Happy Birthday, Dan!

I've posted before that he's our rock. And, that he is.

For the past five weeks, he's stayed home with the kids during the day so that I could take my training class. He has been working evening/nights and I know he hates it. But never once has he complained.

He's a better father than any man I know. The love that he shows for his family couldn't be measured in any shape, form or amount.

He suffers through my favorite television shows and never complains. He even pretends to act interested when I ramble on and on about the medical condition of the day (last night it was about staph infections).

He knows me better than I know myself.

He knows when to hug, and when not to say a word. He knows how to calm my nerves. He reminds me often that we can get through anything together. He reminds me to stand up for myself. He tells me often that he's proud of me.

Good God, I am so lucky.

Christmas...

Was wonderful. It came up quickly on me, I had to work up until Tuesday, so there wasn't too much time to prepare.

The kids had a wonderful Christmas.

Jack received a PSP that he has been begging us for, along with a few games and a carrying case.

Sam received a DS, along with a few games and a carrying case.

Will, thanks to my in laws, received a Game Boy, and a ton of different types of trucks from Santa.

Libby received her first American Girl doll. My parents bought her a Bitty Baby. Dan and I were going to just buy her a doll from Target, but no other company can compare in quality. Santa brought her the Bitty Baby stroller, and a white wooden baby crib. My in laws bought her a beautiful little silver horse necklace and my brother and my sil bought her a jewelry box. Needless to say, she was thrilled.

Anne was cute this Christmas. She showed a lot of excitement, though wasn't too sure about opening presents. With Daddy's help, she realized there were a lot of great toys hiding inside :)

It was a typical Christmas filled with a lot of fun and family. Can't beat that.

One More Thing..

Do you think it's cold where you live?


This morning when I woke up at 0515 for work, it was 4 degrees with a wind chill of -14.

Yeah, that's cold.

At Christmas....

I think everyone needs to remember what Christmas is all about.

It's not about Christmas decorations or fancy trees.

It's not about giving or receiving gifts.

It's not about baked goods, newly fallen snow, or even Santa.


What reminded me of this was a patient that coded right in front of me today. Who's son watched as his mother almost died in front of him.


Christmas should be about thanking God for every breath taken, for every minute lived, for the loved ones and friends who make us feel complete.

Nothing else really matters in comparison.

Solve This Medical Problem..

Your patient is a 80 year old male with chf and is hypotensive.

He is a TSL level III, low fall risk, ambulates, was NPO at midnight, NKDA/NKA, and had an echo at 0900 on 12/18.

At his 1400 VS, his BP was 100/58, pulse of 52, resp of 14, and temp of 97.1.

What do you do next?

At The End Of The Rainbow...

...There really is treasure. Sometimes you have to dig deep to find it. And sometimes, the treasure isn't what you think it's going to be.

Today, after passing my test with a score of 96, I found my treasure. It was in the form of self-confidence and pride.

My Husband Rocks Ass

Not many people are as lucky as I am. I have a husband that loves his kids deeply, that plays with them often, that does homework with them, that does dishes and laundry without being asked. That takes the kids to Doctor's appointments, drives them to school, and makes lunches.

He hugs and kisses and tell his kids that he loves them.

He would rather be at home with us than at work. He calls often to see how we are doing.

He's our rock and I love him unconditionally.

When You Get To The End Of Your Rope...

Tie a knot and hang on. (FDR)

And I'm trying to hang on, but it's hard.

There's been so much stress. I am taking a training class at SJMMC. It's Mon-Fri 0730-1400. Quizzes everyday. Lectures all day. I have to pass a HuGe test on Friday with an 85% or better, or they fire me. No pressure though.

And I am afraid of failure. So...yeah, great.

My day is spent with an excessive amount stress, then I come home to chaos. Studying starts at 1907 and if I'm lucky, I'm finished studying at 2330. (Learn military time if you don't know it, because I am using it from now on).

So for any of you that think that it's tough having just one, two, or three kids....live my life for just one day. So, I don't want to hear any complaints about how hard your day is, or how tired you are and how you got to take a nap. Seriously. Suck it up.

SAHM have it so easy. Just about 2 weeks ago, I thought it was 'hard' to stay home. *HA*! Driving the kids around, cleaning the house, doing some laundry, and running a few errands is CAKE. I already miss those days.

Funny Comment

My friends with large families will love this...

The day we were discharged from the hospital, Anne's specialist says to me...

"You need to be sure to keep her away from large crowds".

LMAO! Maybe I didn't make it clear that she was the youngest of five....

Anne's Hospital Stay

I am sure some of you have noticed that I haven't been around much. This has been my first post in a while. We had a scare with Anne last weekend...

She caught what we thought was a simple cold about ten days ago. Last Saturday, she started coughing a lot. She didn't sleep well on Saturday night, we listened to her cough most of the night.

Sunday wasn't any better. By Sunday early evening, I knew that some type of action needed to be taken. Not thinking she was very sick, I made the HUGE mistake of taking her to an Urgent Care center right down the street from us. The Dr was a total moron. He gave her some Orapred and wrote a script for an antibiotic and told me that she would probably be better in the morning, but if she didn't sound better to me, or got worse, to take her to the Emergency Room.

Thankfully, I am good friends with our pediatrician. I called Janette when we got home and she told me to take her to the ER right away.

We got to the ER around 8:30pm. The ER physician was wonderful; I actually worked with him in the PICU at Cardinal Glennon, so I knew she was in good hands. Her RSV and FLU tests came back neg. By 12:15am, the could not get her breathing under control, so they admitted her to the Intensive Care Unit. It took three people to hold her down to put in an IV.

Anne spent 2 days in the PICU with continuous breathing treatments for the first 12 hours, then q1, q2, q3, and finally q4.

She was transferred to a normal pediatric floor on Tuesday morning. We were released from the hospital on Wednesday early afternoon.

There was no real explanation of what caused her to have breathing difficulty. She has responded well to her Xopenex and antibiotic, so we are thinking that she either caught a virus or an URI that went terribly wrong. She is now being treated as if she is an asthmatic, which doesn't surprise me as Sam is, but many Doctors won't label a child an asthmatic until around the age of five.

Learn from my mistakes....Don't EVER use an Urgent Care. I will never set foot in one ever again. I would also like to thank my local Walgreens for taking FOUR hours to fill Anne's 5 prescriptions and causing her to be over an hour late on a breathing treatment, even though they told me her scripts would be ready in an hour and a half. They've lost my business for sure.

That is what has been going on around here. It's been stressful and emotionally draining. Anne is doing well at home; eating well, playing well, and sleeping well as if nothing ever happened. Kids are amazing.

My Kids Rock Ass

I am so proud of our children. Today, I had Jack and Sam's parent/teacher conferences. I had Sam's this morning and his teacher couldn't say enough nice things about him. How he is a friend to everyone, how hard he works, how polite he is, how she wishes she had a classroom full of kids just like him. What a way to kick off the day.

This afternoon, I had Jack's. Every year, the kids have to take tests given by the state of Missouri to make sure the kids are learning at an appropriate rate (or something like that). Jack scored in the 92%. That is just 4 points shy of gifted. His teacher said Jack wasn't feeling well the day of the test, so she's sure if we retested him, he'd fall into the gifted category. I'm not willing to retest at this point. He's only 8, and we don't push.

Will and Libby had their conferences a few weeks ago that went just as well (if you all remember, Will is our kiddo with 'above average scissor skills - lol!).

See, children of large families actually do get attention, learn to get along with many different types of personalities, are actually taught two of the most important lessons in life-hard work and work ethic, are well rounded, and learn at a young age how to solve conflict.

And it shows. FOUR children with EXCELLENT reports. I told you...Dan and I are damn good at this. *Toot, toot*.

"Don't handicap your children by making their lives easy".
-Robert A Heinlein

Busy Days

It's been a busy week and a half. My new job at St. John's is already taking up a lot of time and I haven't even started yet.

For those of you who don't know, when you get hired for a job at a hospital, there is a lot of paperwork to fill out, physicals, drug testing, TB tests, and even more papers to sign and date.

So far, I've been through a two part interview. Today, I had my physical. 'No big deal', I thought to myself. When I worked at Cardinal Glennon, the physical was a snap. I walked in, the physical took all of 15 minutes, got my TB test and left (drug testing was at an off sight lab).

Today, my physical lasted an entire hour. And let me add that I was used as a pin cushion. I had to receive a Hep B vax, a DpT vax, a Flu shot, a TB test, and blood drawn. I also had a drug test. I came home with three very pretty band aids and the kids were very impressed that I didn't cry when I got my shots!

On Thursday, I have to go back to Human Resources and bring documentation to prove that I am a legal citizen, and to sign the rest of my paperwork.

I mean, good god. I guess this is their way of really making sure you want to work.

Meg Rocks Ass

I was offered the job late this morning. Which is a good thing because after two interviews and four hours worth of shadowing, I was about to have a stroke.

This totally rocks.

Another Big Day

I have the second part of my job interview today from 1 to 5. It's the shadowing part at the hospital.

Do some serious praying.

Dirty Little Secrets

A few years ago, my sister bought me a little book for Mother's Day. After reading it, I put it away in a memory box of mine. I found it the other day and some of the quotes really made me laugh, probably because I'm as guilty as the mother's who shared their, "Dirty Little Secrets from Otherwise Perfect Moms" (By Trisha Ashworth and Amy Nobile)

"My rule is beer at lunch and wine at 5. Wine at lunch feels like I have a 'problem' but beer just seems ok."


"We forgot to buckle our two-year-old up in the car...when we went around the corner, he flew over to the next seat and screamed 'f*$#ers'."


"I let my two toddlers eat Milk Bones right out of the box. I figure since they're not barking, they're fine".


I think I'll post one of these a week. Reading these quotes makes me feel super normal. And to think the mom's the wrote in their Dirty Little Secrets only had (no more than) 3 kids. See, I'm way more normal than they are and I have more chaos.

Happy Birthday, Jack-Jack Attack

It's hard for me to believe that he is eight years old today. It really doesn't seem all that long ago that he was born. It was a cold day with light rain. We were scared and nervous first time parents. We didn't know what to expect. I was in labor for 16 hours. We thought for sure our baby would would have a little blond hair and blue eyes. To our surprise, Jack was born with olive tone skin and almost black hair. That was right at 8:07pm.

To this day, every once in a while, I will catch a glimpse of the clock reading 8:07pm. A mother never forgets.

And despite us not having a clue on how to raise a child, he continues to survive us. And he takes it all in stride.

Jack has always had a zest for life that is contagious. He is this very intelligent, funny, sensitive, sweet little boy that everyone wants to be around. He is a natural first born leader with a strong personality. He's naturally good at every sport he's tried (I'm not even upset over his love for baseball instead of soccer - lol!). He is destined for greatness on so many levels.

This is not a sad day for me that he is a year older. I feel as if the fun is just beginning.

Where Do They Find These Things?

There is one thing that amazes me about kids.

They have an amazing ability to find things around the house that we thought were in really great hiding spots. Such great hiding spots that neither Dan or myself can find even after we have hidden them ourselves.

For example, scissors. Every year, we have to buy little kid scissors for the school year. We have to hide them when the left-over school supplies come home at the end of May.

And let me add that even though the package says "won't cut hair or clothing", they do. That is a total lie. Trust me.

Will and Libby found a pair of scissors on Monday. We hide these things because they will give anything in sight a haircut (the dogs included. Lucky doggies).

Just like they did to each other.

Okay, let me remind you all that with 5 kids in the house, there is always noise. When there is silence, there are 'problems'. Silence=trouble. I should have known they were up to no good.

I combed a few clumps of Libby's long blonde hair out from her head and Will had a few bald spots.

So you can imagine how proud I felt when I took Will to his preschool developmental testing and his teachers told me that his scissor skills were 'well above average'. I laughed and said, "Yes, I am aware".

Who needs Great Clips when you have a four and a half year old with amazing scissor skills?

Good God, I am one proud mom.

Throwing Up In My Mouth

That what Obama makes me do.

Everyone who thinks he is going to turn our country around has another thing coming.

Wasn't it Biden himself that said, "The world will test Obama"? Yes, it was, and I firmly believe that.

Another thing for all that voted for him....

Do you really believe in "FREE" health care?

A lesson that my parents taught me when I was very young was that NOTHING in life is free. Where do all of you think the money for "free" health care is going to come from? That's right....by raising our taxes. Or, at least, raising taxes for those of us who actually work.

Good job, Democrats. You just screwed all of us royally.

At least I can't be blamed when when everything goes to hell. I voted correctly.

Bad Ass Day

Yes, Meg had a great day. Which is unusual for me when it comes to Mondays. Any of you that know me well knows that I am very superstitious when it comes to certain days of the week, numbers and, I'll be honest, Karma scares the crap out of me.

Today I had my job interview at 2pm. It went super well. It was an entire hour filled with a lot of questions. There are a few steps to being hired for this job, and I have been invited to 'stage 2'. That is exciting.

Only one thing makes me nervous about this job. Patient care of adults. I don't do adult care. It's not my thing. Yuck.

The Thing About Halloween

First off, the kids had a blast! Jack and Sam's school is totally awesome and 'old school' where all of the kids still dress up in the afternoon and they have a huge school parade and then class parties afterwards. The parents are invited, so Dan and I always go. It's so much fun to see all of the teachers and kids having so much fun. We wouldn't miss it for anything.

By the time the kids came home from school, they we already high on sugar. Will also had a halloween party at school, so 4 kids hopped up on sugar is a sight to see around here.

We fed them dinner early. My parents came over, all dressed up which was awesome and histerical at the same time. My mother dressed as a hippy and my dad wore is 'old' army gear. Jack thought that was the coolest thing since sliced bread. He enjoyed telling all of his friends that his Papa's army gear was 'real'.

So the thing about Halloween is this; it's too much candy. And if you're like Dan and myself who have lost quite a bit of weight and proud of it, Halloween stinks.

What parent can keep their hands out of their children's goodie bags?! Not us!

The combo between one-too-many beers and a handful of candy isn't the best. We, or should I say I, am paying for it today.

Jack had his first sleep over last night at his good friend's house. The live right across the street, but I was still a little nervous. I slept with the phone right next to my head. Joe Cool came home this morning like it was no big deal. I should have known better not to worry so much. He'll understand one day...

The best part of the night was when the kids went to bed and all of my scary movies are on. It's just the best time of the year.

Do Some Praying

Meg has a job interview with a great hospital on Monday, November 3rd at 2pm. It's actually at the hospital where I had Jack, Libby and Anne. I have no experience with patient care of adults, only children, so this is a new path for me. This is a great hospital and such an awesome opportunity for me.

And let me explain. I love being a stay-at-home mother. I've been a SAHM since before Libby was born. But, our insurance changes with Home Depot soon and it's expensive. I am a FIRM believer in private insurance. I do not back Obama with his 'free healthcare plan'. If you can't afford heathcare, then work for it. We have 5 kids, and almost $1000/month is taken out of Dan's paycheck every month to cover us AND for people who just don't want to work. So you can thank Dan and the rest of the working community for your 'free healthcare'. I have NO respect whatsoever for people who don't work and expect others to pay for their 'free' healthcare. It's crap. No state aid here. We actually take PRIDE in caring for our large family. And it kills me to no end when a couple only has a few kids and claim they 'need' state/gov help. My advice- GET A JOB. Dan and I work our asses off to care for our family and we do a damn good job. So if we can do it, so can you.

Hey, Obama....preach to someone else who cares. You aren't going to help my family one bit. You don't get my vote. The country is better off with a Republican in office. Clinton is the perfect example of that. What a joke of a president he was.

Bragging Rights

Tonight, I am going to enjoy bragging about myself.

Because tonight after watching The Biggest Loser on tivo, I tried on a cute size 6 skirt that I bought for myself after Libby was born and to my excitment...........it fit.

It took nine months to gain a ton of weight, and 12 1/2 months to lose it. Not too bad if you ask me. And, I am also proud to say that after having FIVE kiddos, I am now thinner than I was when Dan and I were married 8 years ago (size 8).

At 10:58pm on 10/28, I am offically back into my pre-pregnancy size. I totally rock.

The Haunting of the Tiny Man....

Keeps on haunting us. Will's size that is.

Let me back up to when he was born. He was our smallest baby born at 5 pounds, 10 ounces. I wouldn't say I had a bad pregnancy with him, just unusual. He just about stopped growing in utero 8 weeks before he was born. There was no explaination for it. It may have had to do with my blood clotting disorder, or it may have just been his genetic make-up. Whatever it was, he's always been small, but strong and healthy.

So I'm telling you all of this because the day after Anne's one year check up, we were back in the pedi's office because 1. Libby had an ear infection, and 2. Anne had a reaction to her MMR vax. She had red rashes all over her legs and tummy. Fun, Fun.

Will was with us when we went. When Janette (our pedi) saw Will, she was so surprised that 1. Libby out weighs him by 2.5 pounds and 2. Libby is catching up with him in height. She thought for sure that Will would have made some growth progress over the summer. Wishful thinking.

Will is under the care of an Endo Dr. that I am less than thrilled with. Every test (and yes, there have many numerous tests done since he turned 2. So many that I'm not sure if I can even remember all of them by name at this point) comes back low, or abnormal, but not low enough, or abnormal enough. We have been fighting for a year now to start him on Growth Hormones.

Next Fall, he will start kindergarten. Required for kindergarten is for children to carry a full size backpack. A full sized backpack on Will comes down to...well...right above his ankles.

Over the summer, Dan and I decided to see a new Endo Dr for a second opinion. Then, we decided to hold off and see the first Endo Dr at the beginning of December, see what she says, then go to the new Endo Dr. Janette, after seeing him the other day, wants him to see the new Endo Dr asap.

Great. This can't be good. I wonder how many more tests they will run. I wonder if they'll ask us if we feed him. I hate going to new Dr's. It's the same bullshit every time.

And just so I know we are all on the same page; I am not asking anyone's opinion/advice on Growth Hormones, how to feed a Failure to Thrive child, have we tried this or that. Until you have a child that is just under the 3rd% in height and not even on the charts for weight, I don't want to hear it. You really don't want to go there with me.

The One Year Check Up

Our little girl had her one year check up yesterday. I was actually looking forward to it because our ever-so-sweet pediatrician and friend, Janette, was just married on the 10th and I couldn't wait to hear all about it!

Anne was not as big as I thought she was. I guess that she would weigh in around 22lbs. Wrong. She is weighing 20lbs, 7oz (45%), is 28 1/4 inches long (25%), and her head circ is 17 1/7 (30%). Short and chubs, just like her mommy :)

She received her MMR, Hep A, and Chickenpox vaccines. She did well with them and motrin is a gift from god.

Overall, she had a great appointment and everyone in the office that saw her just had to stop and comment on how beautiful she is. What a sweet little girl. We just love our Hippo.

The Curse...

Any woman reading this knows exactly what I'm talking about. Just about 22 months of no real cycle and the hag came back to visit. I'm paying for it, might I add.

I had to go to the grocery store (I'm staying on topic, so stick with me) and get a few odds and ends. I ventured down the feminine isle like a champ, kind of excited like I had the right to purchase again. So you can imagine my surprise at all of the changes in products. Overnights, super this, not so super that, panty liners, Kotex, Always......? I was actually confused. Isn't this stuff all the same?

Okay, and what really got me were the 'scented' pads and 'clean wipes'. WhAt? Honestly, I don't even want to know.

And the funny thing was, at the end of the isle were the 'trusty' condoms and pregnancy tests. Ironically, right across from those goodies were all of the baby food, formula and diapers. Talk about merchandising. I got a good laugh out of that.

Just a Reminder...

Keep your negative comments to yourself.

Here's a good example from today...

I was at Walmart purchasing my newphew, Matthew, a birthday gift. I just had Anne this morning because Jack and Sam were in school and Will and Libby were in preschool this morning.

I was in the check out line and a lady behind me asked, "Is she your first?".

"No, she's our 5th", I replied.

"Oh that poor baby, she had better enjoy the few minutes of attention", she said to me.

See, that is mean and hurtful. Does Anne look neglected to any of you in the slightest way?

I know many of you are tired of me complaining, but it gets to me. It shouldn't, but it does. And thanks to moron comments like this that I have had the upmost pleasure listening to over the past 6ish months, I am feeling down and can't. get. out. of. this. funk.

So let it be known.....

Our kids are loved and cherished in this house. Our fertility is none of your business.

Another fun comment came in this afternoon, (don't have anymore kids because..), "we should enjoy the stages that our kids are going through now". Like we don't.

Is everyone just jealous of us, or are people just really that ignorant?


Did you just hear that?

Yep, that was Meg opening a beer.

Listen and Learn

The next time you see a mother with more than 3 children at a store, keep all of your questions and comments to yourself. She doesn't want to hear or answer any of it, TRUST ME.

So here's the thing, I don't care one bit what other parents do with their children. You can have your opinions, and I can have mine. The trick to this game is that once both parties have their opinion, we don't open our mouths. We keep our comments to ourselves. I will then go home and talk behind your back. It's a win-win situation. See, I was raised right.

Tough day, but that was a good vent.

The Door to Door Salesman

I hate it when people knock on the front door trying to sell things. I think it invades people's personal space. Before today, the last salesman tried to sell me meat out of the back of his truck. YuCk! Who in their right mind would buy meat our of the back of the truck?! Chicken's are sick and the cows are going mad, and I'm sure the FDA would just love to know people are selling meat that way.

I was having a nice afternoon, until the doorbell rang.

It was a salesman that told me it was my lucky day *HA*. That he worked for a carpet cleaning company that didn't want money out of us *HA*, just wanted to show us how well his product worked so that we could pass the company name along.

I thought to myself, "Okay, why not".

Okay, well this guy worked for Kirby (vaccum cleaners). He really had a lot of pleasure telling me and showing me how dirty my house was, that "Oh My God", your kids live in filth.

So the Kirby is a bad ass vaccum. I told the guy that I would never spend more than $200 on a vaccum. He goes on to tell me that the Kirby was designed by NASA people and blah, blah, blah ($$$$$). And then he tell me the price.

$2200.00

SeRiOuSlY?

So when you freak out at the first price, they lower it, and then lower it again, and then lower it again.

By the time Dan told him to get out, his price lowered to $750.

See, they ALL try to scam you. No vaccum is worth $750. I wouldn't even buy a Dyson because I think that's a scam too.

You can never get these people to leave, either. I'm sure you could tell them to 'screw off' right to their face and they still wouldn't leave.

I would like to thank this moron for wasting 2.5 hours out of my day.

I totally understand now why in Texas you have the right to shoot people that are on your property. It's because of jerks like the one I had in my house today.

BUT, on a positive note, I learned something. I will never even open the door and try to be nice again. They could tell me that they are God himself and I would probably tell him to go to hell.

Remembering Our Angels..

Today is a day to remember all of those who have suffered losses.

www.october15th.com

When Life Changes..

Our house does not have a lot of storage space, and back in the laundry room there are about 9 storage bins of baby clothes. Baby clothes from having 5 babies. I've put it off for a long time, knowing that I need to go through all of them and donate a lot of it.

And that is what I did last night.

I went through each one, pulling out outfits I hadn't seen in so long, remembering when the kids wore them.

I found Jack's little fleece brown bear hat from Gap that Dan and I bought him right before he was born. We have so many pictures of him wearing it and I hadn't been able to find find it. And there it was. I let out a little bit of a *sigh* when I saw it. It was like finding a treasure. The little brown bear hat didn't go anywhere. I just couldn't part with it. I tucked it away in Jack's memory box thinking maybe one day I would see it again.

And there was Sam's little white onsies from Old Navy with a red wagon on the front. My favorite little outfit when he was just a few weeks old.

And one of Will's preemie outfits that he wore for weeks after he was born. I couldn't believe how tiny it was and it's funny how we just don't remember him that small. But he was.

So many little clothes, and so many memories.

All in all, I cleared out two large storage bins. I couldn't do it all at once, the emotions take over after a while. I have yet to go through all of the girls things. That is for another day.

Libby's Black Eye...

Nice, isn't it?

Fall...

It's just the best time of year. The weather has cooled off and the leaves are changing colors. My seasonal depression is finally over.

Dan and I were talking today about New York. The one thing I really miss about being in New York is the Fall season. There was nothing like a drive down 218 with the leaves changing. Good god, I miss it. The Fall in the Hudson Valley is gorgeous and if you have never been there, I suggest going. I can still picture it vividly like it I was there yesterday.

Yesterday, Will and Libby had an accident in the front yard. I was talking with our neighbor and the two of them were chasing each other around the front yard. We asked them many times to stop, knowing someone was going to get hurt. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that two wild indians running around means that someone will eventually get hurt.

Suddenly.....

*SMACK*

yep, that is what we heard.

Both kiddos were on the ground crying their eyes out. They ran right into each other, face first.

Libby's eye started to swell, and I knew it wasn't going to be pretty in the morning.

At 6:25am, Libby started her day. I took one look at her and gasped. Her right eye was almost swollen shut. All I could think to myself was, "I wonder how Will is going to look".

Mind you, Libby had school this morning. *Great*.

I mean, I know kids will be kids, but come on! Nothing like sending your daughter to preschool with a serious swollen eye.

When Will woke up, you can imagine my surprise when he didn't have a bump or bruise to show for it!

When I dropped the kids off at school, everyone asked what happened to Libby. I think I told the story like a thousand times. A part of me wanted to tell everyone who asked to mind their own damn business. But, I shared.

Yes, it looks that bad. I will post a picture of it tomorrow. She looks as if she is wearing a lovely shade of purple eye shadow.

At least school pictures were last week :)

OH! I bought a Mum plant thingy today. It is HUGE, and yellow, and beautiful. I had never seen them that big before, and I just had to buy one. I am planting it in the 'busket' in the front tomorrow. SO EXCTING!!!!

Anne turns One...Now and Then...

I'm posting this tonight because we are going to have a super busy day tomorrow :) Can you all believe it? Where has the year gone?

The Ties That Bind...

Tomorrow is the last morning that Anne and I have together alone before she turns one. I know it sounds pathetic, but she and I are going to have a lot of fun!

Anne and I are going to go out and get ready for her birthday. We are having a birthday celebration for her on Saturday with my parents, my sister and my brother in law. We are going to order her cake and buy her first pair of shoes (well, I am going to just buy her Robeez, but they work well for new walkers).

I have decided not to feel down about this. Why should I be? She's this beautiful, unique, one of a kind little girl that has blessed us in so many ways.

I was thinking about the kids this afternoon as we were outside enjoying yet another beautiful afternoon, watching each of them. They are all so different. Yet, they each play such a big roll in our family. They each bring something different into our lives. Jack is our problem solver. Sam is caring and compassionate. Will is our comedian. Libby has a zest for life that is contagious. Anne, with her anxious personality, reminds us how fragile life is. Watching them zoom around me, all I could think to myself was, "Nobody is this lucky". But we are...

OH! I did not see the crazy honking lady at the preschool today. I told my mother (the shrink) about it this afternoon, and do you know what her advice was for dealing with the honk-honk lady? GIVE HER THE FINGER BACK! WhAt?!! Sue-G may be a psychotherapist, but now you all know where I get my little temper - LMAO!! But, I believe in karma, and decided (ahem, Laura) to take the high road and just let it go. See, Meg has turned a new leaf. I don't feel liberated yet, but I guess that comes with time (?).

Too close for comfort...

Anne's first birthday is Wednesday. It is just about impossible for me to believe. Over the past few days, so many emotions from when she was born hit me. The tough delivery, her three days in the Special Care Nursery. I remember all too well not having her room in with me after she was born, the long walks down a never ending hallway to visit her every two hours, seeing her with iv's and oxygen. It seems like yesterday.

And everyone says, 'at least she is here and healthy'. Kind of like I shouldn't feel the way I do. There is such a big part of me not looking forward to her birthday, just because of that. And I should feel blessed that she is perfectly, perfectly healthy and beautiful, but I've so struggled with her delivery and start to life all of these months. The joys of being a mother.

This morning, Dan changed her into this adorable two piece outfit. She looked like a toddler. So much older than she had to me just a few days ago. I changed her into a cute one peice outfit from Carter's. Dan said, "You know you can't keep her a baby forever". But god, I wish I could.

There's just something about Anne that pulls at my heart. I'm not sure if it's the way she snuggles with me, the way she slowly will walk over to me with her arms up saying, "Mama", or the way she drags her blankie around with her, or the fact that she was my baby that nursed the longest, the baby that would let me hold her all day long. Soon enough, these will all be memories for her baby book, and I will look back years from now and say, "Yes, you were just that sweet".

Right now, it's the way she waves bye-bye and blows kisses. And I wish she'd smell like a baby forever. I'm convinced that is what heaven smells like. A piece of heaven, all to myself.

I haven't even begun to get ready for her special day. Dan is right, I can't ignore it for too much longer. On 10/8 at 15:04pm, Anne will offically be one year of age.

"The days are long, but the years are short".

That is just so true.

No honking action today...

Because ALL 4 kids were off of school today. So payback for the honking hag will just have to wait until Monday.

On a side note, we took the kids to the pumpkin patch today and what a day! The weather was gorgeous and each kiddo picked out a pumpkin for themself. Dan and I picked one big one for ourselves. $32 later and our front porch is very festive! I will post pics tomorrow.

Our Sony camera is not working well. So it's time to invest in a new one. Any advice on brands?

MORGAN ROCKS ASS!!!!

Three cheers for my friend, Morgan, who passed her NP boards on Thursday!!!

You deserve this, chickie. I am celebrating with you!!!

Crazy Days

Today was fun filled. I dropped off Jack and Sam at school and then had to rush to get Will and Libby to preschool.

Tuesday and Thursday mornings are fun for me. It's time for just Anne and myself. The problem with that is we don't know what to do with ourselves :) And trust me, there are always a million things I could and SHOULD be doing, but when the house is quiet, I don't know how to handle that. And to be perfectly honest, I can't handle it for very long because we went to the Depot to visit Dan at work.

Boy, did Anne just love that! She took one look at Dan and had a smile from ear to ear. When he took her, she snuggles into his shoulder like she hasn't seen him in a month. SO CUTE!!

OMG! I found my dream fridge. Sam would just die. It's a LG stainless, french doors. I NEED IT! The only problem is that it will only hold 2 gallons of milk in the door. Our big ass fridge now holds 5 gallons of milk in the door. Oh well...

So do you girls remember the disaster at carpool pick up at the preschool from yesterday?! I did something really bad today. It was an ironic series of events. The mother from yesterday who kept honking and honking at me for no reason at all, got a taste of her own medicine today, compliments of Meg.

SHE WAS RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME TODAY at pick-up. OMG it was a sign from god. She was on her cellie chatting it up not paying attention, so when the car in front of her moved forward and she didn't, you know what Meg just had to do. It wasn't a light honk...the type of honk that just says 'excuse me'. it was like....

HHHHOOOOOOOONNNNNKKKKK.

Good god, it felt good.

Unitl I noticed that she was giving me the finger.

But don't worry, payback from her giving me the finger today will just have to wait until tomorrow. And I have to think of something good.


On a side note, that debate with Palin and Biden is here in St. Louis tonight. I might watch, but it doesn't matter because I already know who I am voting for (NObama '08).

BUT, let me just say that if Palin was running for president, I would vote for her just because she is the mother of a large family. I really would, just for that reason.

okay, keep you posted.

Why We Do What We Do...

I am the mother of 5 AwEsOmE kiddos. My husband and I are frequently asked why we decided to have a large family.

It all came naturally. One right after the next. All so different and wonderful. Each full of personality and love. They brighten the darkest of days with their smiles. I wouldn't trade any of them for the world.

And you can ask each of them how they feel about being apart of a large family. These kids of mine.....care about one another, protect one another and are the closest of friends (with, of course a fight here and there). But just ask Sam how many more brothers and sisters he would like to have...

"100 more" he told us not too long ago.

I told you, they are cool kids.

We are not your average large family. We are not the Duggar's. We do not wear family uniforms, go to church on a regular basis, our older kids do not care for our younger kids, no we do not plan on having 18 kids and being pregnant again. We are not as organized as 'Jon and Kate plus 8'. In fact, I can't even watch that show because she makes me feel...not so great about how disorganized I am. We immunize our children (shouldn't everyone?!), we don't homeschool because we believe in real life socialization and experiences.

Our children are well-balanced, hard workers, and loved by many. And that comes down to parenting. Not to toot my our horn or anything, but we're good at this and it shows *toot toot*.

But, I am organized enough to get up in the morning, 'cook' (you'll learn that I am not a fan of cooking and that Dan does most of the cooking around here), get 5 kids dressed, fed, lunches made, in the car and have ALL of them to school on time.

You'll learn another thing about me....I am NEVER late, I think it's rude.

So this is just the beginning of the fun. I dwell on a lot of things, so there is always a lot to say...