the weather is pleasant, they do this EVERY day. They each have a plastic spoon and paper cup with their initial on it (so that I can make sure everyone brings their stuff back inside, and in case they decide to fight over whose cup is whose). I don't know who came up with the idea. I certainly didn't, but I do remember digging and making mud pies when I was little. There are several big holes in the yard already because Sparky (our puppy) started the excavation process a few months ago.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excavation
I am going to pick up some things this weekend, and have a surprise for the kids on Monday. Janet gave me the idea to bury "treasures" throughout their digging places and let them find them. Her idea was the pretty crystals or rocks that they would think were already in the ground. I will see what I can find, and update everyone on how it went.

Girly things

When Grandma Leslie came to visit on Tuesday, she brought some crafts for the kids to do (for later on down the line). When Anthony left early on Wenesday, I decided to take advantage of the mostly girl group. The 4 girls put together these foam mirrors to attach to their purses. The bottom picture is the mirror that Morgan put together all by herself!