4th of July

Happy 4th of July! If you're spending time with family or going to fireworks, have fun! If you're setting off your own fireworks, be careful!

100 Things About Me

I saw this on another blog and thought it was very clever. Even though the author was a perfect stranger to me, I really enjoyed reading 100 random things about her. I don't talk about specifics too often here but I thought this was a good time. And I bet this will be more difficult thank I think.

1. I think my eyes are my best feature.

2. I am truly lazy and would love to just sit around all day doing nothing.



3. I could live on nothing but junk food for the rest of my life.

4. I started dating Hubby at age 16 and got married at 19. We're still together.

5. My oldest son looks and acts just like me and he's the one who drives me crazy.

6. I have a degree in Early Childhood Education.

7. I think being a stay-at-home-mom is the best job in the world.

8. I have had 7 surgeries: 4 C-Sections, foot surgery, an Appendectomy, and a Tubal Ligation.

9. I consider my husband my best friend but I have a strong desire for other female relationships.

10. I have a Diet Coke addiction.

11. I consider myself a failing OCD. I like things to be perfect but don't always have the energy to do it the way I want it done.

12. I love to bake but don't really like to cook.

13. I love entertaining.

14. I never had braces and I don't like my teeth.

15. I have more freckles on my body than anyone could ever count.

16. I do not know how to hook up the DVD player and have to call my son in to do it for me.

17. I loathe improper use of apostrophes.

18. I got fired from my first job after one day. I was a Junior in high school and they thought I was Junior in college. I still hold a grudge.

19. I have never had a pedicure.

20. I do not pump my own gas.

21. I look at my husband every day and wonder how I ended up with someone so good looking.

22. I attend church three times a week.

23. I finally admit that I wish I would have worked harder on piano lessons as a child. Mom was right.

24. I am jealous of how many things my little brother can do well. I am also so proud of him.

25. I would love to have another baby but I don't want another kid.

26. My parents live next door to me.

27. I have only lived in two houses my entire life. (Here and next door!)

28. When my kids are grown, I plan to travel the world without them. I will start in Italy.

29. One of my dreams is to be a children's book author. Every time I try to start, I can't think of anything to write.

30. I typically eat at Chipotle a couple times a week. I am addicted.

31. I would love to get a tummy tuck. And I would if I could justify the cost.

32. I have snuck backstage at numerous concerts and developed a friendship with the artist because of it.

33. I make a gallon of sweet tea every day.

34. I've only been to 17 US states but hope to visit them all before I die.

35. I'm a very picky eater but will try anything once. One of the worst things I've tried is escargot.

36. I missed graduating with honors because of one D in Spanish class my Sophomore year. I talked to the girl behind me instead of paying attention. That's probably my biggest regret today.

37. I am a big advocate of breastfeeding.

38. I am Pro-Life.

39. I am not hugely environmentally conscious. In other words, I am not very "green."

40. I love living in a 4-season location but I wish winter could be cut by a month or two.

41. I have extremely ticklish feet.

42. I can't wear watches because my body chemistry breaks them.

43. I find John Grisham books boring and dull.

44. My favorite author is Maeve Binchy.

45. I know how to swim but not well.

46. I have never drank alcohol or smoked a cigarette.

47. I teach dramatic sign language to the teens at my church.

48. I love my backyard and think it is the nicest yard in the whole town.

49. I love cooking Thanksgiving dinner with my mom and can't wait to do it with my two daughters and hopefully two daughters-in-law.

50. I am paranoid of roaches even though I've never had them in my house.

51. I did not like Katz Deli in NYC but I'm embarrassed to admit it because it's so famous.

52. I love Harry Connick, Jr. and Michael Buble'.

53. I also love gospel music, classical, jazz, pop, soft rock, and 60s music.

54. I love cake decorating but have never been taught. I signed up for a class but it was cancelled.

55. I have had stitches in my forehead and a broken wrist.

56. I have lost two best friends in my life and only occasionally talk to my current "best friend."

57. I hate drama. (Dramatic people, not the arts.)

58. My favorite movie is Gone With the Wind but I've never read the book.

59. I hate peaches.

60. When I was little, I watched The Wizard of Oz and Annie so often that I could almost quote them.

61. I've only tried to mow the grass once. I mowed for about ten feet then stopped.

62. I love sitting on the beach with a book.

63. I have always hated the zoo but broke down and bought a zoo pass this year.

64. I believe in spanking my kids.

65. My parents used to take us primitive camping all the time. I wish I did this with my kids.

66. I don't go to PTA because I can't stand one of the women who sits on the board.

67. I honestly feel bad for my kids' friends because my kids are so much cuter.

68. I hate sales calls and feel like screaming at solicitors when they call.

69. I wish that everyone involved in the pornography industry would suddenly die.

70. I am gradually becoming completely gray-haired and I'm letting my hair go naturally.

71. I am extremely frugal and cheap. I love following the teachings of Dave Ramsey.

72. I am on a puppet team.

73. I do not text while driving and get mad at people who do.

74. I do not drink coffee.

75. I can not stand people who go to the grocery store in their pajamas and people who do not dress up for weddings.

76. I do not believe in ghosts or UFOs.

77. I do believe in Heaven and Hell.

78. I am thinking of running on a relay team in a marathon. But I've yet to start training.

79. I was a virgin when I married.

80. I have a huge extended family and we are very close.

81. I enjoy watching sports.

82. I do not like watching the news because it typically depresses me.

83. I sing in a choir.

84. I'm growing tomatoes this year but I think I planted them too late.

85. I'm very proud that I've kept a house plant alive since my grandpa's funeral 2003. (It doesn't look too healthy though.)

86. I read the comics in the newspaper nearly every day.

87. I don't quite get the hype about Sudoku.

88. I love lying on our hammock and wish I was brave enough to sleep on it all night long.

89. I love finding constellations in the night sky. Orion is my favorite.

90. I think I would do really well if I had the opportunity to appear on a game show.

91. I bribe baby girl into giving me kisses when she wants something.

92. I've allowed my teaching certificate to expire and it would take a full-time semester in college to renew it.

93. I watch Glee.

94. I struggle with my son's math homework because he is passing me up.

95. I save and roll all my spare change. We're hoping to eventually take a vacation with our change.

96. I've saved every love note written to me.

97. I have Old Navy flip flops in almost every color.

98. My house is mostly painted in earth tones. (Tan, sage, slate, and lime green.)

99. My ice maker is broken and it drives me crazy to make my own ice.

100. The title of my blog comes from my nickname growing up - She.

Raising Sextuplets

I am thrilled that Raising Sextuplets is back on the air! I am always amazed to see how people care for and live with multiples. I have four kids of my own (not all the same age!) and there are times when I feel like I could completely lose it. But I think these parents do a great job of keeping their cool with the given situation. They are an inspiration to me and their show makes me take a step back to look at and appreciate my life.

I was never a fan of Jon & Kate. I was greatly bothered by the way she treated her husband. And we all know how that turned out. But I see a totally different relationship with Bryan and Jenny. They seem to truly love one another and support each other in their hectic lifestyle. I think their character blows away the others who have tried and failed at a similar show.

So God bless Bryan and Jenny. They're going to need it! Although one look at them lets you know how blessed they already are.

Big Shoes to Fill

Baby girl is definitely that....a girl. She has a tremendous love of all things girly: purses, jewelry, and most of all shoes. Her Big Sis gets frustrated at times when she can't find the match to one of her shoes. We find them in the oddest of places and there's only one suspect. This was what I found beside me as I sat here blogging...the clump, clump, clump of her in my 3" wedge heels. I know my mind will return to this memory when she's wearing heels of her own some day and I'll wish I could return to this time when she was little and precious.

Texas Sheet Cake

I was inspired. That's my excuse. So I broke down and followed my inspiration. I whipped up a Texas Sheet Cake. Judging by the ingredients, I wonder if this is truly the most fattening concoction known to man. (No, I guess you could deep fry it!)

But I was hungry for Texas Sheet Cake, and being the cook that I am, I just happened to have all the ingredients handy. And oh, was it ever worth heating up the already hot house! If you have the time and the ingredients, I highly recommend whipping up a Texas Sheet Cake yourself. Your taste buds will thank you, even if your waistline doesn't!

Texas Sheet Cake

1 C butter
1 C water
1/4 C cocoa
2 C sugar
2 C flour
1/8 t salt
2 eggs
1 t baking soda
1/2 C sour cream
1 t vanilla

Combine butter, water, and cocoa in a saucepan over medium heat. Heat until butter melts. Add sugar, flour, salt, eggs, soda, sour cream, and vanilla; mix well. Pour into a jelly roll pan. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare frosting.

1/2 C butter
1/4 C cocoa
1/4 C + 2 T milk
1 lb. (4 C) powdered sugar
1/2 t vanilla

Combine butter, cocoa, and milk in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Add remaining ingredients and mix well with an electric mixer. Spread over hot cake.

Where, O Where Has My Birdseed Gone?

I recently purchased a new birdfeeder. My last birdfeeder was an adorable 3' snowman holding a bowl of seed but he fell victim to an unfortunate death. So I made sure the new feeder was made of plastic and childproof.

The day after I filled it, the feeder was half empty. I figured the birds of the neighborhood were just hungry. Then I saw the culprit....a black squirrel. He must be tougher than the native brown squirrels of this area because he was the only one I saw eating the seed. So here are before and after pictures to answer the question, Where, O where has my birdseed gone?

Your Baby Can Read

A friend of mine recently gave me a complete set of unopened Your Baby Can Read DVDs. I was so excited for the gift because I had seen the numerous infomercials and wondered what the program was truly like.

So we're still on the first DVD and I'm undecided. I wondered if Baby Girl might be a little too old for starting this program. It seems like it works better for younger babies. She doesn't exactly sit still for the entire show. But on the plus side, she has started saying more words like dog and elephant. She would just rather watch the oh-so-annoying Yo Gabba Gabba ("Go-Go" in her words).

It's hard to remember to put the DVD in twice a day but we're going to try to stick with it for now. I would love to hear any rants or raves about the product from others.

Sweet and Garlic

The Baby Girl got into it again today....the Lazy Susan. It's her most favorite place in the world. And because of that, I have it blocked off with a baby gate. Somehow today, she got past the gate and entered into the world of fragrant spice jars, bags of sugar, and boxes of pasta. From the other room, I heard the sound of something small and granular hitting the wood floor. I sent the 9-year-old in the check on the strange sound. "Uh oh, Mom! She got into the sprinkles," was the response. No biggie, sprinkles are easy to sweep up. But I couldn't pinpoint the spicy smell filling the room.

I took Baby Girl up to her room to change her. When I opened her diaper, a strong smell of garlic permeated her room. I looked down and noticed she was covered in garlic powder. Even after a bath and a thick lather of Baby Magic, both she and her room still smell like an Italian restaurant. And I still have yet to locate the possibly empty jar of garlic powder. Maybe it will turn up with the stuffed pink puppy she lost a month ago.

What a Weather Day!

What a weather day it has been here in the Midwest US! Tornadoes, thunderstorms, rain....and even an earthquake! Earthquake? I wouldn't know because I didn't feel it, but many friends and neighbors claim they felt the 5.5 Canadian earthquake all the way here. I'm just glad it didn't cause a Great Lakes tsunami!

Are earthquakes even considered weather? Weather, nature -- all the same category, I guess. Here is a picture of my beautiful hydrangeas I shot while taking rain pictures. I loved the color contrast with the dark stormy skies overhead.

Where I've Been...

I haven't blogged in so long and didn't realize until this moment how much I had missed it! I started off by reading my favorite blogger and catching up on all of her clever insights I had missed out on since I've been gone. And that made me want to share what I've been up to (not that anyone is reading...but still).

April- we went on vacation to the Smoky Mountains. Oh, the pure bliss of staying in my pajamas 'til 3, reading novels, playing Scrabble, sightseeing, and relaxing in the hot tub while cold rain pelted my nose. I could take a vacation like that once a month! It was so relaxing and enjoyable. It made the two vomit experiences on the way down not so bad.

May- Hubby and I celebrated our 14th anniversary in New York City, a first for me. It was only a day and a half so I made sure to cram a week's worth of sightseeing in a short time. It amazed me to see famous sights I had seen on television so many times and to realize Tom Hanks stood RIGHT HERE! The only celebrity we noticed was Lionel Richie, which was pretty cool, even though I'm not really a fan. We walked so many miles that it took several weeks for my knees to recover. I would definitely do it again. Oh, and eat at John's Pizzeria again!

June- the kids are now out of school and this large 4-bedroom house suddenly seems very small. They have actually been pretty good so far. The first few days were a battle until they remembered how I crack the whip! If I could just keep them from fighting with one another, they would be pretty close to perfect. I'm blessed.

I have also turned another year older since I last documented my thoughts. But we don't need to discuss that. My recently turned 9-year-old asked me what we did special for my birthday. I thought, quickly trying to come up with something sweet to say so as not to disappoint him, but nothing came to mind. I tried to gently explain to him that Mama is the one who does the special things for birthdays so when it's Mama's birthday.....

That did not please him and he is now adamant, along with Little Sis, to do something special for Mama since she didn't get anything special on her birthday. So sweet. I guess I've done something right to deserve kids like that. Now, if they would just go have a little talk with hubby......

Summer has been so lovely thus far. I avoided the use of my air conditioning for as long as possible. But it's now humming happily and I am no longer sticky and stinky. But I miss the sweet, clean breeze blowing in the windows, no matter how sticky. Our flowers are prettier than ever this year and I've really enjoyed nature. I tried my hand at flower planting this year and have really enjoyed watching the little seeds start to grow. Next year I'll have to start earlier so we can actually have flowers before early fall. Until then, I'll still enjoy the little green shoots and be happy that I accomplished a little bit of a green thumb, even though it's barely mint green.

Other things I've done recently:

• 3 birthdays, 3 birthday cakes...one was in the shape of a Lego man's head, which is what the 9-year-old requested



• 1 field trip to the Fire Station, 1 field trip to the Zoo (with a group of 5 kids), 1 Spelling Bee, 1 elementary school graduation and awards ceremony



• My biggest production of the year- a dramatic sign language performance, written and choreographed totally by me, with 35 signers and 500 in attendance



• My second biggest production of the year- a Mother-Daughter Banquet, totally written by me, with 250 in attendance



• The acquisition of dozens and dozens of new gray hairs

And that's where I've been.