School is 2 weeks away!!!

As the summer is nearing its close and school is about to begin here in a little over 2 weeks, id like to give an update on the kiddos as things begin to change once again around here. :-)

Joseph is now 8 years old and will be starting 2nd grade. He spent the summer swimming, playing with friends and of course watching some tv and playing video games :-)

Samuel is 6 and will be starting school!!! I'm thrilled he got the teacher I wanted him to have and I know he will love school but its hard letting another one go... :-) He has grown up so much this summer, and he is very excited to get to school and learn how to read and be in a "big kid school".

Jonathan is 3 and doing much much better with potty training. He has to be 100% potty trained to go to preschool in september so I'm not sure if he will be going or not. He is really doing well so he might just get it by then. :-) He is my wild child, full of energy and always on the go, but also so sweet and loving. He loves to be read to, and although he is speech delayed he has really come a long way this summer!

Anna is 5 months old and just doing awesome. She's a great eater and sleeper. She laughs, smiles all the time, rolls over both ways and is showing the begginnings of crawling. She curls her knees up under her and tries to move but falls onto her back. :-) I know its just a matter of time and I will have a little mover on my hands. :-)

Over the summer we vsited missouri and our friends and family there. We went swimming, went to VBS at our church, played outside, had a visit from my stepson for a month, and the older boys went camping. We had some playdates here and there, and had some visits from cousins and grandma and grandpa. It was a great summer!

I am a little sad about the summer ending, but I'm also looking forward to the school year getting underway. Mike and I will both be volunteering at the school this year so it will not only be exciting for the kids but us too!!!! With Mike's new work schedule (2 10 hour nights, 2 10 hour days) although it's rough, it is allowing him the opportunity to take part in our children's education by going and volunteering. I have done it the past 2 years and it is just incredible! I'm so looking forward to doing it again this year for both Joseph and Samuel!

Hope you all out there have a blessed school year!! Here are some pics from the summer :-)

Joseph is 8!!!!

Each year since I have been blogging, I try to blog about each child on their birthday. Today joseph is 8 years old. He is my first born biological child. (I have a stepson who is almost 15 :-) )

I remember finding out I was pregnant for the first time and how everything was exciting..... and even now.... as he is turning 8 ...... it is still exciting!

He is a sweet, sensitive child who makes me laugh, loves to cuddle and is learning to love and serve God which makes me so happy as a mommy.

He is an ideal older brother to his younger 3 siblings and he not only looks out for them but wants to help care for and teach them as well. I love seeing them interact and I look forward to seeing how those relationships continue to develop as they grow.

I could go on and on about him but I'll keep it short and sweet :-) I am so blessed to be his mom. Happy Birthday Joseph!!!

Just when you think its going good..... :-)

Well I feel I must be honest.... because it might encourage someone else having difficulty.... I was so excited last week when Jonathan seemed to be picking up potty training extremely quick, only to have him regress these past few days. I don't now what happened but he went from going on his own to the bathroom whenever he needed to go to peeing in his pants. :-(

I was a little discouraged but then I read that usually to fully potty train it takes up to 8 months and so I thought ok... let's go back to square one. So we are back to taking "big kid potty breaks" every half hour or so and hopefully he will get back in the groove quickly.

But no matter what... when I look into his sweet face and see him smiling at me I just can't be mad.... or upset.... he's just too darn cute! :-) And it helps knowing that he will get it eventually... not as fast as i orginally thought... but he WILL get it... and it just takes time and patience....

Potty training, rolling over, laughing... life :-)

Well.... we had a few milestones happen in our home these past few weeks.

First is potty training jonathan. 4 weeks ago he showed major signs of readiness but we were getting ready to go to Missouri to visit family so I wanted to wait until we got back. So 2 weeks ago this Sunday we started potty training. My "method" is to go straight to real underwear. I ask about every 30 min if he has to go, limit fluid intake and so far it's worked for the boys, we will see in a few years if it works for Anna. As for Jonathan, I'm happy to report that 2 weeks later he is about 98% there. He only has accidents trying to make it to a bathroom and those are only once a day or once every 2 days. I'm so excited and thankful to not have to buy diapers for him anymore! :-) and he is so excited to be a "big boy" :-)

Anna has decided to laugh... roll over from back to stomach and scoot across the floor. :-) I can't believe how big she is getting!!! She is 4 and 1\2 months old now..... it goes so fast!

Only 4 and 1\2 more weeks and my sammy will start kindergarten and joe will go to 2nd grade!! We are all enjoying summer but looking forward to school again too.

Here are some recent pics of the kids..... I'm so blessed!! They bring so much joy to my life!

How I do shopping and keep our family schedule easy!

I am not hugely into pinterest.... yet :-).... but I have seen some really great tips on a lot of different things. Friends have asked me in the past to share how I do my grocery shopping and so I thought id share it with whoever wanted to know.... its super simple and makes me stay on budget and have a less hectic week.

I get a piece of paper and since I go to 3 different stores I write them each down and then I write out each day of the week. Where I live we have a bunch of different stores I could go to, but the 3 I like best due to prices, ease of shopping and location, are Walmart, Sam's Club and Aldi's.

Then the first thing I do is plan a meal for each day of the week. Sometimes we do "on our own" if it's going to be a busy night or we won't be home at the same time. Then once I have planned a meal for each day of the week I write down all the things that I need for those meals under one of the stores. After that is done I add our "staples" to each store. For example milk, bread, crackers etc....

I also look at my budget ahead of time so I know how much money I can spend. I take my list shopping with me and next to each item I put in the cart, I write down next to it how much it is. I keep a tally going as I shop and if I reach my spending limit then something gets put back on the shelf until next time.

Now as far as keeping my family organized with things such as appointments and activities, a few years ago I found the best thing ever!! It's called a "Mom's Plan It Calendar"



It's great because I can put every family member in our house on the calendar and can see at a quick glance if we have conflicting activities on the same day. I then can plan ahead on how to get each person where they need to go or if I need to call and re-schedule something. I also keep this calendar right next to the phone with pens in a jar nearby so that as I am on the phone making appointments I can see quickly what days are open.

Well I hope these ideas have helped some of you, I know they save me a ton of time and money!

Samuel is 6

Its always hard when one of my children has a birthday. I'm so excited to see them grow but also a little sad as well. I look back at pictures and think how fast time is flying and how much I want it to slow down.

Samuel brings sooo much joy and laughter to our home. I call him my "cuddlebug" because he loves to snuggle with me. I can't believe it but today he turned 6 and in a few months he will start school..... my sammy is growing up....

Their first camping trip!

As a child and even as a teenager I never went camping. As a small child I don't recall ever wanting to or any of my older siblings camping. As a teenager the thought of being outside all night in the heat and surrounded by bugs was not on my top 10 things I thought would be fun.

However as I became a mom.... and kept having all these boys.... I didn't want to deprive them of those outdoorsy experiences.... so fortunately I realized I was married to someone who was willing to do those things for our boys. :-) My husband grew up exposed to hunting, fishing and camping but it wasn't something he was ever really into, but being the awesome daddy he is... he does it anyway. :-)

Last summer was an intro to camping for joe and sam. On our summer visit to missouri mike took the older 3 boys, michael, joseph and samuel out to gpa's house and camped out in the backyard. Boys survived and so did mommy.  :-)

This summer I wanted boys to have a "real" camping experience away from home. So mike, michael, joseph and samuel went camping. It was for one night.... away from home.... with smores... hot dogs.... games.... swimming..... and they LOVED it!! It was a bit too quiet at home for my taste but I survived... especially knowing what a great time my boys were having. Next year they are going to add on jonathan to the crew.

Someday I may go too..... and as I said in an fb post..... if their is a/c, showers and a comfy bed :-) :-)