Nine is Fine

School Kiddos

2011-11-21T03:38:00.000-08:00

Here are my school kiddos...

Hannah (K), Matthew (2) and Levi K)

All three are in Elementary school.

Liz (6) and Josh (8) are in middle school.

Michael (11), Timothy (10) and Joseph (11) are in high school.

And our sweet little Lily Pad is in Preschool.

Nine kids in four different schools makes for some interesting mornings.

The 3 hours of silence each morning makes it worth it.

County Fair

2011-11-18T11:57:00.000-08:00

Excuses why I only post like buckshot every couple of months...

I work full time.
I have nine kids.
My computer is sloooowwww.
It was canning season.

I think that about covers it.

So...here are my usual random posts of things that happened in the past.

Just go ahead and play along and please don't acknowledge that I am getting further and further behind.

Okie dookie?

Thanks!

Here are some pictures of my littles at the county fair.

My littles wanted to go to see the animals.

I wanted to go and look at the chickens.

This year they had a fun area with agriculture items.

The corn and beans areas were the fav.

Kept them busy for awhile so it was a fav of mine too.

The last picture is just proof for a friend that ~~lectured me~~ was surprised when I informed him that I didn't buy junk food at the fair.

Apparently, that meant that my kids were deprived.

So...there is proof...they are eating an elephant ear ~~which I bought one of and split it in four...ha!~~

Pictures of the whole famn damily

2011-09-20T06:44:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictues from my 10th High School Reunion.

All right fine.

It was my 20th.

I look exactly the same as I did in high school so I didn't even need to wear a name tag.

Ahem...

Chicken Pot Pies

2011-09-18T06:29:00.000-07:00

On my days off...

I cook.

And cook.

With some laundry and baking thrown in.

Here is proof that the kids help...

Chicken pot pies...

All from scratch...

Even the whole wheat crust...

One of our favorites and they freeze really well!

Yummy!

If you haven't started cooking and freezing meals...

Why not?

I can't even tell you how much this has helped me.

I'm working on a post about the nitty gritty about how to do this and also how much this will benefit your family...both financially and nutrition wise.

Stay tuned...

Utah Vacation

2011-09-16T05:29:00.000-07:00

This summer Corey took the kids back to Utah for 10 days to visit with his family.

Sadly, I wasn't able to go visit with all my in-laws because I had to work.

I even said that with a straight face.

Man...I'm getting good.

It was nice for the kids to get to play with all their cousins and to spend time with Corey's parents.

The kids got to do all kinds of fun things like carnivals, bowling and arcade games.

They had such a wonderful time and it was a really nice break for me too.

Michael stayed home with me so that he could watch over the garden and chickens.

I have never seen a kid more bored.

It was kind of humorous.

And, I think it made him appreciate his siblings.

At least for the first hour or two that they were back home.

Thanks Utah crew for taking good care of my kiddos!

This is why you don't leave your camera laying around...

2011-09-14T05:08:00.000-07:00

Because when you download pictues you find things like this...

Happy Birthday Matthew!

2011-09-12T06:00:00.000-07:00

For Matthew's birthday he choose the ever popular Ice Cream Brownie Mountain.

He is such a tiny 7 year old with a big personality.

Everyone loves this kid.

He cracks us up all the time.

I have the best parents and Nana ever!

They never ever forget any of my kid's birthdays.

We are so lucky.

Here is Matthew with his birthday presents.

When he opened up the card from my parents and saw all the dollars bills ($30) he yelled, "Oh yeah baby! I'm in the green!"

Love that kid!

Happy Birthday Matthew!

The Neons...Part 2

2011-09-07T06:00:00.000-07:00

Remember the Neons?

Now they have decided that they all need a "signature color".

Apparently Neon Green gets the majority of the chicks but...

They are feeling the need to branch out.

My boys went with me to the fabric store and choose fabric.

One of their friends choose blue and he and his mom made a very cool vest!

Love that kid!

Michael decided that pink was his color of choice.

He cut out the fabric and I sewed it right up.

Ok, not really right up...more like over a period of time.

I was pacing myself.

Now, I just have to find time to get the other boy's vests done.

Sigh...

Happy Birthday Levi

2011-09-05T06:00:00.000-07:00

Levi's 5th birthday was actual the day before Joshua's birthday ~~which was in April if you must know how absolutely behind I am~~.

He asked for a strawberry cake which we all love.

Good choice son.

Levi adores Luigi so he was so thrilled with his Luigi shirt.

He wears it all the time.

Love this kid!

Happy Birthday Levi!

Happy Birthday Joshua

2011-09-03T06:00:00.000-07:00

Joshua's birthday may or may have not been several months ago.

I'm not sayin...

Joshua has a ~~weird and strange~~ obsession with candy corn.

I often find that someone ~~Joshua~~ has added "candy corn" to my shopping list.

As if.

However, since it was his birthday and all...candy corn was added to his cake at his request.

Not all of the kids share in his love of candy corn.

Like nice little kiddos, they picked their candy corn off their slice of Ice Cream Brownie Mountain and gave it to Josh to eat.

Happy ~~way way way belated~~ Birthday Joshua!

More Vacation Photos...

2011-09-01T06:00:00.000-07:00

Yes, these are vacation photos from May...

While down in sunny California, we took a day and went to the beach.

What a wonderful change from the Oregon coast where you have to bundle up in snowsuits to enjoy the surf.

Move along people...nothing to see here...

I was pleasantly surprised when I downloaded pictures and found that my husband had carved this into the sand and then taken a picture.

We miss sunny California!

Bad Hair Day

2011-08-31T05:41:00.000-07:00

Just remember the next time that you are having a bad hair day...

It could always be worse...

Update...

2011-08-15T09:00:00.000-07:00

Here is what has been keeping me busy...

I started a new job...I enjoy what I do and I'm actually really doing well at it. It's good for the ego to hear lots of positive feedback ~~instead of all the whining and ungratefulness that one gets at home~~.

I have nine kids about to start the school year...in four different schools.

We are gearing up for fall sports...eight kids playing on six different teams.

I've been getting ready for the busy-ness of fall by putting main dish after main dish in the freezer. I'm almost to 100 which is the magic number for me to feel prepared.

With summer produce finally coming on, I've been cleaning out the freezer of last years produce ~~that I froze thinking that I would leisurely do something with over the winter which, of course, I didn't do~~. 100+ loaves of zucchini, squash, and carrot/pineapple bread later...and still not done. What in the heck was I thinking when I froze all that stuff?!

For some strange, unknown reason, baby chicks just keep appearing at my house. Sadly, over a dozen of them have turned out to be roosters. I'm getting ready to send a bunch to freezer camp. Should be an enlightening experience.

So...as I catch up on my posting...please pretend that the birthday posts and such are from recent birthdays...not ones that passed months ago...K?

Happy Summer!

The Happiest Place On Earth

2011-06-15T05:31:00.000-07:00

After almost a year of saving up the moo-lah...

Selling on Ebay and Craigslist...

Planning a frugal, family-friendly vacation...

We visited the happiest place on earth...

Disneyland

We took the kids out of school for a week and traveled to the park on the off-season.

We felt it was a fair trade-off to avoid the crowds and to get the house rental at a cheaper rate.

Once upon a time, we visited Disneyland in the summer. We swore never, ever to do that again. However, if you enjoy viewing a sea of sweaty humanity as far as the eye can see, in every direction...then please go ahead and visit in the summer.

We rented a house, close to the park, complete with our very own backyard pool.

Because we reserved the house in the off-season, paid in full, well in advance...we were able to save big bucks. We paid less per night than a hotel would have cost and we had a private pool.

We also traveled in redneck style, meaning that we brought a freezer full of food with us.

We backed the trailer into the garage and plugged in the freezer.

Enjoying a home cooked meal every night and not having to buy any food at restaurants or the park helped save a lot of money.

There were some problems with the rental and we were promised compensation...that never arrived.

So...although I definitely recommend renting a house, I just can't recommend this one.

Every day we came back to the house to eat lunch and rest. Later in the day we returned to the park and closed it down.

Party animals, we are.

Can't you tell?

Because we were a party of 12 (we took my 10 year old niece too), and were bound to move around the park at a slower pace, we bought 6 day passes.

That way we were able to see everything that we wanted to see and still had time to go back and hit the highlights.

I think everyone that ever visits Disneyland is required to have a picture of the train station.

Here's mine.

We waved at lots of characters and stopped to talk to others.

Before we left on our trip, the older boys has sworn up and down, back and forth and diagonally that they would not be caught dead meeting a Disney Princess.

But, strangely, the magic of the park has a way of softening even the hardest hearts...

We attended shows...

The Aladdin musical is a must see.

We rode lots and lots and lots of rides.

Shockingly, our super shy, timid, sensitive, five year old, Hannah turned out to be a daredevil.

She rode every ride that she was tall enough to get on with Space Mountain being her favorite.

Hands high in the air, screaming through the dark on a twisty fast roller coaster...she loved it.

Crazy.

Thunder Mountain Railroad was another favorite.

After getting off of the Matterhorn, Hannah declared that the ride was, "very weak."

We rode Small World one time...just to say that we had.

Once you get that song in your head...it's hard to get it out.

Come along and sing with me...you know you want to.

It's a small world after all...it's a small world after all...

I know...I'm being mean.

Favorite ride ever...Pirates of the Caribbean.

The older boys rode it close to 20 times.

See the big, upside down roller coaster?

Because I wasn't pregnant on this trip ~~or forever more for that matter~~, I actually got to ride on it this time around.

Not all my kids were willing.

The autobahn was another ride that we visited multiple times.

See Josh driving the car?

We actually lost him for an entire hour in the park...

And no one noticed.

That's the danger of traveling in a large pack.

He'll need counseling anyway so no harm done.

Very fitting...

Levi kept crossing his eyes in all the pictures.

I didn't notice that until we got home.

Good thing...or I just may have left him in Toon Town.

Of course we had to ride the teacups...

Otherwise know as the "swirl till you hurl" ride...

Did you know that there is a commemorative Mary Poppins horse on the carousel?

We didn't either.

Lily rode it over and over and over.

We just hung out...

Of course the kids let me take great pictures of them...

At least some of them did anyway...

It was a lot of work...

But we all miss it there...

He just gets me...

2011-06-15T01:32:00.000-07:00

Some husbands buy flowers or jewelry for their wives.

And that is sweet...

However...

Flowers and jewelry don't make my lil' heart go pitter patter.

Corey knows me so well...

That when he decided to buy me a "just because"...

He knew exactly what to get.

Can you guess what he bought me?

Aren't they the cutest birds ever?

Don't ya just lurve the way their beaks are making a little heart.

Please ignore the milk spill splats on the cabinet behind them.

Because I am.

For the chicken snobs among us...

These are Black Copper Maran chickens from a french bloodline.

They are probably worth more then my kids.

Kidding people.

~~if they are worth more...email me please~~

One rooster (the new sire of our flock) and three hens.

Just because...

I am one lucky lady.

Tomorrow is the big day!

2011-05-19T23:16:00.000-07:00

I start my new job in the morning...

I'm nervous...

And, I feel like a grown-up ~~well, almost~~

Wish me luck!

Strawberries

2011-05-16T11:46:00.000-07:00

So...what do you do when you are 900 miles from home, on vacation, and you get the phone call?

Which phone call?

The one where you are informed that you have just been gifted 1000 pounds of strawberries.

1. Panic (repeat this step as often as necessary)

2. Cut your trip 12 hours short and drive through the night (this part is brutal) to get back.

3. Pick up the strawberries even before you go home.

4. Panic (again) as you realize you don't have the freezer space for the berries.

5. Go on Craigslist and find a freezer.

6. Find a free freezer that had just been posted.

7. Do a happy dance (this step is optional).

8. Wash berries, hull berries and freeze berries (repeat this step hundreds of times).

9. Be very, very grateful!

We survived!

2011-05-14T11:39:00.000-07:00

Everyone and everything made it back home...safe and sound.

Except, maybe my sanity...

Worry

2011-05-13T10:35:00.000-07:00

Part of being a mom is dealing with the new worries that come along with having kids.

Worry...will they make friends at school?

Worry...did I teach them compassion and empathy?

Worry...will the values that they have been taught hold up when they need them?

And on and on and on and on....

A new worry...

Does this mean...

That she wants to look like this?

I sure hope not!

The Neons

2011-05-11T06:00:00.000-07:00

Please let me introduce...

The Neons

What do they do? Sing? Dance?

Nope.

They dress alike and go to church dances.

I think it's funny.

And kinda cute.

The girls think so too I'd told.

Whatever works.

Three of the four boys are mine.

The fourth one is their good friend, whom we adore.

Go Neons!

Peter

2011-05-09T06:00:00.000-07:00

When out, late at night, walking with Corey...

We came across the cutest little baby bunny ever.

He was wet, cold and hopping in the gutter.

We picked him up and brought him home.

Joshua named him Peter.

After 24 hours, when Peter ~~who went on a hunger strike to protest his imprisonment~~ had not had anything to eat or drink, we went on the Internet to see if there was something else we should be feeding him.

What I found was a picture of a wild bunny who looked EXACTLY like Peter...

and next to the picture it said...

"If you find a wild bunny, who has it's eyes open and is hopping around...DO NOTHING. Leave it alone."

Oops.

Feeling sheepish, we immediately released Peter into our back field.

I'm sure he'll grow up all happy out there.

Where he will get big and fat eating the entire contents of our garden.

But like my dad says...

No good deed goes unpunished.

Much better

2011-05-07T11:34:00.000-07:00

What do you get when you take...

One Joshua...with unruly, mop-like hair...

And you add...

Clippers, scissors and a comb?

A normal looking boy! (wearing a garage sale shirt...score!)

Whew...

Grandpa's Hat

2011-05-05T08:19:00.000-07:00

What is it about a grandpa's hat that is so irresistible?

Everyone wants to wear it.

Including Lily Pad.

Love you Grandpa!

Happy Birthday Lizard!

2011-05-03T06:01:00.000-07:00

Recently Elizabeth turned 11.

She is now a tweenager.

Gulp.

She is such a sweetheart...and such a good big sister.

She received some new clothes and shoes (thank you for great clearance sales + coupons at Children's place and Justice)

She requested hamburgers and orange salad for dinner.

We BBQ'd hamburgers and they were yum.e.

She also requested the Ice Cream Brownie Mountain but with mint oreos around the bottom.

It was also yum.e.

Happy Birthday Liz!

My Birthday

2011-05-02T11:24:00.000-07:00

For my birthday (which was back in February, by the way) Corey gave me a free pass.

Meaning...he gifted me with a day...without kids.

It was my 29th birthday ~~again~~.

Recently he made good on his promise and took the kids to a park and then to the pool.

All the kids went and I stayed home...all...by...myself. **Squeal**

Matthew...posing like a gangster...not sure who taught him that.

The twins were having so much fun...can't you tell?

Happy Birthday to me!

This is one time that I wish my birthday rolled around more often.

Happy Birthday Lily Pad!

2011-04-30T06:00:00.000-07:00

Lillian, aka Human Wrecking Ball, recently turned 3.

If I can survive this next year...I can survive anything.

Yes, I'm aware that we have created this little monster.

Good thing she is cute.

Here she is "taste testing" the strawberry cream cake.

She plays dress up every day...all day.

That includes hair bows...often 10 or more at a time.

This year for her birthday we bought her some of those little hamster like toys on wheels. Her cousins had some when they were here visiting and she just loved them.

I found a cute fairy Barbie (new in box) at Goodwill for $3.99 awhile back and saved it for her birthday too.

In case you can't tell by the pizza sauce all over her face, she requested homemade pizza for her birthday dinner.

Happy Birthday Lily Pad!

We Love Our Ducks...Part 351

2011-04-29T06:00:00.000-07:00

I know I've mentioned it a time or twenty.

But...we are Duck fans.

Our friend, Brandon Bair (see how I'm shamelessly name dropping here) played for the Ducks last year...the year they played for the National Championship ~~and got totally robbed~~.

He is all grad-u-ated now and moved back home with his cute lil' family.

Before they left Dodge, they came over to say Goodbye.

He brought over some of his uniforms and the kids modeled them.

They are still a bit too big.

Actually, it looks like Matthew is wearing a dress.

A very awesome dress.

I love the way the reflective parts look.

Please...don't drool on your keyboard.

But, I won't blame you if that happens.

Maybe I shouldn't mention that we are now the proud owners of two of these bad boys...autographed and all.

Sigh of bliss...

Michael looks just like Brandon Bair.

Hmmm...or not.

We are so going to miss these guys!

The football draft is just getting started.

We can't wait to see which team picks Brandon up.

We told him that we would totally cheer him on.

As long as his new team color was not orange...

Go Ducks!

A Loophole

2011-04-28T06:00:00.001-07:00

If someone's spouse happened to say...

"Don't buy anymore chickens!"

But then you just happened to have a broody hen...

Who just happened to sit on some eggs...

Which just happened to hatch...

That would still be okay...

Because no chickens were actually purchased...

Right?

Don't ya just love a good loophole?

Wordless Wednesday

2011-04-27T06:00:00.000-07:00

Snow Day

2011-04-25T08:18:00.000-07:00

Living in this part of the country means that we hardly ever see snow.

So...when it does snow...

Everything comes to a screeching halt.

I know that people in other parts of the country laugh, sneer and roll their eyes at us when our schools close down due to a light dusting of snow.

But...that's just how we roll.

Recently we had a snow day...which means ~~heaps and piles of soggy wet clothes for mom to wash~~ playing outside!

Here are Levi, Hannah and Lily all dressed up and ready to go!

I realize that I'm not a spring chicken anymore but rolling those snowballs are really hard.

I counted it as my exercise for the day.

Here is Hannah with her portion of the snowperson.

Snowperson=politically correct

Love the snow!

I know...I know...

2011-04-23T14:32:00.000-07:00

I am a sick woman.

Who needs an actual pony?

2011-04-22T07:25:00.000-07:00

If she has back problems later on...she can always blame her sister...

The passing of a great man

2011-04-21T07:13:00.000-07:00

Corey's beloved Grandpa passed away in February.

He was almost 95 years old.

3 children, 20 grandchildren and 52 great-grandchildren is the legacy that he left.

There are no words deep enough to adequately describe how absolutely pure and loving of a man that he was.

The most unique thing about him was that he played a saw. Like the one you cut wood with. Beautiful music that will be missed.

Here Corey and I are with him about a month before he passed.

Here are a couple of pictures from the service that I shamelessly copied from my sister-in-law's facebook page.

Grandma passed away in 2003.

They are together again at last.

Here is the poem that my 16 year old son, Joseph, wrote and read at the funeral.

William Holmes Walker

This is for the man who saw his world change, from horses and wagons, to cars and planes.

This is for the man who worked his whole life, through sweat, through tears, through pain and strife.

This is for the man who never gave less, who always saw the good, who always gave his best.

To set the example for his family and for his name, and learn from every problem that he overcame.

This is for the man who could always crack a joke, who was full of optimism, and full of hope.

This is for the man who had music fill his life, with melodic, sweet harmonies, much like his wife.

This is for the man who could put music into a saw,

This is for the man who did it all.

We miss you!

Love you Grandpa!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-04-20T13:52:00.000-07:00

Not Me Monday

2011-03-28T11:43:00.000-07:00

I love chickens.

There I said it.

Out loud even.

I do not believe in going overboard and I live completely with everything in moderation.

I am easily able to keep myself in check and don't ever have the urge to "overdo".

Obviously owning 31 chickens would be more then plenty and I wouldn't feel the need to bring more home.

Of course I oohhh and awwww over the brand new chicks.

They are adorable little balls of fluffy cuteness.

I certainly wouldn't scheme and plan in an attempt to bring them all home with me.

So...

You certainly wouldn't find me at the feed store, waiting impatiently for them to open on the day that their chicks arrived.

I wouldn't go in "just to look" and end up bringing home a dozen of the cutest little chickens that you ever did see.

It was "for the kids" after all. What kind of a mother would I be if I never gave my kids the opportunity to own baby chicks?

Not that I did that, mind you.

When the chicken population got to be over 40, a normal person would not buy any more chickens.

So, being normal, I of course, would not have purchased anymore.

The following week, during a trip to a nearby town, I wouldn't have popped into a different farm and garden store to check out their chick sale.

I would have been aware of my limits.

Buy 2, get 1 free specials on chicks do not call out to me.

6 chicks would not have literally called my name, gotten down on their little yellow knees and begged me to take them home. ~~just so you know...that is my story and I'm sticking to it~~

I would not have been afraid to tell my husband and I would not have smuggled them into the existing pen.

I wouldn't have hoped that he would not notice the much smaller, totally noticeable additions.

When he immediately noticed I did not try to use the shoe trick and say "These old things? I've had them forever!"

That did not work, by the way.

Chicken jokes did not start after the smuggling incident.

"Do I need to call the chicken hoarder show?"

"Are you the chicken equivalent of the crazy cat lady?"

"Do they make a nicotine style patch for a chicken addiction?"

"Maybe you should look into a 12 step program."

Like I haven't heard all those before.

Geesh...

So...I definitely wouldn't have been cruising Craigslist for more chickens.

Because...really...I would know when enough is enough.

I wouldn't have seen the ad for chickens that were so cute that it ought to be illegal.

I wouldn't have made arrangements to go pick them up ~~while my husband was gone~~

I wouldn't have smuggled them into the pen with the existing chicks...again...~~if at first you don't succeed, try, try again~~

I wouldn't have felt EXTREMELY guilty when he texted me a picture later that night of one of my new chicks...telling me that it looked like one of my chickens was molting...

I would have immediately folded like a lawn chair and confessed!

I wouldn't have let him believe that lie ~~liar, liar, pants on fire~~

Sigh...

I, apparently, need to get a grip.

Excuse me while I go confess...

A whole new level of cheap

2011-03-13T05:50:00.000-07:00

Using up what I already have.

This is my mantra for the year.

Mostly because I have a whole lotta stuff.

Stuff that has possibilities...

I feel like my eyes have been opened.

And I can see options in items that never before had existed.

Like turning a headboard into a puppet theater.

Refashioning an old dress into a skirt.

But...with this blessing comes a curse.

Because, all of a sudden...all kinds of things have value.

And it's a fine line between collecting projects that have value and becoming a hoarder.

I'm just totally for sure that I haven't crossed that line yet.

Just don't look in my barn.

Ahem...

Anywhoo...

I'm going to change subjects here.

Just wanted to warn you so that you can keep up with me.

Easter is coming.

Which means putting together Easter baskets.

Which means buying candy.

Not much, mind you.

But some.

Usually I buy them a little chocolate sampler that runs about $1.19.

It has 1.75 ounces of chocolate in it.

But, after Valentines Day, I spied clearance chocolates.

Please forgive the poor quality pictures as I am hiding in my closet.

Not from the in-laws ~~that was last week~~.

But, I am hiding the candy.

I bought 4 of these 14 ounce candy boxes on clearance...$2.24 each.

I needed some little boxes to put them in.

But, I didn't have any.

Bummer.

Determined as I was, not to go out and buy anything, I went on-line and found a great tutorial for making little boxes out of scrapbook paper.

I picked out pastel colored paper from my stash ~~I know...I know...this makes me look like a hoarder~~ and folded up a bunch.

Click here to go to the tutorial.

Here are my boxes...all ready to go.

Just look at all that chocolaty goodness.

I had to test out ~~a few~~ one.

Just to make sure they were yummy.

I needed some shredded paper to fill up most of the box and then set the chocolates on top making it look like it was really full of chocolates but it really isn't.

Just like they do it in the stores.

But...I didn't have any shredded paper.

So...in a moment of weakness, I called Corey and asked him to buy some on his way home.

He called me, while in the store, to tell me that the little sacks of shredded paper were $2.29 each.

I think not.

So...back out came my stash of scrapbook paper.

And I sent some through the paper shredded.

It worked perfectly.

And, again, I was using stuff that I already had.

I would have wrapped them all up in clear cellophane except I didn't have any.

But, I did have green.

So, that is what I used.

Here they are...all pretty and ready to go into the baskets.

If I can just stay out of them in the meantime...

Happy 16th Michael and Joseph

2011-03-12T17:50:00.000-08:00

The twins have turned 16.

This is hard for me to wrap my brain around.

Seem just like yesterday we were bringing them home from the hospital.

And I was saying "I can't believe that they just let us bring them home! Don't they know that we have no idea what we are doing?"

They just got their permits so obtaining the actual license will be a while in the future.

Which is just fine by me.

The twins sat down to open their gifts...and got mobbed.

The "littles" adore their big brothers.

Especially when they are holding presents.

They requested chicken pot pies (homemade of course) for dinner and pies for dessert.

Joseph asked for the white chocolate raspberry pie and Michael requested the 1st place Apple pie.

Happy Birthday Twins! We sure love you!

Happy 15th Timothy!

2011-02-28T12:47:00.000-08:00

Recently, my freshman, Timothy celebrated his 15th birthday.

In standard casual birthday protocol, he got his presents, followed by a home cooked meal and dessert of his choosing.

The big news was that we gave him...a phone.

Actually a used phone that we had but...his own number.

His fingers haven't slowed down since.

For dessert we had the much requested "Ice Cream Brownie Mountain".

The topping is supposed to look like snow but in the picture it almost resembles an avalanche.

Still yummy though.

For two weeks I will have three 15 year olds.

We refer to them as Irish Triplets.

Happy Birthday Tim!

The chickens and making do with what you have

2011-02-23T11:51:00.000-08:00

Growing up, we had chickens.

I loved the experience, mostly because it was all fun and no work.

Now that I'm an adult ~~on paper anyway~~, the thought of having chickens, laying eggs and wandering around the yard just seemed so...homey.

My dear husband wasn't as enthusiastic but ~~the squeaky wheel gets the grease~~ he very graciously picked up the supplies that we needed.

Since I last posted about the chicken, we have added to our flock...in a big way.

Someone on Craigslist was giving away their chicken flock. It was quite a drive from our home but the thought of all those free hens really spurred me on.

Plus they were free.

Did I already mention that?

Turns out that after umpteen years of marriage and 10 kids, the couple in question was calling it quits and getting rid of all their animals.

Sad.

I graciously took all the hens (even the rooster) and brought them home.

We put them in the coop after our hens had already roosted up for the night.

We got a good laugh thinking about what would happen when our chickens would wake up the next morning.

I'm sure they were like..."WTH?...where did all these birds come from?"

At that point, we had 27 hens and one lone rooster...whom we named Ranger.

Then...sometime before Christmas...there were 31.

Someone pointed out on Facebook that the three new hens were french hens. Since it was before Christmas that did make me pause to consider but...I'm pretty sure they aren't.

Only because there never were any drummer boys....thank goodness.

Because we have such a variety of chickens and I don't take the time to get to know each one individually, I couldn't even tell who the newcombers (Ha!) were.

So...now we have 30 hens and one rooster.

Every day, when we go out to feed them, the hens flock to you. It is hysterical to watch them come a runnin'. They work their drumsticks as fast as they can.

It makes me laugh out loud.

Which is probably one of the reasons that the neighbors think I'm certifiable.

Here are about 1/2 the hens, all lined up, eating the morning scratch.

Sorry for the feather butt shot.

The coop we got for free off of Craigslist. It was a shed in some one's backyard and they just wanted it gone. Corey and the boys dissembled it, brought it home and put it back together again.

The shed is really not crooked, it's just that the person taking the picture was keeping one eye peeled for the attack rooster.

His days are numbered.

I had to suppress the urge to scream "Dead chicken walking" at him this morning.

But, again, I refrain...for the neighbor's sake.

We needed some roosts so we looked around to see what we already had on hand.

In the shop were some water bed rails.

I had bought three sets of water bed frames last year at GW for $10 total. The side rails were the only thing that wasn't going to be used in a project.

Great roosts they made!

The nesting boxes were actually a shoe bin that I had curb shopped last year.

My very first curb shop. sniff...sniff...

Just give me a moment to compose myself...

**wipes tear from eye**

Corey pulled the top off of the shoe bin, turned it to it's side and attached it to the wall of the coop.

Total cost so far...$0

Does that make me sound cheep ~~Ha! Ok, sorry...I just can't help it~~ or what?!

You can see that the hens are laying underneath the nesting boxes too but they seem to prefer the left side for some reason.

Strange.

And boy are they ever laying the eggs!

Today is the 23rd and through yesterday we have collected 391 eggs this month.

I'm almost drowning in eggs.

I've been giving them away fast and furiously to the neighbors.

Which is probably ~~one of the reasons~~ why they aren't answering their door anymore.

I do have a few chickens that are not laying in the nesting boxes.

Easter egg hunting is great once a year...everyday...not so much.

Someone out there is laying the funniest shaped eggs.

We refer to them as "bullets".

See the one on the right?

They are the chicken equivalent of a cone head.

And, because someone must have hit me with the stupid stick ~~again~~ we now are the proud owner of 12 baby chicks.

We went in to get "just a couple" and came out with "a lot".

Kind of reminds me of what happened with the kids.

A couple of these are promised to lay chocolate brown eggs.

I'm so excited.

Hopefully they will have rich creamy centers...

Wait...what?

They are only the color of chocolate?

That's just not funny.

Sigh...

Valentines Week Activities

2011-02-14T14:18:00.000-08:00

The week before Valentines Day was full of school activities which the kids were very involved in.

There were dress up days, hall decorating contest, cake contest, fashion show assembly and Mr/Mrs Irresistible.

Michael was in the fashion show as Edward Cullen from the Twilight series.

The sophomores won the fashion show, hallway decorating contest and got 2nd in the cake contest.

Can we say Competitive?

Michael was also the sophomore class Mr. Irresistible.

So..where was Joseph during all of this?

Sadly, even though he had been the main force behind Valentines Week, ~~aka Control Freak~~ the main event, the fashion show, fell on the same day as Swimming Districts.

So, Joe was swimming...fast enough to make the finals...as the only underclassman represented from our entire district in his two events...and he qualified for state!

Tim and Michael went to the dance...with dates.

I just love that they both choose girls with high standards and good values.

Aren't they cute?

Since I didn't feel like buying the kids things that Valentine's Day that they didn't really need...

I made them cookies instead.

Cuz, everyone NEEDS cookies...right?

The best sugar cookie recipe EVER!

Any cookie recipe that combines both cream cheese and almond extract is a keeper.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hannah Banana is 5

2011-02-10T21:49:00.000-08:00

Recently our sweet Hannah Boo-nana turned 5.

She requested homemade pizza for dinner and asked to have cupcakes for dessert.

We made the cupcakes together and she was in charge of the sprinkles.

She got dressed up in her 2nd hand skirt and Goodwill sweatshirt and boots.

Then, she opened her presents that had been wrapped with paper purchased at GW.

Inside she discovered a "new to her" Build A Bear puppy that I had purchased 1/2 off at GW.

It looked like new but it was nakie so off we marched to the Build-A-Bear store for a new outfit.

Afterwards we went out to lunch at Izzy's Pizza because she had a free birthday coupon.

Was her birthday any less fun for her...wearing preowned clothes...receiving a preowned toy...eating lunch with a coupon...having homemade pizza for dinner...

I think not.

Happy Birthday to our sweet little daughter!

We love you!

I finally realized what my thing is!

2011-01-19T22:33:00.000-08:00

You do know what "thing" I'm talking about right?

I look around at my friends, family and classmates and I notice that they have "things".

I have a friend that makes beautiful handmade beads.

Another friend is a sewing wiz.

My cousin's wife sells houses like nobodies business.

At school, I have a classmate that is a Dive master.

Another is a professional soccer player.

And it just got me a thinkin'...

What is my thing?

What if I didn't have a thing?

After all...I'm just a mom.

Who does mom things.

So...I tried to think about things that I was good at...

That I enjoyed doing.

What first came to mind was food.

Don't laugh...

I'm serious.

Quite often my family is given food by my parents.

Seems like my folks know everyone in their small town.

And people are always asking them if they can use things.

Like 40 pounds of chicken.

Or 30 pounds of onions.

10 pounds of carrots.

10 Butternut squash.

And they say "Sure!"

And bring them straight to me.

Then (this is the fun part) I have the challenge of figuring out what to do with all that food.

How to make it into something useful...nutritious...and yummy.

I really, really enjoy this.

It was then that I realized...

My thing is cooking. And I really enjoy cooking from scratch.

That I have a large family to cook for is just a bonus.

I'm so grateful that this is my "thing".

I'm also really happy that it isn't something like skydiving or rock climbing too.

Cuz those things just freak me out.

So...what did I do with all that food?

14 Chicken Pot pies and 40 dozen muffins.

What is your thing?

Our Furry Friends

2011-01-17T11:50:00.000-08:00

Seems like I never know what I will find on my camera when I download pictures.

I'm surprised that the animals aren't blind from having the camera repeatedly shoved in their face, flash after flash...

Maggie

Snowball, up close and personal

Tim and Boo

Liz and Snowball

Snowball

Mater

King Mater

King Snowball

I'm pretty sure this is the animal equivalent of blackmail pictures for use with future girlfriends...

Liz with her sweet bunny

So far...so good...

Questions, Answers and Awards. AKA Becky trying to catch up...

2011-01-16T04:16:00.000-08:00

Kathi said...

I found your blog while googling Eagle Scout court of honor reception. I looooove your blog. You are fantastically creative. Question, though....how did you create those wooden blocks for the Eagle Court? They are wonderful. I've never done that before so I have no idea how to attempt it. Help?

....Ok, I know I way late in getting around to answering this but the wooden blocks are actually pieces of barn siding. If you don't have access to barn siding, any molding piece or other thin piece of wood will work too. After you get the pieces of wood to the size that you want, cut out scrapbooking paper and attach with modge podge. I recommend letting them dry completely after that. I went to the Boy Scout office and purchased merit badges that were the required ones for the Eagle Scout rank. At the time, I didn't have a Cricut so I went to the local craft store and used their die cut machine to cut out the Fleurs. We just used regular glue to attach the Fleurs and the merit badges. Small metal easels from the dollar were used to display the finished project.s

Good luck and congrats to your Eagle!

Nike said...

You are my hero. I had my six help me with my first bushel of peaches and um, it didn't go well. You guys rock. Also, where do you order your corn and veggies from? A local grower? Co-op? I'd love to do that next year.

...We order the corn from a local farm and my dad was able to get the green beans from a farmer friend of his. It really pays to shop around, especially if you have several farms in the area. It was a huge pain in the bum bum to have the kids involved but I feel like if I can train my child labor correctly, one day it will pay off. Right?....um, right?

Nike said...

Becky, looks like they had a blast! We're did they go hiking? I need somewhere fun to go on Labor Day ... in Utah. A hike sounds like fun.

...They went hiking up at a ski resort. I think it was called Cecrete. Next time we come to Utah, we should totally meet up!

Meet Polly: said...

I'm inspired! Seriously. I visit Goodwill a lot but never look at the clothes. What are your tips? Look for recognizable name brands?

-Polly

...I do look for name brands. I only buy the ones that look like new. Brands like Ann Taylor Loft, Banana Republic, Lane Bryant and Talbots are my favorites. Shipping is also a beast and the rates just went up (again). So, I normally stick to items that can fit in the flat rate envelopes. The blog My Dear Trash is a great resource for tips on ebay selling.

Ronda Batchelor said...

I really enjoy your blog, it makes my 6 kid seem like nothing. I nominated your blog for an award. Come on over and check it out.

...Thanks so much! I went and checked out your seven things that you said about yourself and we are so much alike girl! Except that I've never driven a school bus. :)

Jed said...

Becky

Came across your blog. I too have nine kiddos. And believe or not we too just got done saving every penny to go to Disneyland and just got back.

We rented a house right near Disneyland which was the cheapest option for all 11 of us. Would love to swap notes if you think it would help. My wife did all the planning, so I'm sure she would love to share more than you care to know ;)

...Thanks so much! We have rented a house too and plan on taking all of our food down there. I'll be emailing you when the trip gets closer for more ideas!

MICHELL said...

I did a chair planter too...now I'm gonna have to plant flowers in one of the hubby's toolboxes..LOL Ok I've featured you come grab a button!! Thanks again!

...Thanks so much! I can't wait till warmer weather so I can re pot the planters!

One Life Many Journeys said...

Award time. I have given you The Versatile Blogger Award.

...Thank you! I know I am probably supposed to come up with some goodies about myself...I'll have to think about this and see if I can come up with anything interesting. That might be hard...

Sabrina C. said...

Her art work will come off the doors with the Mr. Clean white sponges. I don't remember the name of them just look on the cleaning section. They also remove permanent marker too.

Love your dumpster finds....When I was little I used to dumpster dive with my Aunt. I am so old and feeble to dumpster dive now, but I sure love me a Goodwill or Thrift store.

...Thanks for the Mr. Clean tip! I went out and bought me a sponge!

Lily said...

You have some great finds there! One thing about the car seat, though. The reason Goodwill throws them away is that there is no way to know whether or not the car seat has been in a wreck. According to a state trooper friend of mine, sometimes (just like bike helmets) the car seat thing about the car seat, though. The reason Goodwill throws them away is that there is no way to know whether or not the car seat has been in a wreck. According to a state trooper friend of mine, sometimes (just like bike helmets) the car seat can be compromised and won't protect well in a second accident, even if it appears it's in fine condition. The car seat may be just fine, but you really don't know.

BTW, I never would have thought about DDing behind Goodwill. I might just try it sometime!

...Thanks for telling me about the car seat! I passed on that information to my friend and she said that she just plans on using it around the house.

Jensamom23 said...

What great tips! I had no idea you could freeze celery! I slice gunky looking bananas as well...I freeze them on a cookie sheet in a single layer and then pop them in a freezer bag. We use them in smoothies...acts as the ice without diluting.

...Thanks for that great tip! I am now freezing bananas for that too!

Sorry I'm so behind here! Thanks for all the comments. I really feel isolated socially sometimes due to my workload and it helps to know that there are other people out there. :)

It's my party and I'll cry if I want to...

2011-01-15T00:24:00.000-08:00

My parents had someone give them more onions that they could use so we were gifted about 30 pounds of the little buggers.

I love having them already chopped, out in the freezer. It is so handy when doing mass cooking.

I used the food chopper this time, just because there were so many.

By the third onion I was crying harder then the time I scuffed the toes of my new plaid boots.

My husband suggested that I chew a piece of gum.

I honestly thought that it was some kind of old wives tale but at that point I was desperate.

I popped a piece of gum in my mouth and...

Not one more tear.

Crazy.

I dumped the onions on cookie sheets and set them out in the freezer overnight.

The next day you can easily break up the pieces and put them into ziplocks.

Then back into the freezer they go.

Easy peasy!

Potato Soup

2011-01-13T11:46:00.000-08:00

There is just something about a great bowl of soup in the winter.

Well, during any gloomy time really.

Which, here in Oregon, feels like most of the year.

Potato soup is our fav.

Over the weekend, I made 40 batches and froze most of it.

40 batches is about 6 meals for us.

I was going to take a picture of the soup but by the time I got around to it this is what the pot looked like.

The great thing about this soup is that you can use instant non-fat powered milk instead of milk and no know can even tell.

I do freeze the soup in large containers and I find that even the milk freezes/recooks just fine as long as you use it within a few months.

I also freeze the cheese in ziploc bags and just grab one out of the freezer at the same time that I take out a container of soup.

If you remember to take the soup out of the freezer the night before, in the morning you can just throw it into the crockpot (low setting) for a no-fuss dinner.

Enjoy!

Potato soup

3 medium potatoes (about 1 pound), peeled and quartered
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups milk
3 tablespoons butter, melted
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour (whole wheat works too)
2 teaspoons minced fresh parsley (I've used frozen or dried too)
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Swiss cheese

In a saucepan, bring potatoes, onion, water and salt to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until potatoes are tender. Do not drain; mash slightly. Stir in milk. In a small bowl, blend butter, flour, parsley and pepper; stir into the potato mixture. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Remove from the heat; add cheese and stir until almost melted.

We love our Ducks!

2011-01-11T00:01:00.000-08:00

Thank you to Brandon Bair (Ducks #88) for setting such a good example, on and off the field, for the kids in our community.

We really hope that your "little" brother one day plays for Oregon too.

I know that the Ducks didn't officially win the national title but they sure came out on top in the class department.

And that means a lot.

Here are my twins with Brandon and his little brother...

Oops...

Let me move back and try that again...

Much better!

Thanks Ducks...it's been an amazing year!

Sure can't wait for next year...

Oregon Ducks are the Best!

2011-01-10T21:41:00.000-08:00

#1 The referees blew several key calls that ultimately cost the Ducks the game

#2 Auburn showed terrible sportsmanship and even I was embarrassed for them

#3 I don't care what the score said...Ducks came out on top

A lot of Duck fans feel terribly robbed tonight...

Nuff said...

Normal Canning...Times Ten

2011-01-06T21:09:00.000-08:00

Times 10?

My ~~poor tired aching~~ feet might beg to differ.

More like 100 they think.

My dad has mega connections.

He arranged for delivery of another "box" of apples, just like last year.

Did I mention that the box contained 1000 pounds of apples?

Here they are in all their appley goodness...

Purdy, no?

Thankfully we still had the strainer that Dad attached a motor to (yes, my arm thanks him) and the apple cutter that he engineered using a tire pump.

Yes...he's a genius.

Why couldn't I have inherited that gene?

My mom came out two days and worked tirelessly.

Her energy is amazing.

She did most of the stirring at the stove.

Can I just tell you how nice it was to have my canning buddy back?

I sure missed her during peaches/pears.

She was fighting a lil thing that we refer to as cancer.

But she kicked it in the butt.

Here we are working away in the kitchen.

I would be amiss if I didn't mention that Corey, Michael, Joseph and Timothy also worked really hard...the entire time...without complaining.

Frankly, I'm suspicious. I'm still waiting to hear what it is that they want.

Here is the finished product.

All nice and neat in the ~~locked~~ pantry.

Kidding...we really do let the kids eat the food we can.

I just wish they would slow down.

Final count?

Drum roll.....

325 quarts...

In two days...

A new record for us.

Whew!

Christmas 2010

2011-01-02T00:16:00.000-08:00

If I were to sum up our Christmas in one word it would be...

Relaxing

Don't look at me like that...I'm serious.

I was a woman on a mission this year.

Christmas pasts were full of rushing, sleep deprivation, cramming in events, stress and pressure.

Doesn't sound like much fun, huh?

This year I was determined to make things different.

So I planned way ahead for once.

Shopping, wrapping, family pictures, Christmas letter and cards, Christmas dinner, family activities and traditions and goodie plates

I gave myself a timeline and made sure to include plenty of time to just kick back and relax.

As a result...

The best Christmas ever

We put up two different trees this year.

Our "Duck the Halls" tree we put up downstairs.

The Ducks are playing in the National Championship game this year, for the first time ever, so the Duck tree was a must.

Complete with a Duck train and station.

We put up the family tree in the master bedroom ~~where it would be safe from the toddlers~~ so we could put the presents out sooner, knowing that they might actually stay wrapped until Christmas morning.

We have a tradition here regarding the angel on top of the tree.

Each year a different child gets to put the angel on top.

So in a family with nine kids, your chance comes around twice.

Michael mentioned how this has scarred him for life.

He can imagine a time in his future when he is married and has kids.

It will be Christmas time and one of his kids will ask to put the angel on the tree.

He sadly tells me that he can see himself grabbing the angel, clutching it tightly to his chest and shouting "mine, mine, mine".

I'm pretty sure I should check on counseling for him after winter break is over.

Anyway, it was Lily's turn this year.

I had started shopping for presents back in October and was pretty much all done by the time Thanksgiving rolled around.

We kept it simple again this year with the kids each getting two nice, meaningful gifts.

I asked the grandparents to keep it simple this year too.

It was refreshing.

I wrapped the presents and had them under the tree a week before Christmas.

I use code names for the kids so that no one knows which presents are theirs until Christmas morning.

It is so funny watching them try to figure which name belongs to whom.

Sleeping Beauty, Grumpy Smurf, Hercules, Hulk, Lightenin' McQueen, Cinderella, Alice, Batman and Goldilocks were the names we used this year.

The week of Christmas was so much fun.

We played games and watched a different Shrek movie each night.

We just hung out.

We made amazing nachos.

I even had time to bake 10 different cheesecakes and give sampler plates to our friends.

We hung out in our PJ's and just enjoyed each other's company.

Can someone tell me how this could possibly be comfortable?

The kids each made a little gingerbread house.

Our whole fam damily.

We hope you had an amazing 2010 and we wish you an even better 2011!

Happy New Year!

Thanks for the reminder...

2010-12-08T23:37:00.000-08:00

I love my kids.

Just thought I should put that out there first.

I miss my house.

The clean one.

The one where there are no marks on the walls and stuff is actually ~~not strung out all over the floor~~ put away.

Sometimes the disorder really gets to me.

I was upstairs today, putting away clean laundry and I was having a "moment".

You know the one?

The one where you are just so darn sick and tired of...

Picking up...puzzle pieces...game pieces...bits of crayons...

Stepping on Legos (my heel still winces at the memory of that fateful night)...beads...food on the floor...

Looking around and wondering...why there is paper all over the floor...where did my clean house go...why are there crayon marks on the wall...again...

Pining away for...free time...a clean house...my remodel finished...

And...while I was having my ~~extended~~ moment...

I forgot...

About the big picture...

About why I do this...

But then...

Levi handed me a small piece of paper.

It had a heart on it that he had colored.

I stopped putting away the laundry and said...

"Thank you Levi! I'm going to put it into my pocket where it will be safe."

"Mommy," he said, "there's something on the back too."

I turned it over and this is what I found...

My first thought was..."Huh?"

But as I looked closer I was able to pick out some letters so I ~~totally guessed~~ made an educated guess.

"It says, I love you?"

He was positively beaming as he nodded his head, so proud.

At that moment, my crayon-picking-up, lego-stepping on, clean house missing hardened heart melted a little.

I scooped him up for a big ol hug and told him how much I loved him too.

And I remembered...

Why I do this...

Day in and day out...

I'll do better...

And try not to ever forget why again...

Thanks Levi for the reminder.

My Q-T Pies

2010-12-02T12:23:00.000-08:00

Love these kids...

They are a three man destruction team.

And they are ~~quickly~~ slowly destroying my house...

Lucky thing for them that they are so cute.

Am I that kind of mother?

2010-12-01T10:23:00.000-08:00

Ya know the kind?

The kind that takes pictures of her children sleeping...

Lovely, angel-like pictures...

But what about the less than attractive ones?

Like when they make little piggy noses?

Am I that kind of mother?

The one that takes pictures of her pre teen sleeping...drooling... on the couch?

And posts them on the family blog?

Apparently...

I am.

The family dog...take two

2010-11-28T16:43:00.000-08:00

Introducing...

Maggie the mystery mutt

Adopted from the pound

Age guesstimate 1-2 years

Sweet as can be

Super soft fur

Very tolerant of the toddlers

Fitting in quite nicely

Black lab?

Collie?

Shepard?

All three?

We will never know and I'm not really concerned to be honest.

I know what she is not.

Pitbull.

Which means that everything should work out perfectly, no?

Yes.

We are all counting on it.

More ebay stuff...

2010-11-27T11:36:00.000-08:00

I love being a mom.

But...it's really nice to have something to think about besides diapers and dinners.

Like...a hobby.

And when a hobby makes you money...bonus!

My hobby recently has been buying and selling items, both on ebay and Craigslist.

I'll admit that I got a bit behind during soccer season.

Except I kept on buying the clothes.

I just didn't get them all listed.

I realized that there was a problem when I looked at my dining room table the other day and...

Wait...

Where did my table go?

Has anyone seen the table?

Long...oval...outdated honey oak...?

Anyone?

Oh...

It's under that mountain of clothes?

Oops.

So...

I got to work and started listing the clothes.

Because I needed my table back.

The last couple of weeks have been very busy for ebay.

Last week I shipped out over 50 items.

But the pile is getting smaller...I think.

Here are some top sellers...

I always get so excited when I see Prana items.

Because they always sell...the first week that I list them.

This super soft Prana sweater (size small) was no exception.

Bought for $2.50 and sold with multiple bids for $13.38.

Long, straight skirts always do well.

This Eddie Bauer tan corduroy skirt was purchased for $2 and sold for $13.

I have yet to meet a long straight denim skirt that I couldn't sell.

This 20W skirt was purchased for $2 and sold for $12.

My top seller was this gorgeous blood red dress by Jones New York (size small).

Purchased for $3 and sold for $29.

The blog My Dear Trash has great ebay tips. Go check them out for inspiration and advice.

I really haven't been doing much buying and selling of furniture anymore.

Our Goodwill store got a new manager a couple of months ago and the prices have gone crazy.

For example, I used to be able to pick up wood dressers for $10-15 but now they are asking $50-70.

Bummer.

As I left from my weekly shopping trip, I spied a solid wood entertainment center that had just been donated.

Because there was no room in the store ~~if they would mark down the stuff to reasonable prices, they would sell stuff and actually have room in the store?~~ and it was getting rained on.

They sold it to moi for $15.

Me likey.

I put it on CL the day before Thanksgiving and it sold the day after.

For $50.

That's more like it!

Happy Selling!

Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

2010-11-27T11:15:00.000-08:00

I was thinking about the holidays and realized that my twins are 15. This means that (counting this year), we only have four more holiday seasons all together.

It brought tears to my eyes.

It has gone by so fast.

I know I have my moments ~~often~~ when I want to pull my hair out because I just get so darn frustrated with just how hard the kids are on things but...

I really do enjoy my kids.

I enjoy the time we spend together as a family.

I'm really going to miss it when they are gone.

So, this year we decided to stay home for Thanksgiving and just enjoy our family.

The kids all requested their favorites...

Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy, sweet potatoes, corn, orange salad and overnight rolls.

For dessert...peanut butter cheesecake, chocolate chiffon pie, chocolate peanut butter pie, pecan pie, pumpkin pie, white chocolate raspberry pie, and apple pie.

I made it all.

From scratch.

I then slept for 10 hours.

Much better.

For the first time, Corey had requested Overnight Rolls. His mom used to make them and and I have the recipe.

I asked Corey if I should double the recipe, since most of the recipes that we use need to be at least doubled to feed us all.

He thought that it was a good idea...because they are that good.

I should have thought that one through first. Corey is one of 10 kids and any recipe coming from his side of the family probably doesn't need to be doubled.

But, I didn't think it through...and I quadrupled it.

My bad.

230+ rolls later...

I'm pretty sure that eating all these rolls will give you rolls.

Like the kind that hang over the waistband.

Not funny...but super yummy!

I used every pan I had.

My 2 year old decided to taste test them...

And one of my teenagers asked to have "one".

In case you don't have the teenage conversion chart in your kitchen, I'll help you out.

One = Four

Here we all are right before digging in

Please ignore the unfinished dining room...we have yet to tackle that room in the house.

Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Got books?

2010-11-17T18:14:00.000-08:00

I love to read.

It's been that way as long as I've been reading.

That is probably one of the main reasons that I don't watch TV.

I don't have anything against TV...

I'd just rather be reading a good book.

Over the summer I read over 60 books.

Gotta love the local library.

I have kids that love to read too and they read a ton of books over the summer.

I read the books first and then they read them. Not only does that give me a chance to monitor what they are reading but we are then able to have some really great conversations about the books.

Here are some series that we thought were note able-
Thumbs Up-Alex Rider

Alex Rider

8 books in the series

Three of us read this series and we were all cheering on the teenage spy, Alex.

Thumbs Up-Artemis Fowl

Artemis Fowl

6 books in the series

Two of us read the series and found the child genius to be really fun and interesting.

Thumbs Up-Fablehaven

Fablehaven

5 books in the series

Two of us read the series and loved it! Joshua is currently reading it AGAIN.
Thumbs Up-The Candy Shop

Not a series but written by the same author as the series Fablehaven.

We enjoyed it...definitely worth a read.

Thumbs Up-Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Percy Jackson and the Olympians

5 books in the series

Four of us read the whole series. Much, much better than the movie!

Thumbs Up-Ranger's Apprentice

Ranger's Apprentice

9 books in the series

Three of us read these with a fourth working on them right now.

My favorite series this summer!

Book nine just came out...can't wait to get a copy!

Just okay-Maximum Ride

Maximum Ride

7 books in the series

I'm the only one that read all these.

Michael read a little bit and declared them "boring"

I have to agree.

Just okay-Keys to the Kingdom

Keys to the Kingdom

7 books in the series

I'm the only one that read them.

I found them a bit weird. Course that is just my opinion and the same thing could be said about me.

Trash and Don't Even Bother-House of Night

House of Night

I have no idea how many are in the series and I don't even care.

Can I just tell you how glad that I am to have read these books before I would have passed them on to my kids?

That this crap is marketed to our young adults is disgusting. Blo.w Job.s, Se.x with a Teac.her and repeated use of the F wor.d

And all in the teen section of my local library.

Yuck.

The only time I remarked in person to someone (my hairdresser) that these books were filth, she told me that had purchased them for her 14 year old daughter.

Her justification?

That the kids are surrounded by it anyway.

I didn't comment in person. Because, after all, she was ~~coloring~~ cutting my hair and I didn't want to make her mad. I may be opinionated but I'm not stupid.

But, in my humble opinion, just because my kids are surrounded by it does not make me feel justified in shoving more in front of their faces.

Enough said.

Happy Reading!

I misjudged...

2010-11-14T20:18:00.000-08:00

I spent weeks searching for the perfect dog for our family.

I had a list of ~~demands~~ traits that we deemed desirable.

Breed...I could care less.

Temperament...most important.

We made several trips in to the pound.

Talk about heartbreaking!

We looked high and low until we found Zoey.

She had all the qualities that we were looking for.

That she had brains plus beauty...a total bonus.

That she was a big dork was just the icing. After all, that meant that she fit in perfectly.

So we all lived happily ever after, right?

Sadly...not so.

It's my fault really.

You see...I misjudged.

I misjudged the prejudice against Zoey's breed.

She's a gorgeous blue nosed pit bull.

Which is a much misunderstood breed.

Our family and friends were horrified that we would bring a pit bull into our home.

This was the cause of much concern on our behalf.

Any kind of contention causes me much anxiety.
In the end I folded.

So...Zoey went back to her former owners.

Tears have been shed and hearts broken.

One of my teenagers said...

"Our house just feels so empty without her here."

And in a house where 11 people live...

I think that says it all...

More ebay sales

2010-11-07T20:08:00.000-08:00

I definitely had slowed down with my ebay sales mostly because soccer had taken over my life.

But now fall soccer season has come to an end and I am back in biz!

Selling on ebay is so much fun and the best part, for me, is that almost off of it can be managed from my own home.

I spend about 2 hours, once a week, in the local Goodwill store, buying clothes.

Other than that, I don't have to leave my house.

I ship everything priority mail which means that the priority envelopes and boxes are FREE (oh, free...how I love thee...).

I order the FREE boxes and envelopes from the post office, online and they are delivered to my door...for FREE!

After my item sells, I pay for the postage online and print out the shipping label. All done here at home.

I schedule a pick up with the post office, set my packages by the front door (don't worry, we have a gated yard) and they come and pick them up for FREE!

Because my family is my primary focus, this ebay biz works out wonderfully for me. I can just nip and tuck it in when I have time.

I tried really hard to keep 100 items for sale at all times but I just couldn't keep up with it. Things just sold too fast. Corey helps me take pictures and he takes measurements which is working out much better.

Brands that I love to sell...Chicos, Ann Taylor Loft, Talbots, and Coldwater Creek. Because we have those stores in our nearby town, I seem to run across these labels a lot.

I will only buy items that are in excellent condition. We don't have a dollar day at "my" Goodwill so I just focus on those items that are coded with "the color of the week" which means that they are 1/2 off.

Always, always, always...test the zippers, look the items over with your eagle eye and be sure and do the "sniff test".

Because, as we say around here...

The nose knows...

Just today I spied the cutest little tweed blazer jacket thatyoueverdidsee and I looked it over. Dollar signs began dancing before my eyes.

Then...I gave it the "sniff test"

And almost gagged.

That.was.nasty.

Any item with BO smell or cig smell gets passed on.

This was a major 10 in the BO department.

Apparently I made such a horrid face that a woman watching me several racks over laughed out loud.

Glad that I could be the source of such cheap entertainment...

Anywhoo...

Here are some of my recent top sales...

Boys size 8 Gap wool coat...bought for $3.99...sold for 24.99

Ann Taylor Loft long wool coat...bought for $5.50...sold for 19.99

Vintage long camel hair coat...bought for 5.50...sold for 24.99

Cute Gymboree spider costume...bought for 2.99...sold for 22.55

And holy cow...how about them leather items? I listed a bunch that I had set aside and they all sold in the first week.

Every item sold for 9.99 to over $20

Even the pleather, leather-wanna-be men's pants sold.

Purchased for 4.99...sold for 20.50

Dolce and Gabbana men's wool coat...bought for 5.50...sold for 39.99

Boden is a great brand so sucked it up and paid full Goodwill price for the next few items.

And I'm glad that I did!

Purchased for 5.99...sold for 29.99

Boden dress...purchased for 5.99...sold for 24.99

Boden skirt...purchased for 3.99...sold for 20.55

I think that I might be in love with ebay.

Happy selling!

Pros and cons of dog ownership

2010-11-05T13:08:00.000-07:00

Pro: The kids love the dog

Pro: She gives them spit baths so I don't have to bathe them.

What?

I still have to give them baths?

Fine.

Be that way.

Pro: She cleans the kitchen floor.

Hourly.

She takes the kids for walks.

Literally.

You can purchase a cage for the kids and no one will question you.

Kidding...

The dog will go in there on her own too.

To take a break from the kids.

She's no dummy.

The cons?

She snores like a freight train.

And farts like a teenage boy.

Lovely.

So, she fits right in.

She's a keeper.

Welcome home Zoey!

Halloween Decor

2010-10-31T21:41:00.000-07:00

I love me some Halloween!

But, to be honest, this year has been brutal.

Having kids in high school, playing high school sports, in student government and planning activities, etc, etc, etc...yadda, yadda, yadda, blah, blah, blah...

I've whined about it all before.

I was actually thinking about not decorating for Halloween this year but people started asking...

So, we caved in to the peer pressure and decorated.

The Halloween store can thank me later.

Pretty embarrassing that they know me by name.

Ahem...

Anywhoo...

The ~~slave labor~~ kids got out the decor and surprised me by putting out the yard items while I was gone.

I say surprised because this is what I found upon arriving back home...

So, after quality control stepped in and removed Frosty from the yard, this is what we ended up with.

Come meet the rest of our family...

Donna the Dead

Count Vigor

The Countess

Witch with Talking Crystal Ball

Dancing Skeleton with moves better than Michael Jackson

Heads Up Harry

Dr. Shivers

With his table full of experiments

The Butler

Becky

Whoops...not me after all...

Crystal Ball

Monster

I love this guy!

Smooches to ya!

Neil the Meal

Huge, hairy spider

**shiver**

The best decor of all...

My kitty Boo

The Graveyard

Pirate Ship

Yard pix are super hard to take at night

Blow ups, lighted animatronics and ground breakers

Heart anyone?

We got close to 200 trick or treaters this year which is a record for us!

Hope you had a safe and happy Halloween!

Pumpkin Carving

2010-10-31T16:04:00.000-07:00

Pre-carving activities...

Eating apple cider doughnuts and drinking apple cider.

If my kids appear to be weirdos...well...that is because they are.

After they get on a pretty good sugar high, we hand them knives.

Ok, kidding.

We only gave the knives to the older kids.

The younger ones got to gut their own pumpkins.

Even the older ones got into it this year.

Pumpkins cost 19 cents a pound this year.

I remember when they cost 8 cents a pound. sniff...sniff...

Ok, now that is just freaky.

Note to self: No knives for Josh anymore...

Here are the finished projects...

I would point out who carved each pumpkin but that would require brain power.

So, I'll pass.

Happy Halloween!

The Mario Brothers

2010-10-28T20:05:00.000-07:00

Matthew and Levi asked to be the Mario brothers this year.

Mario=Matthew

Luigi=Levi

Cute that even the letters on their hats would work for their first names too!

If you want to make a homemade Mario or Luigi costume, let me assure you that is actually very easy!

I used the McCalls pattern 5508 (comes in sizes 1-3 toddler or 4-6 childrens).

I used inexpensive Symphony Broadcloth from JoAnns Fabrics that was on sale for $1.50/yd.

The buttons were buy one, get one and were from JoAnns as well.

I had the blue buttons already that I used for the sides.

For the hats, I used Simplicity pattern 2526.

It is for sizes 1/2 through 4 and the hat had S, M or L options.

Levi has a larger than average noggin so we went with the large size.

It fit him perfectly.

I used inexpensive felt for both the hat and hat lining.

The white circle and the letters on the front of the hats are both cut from felt and were sewn on after the hat was finished.

The white stretch gloves were purchased at Walmart, 2 pairs for $1.50.

The long sleeved shirts came from Target's clearance section, $2.78 each.

The moustaches were cut out of black felt.

Brown shoes complete the look.

They look so cute and are so excited about these costumes.

One of these costumes can easily be completed in one day.

Or over the span of several days, allowing for numerous interruptions by little people.

Wish I could have got the girls to go as Princess Peach and Daisy but they refused.

Bummer.

At least I'll have my little Mario brothers.

And there is always next year...

Out of the mouth of a very cute little four year old boy babes...

2010-10-28T14:40:00.000-07:00

I love to make Halloween costumes.

Store bought costumes are great too, but I just love to make them myself.

Because it is all about me.

Ok, the kids can be a ~~little~~ reason for it too, I guess.

Matthew and Levi have their little hearts set on being Mario and Luigi.

So...I've been working on their costumes.

I'm almost done.

I just have Luigi's hat left to make.

Levi has been bugging me nonstop about his hat.

"Is it done yet Mom?"

"Where is my hat?"

"Is it almost ready?"

You get the picture, right?

So, yesterday, not surprisingly, he asked me about his hat.

I told him that it wasn't ready yet.

This is our conversation...

Levi: "Is my hat done yet?"

Me: "Not yet."

Levi: "Well, flippin crap"

**shocked silence**

Me: "What did you just say?"

Levi: "Flippin crap"

**Corey and I look at each other and look at him**

**More shocked silence**

Me: "Why would you talk like that?"

Levi: "Because my hat isn't done"

Hmmmm...can't fault him in his logic.

At this point, Corey and I are both on the verge of laughter ~~bad parents, I know~~.

I send him to the corner after I compose myself.

Flippin crap?

Where does he get this from?

We do not flip crap around our house ~~although the smell in the boys bedroom might lead you to believe otherwise~~,

He must have picked that up from school.

Because I certainly don't speak that way.

Well, I'd better get back to work on that hat.

Even if I have to stay up late.

Sigh...

Flippin crap! ;)

More wedding cakes

2010-10-24T00:27:00.000-07:00

A couple recent wedding cakes...

The first totally fun couple were getting married real "low key".

Backyard BBQ, close friends and family...

Sounds like my kind of shindig!

They just asked for "bright and fun".

This is what they got...

Butter cream frosting with homemade marshmallow fondant decor.

Fun to make too, which is always a bonus!

Some friends of ours, whom we love, love, love, had a son that recently got hitched.

They are the most awesome friends that we could ever ask for and all my kids love them dearly!

This is the cake that I did for the reception...

Best part about the cake?

As a "thank you" they took ALL the kids for an entire day so that Corey and I could ~~run away~~ work on the Christmas shopping.

NO ONE is ever ~~crazy~~ brave enough to take ALL of them but these friends did!

I can't even remember the last time that something this marvelous has happened!

I just wish they had more kids that needed wedding cakes...

Lily Pad and the person that she has wrapped around her finger

2010-10-23T00:35:00.000-07:00

Well...she actually has us ALL wrapped around her little chubby toddler finger.

But she is the baby...

And it is supposed to be that way.

Right?

This is what crazy people look like

2010-10-22T00:33:00.000-07:00

Just in case you were wondering who would be crazy enough have nine kids...

That would be us.

I love being a mom. That's all I've ever wanted to do.

But, being a mom to nine kids is different then being a mom to one or two.

Reality is that having nine kids can be very hard.

But you probably already guessed that, huh?

We don't expect anyone to help us out because we are the ones that wanted these kids. They are ours and we should be the ones taking care of them.

But, sometimes we would give just about anything for a break from all this.

Especially when it seems like our ship is going down...and fast.

Because sometimes the work seems like too much.

When the laundry takes on a life of it's own.

When all the dishes are dirty.

When the house is a disaster zone so much that you are either stupid or brave to walk though a room in the dark...cuz it is like a minefield.

When all the balls that I've been trying to juggle start falling.

When I have a day that I just feel so overwhelmed with all that needs to be done.

And I get depressed that I don't have enough time to fit it all in.

And I feel under pressure to "do it all" and "be it all".

Or jealous when I look at other families that have a lot of family support.

Or see other mothers that have time for hobbies.

Or when my kids screw up and I feel totally inadequate and become convinced that I'm failing at my job of motherhood.

But, somehow, we still go on.

And thankfully the negative feelings go away.

We get back on track.

We refocus on the positives in our life.

On the fun things.

On the important things.

On all the people/things that we have been blessed with.

On our relationships and how much we love each other.

We still have bad days.

And it is still hard.

Would I do it all over again?

Hell no.

Ha! Totally kidding!

Of course I would.

I love all these kids to little freakin bits and pieces.

Plus, someday, they will all move out...

Right? ;)

Homecoming Week

2010-10-21T00:45:00.000-07:00

More homecoming pictures and then I swear ~~just not out loud...in front of the kids~~ that I'll answer some questions, show some gratitude for some awards and just do some catch up in general.

In the meantime let me show you some more pictures of the first place float ~~that the sophomores won't stop talking about~~.

Is that not the coolest old boat that you ever did see?

Who was the awesome person that found that?

Oh...that would be ME! Ha!

Actually, I saw that bad boy for free on CL and I immediately thought of the homecoming float.

Ok, not really, I really thought of my Halloween decorations but I decided that I would let them use it in the meantime.

But only after they made a blood oath to take care of it.

After all, it cost me a ton of money.

Oops, did I already mention that it was free?

Guess I shouldn't have admitted that.

Anywhoo...it really went well on their float.

They even had the pirate dog with the prison keys.

They built a jail out of conduit which ended up being really inexpensive.

They reused the plywood from last year's float and just repainted it.

The sails were black tablecloths that my dad got out of a storage unit auction.

Remember all the mardi gras beads that my dad bought at a garage sale?

That's what they put in the treasure chest.

The twins...aka Jack Sparrow and Will Turner.

At halftime during the Homecoming game the floats were presented to the crowd.

Remember how I said that Tim was kinda snubbed by his classmates.

Imagine our surprise when the freshman float passed and Tim was on it. (He's in the red)

The sophomore float

Juniors

Seniors had a really nice float.

You could tell that a lot of work had gone into the making of it.

The princesses and their escorts lined up.

The kids thought that it was for sure rigged for the seniors to always win.

The guy in charge told me that it is not rigged and that the sophomores almost won it all.

That would have been funny as I have never ever heard of that happening.

My boys before the Homecoming Dance.

My young men...

Love these guys!

Riot Night

2010-10-20T00:38:00.000-07:00

Our high school, like many high schools, have a Homecoming week.

Floats made, spirit week celebrated and princesses elected.

Fun, Fun, Fun!

Since the twins are both in student government again this year, the float was partly their responsibility.

The classes all went with a Disney movie theme and the sophomores chose the trilogy, Pirates of the Caribbean.

The theme was chosen last spring so the kids were able to ~~obsess~~ work on the float all summer long.

During homecoming week, the floats are presented at the high school and judged.

The floats are then hauled around town, followed by the Princesses in their cars.

The students follow and meet up in town square for a good old fashioned cheer contest.

This was the first year that my whole family went and we sure did have fun.

Here are the Homecoming floats-

Sophomores

Seniors

Juniors

Freshman

The twins were so excited when their good friend was elected as Homecoming Princess for the sophomores.

Joseph, who is class prez, was one of the individuals that tallied the votes and he was having a hard time keeping mum.

All the kiddos following the floats.

So...

Who won?

The sophomores!

The other classes that ~~were sore losers~~ lost were accusing the sophomores of having a lot of help from the 'rentals.

Funny thing was...they had very little help.

They are just a very organized, smart, resourceful group of young people.

Tim, who is a freshman, tried to get involved with the building of the freshman float. From what he said when he got home, sounded like he was snubbed. So, he came home and helped his brothers at their work party.

The freshman came in last, which is typical of their first effort. So, Tim didn't feel too bad after all.

I just had to remind myself to put the can of mama bear whoop a** away.

Cuz, I can get all weird like that when my kids are involved. :)

Happy Riot Night!

Can't wait for next year!

Meet Mater

2010-10-18T00:34:00.000-07:00

When Josh's bunny unexpectedly died, he was crushed.

He was also lost without a furry little buddy to love.

So...I am pleased to introduce...

Mater the guinea pig.

Mater Tot

The Mater Man

Mater Tater

Everyone already loves this little guy.

Especially Joshua.

Surprisingly he doesn't hide in his little hut all day long.

I would if I was him.

Maybe it is all the treats that he gets fed.

Pretty soon he'll be as wide as he is long and he won't fit through the door of his hut.

But, in the meantime, all is well...

Joshua is happy...

So, life is good. :)

We Love Our Ducks!

2010-10-17T00:30:00.000-07:00

It's no secret around here that we are Duck fans!

The last couple of years we have been privileged to get to know Brandon Bair (#88) and his beautiful wife and QT pie daughter.

When they come over to our house, Brandon (who is 6'7") has to Duck (get it? Duck...Ha! Becky made a funny!) to come in through the door.

Even Levi has noticed that Brandon is not small. "Dad", he said. "Brandon Bair is a lot bigger then you!"

Yes, Brandon is a big guy and he is a amazing football player. But what is so wonderful about Brandon is that he is also a really good person, through and through, and such a wonderful role model for the young people in our community.

In the off-season, Brandon can often be found at the youth games in our small town, supporting the local teams and graciously autographing various items.

When we heard the AMAZING news today that the Ducks are ranked Number 1, we were thrilled, both for Brandon (who is a senior this year) and for the entire team.

We will certainly miss "The Grizzly" (as the commentators have nicknamed him) next year as we are confident that a NFL draft is in his near future.

Recently, Brandon gifted us a bunch of tickets so Corey took the four oldest boys and watched a game...up close and personal.

Our most fav Duck player...

We Love Our Ducks!!!

Go Ducks!

Yummy Cobbler

2010-10-14T07:22:00.000-07:00

This is our most fav cobbler recipe...

We make it with either apples or peaches.

Yummy!

**From Betty Crocker**

4 cups tart cooking apples
3/4 c. packed brown sugar
1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. oats (either kind)
1/3 c. butter, softened
3/4 t. cinnamon
3/4 t. nutmeg

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease bottom and sides of 8 inch square pan.

Spread apples in pan. In medium bowl, stir remaining ingredients until well mixed. Sprinkle over apples.

Bake about 30 minutes or until topping is golden brown and apples are tender when pierced with a fork.

**I use whole wheat flour and have substituted bean puree for 1/2 of the butter and it still tastes great!

**We times this recipe by 4 and bake it in a half sheet pan.

**Keep a ziploc in the freezer and if you have apples that go too soft to eat, simply peel, slice and stick in the freezer bag. A full gallon ziploc holds enough apples for a half sheet recipe (times 4).

**Substitute peaches for the apples=our favorite!

Enjoy!

Beads, Beads and more beads

2010-10-13T07:14:00.000-07:00

My dad, who has more stuff then anyone I know, came across a big ol' box of mardi gras beads at a garage sale.

He immediately thought ~~not of the parent that would have to continually pick them off of the floor~~ of his granddaughters and scooped them up.

My kiddos love these beads and didn't even have to flash anyone to get them.

This is a good thing, trust me.

Hope they are peanut butter proof.

Notice she picked out all the purple ones...

Levi kind of looks like Mr. T, doesn't he?

And Matthew made a sling for himself because he wanted to look like Grandpa.

My dad was in a sling at the time.

Apparently rolling a full sized excavator downhill (while not wearing a seatbelt) will get you a concussion, broken bones and stitches.

Luckily, Matthew didn't choose to reenact that part.

Thanks Dad!

I think...

Our Flock of Chicks

2010-10-12T07:21:00.000-07:00

This summer saw us getting our own flock of chickens.

The "coop" is an old shed that we got for free off CL.

The chickens were preowned and were given to us by someone who didn't have time to care for them anymore.

Josh and Liz have named most of them.

Snack, Drumstick 1, Drumstick 2, and Chicken Dinner.

The hens must know this because they are laying eggs really good.

This is our bully hen.

She is such a brat.

The bully chicken was picking on another hen...mercilessly.

The poor chicken had lost all her feathers and was constantly red and sore all over her head and neck.

I bought some really nasty tasting, brown, thick ooze stuff to slather all over her neck in hopes that she wouldn't taste good to the bully hen.

How do I know it tastes nasty?

Here is a tip for you.

When smearing on nasty, spicy, thick brown goo onto the offended chickens neck...

Be sure to keep your mouth closed so that you won't end up with any of it in your mouth when the chicken shakes her head.

Enough said.

But even that didn't work.

Although, I know I won't be biting her neck anytime soon...

Luckily, a week long separation seemed to do the trick.

Maybe the bully hen has a really short memory but when introduced to the chicken she had offended, she didn't even seem to remember her.

As long as the eggs keep on coming...

And we find a way to keep them out of the neighbor's yard...

Then they will all live happily ever after...

The End.

This is wrong on so many levels...

2010-10-11T07:25:00.000-07:00

I can't remember what they bribed him with...

I just hope it was worth it...

Remember all that jewerly?

2010-10-10T07:48:00.000-07:00

If I was super crafty ~~and had unlimited amounts of free time~~, I would have sorted through it all and come up with tons of cool and trendy crafts in which to utilize it.

But, after finding lots of big clumps of tangled jewelry...

I folded just like a lawn chair.

I dumped it into Ziploc bags and sold it at my garage sale.

See this big ol' tangled mess?

Gone, I tell you, all gone!

I did end up making a bit o' moo-lah too, which I love!

These earring really cracked me up.

They reminded me of my hair in high school.

I took all the watches out and put them in a Ziploc too.

I sold the whole bag for $20.

Just so that you don't think that I am a total jewelry crafting dud...

I did keep some cool, vintage looking rhinestone studded pieces.

Cuz, I love me some bling.

And, someday, I might come up with a use for them.

Someday...

Camp Week

2010-10-08T19:29:00.000-07:00

We've been so slammed around here with the canning and kids being back in school, guess it goes without saying that my blog posts are way behind.

Near the end of summer while two of the boys were at Scout camp, the rest of us headed over to the coast for a fun day.

Since we purchased an aquarium membership at the beginning of summer (it was cheaper to buy a membership then pay individual one day admissions for all of us), we were able to go back for free!

Ahhh...Free...my favorite word!

Huge fish tanks...

Levi having a staring contest with an orange fish...

Hannah totally grossed out by the same orange fish...

The kids checking out the sea lions.

We had the neighbor girl with us too.

Lily Pad and her daddy...

I should have put signs on them that read,

"Do not feed the animals"

Except some people might have found that offensive...

Matthew, our little scuba diver...

The twins, looking irritated at being forced to pose for the camera...

All the kiddos plus the neighbor girl minus the campers.

Did you follow that?

Then we headed over to the scout camp to check in on our campers.

Here is Tim with his bunk.

And we found Joshua, out in the wilderness.

Ok, not really, we found him next to the campsite.

But out in "The Wilderness" (especially said in a low, ominous voice) sounds much better.

Ice cream and a view of the coast topped off a truly excellent day.

How do we measure a successful outing?

Making it back home with the same number of kids that we left with.

That's how.

Our Newest Family Members

2010-09-30T19:33:00.000-07:00

Sadly, I waited too long to post this one...

We got a couple of 1 year old bunnies for free off CL a couple of months ago.

The black one (Blackjack) for Joshua.

The white one (Snowball) for Liz.

They have absolutely adored their bunnies.

Corey built them a "bunny run" that they could move around in the yard so the bunnies could have room to run around during the day.

Yesterday, Joshua went to get his bunny and move him back into his hutch for the night but found that he had laid down and died.

He is devastated.

And I am heartbroken to see him so.

RIP Blackjack.

Even though you were small, Joshua is hurting big.

You will be missed.

We gotter done!

2010-09-26T19:34:00.000-07:00

Processing all that fruit and all those ears of corn just about did me in.

It took me an entire week to recover.

Ugh.

The kids are already plowing through the food too, much to my dismay.

But, since they all ~~begrudgingly~~ helped, I guess I'll let them.

Remember last year when I went to pick up the small mountain of veggies that we had ordered and I discovered that the employees there had nicknamed me "the crazy lady"?

And employees came out of the back room to see what I looked like?

Well, this year ~~because I'm no dummy~~ I sent Corey in there to order 1000 ears of corn.

He seemed shocked when he came back home and reported that they had laughed at him.

Because they thought he was joking.

I laughed ~~gleefully when he couldn't see me~~ because I ~~was glad that it was him and not me~~ knew how he felt.

Then we ~~figured out the battle plan~~ got organized for C Day (corn day).

As truly painful as it is to have kids helping put all this food up, we knew that the lesson was more important then our comfort.

After all, they are the ones that eat most of this food.

The day Corey went and picked up all the corn, we set up a "corn station" outside and went to work.

Even the four year olds shucked corn for several hours.

Hannah was such a good worker.

We set up the double burner camp stove outside and boiled the corn.

We then put it in the kids swimming pool to cool.

Hey that rhymes! snicker...snicker...

After it had cooled, we used an electric knife to cut the corn off the cob.

Joshua's job was to put 2 pounds of corn into a bag and put it in the freezer.

Quality control found that the bags contained 3 and 4 pounds so that had to be remedied.

Thankfully we are not consuming that much...

Yet.

Lily was the official taste tester.

She took her job very seriously.

I had already made a mental note to have Corey change her diapers for the next few days...

The kids loaded up the husks in the trailer and hauled them back to the compost pile.

The tractor rides were their favorite part.

It took us 10 straight hours but it is done.

Can I hear a hallelujah?

Moving right along...

We also canned the peaches and pears.

We filled every.last.jar.that you see here.

I had kids peeling, cutting, complaining...you name it...they did it.

Also worth mentioning are the 220 pounds of green beans that we processed.

I had two groups of helpers on this project.

The littles.

And the bigs.

One group threw green beans at each other, spilled beans on the floor and one kid thought that he was a genius for discovering a new way to take the ends off.

Sorry, but biting off each end until you have a mouthful of ends (think like a chipmunk) and then spitting them machine gun style into a bowl just doesn't work for me.

Guess which group worked the best?

If you guessed the littles...

Then you are right.

I'll let you guess how this all ended...

Scenario #1

Everyone got along
Everyone worked without complaining
All the beans got done

Scenario #2

The kids complained and complained
Gray hairs started popping out all over in mom's hair
Mom finally lost her cool and screamed ~~loud enough for the neighbors to hear~~ at them to allgotoyourroomsifyouknowwhatisgoodforyou.
Mom finished the beans in blessed quiet, but all by herself.

The answer.

I'm so not tellin'...

Gulp!

2010-09-08T22:58:00.000-07:00

Call me optimistic, industrious, in denial or totally and completely crazy...

But...

I just went and picked up 200 pounds of peaches today.

Only to come home and have Corey tell me that my 300 pounds of pears are ready to can.

Did I mention that we are picking up 1000 ears of corn this weekend?

AAAAAHHHHHH!!!!

Excuse me while I go and hyperventilate...

Anyone have a spare paper bag?

School kiddos

2010-09-06T00:01:00.000-07:00

This year I will have eight kids attending four different schools.

The six oldest have started already and the two preschoolers will start at the end of the month.

You would probably think that getting all these kiddos ready for school would be a total nightmare.

Not so...pinky promise.

After I had received the current school supplies lists, I pulled out my tub of school supplies to see what I already had.

Seems like the school supplies lists just keep getting longer and longer.

When the prices are so good in the fall, I stock up.

I had a bunch of stuff left over and I just figured out what I still needed.

I asked the kids to tell me if they needed new backpacks or binders.

Thankfully, my frugal, practical children only reported needing one new binder.

I asked them how their clothes were holding up and if they needed anything.

I buy clothes all year long, at Goodwill, so there is no big "school clothes" shopping trip.

My only exception was Joshua, who has been growing, who needed an entire new wardrobe.

So I went out to the mall, bought him all new clothes and spent hundreds of dollars.

Psyche!!!

Of course I didn't.

Joshua and I went up to the third level where I have the clothes sorted by size, in tubs and hanging up.

We found him a new wardrobe, of name brand clothes, in less then 30 minutes.

He said that clothes shopping this way "was really fun".

I spent about $50 total, on school supplies, and all the kids were ready to go.

Here is my big first grader, Matthew, with his new teacher.

Here are my middle school kiddos, Elizabeth and Joshua.

Joshua is so excited that summer is over, can't you tell?

My three high schoolers, Timothy (frosh), Michael and Joseph (soph).

We are in for a great year...

I'm sure of it!

The Trek

2010-09-05T10:53:00.000-07:00

My four oldest boys had an opportunity to go on a pioneer reenactment with their church.

I'll admit that I wasn't truly on board, only because I really wasn't in the mood to come up with a pioneer wardrobe for four boys.

Thankfully, Goodwill came to the rescue, even if we did wait till the last minute to shop.

Joseph did not want to go. I wasn't going to make him go until he told me that it was going to "waste his time."

Now, a lot of adults have spent a lot of time and effort into making this memorable.

People took time off of work to go.

A waste of my 15 year old son's time?

I think not.

Much to his dismay (and he was a HUGE grump about it) we made him go.

Here are the hand carts that they had to pull.

Each kids was assigned a "family" that they had to live with for the weekend.

This is Josh's family.

Pretty sure that pioneers didn't have sunglasses.

That's Tim for ya.

The twins pulling a hand cart.

Sleeping out in the open

Thanks to our ward family for making this possible!

And my grumpy, ungrateful 15 year old?

He had an amazing time...

And he is very glad that he went.

In fact he said, "Mom you were right."

Which was the best part of it all to me.

Utah Trip

2010-09-04T18:52:00.000-07:00

Remember when I mentioned that I ~~was close to going postal~~ stayed home while my family ~~ran away from me~~ went to Utah?

Even though my previous post may have seemed otherwise, I do realize that it wasn't all about me ~~unfortunately~~.

They had a ton of fun and didn't want to come home.

My little ones are still asking when they can go back.

We have an enclosed trailer and it was packed totally full of clothes, bedding, bikes and misc items that needed to be hauled back to Utah.

Showing off our true redneck selves, I filled up a full-sized freezer full of dinners and Corey loaded it up in the trailer and took it too.

We just didn't want to burden anyone with our large fam and eating out is something that we only do once or twice a year.

Corey took the kids and did some really fun things.

They got to go on bike rides...

Cousin Kristina and Hannah

Lily Pad and Levi

They played on the playground...

Lily went to jail...
Oops, my bad,
She's just on the playground.

Cousin Allison and Liz

Cousin Emily?
I think this is Emily.
Zip it...it's not like we see them that much and there are lots of kids, K?

One of the twins.
Don't ask me which one.
Cuz I don't have clue.

Here are the twin cousins, Reagan and Ashley.
I can't tell them apart so I just call them Rashley or Agan.
That way they will both answer.

Lily Pad

Hannah Banana

The kids played in the back yard...

We so need to work on Levi's "say cheese" face...

Matthew

The kids loved the little blow up pool.

And LP (Lily Pad) couldn't get enough of the zip line.

The twins got to go to a pro soccer game.

Thanks for the tickets Uncle Casey!

They went hiking...

And had snacks...

Joshua

So beautiful!

Almost makes me want to move there.

Except my in-laws are there.

So, almost not.

Kidding people...

Corey and the kids that went hiking

Corey's brother, Jamie and his family

All the excitement wore out lil LP.

They got to hang out with family that they rarely get to see...

Michael with Corey's mom and Corey's brother, Casey (my fav BIL)

Matthew with Corey's stepmom

Corey with his dad and five of his siblings

20 of the 21 (and counting) grandkids

That is a whole lotta Walkers...

Just sayin...

Still selling like a mad woman

2010-08-31T10:34:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm still selling but maybe not like a mad woman.

Cuz selling things makes me happy, not mad.

We sold the black futon/couch thing that was purchased from a student who was moving.

We paid $35 and we sold it for $60.

I grabbed this cute little wood coffee table down at Goodwill for $7.

The front legs were pretty scratched up so I priced it at $20.

I sold it a couple of days after posting it on Craigslist.

We also sold Josh's loft bed for $100 (had previously bought it at GW for $25) and a set of bunk beds that we were no longer using.

As for ebay, I sold about 100 items this month and it just keeps getting better and better.

Maybe because I am figuring out what I am doing?

Here are some highlights...

This beautiful yellow silk JCrew dress was purchased at GW for $6.

It was a formal style, which doesn't resell well, but JCrew is a pretty hot brand so I thought I would take a chance.

It sold for $29.99 which is what I listed it at.

I bought this cute girl's Gap denim skirt for $2.

I was going to give it to my 10 year old daughter for school but she didn't want it.

Apparently she had trouble walking in the long skirts.

So, I took it and listed it on ebay.

It sold for $20.51.

Chicos is another great brand which resells really well.

These black stretch Travelers style pants were purchased for $2.50.

They sold for $21.47.

I wasn't sure if these Prana cargo pants in a size small would do very well but since they were only $2.50, I thought I'd try it.

They surprised me when they sold for $11.51.

But my biggest surprise of the month was this fish embroidered, Quacker Factory denim jumper dress.

I almost didn't buy it, even though it was only $3.

It was brand new with the button covers and a pin hanging on the front in bubble wrap and it was a plus size which is a plus (hee...hee...get it? Plus size being a plus. Ok, not funny? Guess you had to be there?)

Maybe because it wasn't something I would wear or because I didn't feel like it was exactly trendy but I hummed and hawed for awhile before putting it in my cart.

Even though I usually don't start my dresses under $10, I was concerned about this one so I started the listing at $7.

I had barely got it listed when it got it's first bid.

Color me shocked.

Color me very shocked when it sold, with multiple bids, for $28.

Wow.

Crazy.

But I love it!

Anyway, my selling will have to slow down for awhile as canning season is in full swing.

Guess I should slow down on the buying as well right now.

But that is the fun part so we will see...

Happy Selling!

Goodbye summer...sniff...sniff...

2010-08-28T11:41:00.000-07:00

I sure do love summer.

I love the kids being out of school.

No schedules.

No homework.

Sunny, warm days.

Relaxing.

Sadly, our summer has come to an end.

In our little part of the world, schools do not start up again until after Labor Day.

For some reason, our school has decided to buck the trend and start early.

Yes, I'm whining.

I would love to have just another ~~month~~ week.

I took the summer off for a change.

No swim team.

No swim lessons.

No schedules.

It was perfect and just what I needed after the brutal schedule of the last school year.

We still did activities, traveled and had fun with the kids.

On our own schedule.

I loved it.

I'm now well rested.

Which is a good thing as I'm facing another school year.

Eight kids in four different schools.

Six different sports teams.

Bring it on.

Corey is such a good dad, a hard worker and a very attentive husband.

I feel very lucky.

He really knows me and he still loves me.

Not many people can say that. Ha!

He took the kids swimming a couple times this summer.

He is a modest guy hence all the clothes in the pool.

He was worried about keeping an eye on all the "littles" in the pool by himself.

I would have helped him but that would have required me to wear a swimsuit.

Matthew, who is six, assured his dad that he could help with the littles because "he is six and almost a teenager."

Heaven help us.

Goodbye summer.

Our dear friend.

We will miss you.

Cheap soap

2010-08-22T00:57:00.000-07:00

I bet that I'm not the only one who does this with the soap but I'm posting it anyway cuz it is easy peezie to do and saves on the moo-lah.

With nine kiddos one would think that we go through a lot of soap.

Actually not so.

And not because they don't ever wash their hands either.

My anal personality demands that they wash...frequently.

I just love the foaming soap stuff.

We used to use the regular stuff but the little ones would actually fill up their little hand with liquid soap, most of which would just fall off and go down the drain.

Enter in the picture foaming soap dispensers.

I get mine at Walmart and keep one in each one of the bathrooms plus one in the kitchen and one for the garage sink.

I also have 5-6 extras that I keep filled up, under the kitchen sink.

When one gets empty, we simply grab another one and stick the empty under the sink.

When they all get empty, I pull them out and refill them.

Piece of evidence #1:

Foaming soap bottle

Do you know that the store actually sells the "refill" for these bottles?

All it is is watered down soap.

Here is "bottle row", all the ~~inmates~~ bottles waiting for a refill.

Sometimes the bottles end up looking a bit grungy.

I just take them apart and, using a sponge, give them a good cleanin'.

Here is my bottle of Dial.

I bought it at Costco and it is a biggie.

We have had it for years.

Seriously.

It's starting to get down to the bottom so at some point in the not so distant future, I'll have to fork over the bucks for another one.

You only need about one finger's width worth of soap.

Use any more and you will clog the pump on the soap dispensers.

There is a little refill line already marked on the back of the dispensers.

Fill with water up to the line but do it slowly so bubbles don't form.

Cuz that just makes it messy.

Shake up the dispensers after you put the pump thingie back on.

Don't shake it before.

That's like saying "put the lid on the blender before you turn it on."

Believe it or not we have to say stuff like that around here.

Anywhoo,

That's all there is to it.

Happy washing!

More cakes

2010-08-20T00:48:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine asked me to make the cake for her kids big birthday party.

Just cuz I'm not a birthday par-tay believer doesn't mean that I am a party pooper.

And who doesn't love cake?

She wanted two different cakes but wanted them displayed together.

We went with a "bad boy" flame look on the bottom for her son and an "everything nice" look on the top for her daughter.

I bought some hollow pillars and put them in slightly at an angle for more of a whimsical look and less of a "weddingy" look.

The funny thing is there were so many candles on the bottom cake that the cardboard under the top cake actually caught on fire.

Too funny.

And yet, kinda not.

Another black and white wedding cake.

I really think these are my fav.

And I have one more next weekend.

They have given me complete creative control.

Waaaahhhaaaahaaaa!!!

**Rubs hands together in glee**

I.can't.wait.

Cook-a-thon

2010-08-19T00:33:00.000-07:00

I recently discovered a place that clearances their meats out every night.

Hamburger for $1.50 a pound

Boneless, skinless chicken breast for $0.99 a pound

Chicken (whole or bone-in) for $0.59 a pound

I've stopped by there a couple of times now and now have 140 pounds of HB (I browned it first) in the freezer plus a whole bunch of chicken.

The only downside to getting clearance meats is that you have to deal with it right away.

My goal is to get 100 meals in the freezer, ready to eat, before soccer season hits.

I'm at 75 currently so I still have more to do.

One of these days I'll get some recipes up here too, at least our favorite ones.

Here is a sample of some of the meals that are out "on freezer row".

Beef and Bean pies

A fav of ours.

Making 16 at a time makes for two very tired feet.

Just thought I would mention that.

Chicken chili

I realize that this looks like something someone threw up but I assure you that it really is good.

Chicken chimi's

Yum.E.

I froze the sauce in separate containers.

Maybe, at some point, I'll bore you with a post on how to cook in bulk.

I can't imagine living ~~normal~~ any other way.

Maybe I can get you to come over to the dark side with me?

I was in "time-out"

2010-08-18T01:34:00.000-07:00

Thanks for noticing that I was on a bit of a bloggy break.

Truth is, I had discovered something.

Over the last year...

We had six kids play on a total of sixteen different teams, of which we made every.single.game. (Mom did help out with a few on nights that we had more then 2 games at the same time)

Four boys in Scouts, two of which made Eagle.

Two kids in Student Council, planning floats, dances and activities.

Six kids in three different schools with homework, field trips and schedules to keep track of.

Three kiddos at home, too young for school but old enough for us to plan fun things for.

Reselling items on Craigslist.

Cooking for a small army.

Laundry for a village of dirty peeps.

Cleaning a house big enough for us all.

Keeping track of the whole darn thing.

Trying to "do it all".

Results in BURNOUT!

I was starting to crack.

And it was noticeable.

Corey noticed it too.

This was the conversation that we had...

C: Can I help you with anything hun?

Me: Can you invent me a time machine?

C: **Looks confused**

Me: Can you invent me a time machine so I can go back in time and kick my own a** at the moment that I decided to have nine kids?

C: Um....no.

Me: Oh? Well, then there's nothing you can do for me.

Strangely enough, it was the next day that Corey announced that ~~for every one's safety~~ he was taking the kids to Utah for two weeks...and leaving me at home.

So, ~~that hopefully evil demon Becky would leave and normal Becky would be at home when he returned~~ that I could get a break.

Sounds heavenly, right?

I had huge plans.

I was going to clean the entire house, finish all my unfinished projects, clean out all the kids rooms, cook 100 meals, paint all my resale furniture, list 200 items on ebay, lose 50 pounds, look 20 years younger and be totally tan. Of course, I was going to solve all the world's problems too.

Realistic huh?

So, what did I get done.

Not much.

I discovered a couple of things.

#1 I am unable to sleep when in the house all by myself.

Not like, "I had a bit of trouble falling to sleep."

But, heart-racing, panic-attacking, noise-hearing, door-locking and re-locking, taser-clutching not sleeping.

By the end of week one, I appeared zombie-like from massive sleep deprivation.

I begged Corey to come home early.

They came home after 10 ~~of the longest days of my whole entire life~~ days.

I was just so grateful that they were back home safe and sound.

And I was finally able to get some sleep.

The other thing that I found out?

Our sweet cat, Boo has MAJOR separation issues.

I don't know if it is because he was abandoned once before, but he took the absence of our family very hard.

Every time I would go out into the yard, I had a piece of black Velcro on my leg.

He was a hot mess.

Well, I guess we both were.

When you are sleep deprived, a funny picture of your cat will make you laugh hard enough to have a ~~alleged~~ accident on the kitchen floor.

It will have you naming your cat "King Boo" and taking pictures of him on his throne.

You will also take picture...

after picture...

of your cat, with his eyes closing due to the flash...

All the while laughing hysterically.

Not that I did, of course.

Ahem...

I'm happy to report that I'm now well rested and back in the saddle.

They just better not ever leave me again.

The end.

Still working on the vacation fund

2010-08-18T00:31:00.000-07:00

I am happy to report that we are almost halfway with the Disneyland buckeroos.

We nailed down our house rental and were able to PIF(!!!) thanks to some hard work by Corey and the twins. Who knew that working a fireworks booth in Utah would come in so handy dandy?!

As for lil' ol' moi...

I'm still working the ebay and Craigslist angle.

I won't bore you will all the nitty gritty but will just show you some of this summer's resale highlights.

I bought this beautimous (is that even a word?) Diane Von Furstenberg silk dress for 6 bucks. New it was around $400 (rolls eyes and says "as if" under breath). I listed it for $29.99 and that is what it sold for.

This cute little silk number by Odille would have been promptly designated to my personal wardrobe if I was thin, tan and cute. But since I am lacking in ~~all~~ one or two of those areas, I had to pass.

It cost me 6 smackerals so when it sold for $33 , I was one happy camper.

Craigslist never fails to impress me.

This queen sized platform bed with queen futon mattress sold for $80. I paid $25 for it at GW and had multiple people wanting it.

I love it when it works out like that.

This cute little table and chair set needed some tightening of bolts.

Easy peesey.

I picked it up off of CL for $25, brought it home, Joshua (age 12) tightened it up and I relisted it for $60.

After a freakin email stampede, a mere hour later it was already picked up.

This light wasn't a top seller but I'm only including it here but I thought it was so stinkin cool.

I paid $4 for it and sold it at my Nana's garage sale for $15.

I could just imagine a big ol banker dude sitting here in this chair, all chill with his feet on his desk.

This vintage bankers chair was purchased for $3 and it took a reaaalllly long time before it finally sold for $20.

I would have thought that an old time, solid walnut bankers chair would have fetched more cash.

Weird, huh?

This solid oak desk with hutch was about $600 new "back in the day".

I bought it for $10 at GW and sold it via CL for $40.

This extra large bean bag had some water damage but for $3 I just couldn't pass it up.

It sold on CL for $25.

This cute wooden dollhouse and furniture was picked up for $10 at GW. It sold at Nana's garage sale for $25.

Bunkbeds are always a good resale item.

This set was $25 at GW and they sold for $85.

This is only a fraction of the stuff that come and gone out of here.

I know some people won't understand.

Some might turn up their noses at the notion of me reselling items.

Others might say that it is more trouble then it is worth.

I'm okay with that.

Guess Who Has Been Bit By The Ebay Bug?

2010-07-03T00:13:00.000-07:00

In the 16.5 years that Corey and I have been married, we've been to Disneyland twice.

The first time we went the twins were only five months old so, of course, they don't remember anything about it.

Which is probably a good thing because that was the trip where Joseph got dropped on his head.

Ahem...

I was pregnant that trip, with Timothy, so I really didn't get to go on any of the cool rides.

Anywhoo...

The next time we went, we only had the five kids.

The kids had a total blast and we were so glad to have been able to take them down there.

The twins, who were eight at the time, did not want to ride the roller coaster that went upside down.

So, we bribed them with Pokemon cards.

Unfortunately, one of them ended up ~~tinkling in his britches~~ having a little accident.

We won't name any names, of course, but I will tell you that between the whole dropping him on his head incident during the first trip and the "accident" on the second trip, he is not depositing a lot of fond memories in the Disneyland memory bank.

I was pregnant ~~again~~ so, again, no cool rides for moi.

Sigh...

We are planning another trip.

THANK GOODNESS I won't be preggo this trip.

Cuz, bring on the cool rides!

I have so earned it.

We have quite a number of months between us and the upcoming trip, which is a good thing.

We are going to earn all the money, for the entire trip, lodging, admission, gas, and food, all before we go.

So, besides buying and selling on Craigslist, selling ~~anything not hammered down~~ our extra stuff in the garage sale...I'm started ebaying again.

I went and bought a bunch of designer clothes at GW and then got busy listing them.

Here are my top sellers from week #1-

2 piece suit by Dalia, so stylish in Brown with Coral accents.
Bought for $3
Sold for $14.99

Totally gorg pink BCBG Max dress with tons of beady goodness.
Bought for $6
Sold for $29.99

And the top seller of the week, with 110 page views...
Silk dress by Tory Burch, size small.

I did not recognize the designer but bought it anyway, cuz it was only $3.

Imagine my surprise, upon googling the brand name, to find out that their dresses retail for an astounding $400.

I had to firmly press my lips together to prevent the hysterical laughter from escaping.

$400?

For.a.dress. ?????

I must be from a different planet.

The planet where people do not pay $400 for a dress.

I listed it for $29.99 but a last minute bidding war drove the ending price up to $49.88.

Not bad for a $3 dress.

We are off to a good start.

Wish us luck!

The G Word

2010-06-27T15:00:00.000-07:00

Well...I finally broke down.

Call it ~~kid~~ peer pressure.

I had a garage sale.

We had just got to the point where our dining room and garage were constipated with stuff.

And the stuff needed to go.

Either that or the kids would need to go.

And there are legal issues involved in selling kids.

So, we sold the stuff instead.

I was going to take pictures of all the stuff set up, waiting to be adopted but there was a stampede in the morning and I ~~got trampled~~ forgot.

So...here is a picture of the left over glass ware. This is about half of what I started out with, for the glass ware anyway.

I'm planning on giving that all away.

In the midst of the sale, I had set up a couple of 10 cent tables, mostly glassware. Most were ours but I did clean up all the GW dumpster items and put them out on the table.

Whenever any of that sold (I consider the 10 cents a re homing fee) I had a sense of satisfaction.

Because now the stuff has found a new home.

That was not in a landfill somewhere.

One plate went to a couple of women that were planning on putting it into a mosaic table.

The french inspired plates went to a woman that was going to use it in her decorating.

A gentleman bought the wedge shaped pizza plates (World Market labeled) for his bachelor pad.

The heavy glass bowl was purchased for someones kitchen.

And remember the heavy bowling ball?

The sweetest lady purchased it to make it into yard art.

A ladybug...

She went away happy and I got to add another dollar to the Disneyland fund

All in all we did really well and it was totally worth doing.

I think we sold about 2/3 off the stuff that I had out.

The weather was wonderful.

And the people were so fun to chat with.

Don't quote me on this but...

I think we will probably do this again sometime.

I think...