I never said...

I could do it all.

But I'm trying and failing miserably. I'm just going to tell all my blog & twitter followers right now, I probably won't be blogging much until at LEAST the first of September. Our lives are a crazy mess right now. I feel like I'm paying the bills so the dog and cats have something to do. You know they talk on the unlimited long distance phone, and watch all 200+ channels we get via direct tv, browse the internet all day long, and of course shower, bathe and do their laundry!

We're not home long enough to enjoy anything. IF I can get a load of laundry done a day I'm doing incredibly AWESOME!!!! But the reality is that I'm barely getting clothes laid out for the kids at night let alone a load of laundry washed. It's horrible, there is laundry sitting in the laundry room that I washed last week sometime waiting for me to fold it. It's amazing we can even find anything to wear! Don't even let me tell you about the dishes that are sitting in the sink!

Our work schedules are just taking us by storm. About as soon as I started working 3 days a week, Joel started a feed trial at work. Oh did I mention he signed me up....without asking....well he says he did, but I don't remember it! So as I was starting my first week of full time (okay so it's really part time but to me it's full time!) we started going back to Joel's work every evening.

The first few nights were only an hour maybe two, two and a half. Lately though we've been putting in 3-4 hours every night. Well unless we get started early it's late when we get home. The kids have been doing great through this all, and have been going with us every other night or so, and then to Grandpa Kessler's on the other nights. The good news...Joel should be done with this feed trial around the end of August first part of September, the bad news....I'm done the 1st of September. So for the next month our schedules will be crazy!

If I'm not commenting on your blog do not feel unloved, I am reading, but probably not taking the time to comment! Keep up the great work, because right now you're all superhero's!

Bike Rally Success

Last weekeend the weather was perfect. Although I thought we were going to get rained on first thing in the morning. The clouds started to part, and the sun shone through just in time for the start of our Kids Bike Rally.

We didn't have quite as many kids as last year. I wonder in part if it was due to the change in time and then it not being advertised what time in the paper. Although we didn't have as many kids, we still had a great turn out.

The majority of them were younger this year and so it made it more of a challenge to evenly split up the groups. We also had quite a few new kiddos which made it a little more challenging to keep track of everyone. All in all it turned out great! Except for the part where I started to get one of the prizes ready, and realized they didn't work. We ended up having to go to plan B and use bubbles instead of water guns...BOO!

I ended up doing a series of clues that constructed of pictures, word problems, and visual problems, as well as just plain using your thinking! I was pleased with the way it all turned out and can't wait to help out again next year! :)

Tiny Bubbles

Using cloth diapers isn't as much work as many people make it out to be. Granted there are few things you must do differently from disposable diapers. The biggest thing...not throwing them away, but instead washing them. For us it's been a challenge to find the perfect detergent. Over the past few weeks we've had a chance to try out some different things, and I'm finding ways to improve our wash routine.

The Natural Baby Company makers of the Gro Baby Diaper have now come out with a new cloth diaper deteregent. Enter Tiny Bubbles!
Take a look at what their website says about Tiny Bubbles! We can't wait to get our hands on some! Go ahead check them out!!!!

The detergent of choice for cloth diapers and baby apparel.

• Dye & Fragrance Free
• Completely Biodegradable
• Completely Phosphate-Free
• No Optical Brighteners or Fillers
• Gentle for Sensitive Skin
• Low Residue Formula
• Ultra-Concentrated
• Low Cost-Per-Wash
• Recyclable

Safe to use with Gro Baby™ and all other cloth diapers brands. Not tested on animals. No animal by products. ($0.22 per Load)

Phosphate Free - Phosphate detergents are a major cause of pollution in our lakes and streams. Even biodegradable phosphate detergents are harmful to water life. Tiny Bubbles contains no phosphates and is completely biodegradable.

Wordless Wednesday - Our Cloth Diaper Bag

Not me Monday Tuesday

I did NOT start a great challenge this week. It's for mom's who've had babies. Secretly I think it's made for mom's that have had babies recently. So being almost 2 years post baby, I did NOT join the Body After Baby Challenge!

If I had joined something like that I surely would NOT have put pictures of myself up, in nothing but a sports bra and shorts. Really? GROSS!

So since I did not join said challenge, I'm free to eat what I want right? So being so good, and having eaten healthy the last day and 1/2 I did NOT come home and scarf down 5 Oreo's (or more give or take, honestly I did NOT quit counting after 5). While I was NOT scarfing down said Oreo's, I did NOT then decide to bake a batch of Chocolate Chip cookies. And I can assure you that I did NOT eat at least two spoonfuls of dough. After that I quit, and decided tomorrow is another day!

I am a great mom, and when my daughter has a stinky diaper I most certainly do NOT just wipe her bottom with the diaper and give her a bath. But in my own defense, if I did that, we're now using cloth wipes, and I was out of solution. I'm not making up a batch to change one stinky diaper a week, when you're supposed to dump the solution every week.

What you say it isn't Monday? Oh, poop.

Tiny Prints Winner

I'm completely exhausted, and almost forgot to draw the winner! I love working full time, but it is a big change for all of us. Hopefully next week will start to smooth itself out!

Comment number #21:

Alexandra said...

I'm a fan of their eco friendly cards page :) And left a comment on their wall. Thanks for the chance to win!

July 10, 2009 1:16 PM

Alexandra, email me with your info so I can get you your Gift Certificate!

Starting a new Job and some doughnuts

For the last 6 years I've been a Full time Mommy. Picking up a few odd's and end jobs here or there, but nothing where I had to be there everyday.

Yesterday I was offered a job working pretty much full time...until the 1st of September. It could go on longer than that, but more than likely not. I'm excited and nervous all at the same time. I've had to get the kids up and ready to go, and be places before, but never everyday.

For all you Cloth Diaper mama's out there, I've got a question for you! If your babe goes to daycare, and the sitter does cloth, how does it work out? What's your wash routine like? Thankfully the sitter is going to be doing cloth, so it will help cut some of the cost of having all 3 kids in daycare!

*******************

A few weeks ago Dahrran asked if we could go to the local gas station for doughnuts. With a tight budget, I told him not today, but maybe someday we could make some doughnuts. Everyday for the next week, he asked Every.Morning. if we could make doughnuts. I finally caved one weekend and decided we would make them. Knowing they would take time I decided we would eat breakfast as normal, and then eat them for lunch!

I'd say he was satisfied!

Our 4th Celebrations

We didn't really have plans for the 4th, but ended up having a great day. My sisters and I went with my dad and his girlfriend to a Flea Market in the morning. We were able to make it home with plenty of time to rest and head to dad's house for a BBQ & some fireworks.

It was quite windy when we first started some of the smaller kids fireworks, and so I was having a hard time getting the snakes to light.

Kaitlynn enjoyed doing sparklers. I think it was her favorite part of the fireworks.

They were watching Grandpa set off rockets, look at Kaitlynn's face! Poor little girl got scared to death from the ones that shot up in the air.

That is unless she was sitting on my lap. Not Joel's lap, my lap. If I'd leave her and a firework would go off she would just cry. While she was on my lap she was fine!

Thanks to my sister, who said "Dahrran and MacKenzie get over there!"

This is on the 5th. Look at the difference in temperatures! It was cloudy and rainy on the 4th, but sunny and downright hot on the 5th. Here the kids are watching a few fireworks we set off.

Everyone was bathed, and in their pj's. Well technically they weren't Kaitlynn's PJ's. Thanks to one nasty diaper rash, Kaitlynn was running around sans diaper after her shower. She decided to poop on the carpet and had it all over herself, so back in the shower it went for her, and these are the clothes she picked out!

The last two sparklers, and so Dahrran and Kaitlynn had to share! Kaitlynn loved it up just as the night before!

Desperate Call for Help

I'm in desperate need of help. Okay so that sounds bad, and I know a lot of you who know me are saying, "Thank goodness she is finally asking for it!" But really. I need help, help with a bike rally! And ideas for it.

You see it's our little town's celebration...this weekend (July 10,11,12) and I'm in charge of the Kids' Bike Rally! I'm not good at this. I'm telling you. I'm okay when I've got help, but to do it myself I'm not quite sure where to start. You see I wasn't supposed to be in charge, I was supposed to have help. But the lady that is normally in charge is going through a rough time, and has decided she is going back to school (KUDOS TO HER!!!!!) and so has been focusing on that. Which leaves me in charge.

Just to give you an idea of what happens, read this post. I'll wait. Finished already? Wow you're fast! Any who I'm not quite sure what I want to do this year! If I want to go ahead with the same idea as last year or spice it up and do something different!! And the prizes? What should they be? (last year we did water balloons, noodles, and bubbles) We can't go too extravagant because I'm paying for this myself, and we're already on a tight budget!

I need your ideas...well and FAST! Remember I'm DESPERATE!!! Thanks in advance! :)

Word Full Wednesday - Cousin's Wedding

Joel's cousin got married a few weeks ago and I'm finally getting the pictures uploaded and such. Just wanted to share, but didn't want to say much so I was going to make it a wordless Wednesday post. Of course though it's kind of hard to with this many pictures!

Notice Kaitlynn's dress in these first few pictures...you won't be seeing it again!







I was off walking/talking to DH's family when all of a sudden he comes up to me and tells me we have to go home. I ask why, and he proceeds to show me his shirt, Kaitlynn's dress, and his undershirt. Poop. Kaitlynn has been cutting her back molars and along with that comes the mess. We were wearing a Cloth Diaper of course, and for some reason it didn't hold it. I'm thinking it's because she'd been that way for a little bit, and all the ups, downs and squeezes didn't help. After a quick trip to the Dollar General we were back in motion, and danced the night away....well some of it anyways.



I even convinced him to take a picture...this was the best we got.



Kaitlynn danced with her cousin Kendol.



MacKenzie danced with the Bride, cousin Sara, and then proclaimed she was ready to go home. She'd danced with Sara, and it was time to go home.



As we were getting ready to walk out the door, Grandma Cast was back from church, and got a quick dance in with the kids!