Smells

I'm often teased on how I'm all about the smells.

I smell everything.

Before I EAT anything, I usually smell it.......you know for kind of a sense of what it will taste like.

Because of the diet-thing I've been on for a few weeks, I've REALLY missed some tastes, 

but I will NOT give in. 

So I figured out another way to sorta feel satisfied.

I went on a HUGE muffin baking spree today just so I could SMELL all the smells in my house and put a ton in the freezer for breakfasts and packed school lunches.

I didn't want y'all to feel left out so here is my absolute, hands-down  FAVORITE homemade blueberry muffin recipe:

(I think I've mentioned before how I'm a HUGE blueberry muffin snob!! Like really big!)

http://www.barbarabakes.com/2011/05/best-blueberry-streusel-muffins/

(I used brown sugar instead of white sugar for the streusel topping though)

Then my kids requested some Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins:

Mix together: 

4 eggs

2 c. sugar

1- 16oz can of pumpkin

1.5 c. oil

(I usually add a LOT more pumpkin and less oil)

Once mixed then add:

3 c. flour

2 t. soda

2 t. baking powder

1 t. cinnamon

1 t. salt

Then add:

1/2 a bag to a whole bag of chocolate chips 

400 degrees for 16-20 minutes. Makes 24-30 muffins

Then we doubled this recipe from my friend, Robin. (she's a MAJOR good cook and previous Home-Ec teacher) It's for Banana Cake w/ Cream Cheese Topping:

(I make them in cupcake liners though)

2.5 c. flour

1 t. soda

1/2 t. baking powder

1/4 t. salt

3/4 cup butter

1.5 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 1/4 c. sour milk or buttermilk

1 t. vanilla

1 1/4 c. mashed bananas

1/2 cup nuts (I never add the nuts though)

Add milk and vanilla to bananas. In separate bowl cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and beat. Stir in dry ingredients and banana mixture. Fold in nuts. Makes 2 layers or one 9 x 13. Bake at 350 for 25 min for 2 round cakes or 40-45 for a 9x13.

Cream Cheese frosting:

4 cups powdered sugar

2 T butter, softened

1-2 T milk

1 t vanilla

8 oz. cream cheese

Mix the cream cheese alone so it gets smooth. Then add the butter and sugar. Mix together and add vanilla and milk. With the milk just start with 1 T and mix. A little milk goes a long way.

Seriously, it's SO yummy. I ate it at a church party and then I hunted down who made it so I could get the recipe from her. My neighbors always ask me to make these for them.

So yes, today my house and kitchen smell to die for..................and in 2 days, I'm going to dig these buggers out and devour them myself!!!

Spelling....

I just love looking at the work my kids bring home from school sometimes.

and USUALLY they are pretty good spellers.......but Emerson made me laugh when I looked at his paper and saw this:

I smiled and said, "Snowball Fight, oh how fun Emerson!"

Then Camden chimed in (thanks for NOTHIN!) and said, "No, that spells 'snowball fit'. He spelled it wrong!"

And the response that made my day came from Emerson when he said, 

"I know, I forgot to add the 'e' on the end."

Gym Buddies

I've got quite a few "gym buddies" now I see quite regularly at the gym. I love them.

Through Brooks' work they gave us a killer discount to all local YMCAs and also the "Life Center" by his hospital. The YMCA seems like such a "meat market" and an "my -outfit-is-better-then-your's" kind of place sometimes. Especially during the 5-6pm hour. The Life Center is actually my favorite gym to go to because it has an AWESOME gym and 98% of the people that workout there when I go are over 75 years old.

They have pulmonary tests/exercises for them and cardio monitoring and many health professionals around there. I love these people.

There's like a "breakfast group" of men that sit around the tables when you walk in w/ their coffee. They always say hi to the kiddos and comment on the large size of Kellyn's bow on her head.......every. morning. Then there's my Price is Right buddy named Charlie. After I do my hard core workout I chill on a cardio machine w/ him and we watch Price is Right together. (he's 85)

He's like me..........we're not sure if we like the new male models serving as "Barker's Beauties". I usually beat him at the price-guessing, but he's better during the showcase showdown part.

I hear more grandkids' stories to last a lifetime, I'll tell ya what!!!

Plus when people find out that I have 7 kids there, it's not that big of a deal because I'll hear comments like, "Oh, I have 6 siblings! How lovely", or "you don't see too many families the size like I grew up with anymore".

Ms. Virginia always tells me how blessed I am everytime I walk in.

I just try to avoid the bathrooms/dressing rooms though. Aqua-aerobics for the elderly ends the time I usually go so it's not really the kind of "socializing" I'm used to with them all not really wearing anything.

But as WONDERFUL as all my friends there are, my BEST workout buddy is this little man doing lunges with me....

 and squats......

Dollface.

Competition update:

I moved up to 3rd place and instead of being 3% away from the 2 leaders I cut it down to 2%!!! Two weigh-ins to go. I see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I'm on a different diet and exercise plan this week to kindaa "shake things up a bit" and it's really kicking my hiney. (thanks to my sis) Summary? I basically eat egg whites, greens and chicken........ALL DAY.....w/ one carb in the morning (brown rice) before noon w/ crazy/different workouts every day. (It's patterned after the Fast Track 6-week-total-body-makeover stuff) I'm already seeing results, so hopefully it's enough. 

I don't know Jacques

CLARIFICATION ALERT!!!!!

In lieu of quite a few email responses recently about the post "My Day", I would like to clarify that it is just my OUTLINE to my day.

Let it be known that there is MUCH teasing, complaining, crying, whining, time-outs, teasing, referee-ing, noise levels up to astronomical heights and a LOT of teasing.

Infact when Brooks got home the other day he said, "How was your day?" and I just walked right into the bathroom, closed the door and started singing one of my favorite church songs, "Where Can I Turn for Peace".

I did it mostly to make him laugh (and it worked) but it illustrated exactly how I felt at the time.

Motherhood is hard.

And very VERY un-glamorous.

It reminds me of an experience I had last fall during fall baseball here.

(Isn't Emerson a cute catcher?)

So I went to a LOT of the games by myself w/ either being 6 kids + 9 months prego, or 6 kids + a VERY NEW newborn. It was tricky.....and I didn't always look/act put-together. I tried and maybe I succeeded, but inside I was pretty exhausted.......like a LOT.

There was one game Brooks was finally able to come to. I had enough time to "get ready", etc. And since I wasn't the only one chasing kids around I decided I would sit down w/ all the other moms and be social and "blend in" more. (I hadn't always gotten the best "vibes" from them before)

It was hard because I couldn't really relate to the "Uh, the nanny dropped him off late for this game!" , "I was in ______  school classroom volunteering every day this week", "I'm so tired, I went straight from work, to get my nails done to here" comments going around. So I looked down at the lady's nails that made the nail-comment and said, "Oh, well, at least your nails look so nice."

She smiled and said, "You don't know Jacques"

When I grew up the phrase, "You don't know Jack" meant you didn't know anything!!! Although I'm sure it applied in my case, I could tell by her look that she didn't mean it like that. So I smiled and looked around and another women said, "Well, I was the first one to discover 'You don't know Jacques'." I looked down at her nails and THEY were the same color too! 

Apparently the color is CALLED "You don't know Jacques". I looked at every ONE of those 6 ladies' nails and they were all that color!!! Without even having to look down, I knew what mine looked like.......not-polished and bitten down really short (I bite my nails in my during-the-night feedings w/ a newborn).

I get constant reminders of how I'm different from most women. That was just another one......

but I couldn't help but think on the way home, that I didn't really CARE if I knew "Jacques" (so to speak).

I DIDN'T want to be just like them. I WANTED to be surrounded by all my little ones. I LOVED how they were out running around and playing instead staying by their mom BEGGING for concessions because they hadn't had dinner yet (due to a nail appt) like my kids had. I love how they had me all day with them, regardless if it was stressful and a lot of teasing going on. And if all of that means that I may have not been as nicely dressed, in the right size of clothing w/ no spit-up running down the front, bags under my eyes, not a fresh highlight/cut and my nails not done.......

you know what? I'll take it.

One of my favorite quotes ever ever EVER:

“I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully, tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails.
I want to drive up in a station wagon [or the Yeti] that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp.
I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbors children.
I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone's garden.
I want to be there with children's sticky kisses on my cheeks and the tears of a friend on my shoulder.
I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived.” 
― Marjorie Pay Hinckley

Valentines

Let me first start out by saying, last Monday (Brooks' first day on this nice rotation) we laid down in bed and I mentioned I still needed to get the kids' Valentine's stuff. Then he said, "Oh yea, Valentines Day is THIS WEEK!!!" It crept up on us because he has been going into work at 4am and home btw 7-10pm (usually closer to 9.) straight. When he got home, he literally dropped into bed and was asleep within 1 minute. The last days he had off I was in Virginia! He's worked weekends, etc and so finally when this rotation started he just asked for Wednesday, the 13th off......to recover.

He stayed home and fixed the kids' bikes, fixed the broken window, took the boys out to lunch and the girls out for ice cream and then......well......he gave me EXACTLY what I needed.........

a temple trip (in Columbia, SC) w/ my girlfriends. (aren't they cute?)

(excuse my tired look, I could give excuses of that day, but let's just go with "I have 7 kids" okay?)

We left at 4pm and got back at midnight. We laughed, cried, ate Jason's Deli take-out (a tradition, mind you) and had the best time.

It was the spiritual refocus that I needed. I always come back re-charged in wanting to be a better mom, wife and person in general. I haven't been able to sneak away to the temple since September!(maybe that's why I had been slipping in all those areas!!!!)

I told Brooks that was the best Valentine's gift ever.

He plays Mr. Mom so well.

So the ACTUAL Valentine's day was full of getting their Valentines gifts from us hidden and poems written. (the poem give clues to where the stash is). My parents used to always do that for us, and I laughed when my two sisters both were busy writing their poems for their kids yesterday afternoon too.

The poems were thrown together fast. But they 1) must rhyme and 2) have to be written at their age level. Which the 2nd kinda suffocates my creative juices a little. I wrote the poems for the older 3 that could read at their levels. Then when I got to the younger 3, I decided I didn't have follow that rule and could write WHATEVER i wanted because they couldn't read anyway! So the only thing that counted was that I got a laugh from Brooks when he had to read it to them. ;)

Aleeya-beeya 

(in my chest of drawers by my bed)

For my princess and my mini-me

you have to figure out where your treats might be.

They are someplace that I tell you NOT to hide

Someplace that you like to hide INSIDE.

Its not in your room or the boys or in the Kellyn's

But someplace that she HAS rolled off and fellyn.

Irisita

(in the oven drawer......obviously)

You like to play princesses and act like a Mommy

You even hoard your toys from Royce like a Commi

You love to play kitchen and you love to bake

Man, this poem is draggin on, HOW LONG MUST THIS TAKE?!?!

So just look where the pans go, it's under oven

Eat your treats, then come give me some lovin.

Royce

(in his shoe closet)

To our little man, who doesn't read, nor talks

Who LOVES to wear shoes, but hates his socks.

You fetch your shoes like a champ and your undies too

I'm raising a GENIUS and you're ONLY two.

You only say one word, it's “Nah”, then you smile

Yah, we're not counting on you talking for a while.

Then to my surprise a babysitter shows up at 7. That sneaky husband of mine.......

We went out for (healthy) yogurt that I smoothered in fruit and boba balls. I felt so rebellious eating after 7 o'clock because that was one of the things that my sister and I were NOT doing all week for one of our healthy goals. I'm such a rebel. Then went walking downtown across this bridge w/ the waterfalls going under it. I loved it. I hadn't been downtown to see this yet! 

It was actually quite romantic. And there were a TON of other couples who must have thought the same thing. The picture is not my picture, by-the-way. If I took one last night there would've been too many couples kissing, cuddling, etc. So before we were grossed out by too much PDA and threw up all of our yogurt, we decided to head on home.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!!!!!!!!!

My. Day.

So APPARENTLY my days/life actually sounds exciting or something to have my friend Nicole and her mom (hi Mrs. Salvaggio!) ask me to blog about my typical day around here. 

It's probably not too thrilling to most people. "Probably"?!?!? Okay, it's not at all, I'm sure. But then I thought about it and wished that maybe I remembered what I did on a "usual" day when I just had Bronson as a baby, or just 2 kids...... So maybe I'll look back on this post w/ fond memories one day.

I wake up at 6:20 and start breakfast and feed Kellyn.

(Brooks was spoiled as a child by having a hot breakfast every morning for school, so he wanted our kids to have the same."Hot" meaning, pancakes/eggs/waffles/biscuits and gravy/muffins, etc. Something to fill them up longer then 1 hour like cereal does for my kids. But since I live for and LOVE cereal we have that on Saturday and Sunday mornings)

The boys' alarm clocks go off in 6 minute increments up stairs. They have to shower fast before the next one comes in 6 minutes later to kick them out. hahaha. They can't come down to eat until they're dressed and beds are made. And the following picture does NOT count. (I made him re-do it)

While they eat I always sit up like a school teacher (I love doing that) in the chest freezer and read out of scripture/picture books. Right now we're in the New Testament and just read about the Savior walking on the water this morning.

Brooks will call them on the phone and talk to each kid during breakfast too.

Then they brush their teeth, we have a family prayer, and in exchange for a hug/kiss I hand each of the boys a mint and they walk off to school, while Royce yells, "BAH!!!!" and waves out the window.

After they leave, Kellyn is usually ready to go down for a nap around 8. So while she sleeps I clean up breakfast, shower or just get things ready for the day. Right after the boys leave, the girls (and Royce usually) just disappear. It's like they're so excited to go play in their room or w/ princesses (EVERY. MORNING), so I usually don't even see them until after Kellyn's nap. They are such buddies. See what I mean? (me peeking on them this morning)

Kellyn will wake up around 10 and that's when if we have to go somewhere (the gym/store/errand) we'll do it while she's happy. Before lunch we'll play outside, go on a walk, color, play Uno (my daughters really dominate in that game) or something together. There's also a LOT of singing/playing w/ Kellyn!

I'm kind of a mean mom and won't let the girls eat lunch until their room is clean (which food motivates them as much as me!!!!!). We eat and the 4 kiddos go down for naps at 12:30. And yes, they sleep everytime. Aleeya kept Iris awake for too many naps that I just finally said she wouldn't have a snack (or at least not a "big" snack) when she woke up if she didn't sleep and I have NEVER had a problem since. Yes, we're obsessed w/ food apparently.

During naptime I clean, get dinner ready, blog, do laundry, read my scriptures, nap (when Kellyn was a newborn) or get whatever I need to done (like today, I'll be getting their Valentine's stuff hidden and put together) before the boys get here @ 2:35. 

I love it how they get home before the younger 4 wake up. So I just have that time to give my 3 school-boys a snack, hear about their days while they work on their homework. Emerson is always so proud to show me his work. This was what he brought home yesterday. (I love it how he learns all the planets in Spanish)

Then Sgt. Mom (that's what my mom calls me) comes out again and the boys HAVE to clean "their side" of their bedroom before it can be vacuumed. They each have 2 assigned days of the week to vacuum their room so it's done every day but Sunday. Trust me, it needs it w/ those 3 sharing that room! Practically the only motivation to get all this done for Camden was so he could watch his one show he likes at 4:00 ("Arthur".....weird huh). That show really motivates him for some reason. Bronson usually goes outside to shoot the basketball though. 

They just all kinda play and do whatever while I'm making dinner (this is when the gate on my kitchen door comes in handy!)and doing last minute clean-ups before Brooks gets home. (Thankfully he's on a rotation now that he can actually JOIN us for dinner!!!! I feel like I haven't had my husband for a few months!) Or on some days they have sports stuff that I run them to.

When Brooks comes home his job is to wear them out. (When he works late, then that job is mine, and I don't do it as well as Brooks) So there's a lot of basketball games, soccer, wrestling, baseball throw-age, etc. But let me just mention that I beat everyone at "Lightning" (basketball shoot-out) the other night. And that NEVER happens because I stink.

During dinner Brooks asks each child about their day, what they did for recess and if they felt the Spirit speak to them that day. While he does that, my job is to keep everyone from NOT standing up, shaking their booty, not sitting on their knees, not teasing, not chewing like a cow, etc. It's a tough job, but someone's gotta do it.

Every night somewhere around 7:30 we read from the Book of Mormon as a family, say family prayer, brush teeth and send 'em all off to bed around 8. The girls go to bed, the boys stay up and read until 9 when when lights go out.

And then I lather, rinse and repeat the next day. ;)

(Probably not as exciting as you were picturing, huh Nicole......)

I'm in

Everyone likes to be accepted, belong to something or be a part of a club.

I'm in a lot of "clubs" already, namely:

-15 Passenger Van Club

you wouldn't know it, but there are a TON of construction dudes, plumbers and mexicans that are BEGGING to get in

-The Relief Society

the women's society in my church is actually the largest women's society in the world!

-The Undershirt Club

you can spot us members pretty easily because we wear an undershirt. The purpose? Well, it's so when we do NOT have a kleenex or a place to wipe our hands that we use the INSIDE of the our outer shirt so it's not against our skin, but no one can see the food/children's boogers, or whatever. The options are endless really.

-The Uni-dextrous Club

As opposed to being AMBIDEXTROUS, I can actually do almost everything during the day w/ one hand......while the other one is busy holding a child, nursing or wiping children's boogers. (note: see "Undershirt Club" ). Try-outs for this club is VERY grueling and you must pass off things like "taking brownies out of the oven", "putting in your contacts" and "walking out of church w/ both arms full of children/diaper bag and a smile on your face". Like I said, it's serious stuff.

-And the Snack Sprinters

I've had to turn in my resignation to this club recently. I don't want to brag, but I was probably the most talented/fastest/best one in the club. It's all about sticking your kids to bed/naps and seeing WHO can get to the kitchen the FASTEST to eat all the snacks you didn't want to share when they were awake. Like I said, I was THE pro.

Why did I turn in my membership for that? Well, 5 weeks ago my sister and I joined THIS club:

Don't laugh. It's INTENSE.

There are 60 of us ladies, weigh-ins every Friday (percentage of your weight lost), challenges every week and plenty of smack talking on Facebook to keep me motivated. We all paid $30 to get in. 

Prizes/bribes? Oh yea:

1st place - $525

2nd place - $265

3rd place - $175

4th place - $65

There's an at-home winner as well that wins $60 (2 lowest % losers go to "at-home" status each week)

We have THREE more weigh-ins.

And just this past week I slid up to 4th place. (Did I mention there are 60 ladies?!?!?)

This is a HUGE thanks to my sis as my nutrition consultant, Brooks as my "trainer", and Kellyn as my daily calorie sucker. 

AND A BIG NO THANKS TO MY NEIGHBOR WHO KEEPS BRINGING ME OVER MY FAVORITE DOVE MILK CHOCOLATES!!!!!(they're waiting for me in my freezer....for 3 weeks)

So far I've lost 14 pounds in the 5 weigh-ins we've had and hopefully I can still kick it into gear, because the 1st and 2nd people are actually basically out of hoping-range now (they're killin it). 

Come 3 weeks though, I'm starting a new club. It will be called,

"If I see another vegetable or walk into another gym, I just might puke on you"

Anybody wanna join? The membership fee will be one LARGE bag of Twizzlers and a bag of chocolate covered almonds. Please put my name on the outside of the bag please.

He's pretty good

Granted, Brooks is good at basically EVERYTHING he does (except doing the girls' hair ), but at being a dad, he's GREAT at it. These kids have his UNDIVIDED attention from the moment he sets FOOT in the door home. He never brings his work home (he goes early to the library for that), and when he's here, he's 100% present. I love that.

We have a joke btw the 2 of us that we'll say, "This is not my life." We'll just say it when we REALLY don't want to do something (or don't have the energy to) with the kids. "This is not my life".......we live for them. To provide for them: physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

And well, he does a pretty good job at that.

(good thing he doesn't read my blog, he would probably be super embarrassed me writing this)

And what got me thinking about all this? Well, this AMAZING video below. Trust me, it sums up my feelings perfectly. You won't regret watching this.

(oh, and just like the mom on the video, I "like naptime too") :)

Click here if the above video doesn't work.

I'm pretty lucky to have so many "Fathers" like this in my life to rely on.