Of Books, Fleas and Collops of Fat

I think I might have broken a world or should I say county record at least. Stefanie, Esther and I loaded up 11 children
into our van and went in and checked out ...72 items at the library. Yes, that's right...I think I have lost my mind. 72, as in Seventy Two! We wanted lots of books and we got them, that's for sure. Can you say, eager readers?

When we walked in there was a children's program we had not planned on. But, we sat in on the humane society who was teaching about animal care. I must confess, I am severely neglectful. Are you ready? I have never brushed my dog's teeth! Seriously, do people do this? I guess if you have a little inside poodle that you are kissing all the time... but pleeeeaaase! After the program they got these nice little blow up thingies...as in blow-up fleas and ticks..EWW!
D proceeds to tell a lady at the library that we have fleas all over our house. Ok, just for the record, I think he was talking about flies.

Then on the way home with all these little people (I really am beginning to feel like I run a school--but I wouldn't trade this time for anything.) I hear the children making up nicknames. H calls out..."My name is collops of fat!"

Do any of you know of any book contracters out that would like to publish a book I write? I might call it "Cheaper by the half dozen".

And lastly, congrats to my dear husband who just completed doing the "Lemonade Diet-Master Cleanse" for 10 days. He is now lean and trim and we won't tell you how much difference there is
what he weighs and what I do!

Summer Reading!

What do you get when you combine 12 children and two summer reading programs. You get tons of paperwork for mommy
as she fills out forms for new library cards and the programs, lots of filling in of 1/2 hour "bubbles" and very
motivated children. My friend Esther has been staying with me while her husband is out of town. I LOVE having her and
her two daughters every chance I get. Yesterday we took the plunge. After researching which library system had the most
incentives, we went into Greenville County to the main downtown library. Now imagine my 15 passenger van maxed out
with riders, and going into the library and saying to the librarian, we are here to sign up for the summer reading program!
Remember, Patti had 4 to sign up too. No telling what stories that librarian had to tell her family that night about
who walked in 30 minutes before her shift was up. We looked like a school group! We also all went in to Barnes
and Nobles, where if they read 8 books they get a free book.

So today the children have been reading like crazy. Some of them have read for 3 1/2 hours today! It is also being read
to, so they have been listening to the Elsie Dinsmore book on tape as well. But, if they do the maximum, they get
Chick-Fil-A icecream
A Chick-Fil-A meal
Tickets to a water park or skating rink
and Tickets to a ball game!
Those are some pretty good incentives if you ask me.

Plus the mommies get a Starbucks coffee if we read 3 books. ☺

So tomorrow we plan on getting more books at the library just a few minutes from us, and they will have plenty of reading
time in our van when we leave the end of this week for our big July 4th trip to Nona and Papa's!

D's Birthday

Sensational Saturday!

Wow, what a week!  As I mentioned before we did some major changes in the house.  I thought I would show you some pictures.

  

This is our eating area/dining room.   It is in one half of the living room.

My mom bought me the rug as a birthday present and it matches great!

 

This is coming from the other direction- it is now the living room. 

This is the area that used to have our table in it, but look at all the room I have now for more kitchen!  I just love it.  I have my coffee station there, and my microwave.  My kitchen aid is plugged in ready to go, and there is lots of storage space.

  

The other half of the kitchen, notice how clear the counters can be now! 

Also, I have just made a slideshow finally of D's birthday that was last May, which I hope to upload here, but in the meantime here are a couple pictures of his "chamo" bday.  He loved having his uncle and new aunt here, as well as David M.  Having the Metcalfes here was special too!

 

picking out which 2 goats he wants for his birthday present.

  

Today has been a great day.  We had our Keepers At Home class.  Mr. Pressley gave a writing class.   Each girl wrote (or drew pictures in H's case) a short story using the theme they all decided on.  The moral was "look before you leap" and was about a prideful little boy who didn't watch at the beach and fell into the deep

waters.  They had a great time!

This afternoon after Keepers class, I got down on my knees with a scrub brush and tried to spot my carpet.  Cream colored carpet and rental houses + 6 children (and sometimes 11 when my sister's children are here...well they don't mix very well.  After that I went outside and did some spray painting.  My friend has gotten me into all the possibilities a little can of spray paint can open up!  So I sprayed my piano stool, a rod iron magazine rack and a rod iron decorative music book stand.  After that, well...you can see for yourself what I have been doing this afternoon.................................................................................................................

 

Yes, on Thursday Stef and I went out and she bought a laptop computer.  So now we tease each other and type on facebook back and forth crazy things.  It's a little scary how silly we can be. ☺

P.S Sorry about some of this being underlined and in red.

Jehovah Jireh-The Lord our provider

Today we had a family outing. I wanted to look for some things at the local thrift shop. So I gathered up my

little chick-a-dees and we headed into town. Some of them wanted/needed particular things. H needed some "little shirts"-which we found for her. J needed some shoes and he was thrilled to find just what he needed. Both R and E had some money that they wanted to shop with, so they found flip flops, and several odds and ends. W was thrilled that he and his brother got wedge golf clubs and now they are planning out to make their own course outside using cans dug into the ground. But, what struck me the most was Dbo's desire. He wanted "sketcher" shoes. I was hoping that we could find some shoes that we similar to sketchers, that would satisfy him. But our Lord had made provision for one of His little ones. There at the store...were actual "Sketchers" that fit my precious D. I told him that the Lord gave him those shoes. What a blessing to see our God care for the little details in a 6 year old's life.

Also, with the changes made in our house now, we will be vacuuming the dining room rug often. Well, I told D this was going to be his particular job. So today at the thrift shop we found a Bissell lightweight vacuum that can be pushed or handheld..still in the box. I gave it to him and told him it was his very own and we would even write his name on it. His face glowed and he gave me a big hug. :)

After our shopping we headed to the mark and we had pizza and played at the park. We returned hot, sweaty and tired but it was a fun day.

I am heading back out in about an hour to do our normal Thursday night grocery shopping with Stef, who is being picked up on S's way home. Busy day!

Pictures of my Baby.

S wanted us to cut H's hair to be more manageble...so I attempted it..and then my sister completed and "fixed" it.  Smile.  I think it is so cute.  What do you think?

Household Changes

I moved today, but I still have the same address.

Today has been a very, very full day.  My Mama, who is one of the most creative people I know, came up with a wonderful idea
to utilize my space better in this house.  As some of you may know, we love this house until we are able to be at SpringMeadows.
It is very spacious except for in one area..the kitchen. There is a small eating area and I did not have alot of kitchen storage space.
Every meal we have had to rearrange the chairs and push the table back against the wall to make more space. I have battled messy cabinets for awhile now because everything was very crowded. So here is what we did.
I have a fairly large living room, so we moved the furniture around to make a smaller living area and now one half of the room is the eating area/dining.
After going on Craigs list, we found a beautiful rug to go under the table that matches my colors and decor in the living room beautifully.
Now the area that was the eating area off the kitchen, is an extention of the kitchen.  We put up shelves and I moved a cabinet from another room in.  I
There is now so much space for everything.  The microwave, coffee maker, kitchen aid, etc is all over on that side, as well as other things on the shelves.
I really, really like it.  Now we have to rehang pictures.  Everything feels so fresh and ordered.

We have had my friend Esther here for a few days and hope that she will come back again later on this week.  She and her family are such good friends of ours, from our
church.  Her husband is out of the country for a month, so we always enjoy having her and her daughters when they can come.

Last Saturday we helped a family move into their home.  They have relocated here from NC to be a part of our church.  Our church is really growing!  Four new
families in a short span of time.  We actually are moving into a new building soon.  The carpenters are working on it, and we hope to move in at the end of the
summer.  We have been very cramped at the meeting place GPC has been at for years and are looking forward to having a more spacious place.  Until then we are in a temporary place.

Tonight while S was working, mom, Patti, Stef and I watched "The Lakehouse".  Very strange, non-reality, but a very sweet story.

S is doing the "Lemonade Diet" and is on day 3.  I told him he is at the worse point now and tomorrow should be better. He is doing really well, but is planning our all the foods he is going to eat!

Hope everyone is having a good week!

Busy last few days!

I have not posted since I got off my diet.  But, let me just say that I have had such a tremendous amount of energy since getting off.  I am very encouraged that this was very good for my body! 

This week Stef has been gone, so my extra energy has been a blessing.  So in the past several days I have (not in order)..
~Drove over 400 miles to take Stef to S's aunt (and ran out of gas, but that is another story)
~Cleaned the house
~Gone blackberry picking
~Made four blackberry pies
~Made a huge batch of vegi soup for a friend who is moving this weekend
~Made a double batch of homemade yogurt
~Cleaned up house again
~Washed a million dishes (since our dishwasher is out)
~Cooked dinner (fish and sweet potatoes, tuna white sauce over noodles and Kale, spaghetti and broccoli)
~helped take care of my 6 children and my 5 nieces and nephews
~Kept a sourdough starter going
~Grocery Shopped
~Had a ladies visit for over 4 hours with my best friend
~Cleaned up the house (did I mention that before)
~Had Latin Class
~Done some laundry
~Did I mention working in the house?

Anyhow, I am thankful for these little people and such a wonderful husband to do these things for, and I am thankful for the blessing of health and energy.  Now can I take a nap?  smile.

Day 10---Whohoo!

I am officially finished with the Master Cleanse diet!  I am drinking my last glass of lemonade at this moment. I have not eaten anything solid in 10 days.  Would I do it again??  Um, have to think about that one, cause it was really hard the first few days. But, there have been many benefits to sticking with it. For one, it has taught me alot about self-discipline and how to tell my body "no". I have lost 9 lbs as of this morning. By tomorrow morning it might be a bit more. A friend of mine told me that she likes to count the pounds you might have gained had you been eating normally, so with that rational, could I say I lost 18 lbs?  I like that way of thinking.  :)  I think my body has had a good cleanout--you know, kind of like a car needs a good tune up once in awhile.  The saltwater cleanse each morning was really good too. Overall, I am glad I did it.

I am done with the ten days, but I have to go very easy going back on food.  Tomorrow I will have orange juice for breakfast.  I will for two days be watching my body closely not to go too fast with reintroducing foods, sticking with vegi soups, raw fruits and vegis etc.  So I may actually still continue to lose for a few days.  At least that is what I am hoping. 

So for those of you who have been faithfully following me this lemonade journey...thanks for your support.
For those of you who are bored with the daily reports, I will start back to more normal blogging soon.

Day 9

My computer was acting up last night and so I was not able to send out my diet report.  So here is last night post.  (Today is my last day..whohoo!) 

I have completed day 9.  I am down nine pounds. Only one more day, and I surely am ready to eat!  I have been spending some time in my Nourishing Traditions cookbook. Thinking through ways I
want to use this as a springboard for healthier eating.  I have made a partial grocery list for our shopping tomorrow night...
and I am ready.  One more day of the lemonade.  Then Friday I get to eat again.  I am getting the ingredients for a
vegi soup that I have been told is marvelous and that will be my first "meal", but first my breakfast Friday gets to be
orange juice.  I have felt well today.  My mind this afternoon and tonight has been amazingly clear.  Things are going great, even with
Stef deciding to pull out an old family recipe of her's and use it tonight of oven fried chicken and mashed potatoes. Ahem.
I am truly grateful to her for taking over the kitchen for me while I have been on this. That has made this so much easier for me.
Love ya, Stef!  So on to day 10!

P.S Dbo lost his "first tooth" it's actually his second because his other came out by accident, this is his first "natural"
one.  Tonight he found change in the van and said "here Dad", he wanted to give it to him to use to put under his pillow!  LOL!
Have you ever heard of a child giving the daddy the treat to use under the pillow? Only my D.

Day 8

Ok, day 8 is coming to completion.  Whoohoo!  I am getting close.  Today I have felt fine, although this morning less energy than my normal bouncing self (NOT!).  But here's the thing...shhh, I am getting really tired of this lemonade.  Ok, so it is not that bad.  It's just that my taste buds would really like something else.  Something hot, juicy and with substance that I can sink my teeth into.  Like that steak loaded with...no, we won't go there.  But, it is amazing and hard to believe that my last meal was 8 days ago on Memorial Day.  And I am fine.  Still hangin' in there and blogging about my diet instead of eating the cheesy, garlicky, yummy homemade lasagna Stef made.  Is anyone playing a violin, cause isn't everyone supposed to feel sorry for me right now?  Nah, not when I come out of this several pounds lighter and hopefully more healthy then when I started.  Enough said.

P.S

A little addendum.  One of my children was reading my blog entry he says "Your ankles are not skinny, Mom."  Now I am laughing.  So I don't have skinny ankles.  Maybe I should eat after all?

Day 7

I decided to blog about my day while my family was eating their delicious, luscious, savory, melt-in-your-mouth, succulent, aromatic chili that Stef made today.  Not that I am thinking about food.  I mean chili really does sound good, but the lasagna she made for them to have tomorrow night sounds even better, but then it is hard to top last Friday night's pizza. Actually, I still want that savory steak loaded with mushrooms and onions with a baked potato all the way and a caesar salad.   But, not to be thinking about food.  

Instead let's talk about how skinny my ankles are.  Yes.  I just said that.  Stef and I were laughing today when I pointed it out.  Of course I am noticing the water weight that is off my ankles.  But, it's not like I did this diet to have skinny ankles. I am down 8 lbs though and feeling like I can finish out this thing.  3 more full days on my "lemonade" and then my "Ease Out" day is on Friday.

I was reading about each day of the diet on the website and it is amazing how similar people feel, and think on certain days.  At least I am not the only one to think the first three days are pretty, let's just say awful.  My dad makes this diet look really easy.  He sails through like life is normal.  He is down twice as much as me and plans on going at least through next week.  Not me.  I am ready for food.  I sure have loved his support through it all and it has been fun making our drinks together.  Listen to me talk, I talk as though I am through and I still have a few more days to go.  Yup, that steak can just wait a little while longer.  But, I can see the homestretch, baby!

Day 6- the Lord's Day

Happy Lord's Day everyone!

This diet is teaching me so much more than just weight loss...self discipline, denying my body..not to mention the health cleansing. Today I made a mistake. I have a bad cough, so I had some cough drops at church. That was fine, until I stuck a piece of gum in my mouth. Within 10 mins, my stomach started churning and I got so hungry! The chewing, making the saliva, sending the enzymes to my stomach...woke it back up again! :( So this afternoon I had some of those yucky feelings all over again...SOOO hungry I could eat a horse. And a headache. So I am not feeling the greatest. But, I have the sweetest friend at church, who during our church lunch chose not to eat and instead sat with me and drank a slimfast. What a blessing to have such friends!


Have you ever really pondered the verse, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeded from the mouth of God."  Our dependance, our all in all, our very breath is centered upon God himself.  His words are sweeter than honey.  "Taste and see that the Lord is good".
I hope the remainder of the Lord's Day is blessed to you all!

Day 5

Whohoo!  By the mercy of the Lord, I've reached the halfway mark.  

Still hangin' in there.  Goin' strong.  Me and my "lemonade"--we be friends.

Day 4

Can you say opposite of day 3?  I am so thankful to the Lord to report that today was wonderful.  Well, as wonderful as it can be when you are hungry and homemade pizza is for dinner.  I have felt so much better today. My body still has this underlying "feeling" like it is saying "what are you doing to me".  It's strange but I can feel this backround  low level aching in places.  But, after the way I felt yesterday this is great!  I have felt energy and motivation today.  I have been warned though that I will have dips and rises, so not to be discouraged if I dip again.  It's funny, a friend of mine doing the cleanse at the same time as me, had a great day yesterday and today felt awful.  So I guess it can really vary.  For now, though I am thankful. And the scale this morning showed a total loss of 6 lbs.  Maybe by the end of the weekend I can hit the 10 lb mark!

P.S An interesting fact:  I calculated how many weight watchers points I am getting with this diet.  Can you guess?  About 8-10!  I thought Karen might enjoy that.

Day 3

And I have completed day 3.  Would you believe I am feeling great, full of energy, bounce and vitality and have lost 20 lbs?  Nah, didn't think so.  I am feeling l.o.u.s.y.  I am starting to get discouraged today because I had hoped my body would be adjusting.  I have heard the first two to three days can be rougher...so maybe tomorrow will be better.  But, for now I am still here keeping the lemon farmers in business.  I am hoping by tomorrow morning I will be down 4 lbs since Tuesday. We shall see.

Day Two

So by tonight I will have completed day two.  Today actually was a little better than yesterday.  Still feeling some weak and shaky.  It does not help that I am sick with a cold either..but I figure the cleanse will be good for helping me heal with that.  Today was interesting.  I did the sodium water internal cleanse for the first time.  Let's just say that I was glad I was not out and about.  I got some good reading done too!

But, the best thing of all is that I was down two pounds on the scale this morning when I got up. I found out another friend started the same day I did too..so that is also great support!  

I even tackled going through 2 boxes of clothes we were given and reorganized all three of the boys clothes!  The bbq chicken and mashed potatoes that Stef made for the rest of the family tonight, sure smells good.  But, with the Lord's help...I can do this.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to my dear husband!  Words cannot express how blessed I am and grateful to the Lord for this man.  I love you, S!

Day One

So I have completed Day 1.  We started out by making the drink with a different cayenne pepper which was …lets just say FIERY!  But, you know what, it made the next glass so much more pleasurable after that first spiked drink.  The regular cayenne was much better.  J

Late morning I started feeling weak and shaky.  I realized though that taking even a couple of drinks really helps with that feeling.  I thought I would not be able to do much today, but had an energy surge early afternoon and was able to accomplish quite a bit. 

And of course, this is the day I decided to show my sister how to do weight watchers.  I get out and figure her points and before we know it, we are thumbing through all these list of foods and I have bread and donuts around me to look at the packages.  I survived.

So here I sit now with my drink next to me.  I sure would love a big steak smothered in onions and mushrooms, with a loaded baked potato and a salad about right now.  I mean it’s pretty bad when you son comes in after having spaghetti and you are savoring the whiffs of his breath as he talks to you…ahh garlic!

But, I am still in the game and ready for day 2.

Losin' with Lemons

This was my last "real food" for awhile.  LOL! If you can count chocolate cake and ice cream as real food.  I did have some popcorn last night and my dad was joking with me that I had to stop eating it at midnight.  So today is day one, folks and I will post an update tonight.