#2 is grown up

Tomorrow #2 leaves for his mission. Today chaos reigns. Tomorrow we drop him off at the airport and breathe a sigh of relief. and cry.

Want a giggle?

This is #6 praying. Just sose you know....she normally squeaks another octave higher but was aware of the camera. We get this every Wednesday when it is her day to pray. Around the table is stifled giggles.


Yes, it is sideways. DH says we don't have the tools to edit it. So put your monitor on its side.

This morning I was reading over the old posts. I found myself having a reaction of laughing and then crying. Life has changed. I am no longer the mommy of babies. I am the mother of teenagers. We have moved. We are currently renting a home and living in the suburbs. In Texas. We no longer homeschool. I was diagnosed with a couple autoimmune conditions and needed time for rest and healing. Life has changed. I look everyday at my changed life and look to the good things that are in it. #1 is 19 now. He has topped out at 6'2" and is completing his Junior and Senior year of high school this year. He is also working at a burger joint. The years of sensory training and role modeling are finally paying off. He is a loving, kind man. I still see him pick up a younger kid and carry them around and love on them. He has learned to work hard, academically and physically. He flabbergasts me. He amazes me. #2 is 17, almost 18. He has passed #1 in height, 6'3" and still slowly growing. He is a junior. Last year he and his NOSB team placed 6th in the nation. He is finishing his Eagle scout rank in the next couple months. The move has been harder on him. He doesn't express his anger as openly as #1. But he has made friends, good friends. #3 is 14 and has learned (like I didn't know this) that he is very smart and quite capable in school. In fact he is smart enough he doesn't have to work too hard. He has joined the NOSB team with #2 and is overcoming being "socially awkward" (as #1 puts it). He is in the midst of puberty and will eventually come back from the dark side. #4 is 11. We found out this guy is profoundly dyslexic. He works hard and has had specialized dyslexia training. He is growing in leaps and bounds. He is well loved by his teachers for his easy going manner and hard work ethic. His hair has grown more red and is known around the house as the Ginja Ninja. #5 is 9. She is doing well. She finally has hair! She is a great artist and musician. Grandma is teaching her (and all the children) piano. She is learning to sing in choir. #6 is 7. Honestly, she is still a joy to parent. She is bright, cheerful and funny. She is the baby and well loved by all. The kids have sort of separated into olders and youngers. The packs of 3 tend to do things together. The boys take #4 along and he knows way more about life at age 11 than his older brother knew. DH is finishing off a Master's program. Working full time and schooling full time has kept him stretched thin. The program is over in December and then we get Daddy back. For reasons of sanity, I started taking art lessons almost 2 years ago. I found I enjoy it quite a bit and I can paint. One of my goals is to illustrate all the crazy stories I wrote down here on the blog. Blogging break over. I am returning.

Happiness is.....

I have been thinking about this quite a bit lately. Happiness is...the answer changes from person to person. Even day to day for me sometimes. With the new house, ward comes a new chance to be the kind of person Heavenly Father wants me to be. It makes me rather introspective because over the last few years I have become comfortable in my skin. And yet, here I am asking if I am the person Heavenly Father wants me to be? Over and over again I am shown how blessed my life is. I have a husband that I adore. I have healthy, happy children that I like to spend my days with. We have a roof over our heads, food on the table and in the food storage room and clothing to cover us. We have Grammie that brings us doughnuts and jumps on the trampoline with #4 &#5. Poppy has such a good heart and helps us in his own way as does Grandma and Grandpa.

When I have my days of wondering and comparing and wishing I had this or that I really need to remember that happiness is laughter, happy children, and people trying and helping-in their imperfect ways-but trying.

Life is Changing

I needed a blogging break. So I took it.

Things are changing for our family. More later.

DH is getting roasted by the 4 year old this afternoon

We are having art lessons. The little three (now 4, 6 and 8) are learning how to draw stick figures and hot dog figures.

#6 decided to draw her daddy. Mom? how do I dwawl his haiwa? Do I draw a circle? (therefore making sure there is no hair in the middle) What about his bruise in the middle (referring to the little amount of hair in the middle in between the circle) What about the forms on his face? I question, his mole? No his forms! #5 asks her, "His whiskers?" #6 says, "Yaha! his whiskas!!"

Update on the meals

Food here is sort of a big thing. I have found when I neglect this part of my mothering, I end up with crabby kids.

My most recent discovery is packing washed and cut romaine lettuce in wide mouth canning jars and vacuum packing them. It is very easy to do with my Foodsaver vacuum packer. I started doing this about 3 weeks ago. The amount of salad the family is consuming has tripled. We now regularly go through 5 large heads of romaine lettuce. I buy the romaine at a wholesale vegetable store, look for white bottoms of the head of lettuce (indicating freshness), bring it home and pack it up. The whole family helps out with different stations/jobs. One washes, I cut, one scoops into the salad spinner and dries, the lettuce goes into a big bowl and is then packed into jars, then vacuum packed and into the frig. The lettuce lasts 10-14 days this way.

It has been wonderful for meal prep. Absolutely wonderful! I grab a couple jars and some toppings and we have a fresh salad on the table.

I have also been making homemade dressings. They taste so much better than the store bought. I have been making salad dressing for a while but we had glop problems because I was making them in canning jars. #4 and #5 regularly had "ranch floods" on their plates. I found at Gordon's Food Service squeeze bottles. The opening of the bottles were wide mouth so it is easy to pour dressing after it has been made.

DH thinks a salad isn't a salad without croutons. I learned how to make croutons. I now have a use for all those bread crusts and ends that the kids won't eat. After I make a batch, normally an entire loaf of bread worth, I also vacuum pack them in mason jars. With the whole family eating croutons the jars are regularly empty! I know I hit upon a good way to make them when the 16 year old said at lunch yesterday, "These are the best croutons Mom."

Salad-in-a-jar.com has other great ideas.