Update and Cupcakes

Hi everyone!!!!

I'm so sorry for my absence after springing such yucky news (lice),

but our computer crashed, and we can't get anyone here til this next Tuesday,

at which time, Tom will be in Canada fishing, so if they can't fix it,

I'll still be out of a computer!!

Funny how much we depend on this little machine!

I've been feeling pretty lonely, without all the contact the computer keeps me up with.

Add that to the fact we can't really get together with anyone because of the lice....well,

it's been a pretty challenging beginning to summer!

I am using Tom's laptop right now for a quick post, before he takes it off to Canada with him!

I'm not used to his laptop, so this post will be choppy, as I can't get my pictures where I want them!

Above,

I baked 2 dozen cupcakes for Jessica's virtual baby shower for Charlotte,

but couldn't decide which baby cupcake to make,

so I decided on both!

One of my cupcakes is a little baby nukie face, so I needed to come up with a light skin tone...

yellow with a drop of red did the trick! 

 Some of the ingredients needed for my cupcakes!

Here's where this post gets choppy,

I gave 6 haircuts on Sunday.

(including my own, but not the babe's beautiful curls)

Mary Hannah got about 5 inches cut, and below,

Ballerina Rosie got 12 inches cut. (I also got 12 inches cut)

She was the most devastated, but, now, is the one who likes hers the most, I think.

The cuts are adorable, don't you think?

(I should have been a beautician--hey, with 4 girls so far, I guess I am) 

Onto cupcakes again...

We did these cute duckies!!!

The kiddos and I really had fun making these and they turned out so cute!! 

The wings and tails are round butter crackers broken in half, frosted and coated in yellow coconut,

the heads are large marshmallows, frosted and coated with the coconut also, Reeces Pieces for the beaks and mini chocolate chip eyes. 

Colette's new haircut can be seen in this photo...I plan on showing more pictures how it all went,

when our computer is fixed.

She also loves her hair, I wanted to wait til the fall for a cute Kindergarten cut,

but God had other plans....

She looks adorable.

Baby Nukie Cupcakes!!!

When my husband came home, he thought they were cows....

he says because we always do animals, they don't look like cows, do they?

They are cute little babies with nukies!!!

Then my good friend Susie (who we also gave lice to),

thought they were monkeys.

Don't they look like little babies?

Yes.

They do.

They turned out cute!!!

 The curl on the top of the heads is melted chocolate chips, piped onto wax paper and frozen.

The nukie is melted white chocolate, with a few drops of red food coloring to get that pink color,

if I wanted to do blue or a neutral gender color I could have done that too, but we went with pink, for Charlotte's little cupcake!

Then, the melted pink (white) chocolate is piped onto wax paper, in oval shapes and once hardened,

put on upside down, and then the handle of the nukie is a lifesaver, stuck on with melted pink chocolate, the eyes are mini chocolate chips!

Look at those cute little babies!!!

Just a little sample of all the laundry I'm doing every day.

Everything.

Every day.

Sheets, pillow cases, towels,

clothes, pajamas,

FOR 7 PEOPLE!!!!

I am not washing the comforters every day, they are packed away for a few weeks,

but sheets and blankets are needed every day.

laundry is going to be such a breeze when this is all over!!!

The hardest thing about lice, is there is not ONE way to take care of it.

There are like 20 different ways.

So there is always this doubt,

Did we get them all?

Did our way work?

Because of the pregnancy, I can't do any of the chemicals,

so, we've done this Cetaphil way, told by my O.B.,

but we've also done the coconut oil way.

and

We have Tea Tree Oil mixed with Canola oil

waiting for us to do tomorrow.

See, how it works is

 these 20 different ways of getting rid of it, only get rid of the bugs,

not the eggs.

We comb out the eggs,

but only supposedly, that gets 70% of them

(where do they get these numbers?)

so since eggs hatch, we have to do treatments again 1 week later,

then the week after that, to get any that might have hatched later,

But since we are getting the lice as babies, not full adults (which takes 8-10 days),

they don't lay eggs yet.

3 weekends,

2 full weeks

and life will then go back to normal!

Hopefully.

Thank you for your prayers, they have lifted me up.

I only broke down once, Monday and cried.

The kids thought I was faking it and started laughing.

Which at the time, made me cry more.

But, I'm doing great now.

Thanks for all your suggestions,

we are using coconut shampoo from now on, for the rest of our lives.

And

probably going to do these Tea Tree oil treatments monthly.

I'm off now, and praying and hoping our

computer gets fixed Tuesday!!

Happy Father's day to all you fathers out there!!!

(especially Odie, my only male reader, Love you Odie, have a wonderful father's day!)

PS

(Can I PS on a blog post?)

I had a 9 week ultra sound yesterday and we have one beautiful, healthy baby!!!

Jedi was with me and got to see the little baby kick both his/her feet, it was great!!!

Heart beat was a healthy 170

Epiphany, I'll take it!



Head Lice!!!

Has anyone ever had this or had to deal with lice?

I never have

until

today.

I suspected it yesterday as Colette and I have been itching....alot.

I checked very closely today in the tub.

Sure enough.

We were told by the nurse to treat everyone with over the counter stuff...

wash daily everything.

Everything.

Sheets, pillow cases,

hats, sweaters and coats, 

brushes, combs,

towels, washcloths, etc....

When I was praying my morning prayers and praying and thinking about whether we had this or not,

I hoped it was not true,

but since I also thank God for the crosses,

Thanked Him 

because we've never had it and now will learn how to deal with it.

Now where in the world did this come from?

We are clean people.

We bathe and clean all the time.

I have 4 girls with lots of hair.

The nurse said if it doesn't go away with the first treatment, then we will have to put 

all the toys, dolls, stuffed animals, Barbies, etc in plastic bags and put them in the freezer for 2 days.

What?

Our freezer is full.

Dear Lord, give me the strength to make it through this.

I will be doing laundry from morning til night.

Prison Break!

Look at these guys....who wouldn't want to watch them?

See?  They make it a great show for the men because of the prison action and 

they make it pleasing to the women's eyes too.

(I'm kidding.  Kind of)

We started watching this a couple weeks ago via Netflix.

We love Netflix.

We have been able to watch several shows we would not have watched otherwise.

No commercials.

1 hour show watched in 40 minutes. 

We don't really watch any prime time shows--we don't watch much TV, except through Netflix.

(When nursing a baby, which I'm not currently, I watch cooking shows and House Hunter shows and I also like to watch Intervention.)

Now this tattoo is for the show, but I embarrassingly admit  I like it.

Some Netflix series we've watched and enjoyed over the past few years are:

The Closer

Alias 

24

(we did stop the last season, I mean how many times can a man be tortured?)

Fringe

Leverage

Lost
Parks and Recreation

I recommend them all!!

Tuesday Tea Talk

Can you believe I'm finally having you for tea?

I'm sorry I've missed a couple weeks, I've been busy.

It's late too, so if you want to join me for tea on Wednesday, you are more than welcome to!

Next week the kiddos have VBS and I'm in charge of Preschool, so I probably won't blog much,

it will be enough of a challenge getting 5 kiddos out the door by 8am each morning for 4 days.

I will come home and collapse on the couch.  

I'm serious.

We homeschool moms are not used to getting up and ready, kiddos dressed and fed all by 8am.

Heck, we are not used to doing that by 9am!

OK, join me for tea, I'm making iced tea, not only because it's what I like, but it's 97 degrees outside today!

If you'd like to join in, either leave your answers in the comments or make a post on your blog but don't forget to let me know, so we can come visit!

1.  You are at the doctors office and have just been informed you have 1 month to live.

a) Who do you tell?

b) What do you do with your remaining days?

c)  Would you be afraid?

Wow.  I'd like to say I wouldn't change a thing.  That's they way we should be living, right?

First thing I'd change is, I would put a notice on my blog letting everyone know and then I'd quit it.

I get so much from the blog world, it connects all of us, but only if we are living.  If I'm dying in only a few weeks, then we don't need to be connected anymore. 

sorry folks.
First to tell?

I would tell family, and closest friends and our priests.
(then I would do that blog thing)

Then, I would spend my last days preparing my kiddos and husband for that time without me.

I would want to write everything down for them, every thought.  

I would pray for them, constantly.

I would go to Mass every day

I would give everything I have away, so my husband wouldn't have to.

Most of it would go to my kiddos, but you know, my clothes, they'd go.

I would not be afraid for myself.

I would be afraid for my family.

I'd be afraid of how they would deal with it.

Which is why I'd be praying, constantly.

2.  What is the one thing about yourself you like best?

This one is hard for me.

My husband says that is the first sign of lack of self esteem.

I like myself, it's just hard to say what I like.

I like my honesty, I cannot tell a lie.

We should be able to fill a page of all the things we like about ourselves...

Don't worry, I'm not going to do that.

3.  What is your favorite thing to do on a rainy day?

I love to bake cookies and make popcorn and play games with the kiddos.

I also love to sit on the porch and watch the rain.  

(so I guess I'm picturing a summer rain)

4.  What do you do when the clock turns 10:10?

I always say a prayer.

3:33, 4:44, 5:55, 1:11  

All calls for prayer.

I always think it is a sign from God that someone needs prayers, either a soul in Purgatory, or someone in trouble, or well, whoever God wants me to pray for at that moment.

5.  Hamburger or cheeseburger?  Grilled or Fried?

Mmmmmmmmm....first thought would be cheeseburger, but I always pick hamburger, because it's less calories, but if calories didn't matter, then I'd pick cheeseburger, grilled.

definitely grilled, preferably, charcoal grill.


Thanks for having tea everyone!!
Stay cool out there!

Many Things/One Post!

 Sweetie Pie is weaned!

I can wear night gowns, no more nursing.

I was a little sad the first night.
I miss holding her all night.
Well, you know, til midnight.

She only cried maybe 2 minutes and the girls talked to her and calmed her down

and she just laid down and went to sleep.

No problem since, it's been 3 nights now!

 I got all my planting done!

This year it seems a major accomplishment

With all this cuteness, I'm constantly grabbing my camera.

I just want to photograph her all day! 

That, and the fact that she's always running away from me.... 

And stepping right where we are trying to plant! 

 My assigned waterer for the summer.

She is a true gardener, she loves being outside, looking for bugs and digging in the dirt.

 Summer has finally arrived here in Minnesota, temps in the 80's all week expected!!

Yahooooooo!

I love summer!

 My Iris's are blooming

 We planted Cosmos and Zinnia's in the box

 and

 Purple Zinnia's in front of the box (the side by the road)

Those big bushy plants are Black Eyed Susans and Daisies

3 tomato plants, 1 cherry tomato plant,

1 jalapeno, and 1 habenero plant (Tom's)

Yellow and red Yarrow and Purple Perennial --dang, I can't remember the name.....they spread like crazy and I've' planted them in the back garden.... 

I got all my pots planted, still hoping to get some hanging pots for the porch.

My mailbox, has Pink Petunias and daisies and that purple plant....hmmm, where is my memory?

I also planted Morning Glories to climb up the mailbox.

If you are new to my blog, I love mailboxes.

We go there every day, the mail man goes there every day, it is something so simple, yet 

we see it every day.  That is why I love them! 

 Our summer reading on the porch.

Finally it's warm enough in the mornings to sit and read!

I got this scent a few weeks ago and had to throw it out, it now makes me gag every time I smell it.

How am I feeling?

nausea all day, very very tired, like tired to the bones tired, every time I sit down, I feel I can't get up tired.

And my tummy is already showing. 

I always start showing very quickly, this started with the 4th baby.

It's exciting though!

My husband and son informed me they don't want to know the sex of the baby.

What?

I'm finding out.

Since my hubby doesn't want to know til we have the baby, I can't tell anyone else.

We didn't find out with our first baby, found out at 32 weeks with the 2nd but didn't tell anyone 

(which was really fun)

and

found out with the rest.  

I figured out why I couldn't leave comments at some blogs (lots of them)

I needed to update to "Google Chrome".

Everything is fine now.

It's the replaced "Internet Explorer"

We haven't figured out how to access my "favorites" yet though....

Jessica is having a virtual baby shower for Charlotte!

Check it out and try to guess 

which baby is me!!!

Planning my cupcakes for the shower!!!

Have a great day everyone!!

The Homeless in Front of You

There is a homeless man we see almost every time we pass a certain intersection.

Sometimes he has a woman with him.  We are not sure if it's his girlfriend, or wife or just another fellow homeless person with him.  In the winter, he had a long, long beard and she had long, straggly, silver hair.  

This spring, they've cleaned up, he now has short clean cut hair and a nice mustache, she has a short cut for the summer. I have to admit they look much more approachable now that they are cleaned up.  

This looks exactly like the sign of the man we see.

 In the past, we've given them water or whatever snacks we've had in the van.

My husband is convinced they would use any money for drugs or booze so he insists we not give them money.

Now, my husband is a counselor for men in recovery and many of them are homeless and he knows all the resources out there available for these kind of people. He believes if they really wanted help, it's there for them.  Not every homeless person, is that person they do a special on TV about, someone just down on their luck, someone like the character played by Will Smith in The Pursuit of Happyness.

In fact most of the homeless, at least in our area are either addicts or mentally ill.

Still

they are homeless.

The kids and I pray for this man (and woman if she's there) every time we pass.

We have stopped and bought them lunch

We've brought them water.

His name is Randy.

He has bright eyes that light up when he smiles.

He says they clean up in the gas station bathrooms and the local Salvation Army lets him shower for free.

He always says "God bless you" to us afterward.

He doesn't have to.

But he does.

He says he doesn't want to follow the rules at the local homeless shelter, and he's right,

it's not a very nice place.

He says he doesn't qualify for any assistance except food stamps, which he shares with his friend,

(the woman)

Aren't we as Christians, as Catholic Christians, supposed to see the face of Christ in everyone?

Not just some people.

Not just in the people we want to.

Sure, it's easy to be busy and miss seeing him on the side of the road. 

But isn't it just as easy to stop and ask if he needs anything? 

Isn't it just as easy to see if he's eaten today?

To ask if he needs water?

To tell him you pray for him every time we pass him?

To let him know he's loved by the way we treat him?

To let him know, that at least that day, someone cares for him?

There was an article last week in our Catholic newspaper, titled "Why be a do-gooder?"

It explained exactly the way I feel.

" We believe that every human being, from conception to natural death, has the inherent dignity of a child of God.  We don't distinguish on the basis of mental or physical functionality, on usefulness to society, on class or race, on friend or foe."

The article went on to talk about Mother Teresa and the Missionaries of Charity: 

"The profundity of Mother Teresa's example is that she doesn't see a dying person: she sees Christ.  And in giving comfort, however briefly, to a suffering person, she becomes the face of Christ, herself."

"Our challenge these days is to remember why we do good.  It is  not for the tax deduction.  It is not to feel good about ourselves.  It is to be the hands and feet and face of Christ to our suffering fellow souls."

Remember the homeless in front of you.

Look for them.

See them.

Pray for them.

Love them and make them feel loved.

You might be the only way they see Christ that day.



Babycakes AKA Colette's 5th Birthday!!

 5 is so fun!

She wanted a Butterfly birthday, so I decided to make these cupcakes....

 They look pretty messy here, and they were quite a bit of work...like a few hours between making supper and taking care of little Sweetie Pie....

 First I melt these vanilla flavored colored discs for the wings....

 I found out that Sweetie Pie can reach quite a bit on her tippy toes now....

(look at that guilty look....mmmmmm.....mmmmmmm, she's saying)

She reached up and grabbed my first cupcake and it fell onto her face then onto the floor!!

If I did those "funny, happy, real" things, this would have to be "funny" and "happy" and "real"!!

 The finished product was not quite as nice as the magazine showed....but they were pretty anyway.

The magazine didn't need toothpicks to hold up their wings!

 She woke up to a bike in the kitchen!!

I always blow up lots (and lots and lots) of balloons on their birthdays, and they always seem surprised, it's so fun!  We also had (and still have) butterflies hanging all over the kitchen.

We still haven't done the butterfly craft I have planned....we will get to that soon...

It's been a busy week.

 Hugs all around for everyone!  She is so full of love and hugs and kisses.

She is just a loving little girl, so innocent and sweet and always so full of love and fun!

(remind me to read this when I'm trying to get her to pick up toys and she's laying on the floor limp and unable to move)

 We went to the Minnesota Zoo on her birthday!

It was the perfect day, sunny, about 73 degrees and we met Grandma and Grandpa there!

 Thanks to Grandpa's scooter, Daddy didn't have to carry her!!

There's quite a bit of walking at the zoo!

 She still was pretty pooped out on the ride home....This is probably what I looked like in the front!

Home for "Gnomeo and Juliet" (a movie) and cupcakes....oh, and her birthday meal?

by her request:

hot dogs

&

ABC soup

No problem!!

God bless you my sweet girl!!

I love you so much!!