Monthly Archives: July 2013

Jul 26 2013

Knot-Geek

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My husband took what was once a hobby and has turned it in to what is turning out to be a pretty successful small business. He insisted that I be his business partner, but honestly he has made this happen. I am so proud of the vision and drive he has had!

Today we did our first Knot-Geek vendor day. And by we I mean Matt, Buggie, Bitty, & I. Our two lil ladies were so good during the few hours they were their with us before I took them home to play with Maw-Maw. Buggie was in charge of the raffle tickets, and she took her job very serious!

We were there from 11-3. In the first 10 minutes we had our first 3 sales. By 3pm we had 27! We weren’t really sure what to expect going in to it. But I am so stinkin proud of him for working so hard to prepare for today!

What a fantastic day love!
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Jul 25 2013

Budah flew the coop…

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Well sorta. He went to visit his dad out of town. Call me crazy but I miss him an hour after he leaves. He’s a lively, free spirited fella. And adds a lot of chaos to this household, ha ha. But I adore him and have really enjoyed watching the young man he is becoming. But with that happiness of watching him grow brings an ounce of sadness. I dislike the way I feel when he’s out of town for a few days. Something is just off. Like our home isn’t complete with out him. And I know before we know it he’ll be ready to move out and spread his wings. Yes, I realize it is inevitable that they are all four going to grow up, move out make their own mistakes, and start their own families. I guess when that time comes my sadness will turn into excitement. Not because they have moved out. But to witness the new chapters in their lives. I only pray when that time comes we will have prepared them for the world and that they will always know we are going to forever be their number one fans.

I love you Budah Booskie! So glad you are getting this time to hang out with your dad & brother! See you soon. -Mom

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Jul 25 2013

Sometimes all you can do is laugh.

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Today has been quite interesting to say the least. Bitty had a rough night due to teething. I went to sleep around 1:30am and was wide awake by 4am. Took our son to the airport only to be greeted by the longest security check line we have ever seen! Ran a quick errand and then back home to get our munchkins ready for Bitty & Buggie’s 18 month old & 4 year old well exams. It wasn’t until I took Bitty’s diaper off for her weight check and was then holding a naked baby that it hit me…I left home without a single diaper:/ eek! Luckily the Doctor’s office was able to rescue me with a boys size 6 pull up! All I could do was laugh at myself & the crazy morning I had had. Bitty just stood there staring down completely confused, my poor sweet girl! We survived the diaper less moment, the horrible 4 year old shots, and the drive home by myself with 4 sweet little girls.

It just goes to show. No matter how many children you have. No matter how many years of experience you have. No matter how many times you have packed some diapers in to your purse, diaper bag, or car. You can never be too perfect! Parents are allowed to make mistakes too. It just depends on how you respond to those mistake as to what kind of lesson you will teach your monsters. Today I taught mine that while it was a tiresome, traffic ridden morning, security lines out the wooha, a quick paced morning with 4 monsters ranging in age between 18 months & 8 years old, that involved many vaccines, and not enough diapers. It was still going to be okay!

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Jul 24 2013

My hubster

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My love. My partner. My best friend. The father of my children. My protector. The man I will grow old with.

Yesterday I was surprised to read a blog he wrote about me.

http://www.hooligeek.com/blog/my-love-my-life/

Needless to say, it made me cry. Not sad tears, happy ones. It means the world to me that we feel such love and admiration for each other. 7 years ago he came into my life as just a friend. Neither of us were looking for love after being burned so badly in previous relationships. So needless to say I am a firm believer that love will find you, even when you aren’t searching for it.

Matt is a man like no one I have been with in my past. Don’t get me wrong I’m not going on an ex bashing spree here. Everything happens for a reason and leads you to the person you are meant to be with. He is that man!

7 years ago Matt came in to my life when I was a single mom of a 9 year old son & a baby girl. He may not have fathered them, but he stepped in to the roll as if he had. After only dating 3 months he told me he was going to marry me. If you know me at all, then you know that comment scared the hell out of me! But that fear quickly turned into happiness. And after being together for only 10 months I married this man in March of 2007. I have never once regretted it. He is everything I could have imagined a husband should be and then some. We aren’t that typical couple that sometimes wants to kill each other. We honestly seldom disagree about anything really and on that rare occasion that we do we are able to quickly work through it. Don’t get me wrong. We have had our ups and downs like all couples do. But our ups and downs are never over our relationship. It’s always due to the trials and tribulations of life. And we always take it head on together and never look back!

As you know we now have 4 lil monsters. He loves each one of them equally. He even has a tattoo with all four of their initials. That is some pretty permanent devotion to these munchkins of ours. We live a pretty loud & chaotic life! With a happy house full of kiddos in all age groups 18 months, 4 years, 8 years, & 17 years. There is never a dull moments around here! Oh and we have my mom living with us and an 11 year old dog;) We seldom have a day to just stay home and relax. Our cars always seem to be in a taxi mode. This kid has work, another has dance class, another has tumbling. It’s a mess! But we love it.

Matt & I realized in the beginning we were different from your average couple. We march to the beat of our own drum. We are with our children 99% of the time and by choice. Yet we still manage to have our alone/quality time every single day. We don’t feel the need to have a date night every single week. We get out once in a while. And our children of course act like we are abandoning them when we do, ha ha. Sometimes I have to boot him out the door for an evening with his brother/best friend, Phil. I’m not the wife that feels she can’t trust her husband. I don’t call him relentlessly when he leaves. He may not be with us, but I know we are always on his mind. I trust him whole heartedly with my heart. We are so different & yet so much a like it is scary. He’s not super mushy all the time. But he shows me his love daily. Sometimes yes it’s with flowers or a mushy love letter. Sometimes it’s a new pair of toms which is no secret that it’s my weakness, ha ha. But the things that I like the most are the little things. Him telling me to go relax and enjoy a bubble bath while he tends to the monsters. Letting me sleep in on a Saturday morning. Changing that super stinky hippie diaper (that’s what he calls Bitty’s cloth diapers). Coming in from work and offering to cook dinner or clean the kitchen. Me going out of town to visit my family while he stay behind and works, and coming back to a spotless house. He helps me in any way he can. And to me, that is love!

When we first met he was in a rough spot in his life, as he himself attest to in his blog. It made me sad to say the least. When I look at him I see an amazing big hearted man. But there are things that have happened in his life that have made him feel otherwise. Over the years I have witnessed the changes. The confidence he now has. Knowing he can stand up for himself and what he believes in. That there is no limit to what he can achieve. He is the kind of man our monsters will always be able to look up to.

So yes, he is a father, a God loving man, a racker, a disabled veteran, a small business owner, a very loud snorer, a blacksheep, a geek, a best friend, but I am the lady that is lucky enough to call him my husband. I love you babe, today, tomorrow, and forever. With you by my side I know we can get through anything!
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Jul 24 2013

Our 4 lil monsters…Then & Now.

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I was just looking at the descriptions I wrote about each of our monsters when I first started my blog last year. I really enjoyed reading it and noticing the changes in them in such a short amount of time. I just can’t seem to bring myself to just edit it so I thought I would share the changes here.

&

Budah Booskie….Then….

My oldest Monster, 16.

Strong willed, loving, energetic, funny, wears his heart on his sleeve at times, comedian, total smart ass know it all teen at home but well behaved at school and anywhere else, my only son, great big brother, skateboarder, guitar playing, music loving, aspiring tattoo artist, loves to draw, creative.

Now….

17, still strong willed, loving, energetic, funny, wears his heart on his sleeve at times, & comedian. Watching him mature over the last year has been amazing. Of course he may enjoy picking on his little sisters a bit much. He’s my only son, though one of my children would disagree (we’ll get to that in a bit). I’ve homeschooled him for the last year which made it pretty easy for him to get his first job at a local diner. He started as a dishwasher and very quickly worked his way up to cooking. I can’t even begin to tell you how cute he is in that chef uniform. He still enjoys his guitar when he’s able to make time for it and I love hearing him playing a song along with his record player. We’ve always shared a love for a wide variety of music. But his favorite pass time by far skateboarding! He’s still the creative boy, oops young man, that he was a year ago. Proudly saving up to buy his first car. He’s not certain of the direction he wants to go in career wise, but I have no doubt he’ll be happy in whatever it is he does!

&

Bunny Boo….Then….

My second oldest monster, 7.

She is sweet, sassy, strong willed, very girly, brown eyed girl, loud, loves to tattle, sensitive, One Direction obsessed, Twilight watching, loves dancing, adores her brother and sisters, smart, crafty, caring, quite the attitude, sensitive.

Now….

8, still sweet, sassy (and if possible maybe sassier than she was a year ago?), very girly, brown eyed girl, loud, continues to tattle in the drop of a dime, smart, crafty, caring, attitude packing, yet sensitive as ever. She has become quite the mother hen here lately. Enjoys helping in the kitchen. Despises having to clean up her bedroom. She takes a hip hop dance class. She loves singing and doing cart wheels. She is beautiful inside and out. And will be starting 3rd grade soon.

&

Buggie Boo….Then….

My toddler monster, 3.

She’s bossy, crazy, deep voiced, happy, brown eyed girl, dances with no rhythm, mickey mouse clubhouse watching, yo gabba gabba loving, tantrum throwing, bright, imaginative, chocolate milk junkie, sneaky, ninja, strong willed.

Now….

4, still bossy as ever, crazy, happy, brown eyed girl, Oh wait that is where things change quite a bit! She has decided she is a boy:) She doesn’t like dresses, girl toys, really anything girly at all. She loves wearing boy clothes. And is super hero obsessed! Spiderman is still her favorite, and she is forever trying to climb door frames. Maybe that’s why she loves her tumbling class so? She no longer has a deep voice, and I think I may miss that. Loves to sing and dance around the house rhythmless as ever! Chocolate milk junkie, sneaky, ninja, and very much so strong willed! If she has a thought she spits it out. Sometimes it’s funny, sometimes I think we just may be getting several calls from her teacher in the near future. She is anxiously awaiting starting Pre-K next month!

&

Bitty Boo….Then….

My baby monster. Almost 6 months old.

Our final addition, blue eyed girl, breastfed, cloth diapered, baby wearing, all night sleeping, giggling, strong willed, cuddle bum, precious, mommy obsessed, curious, tiny.

Now….

18 months old, blue eyed girl. Just stopped breastfeeding. Still cloth diapered, baby wearing, and all night sleeping! She never actually crawled. She went from scooting on her little bum across a room to running! Strong willed, funny, always chattering away, loud, Najah hugging (our 11 year old pup), stair climbing, sister chasing, bath loving, sneaky, sweet, very shy, cuddle bum.

&

Each of our 4 lil monsters have some similar characteristics, but very strong & different personalities. We love giving them that growing room and seeing just how different each of our free spirits are! Right down to Buggie deciding she is a boy. We embrace the things that make our children happy! They are our top priority. Any decision we have to make, they are always the reason we choose the way we do. I’m so blessed to be able to be a stay at home mom and witness all of these precious little moments with them. I love that we rarely go anywhere without them and there is a limited amount of people that ever baby sit them on that rare occasion. They grow so fast that we’d rather spend as much time with them as we can before they spread their wings and start their own families. I love the bond that we share with each of them and that our teenage son still likes hanging out with us. Each of our monsters know they can talk to us about ANYTHING! Buggie whispers in my ear daily, though usually loud enough that everyone can hear her, ha ha! I’m certainly not ashamed to say I learn just as much from these 4 lil monsters as I try to teach them.
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Jul 24 2013

Our 4 lil monsters…Then & Now.

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I was just looking at the descriptions I wrote about each of our monsters when I first started my blog last year. I really enjoyed reading it and noticing the changes in them in such a short amount of time. I just can’t seem to bring myself to just edit it so I thought I would share the changes here.

&

Budah Booskie….Then….

My oldest Monster, 16.

Strong willed, loving, energetic, funny, wears his heart on his sleeve at times, comedian, total smart ass know it all teen at home but well behaved at school and anywhere else, my only son, great big brother, skateboarder, guitar playing, music loving, aspiring tattoo artist, loves to draw, creative.

Now….

17, still strong willed, loving, energetic, funny, wears his heart on his sleeve at times, & comedian. Watching him mature over the last year has been amazing. Of course he may enjoy picking on his little sisters a bit much. He’s my only son, though one of my children would disagree (we’ll get to that in a bit). I’ve homeschooled him for the last year which made it pretty easy for him to get his first job at a local diner. He started as a dishwasher and very quickly worked his way up to cooking. I can’t even begin to tell you how cute he is in that chef uniform. He still enjoys his guitar when he’s able to make time for it and I love hearing him playing a song along with his record player. We’ve always shared a love for a wide variety of music. But his favorite pass time by far skateboarding! He’s still the creative boy, oops young man, that he was a year ago. Proudly saving up to buy his first car. He’s not certain of the direction he wants to go in career wise, but I have no doubt he’ll be happy in whatever it is he does!

&

Bunny Boo….Then….

My second oldest monster, 7.

She is sweet, sassy, strong willed, very girly, brown eyed girl, loud, loves to tattle, sensitive, One Direction obsessed, Twilight watching, loves dancing, adores her brother and sisters, smart, crafty, caring, quite the attitude, sensitive.

Now….

8, still sweet, sassy (and if possible maybe sassier than she was a year ago?), very girly, brown eyed girl, loud, continues to tattle in the drop of a dime, smart, crafty, caring, attitude packing, yet sensitive as ever. She has become quite the mother hen here lately. Enjoys helping in the kitchen. Despises having to clean up her bedroom. She takes a hip hop dance class. She loves singing and doing cart wheels. She is beautiful inside and out. And will be starting 3rd grade soon.

&

Buggie Boo….Then….

My toddler monster, 3.

She’s bossy, crazy, deep voiced, happy, brown eyed girl, dances with no rhythm, mickey mouse clubhouse watching, yo gabba gabba loving, tantrum throwing, bright, imaginative, chocolate milk junkie, sneaky, ninja, strong willed.

Now….

4, still bossy as ever, crazy, happy, brown eyed girl, Oh wait that is where things change quite a bit! She has decided she is a boy:) She doesn’t like dresses, girl toys, really anything girly at all. She loves wearing boy clothes. And is super hero obsessed! Spiderman is still her favorite, and she is forever trying to climb door frames. Maybe that’s why she loves her tumbling class so? She no longer has a deep voice, and I think I may miss that. Loves to sing and dance around the house rhythmless as ever! Chocolate milk junkie, sneaky, ninja, and very much so strong willed! If she has a thought she spits it out. Sometimes it’s funny, sometimes I think we just may be getting several calls from her teacher in the near future. She is anxiously awaiting starting Pre-K next month!

&

Bitty Boo….Then….

My baby monster. Almost 6 months old.

Our final addition, blue eyed girl, breastfed, cloth diapered, baby wearing, all night sleeping, giggling, strong willed, cuddle bum, precious, mommy obsessed, curious, tiny.

Now….

18 months old, blue eyed girl. Just stopped breastfeeding. Still cloth diapered, baby wearing, and all night sleeping! She never actually crawled. She went from scooting on her little bum across a room to running! Strong willed, funny, always chattering away, loud, Najah hugging (our 11 year old pup), stair climbing, sister chasing, bath loving, sneaky, sweet, very shy, cuddle bum.

&

Each of our 4 lil monsters have some similar characteristics, but very strong & different personalities. We love giving them that growing room and seeing just how different each of our free spirits are! Right down to Buggie deciding she is a boy. We embrace the things that make our children happy! They are our top priority. Any decision we have to make, they are always the reason we choose the way we do. I’m so blessed to be able to be a stay at home mom and witness all of these precious little moments with them. I love that we rarely go anywhere without them and there is a limited amount of people that ever baby sit them on that rare occasion. They grow so fast that we’d rather spend as much time with them as we can before they spread their wings and start their own families. I love the bond that we share with each of them and that our teenage son still likes hanging out with us. Each of our monsters know they can talk to us about ANYTHING! Buggie whispers in my ear daily, though usually loud enough that everyone can hear her, ha ha! I’m certainly not ashamed to say I learn just as much from these 4 lil monsters as I try to teach them.
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Jul 23 2013

EBF

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Extended Breast Feeding

While pregnant with my Lil Bitty Boo I had done a lot of reading. With the age gap between each of our monsters (15 years between the oldest & youngest) so much had changed in the way things were done when I had each of them. One of our little monsters had to sleep on his back, one on her tummy, and our last two on their side. This time was a little different for me. We had to go through fertility to conceive her. It was both physically and mentally exhausting. The appointments every other day, the hormone pills, hormone patches, and the shots my husband and my mother in law had to give me proved to me that I had more strength & determination than I had realized. Before we found out the exciting news that we were expecting our fourth child, we had decided we weren’t going to try for the fifth that we were considering having. Not only was it a tough experience for me, but an experience that our whole little family went through. I just didn’t want to put our family through it again. We decided that if God blessed us with our fourth and final baby, we were going to count our blessings and call it quits. So here we are, a happy, chaotic family of 6. Anyway, in all of my reading I had discovered new things that I wanted to do during the bonding with our last little monster. EBF is something I knew I was going to do long before that January day that we heard her precious little cry for the first time.

Breastfeeding is a very controversial topic. Some moms will argue it is the only way. Some moms feel there is absolutely nothing wrong with going straight to formula and sharing that feeding experience with others. Some moms don’t have a choice between the two because their body didn’t produce enough milk. I personally think that a mom knows what is best for her child and she should be allowed to do what she feels is best without being judged for it. Then there is the NIP (nursing in public) issue. Wowza! That one may be even more controversial than breast or bottle battle. Some feel it’s the most natural and beautiful thing in the world. Some look it as a sexual thing and take complete offense to a mom openly nursing her child in public. I see it is as this. God created our bodies so that we can nourish our children. What is offensive about that? I see public ads with much more nudity every where you look. And had pretty much came to the conclusion that I would nurse my baby any where she was hungry. I didn’t completely expose myself. I was discrete as possible depending on the location. Sometimes I got dirty looks. Sometimes I got the sweetest comments from fellow moms that thanked me for doing it. And a few even had some of the snidest remarks. One particular incident we were having lunch at a local sandwich shop. We were in a corner booth and Bitty was hungry. I started nursing her as this man that was there with his wife & son stared at me in disgust. Mind you he was the only one that could see me. The wife and child had their backs to us. Then as he continued to glare at me the very loud and rude comments started coming as he started complaining to his wife who slowly started to just stare down in her lap as she tried to get him to stop. I finally calmly looked at him and said “I will happily stop feeding my baby right now if you take your son’s sandwich out of his hands.” The wife chuckled, the son continued to eat, the man continued to glare and mumble a little lower, and I continued to feed my daughter. Twenty minutes later she was a happy baby with a full tummy and the angry fella was gone never to be seen again.

My first breast feeding goal was a year. Then I wasn’t quite sure when I wanted to stop. After talking to my husband about it, we decided it would be best to let Bitty decide when she wanted to stop. I had hoped we would make it to her 2nd year. But about a month ago I noticed the slow changes. We were getting close to her weening herself. I just knew it. It was bitter sweet to say the least. For 6 months I was her only source of nourishment, for 18 months I was her favorite. She had even opted to nurse over getting a chance to eat some ice cream with her sisters and brother. This was the last time I would get to breastfeed. It was a very special 18 months of bonding. I can remember the very first time I nursed her and I can remember the very last time as well. There was lots of learning in the beginning. Many many long restless nights when she was itty bitty. I loved each stage of her nursing. The beginning where we had to tickle her little feet to keep her awake to eat. The stares as she got a little older and we just got to watch each others faces. Then the sweet little smiles that she would get as milk poured out of her mouth. Finding her feet and playing with them while she ate. Holding my hand. The distractions that would come because her nosey little self had to see what was going on around her. The quickest and easiest way to get her to fall asleep. Yet the minute she woke up it was also the first thing she wanted. And towards the end the running over and tugging on my shirt to lift it up to get a quick drink and then right back to playing.

But after 18 precious months, it’s over. While I am a bit bummed that that phase of our bonding is over I am just as excited to watch her growing in to the very independent little toddler she is. Now she is loving exploring the BLW (baby led weening). Getting to watch her explore with new textures and taste, playing with her food, sometimes throwing it to the dog, and almost always rubbing it all over her little curls when she is done is priceless. I don’t feel like we failed by not making it to the two year goal. We made it through many hurdles. From her being a premie, to each of us being sick at times, and me even having to have a surgery to remove my gallbladder, we always managed to continue. I feel like we were blessed with 18 months worth of special one on one moments that I will forever cherish. Now there are two new kinds of milk she loves…coconut & almond.

This was her very last time nursing…
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