After a hard time getting to sleep last night and waking up early, I am still tired.  But, alas, life goes on here and even when momma is tired things need to get done.  I would like to say we had a peaceful and restful day yesterday, but alas, it wasn’t really that.  Although, I did get a lot accomplished, I also had to deal with some things that I just generally don’t talk about here in regards to one of my children which just makes for a stressful situation for us all.

But, I did get to sit outside and plan for our upcoming school year.  The weather was actually quite breezy and cool (relatively speaking) and most of the kids and I enjoyed sitting outside working on various things at the table.  I even got to knit outside yesterday after supper.  The kids and I sat around the table and talked and listened to some music and again we worked on various projects.  After awhile most went off to play.

I did get quite a bit of my spinning done that needs to get done but it’s not all done yet…maybe later today????  I knit some on the blue toddler sweater, but, I think I really messed up the sleeve join, so while I wait for some on-line guidance (from Aunt Sally…but must wait for her to get home from work this evening) I did cast on for another toddler sweater.  This one is going to use a strand of worsted weight and a strand of sock weight yarn.  Another stash buster.

For now, though, I must go make breakfast for my children who are waking and starting the day.  We have a lot to do today and several things planned for the rest of the week as well.  We plan to stay busy this week.

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Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Romans 8:1 (NIV)

119 As a 1930s wife, I am Very Superior Take the test!

 Only my hubby can really tell.

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Secret Pal 12 Question of the week.

What would you consider the perfect amount of stash?

Is there ever a “perfect” stash?  I mean really, just when you think you have everything you want or need, a new yarn comes out or a new color is needed or something along those lines.  I just don’t think it’s possible to obtain that level of perfection yet. But I plan to keep working on it. :) Although I admit I am stash busting these days.  I am trying to work through as much of my stash as humanly possible before adding more yarn to the mix…although I do need some more black. (tee hee)

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Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.

Nehemiah 8:10 (NIV)

Yesterday we spent nearly 4 hours at the pool to beat the heat and keep the kids busy.  Normally I am with other mommies and have things to talk about.  Yesterday I was without mommy back up, so when not swimming, I was sitting poolside watching the antics of not only my children, but those around me.

** Two toddlers sitting near me meeting for the first time….*giggle giggle*  My name is Trevor, what’s yours?…..*giggle giggle* Little girl doesn’t answer just puts head down.  Trevor tells her with more giggling that he likes Sponge Bob.  Little girls smiles and says she does too.  Next thing I see is the two getting up, holding hands and jumping into the pool with their huge life vests keeping them afloat.  The hand holding and jumping went on for another 15 minutes or so until daddy comes to save little girl and tells her she’s far too young to be holding hands with a little boy.  Both children giggle as daddy dries off little girl to take her away.

**Some people simply should not wear a bikini.

**Cute life guard flirting with my daughter.  My daughter ignores most of the things he’s saying (thankfully he’s not being too rude or crude).  My daughter calmly walks over to me to tell me she has not idea what to say to him in regards to this question he keeps asking her.  I give her a reply.  After her shocked expression, she cooly gets up and dives back into the water and swims.  A few minutes later she dives off the diving board and when she surfaces, he screams to her, “Do you think I am hot?”.  She just as loudly replies, “No, but if you think you are, perhaps you should jump in the water to cool off.”  She gets out of the water and receives many high fives from the other girls at the pool and the boy gets many snickers from the boys.  She waits about 15 minutes and comes to sit down next to me again.  She secretly gives me a high 5 and says thanks for the answer.  She gained cool points from all yesterday.  It did backfire a bit as that just made the boy at that much more determined to gain her favor.  But I know she enjoyed it too.

**Falling asleep in the lounge chair during the 10 minute swim break is sooooo easy to do.

**Swimming laps with your son prevents you from knitting later in the evening as you can’t move your arms.

**My children will protest they don’t want to leave the pool, but after the bike ride home, all ask for showers and dinner and no more outside play.

**Sleep comes easy (for some…just not me) after hours of swimming and sun.

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He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

Micah 6:8 (NIV)

I got this recipe from a frugal tip over at Hillbilly Housewife.  Some readers submitted a Warm Delights desert recipe by Betty Crocker.  You know those little microwave desert cups that are pure warm cake and oooey gooey goodness.  Ok, so I admit I’ve never bought them because they are so expensive, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been tempted to do so.  I tried the tip for the kids and they were in love with the new desert.

3 tablespoons generic cake mix (think of the endless combos out there…we used double fudge chocolate though)

1 1/2 tabblespoons water

extra ingredient of your choice for that extra ooey gooeyness (last night we used either jam, peanut butter or chocolate syrup)

mix all together and cook in the microwave for about a minute or until cake is done.

let cool for a minute then serve.

You could even top with whipped topping or icing or ice cream.

Think of the endless things to add to your creation. 

Yummo!

There are days when I feel like such a ditz.  Yesterday was one of those days.  I forgot where I put my cell phone.  I had it clipped to my shorts, but I knew I unclipped it but couldn’t figure out what I did with it.  So, I got Jim’s phone and called my phone.  Viola, cell phone located, in my purse of all places.  About an hour later, I checked my phone and was dismayed to realize I missed a call from Jim.  My heart sank and I got sad, then realized, duh…it was his CELL phone number and not him calling from his current location.  And it was ME that used the cell phone.  I tell ya…I need a vacation.  And in 15 days my vacation is coming home!

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God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.

Psalm 46:1 (NIV)

Well sort of anyway.  I am a person that really needs to have a schedule to keep me on track.  With 5 kids who thrive in a chaotic situation due to their lives prior to living with us, control and calm, routine and schedule are a must.  We got back on track yesterday with bedtimes and chores.  This morning everyone woke up well and has done the breakfast thing.  We are working on chores and getting our morning routine back on track.  It was great to have a vacation, but even Aunt Sally had to return to work today so we must as well.

I did find out that I had a commission spinning job waiting for me.  In all places, out in the outside storage area.  Seriously, the company emailed me yesterday to verify if the package arrived, and sure enough it did…weeks ago.  Just waiting out there.  Umm…time to get busy on that.

So for now, I leave you with this.  A seamless yoke sweater.  Pattern taken from The Knitter’s Handy Book Of Sweater Patterns. I just sort of pulled colors out of the box and put them in the yoke where they begged me to go. Cast on Tuesday morning and wove in the ends early this morning.

And here’s what is on tap for the next sweater.  I am enjoying stash diving at this point.  But alas, the spinning wheel must be used today as well.

We are headed for the pool later today for an afternoon of baking in the sun.  But it should be fun.

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Return home and tell how much God has done for you.

T and Aunt Sally were put on the plane (ok so we really did a drive by to the airport to avoid the much crying and hanging on that was bound to happen) with loads of hugs and promises to see each other again soon.  As I write this, they are on the final leg of their journey back to the reality of work/school.  I told my kids that we were off vacation too and back to our “normal” schedule. 

Josh, T, and Chris formed a band called JTC.  They designed their own logo and I printed it out on the computer and iron transferred it on shirts for them.  Lots of song writing and dreams of Les Paul guitars happened over the past several days. 

Now, *sigh*, it’s time to get back to real life.  Tons of laundry to do, cleaning needs to be done, and math must be completed before the Daddy Man comes home in 17 days (squeeee).

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The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

Psalm 51:17 (NIV)

We decided not to do the bowling thing yesterday (whew) and instead took the kids off to Hobby Lobby and Wal Mart for a shopping excursion.  The “Odor Brothers” have decided to form a band and designed a logo for their band and tee shirts.  So while mom worked on those (pictures tomorrow), kids did other things.

Chris bought a kit at Hobby Lobby where he could build a radio, telegraph machine, and other assorted things he loves to do.

Josh and T sat under a tree and wrote songs and imagined life as big rock stars.

Cass and Jess got to work on making Friendship Bracelets with Aunt Sally.  Unfortunately Jac was in the grounded mode and was just chillin out being a mite bit pitiful.

We were introduced to Milkshake Monday where each Monday T and Aunt Sally get a milkshake on the way home from school, hence the name Milkshake Monday.  The kids thouroughly enjoyed the treat and truly feel that we need to do our best to keep the tradition alive and well in our house too.

And what did I do?  Knit, knit, and knit some more.  I was able to knit this very cute sweater vest from the pattern given here. I messed up a few times, but alas, it was just me not reading the pattern correctly.  All in all a very easy and cute knit.  I encourage you to knit one up and gift it to your favorite charity.

T and Aunt Sally leave tomorrow morning.  I know there will be lots of sad faces around here after we drop them off at the airport.  Will try to keep busy tomorrow to keep their thoughts on The Daddy-Man coming home next month.  Wee haa.

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I rise before dawn and cry for help; I have put my hope in your word.

Psalm 119:147 (NIV)

Yesterday was quite a productive day.  Took pictures of finished projects, visited with my friend K who came over for a bit in the afternoon, created some really yummy donuts (if I do say so myself), fed some hungry boys, got in some knitting time, and talked to my hubby too.

First, the finished projects:

Socks I had finished knitting a month ago (maybe) but needed to weave the ends in.  These are going to Iraq for my friend to give to Iraqi kids instead of giving them candy. One strand worsted weight yarn with one strand sock weight yarn knit with the “Magic 28″ method.

Mittens I started and finished on Friday/Saturday time frame.  These are for the CIC mitten challenge. Made using worsted yarn using my own pattern. Adult sized mittens.

A pair of mittens for the challenge in progress.  I am making up the pattern as I go along.  However, these are knit on size 4 needles and it kills me to work with the smaller needles for long periods of time, so I switched to a larger needle project yesterday.

While K and her son were over, I needed to start rolling out the dough for the donuts.  After frying up the first batch, and realizing more oil was needed, a quick trip to the store was necessary.  I employed Cass to roll out the dough while I was gone.  She did a GREAT job.

Kelly fried up the dough into donuts even though she repeatedly told us that she doesn’t cook.

And I filled the donuts with chocolate (sugar free of course) filling.

For our first attempt, they were sooooo yummy.  Lots were made,

 and lots were eaten.

All too soon enough it was time to start making dinner.  A very important phone call delayed dinner making (hi Honey…it was great to hear your voice again) so by the time steak subs, tater tots, and veggies were made, we had some very hungry boys waiting outside to get their plates full.

 Today I think there is bowling, an introduction to “Milkshake Monday”, and a way cool craft project in the making.  Pictures tomorrow if I live through the experience.

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I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry.

Psalm 40:1 (NIV)

The T-Man (boy child that he is) attends a military school.  He’s used to marching and all that soldiering stuff.  Seeing men and women in uniform is not all that exciting to him as he’s quite used to it on a daily basis.  My kids are used to it as well, obviously, as it’s our way of life.  What I found so funny, though, was that T could run my children through their paces with drill and ceremony practice.  Each time I tried to capture a photo, they spotted me and stopped what they were doing.  So I went on a covert assignment and shot these pictures from the inside of the house so you will have to use your imagination a bit on them. Picture the “troops” marching around the backyard, stopping and standing at attention for inspection.  They gained and lost rank pretty easily and were assigned lots and lots of push ups for misbehaving.  They ran through PT tests and did all sorts of exercising.  Is it any wonder that after all this activity, I still have sleeping children at 9:30 in the morning?

T leading the “troops” to the inspection area.

Josh, actually standing still.

Jac and Jess learning the art of waiting and patience.

Later in the day, T got to experience our summer ritual of jumping on the trampoline with the hose underneath it.  How kids can do leaping belly flops onto the trampoline and literally bounce back up to do it again is beyond me. Then they got to stay up late and run around the yard in the semi complete darkness with glow sticks.  Last time Aunt Sally came to town, it was winter and all the kids stayed out to play with glow sticks and run around.  Of course, being now that it’s officially summer, darkness didn’t come until 9:30 or so, but it was very cool to see them playing tag and jumping on the trampoline and seeing pretty much nothing but neon glow sticks around wrists, ankles, and necks.  Even Caleb had a glow stick on his collar.

Today there are no plans on tap other then more knitting and visiting and lots of playing for the kids. I do plan on trying a new recipe so stay tuned for details…if it works out.

So summer offically started yesterday.  We went to the pool and I couldn’t believe how nice the weather was.  At one point, when I got out of the water, I was actually quite chilly and needed to wrap up in my towel!  But we had fun.  The kids love going to the pool and if they could, I think they would go every day.  We brought some water rings to toss in the pool and dive for.  The “odor brothers” as they call themselves (that would be The T Man, Chris, and Josh) attracted quite a girly following yesterday teasing the girls with the water rings and diving and generally showing off.  Jess, Jac, and I swam and dove for the rings and enjoyed the slides and such.  I entertained thoughts of diving off the diving board, but when cell phone cameras were brought out and tested, I changed my mind. All in all a good day.

More knitting going on and I will show off later.  Finished the mittens, found a pair of socks that I had finished knitting, just haven’t woven in the ends, and started on another pair of mittens.  Today will be another kicked back day of fun and frolick.

Aunt Sally is not wanting to think of next week when she has to return home and we are trying to not think of it either.  However, it does bring us closer to Jim coming home, so it’s one of this situations that makes you wonder.  In three Saturdays from today, Jim will be home! We simply can’t wait for that.

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Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.

Psalm 27:14 (NIV)