Other People's Business

I want to first start by saying that I have in the past been guilty of what I am about to complain about. Yes, Little Ole' Me has been known to pry into other people's business. I have even gone so far as to state my opinion on their business. Shame on me. And I hereby apologize if you have even been on the receiving end of my prying. Which now clears my minds to go forth and state my opinion on this issue! LOL!

Recently I was at a gathering of friends. Some of these friends are parents, grandparents and some are not. As some of you may be aware from reading this blog that I have been trying unsuccessfully to get pregnant for about 9 months now. So it may be that I am just overly sensitive, but I honestly feel that some lines were crossed of just plain common dignity last night. As in most groups of people, you do not all agree on everything. Some co-sleep, some allow crying it out. Some smoke, so don't. Some are Democrats and some are Republicans. Some like big families, some like small. And that of course are just a few things that we can differ on. The possibilities for disagreements are ENDLESS. In most things people can just agree or disagree and move on. And for most things this is possible. When things get sticky is when you start to disagree or even pry into other people's PERSONAL business.

Since when.... is it polite or even acceptable to question ones form of birth control? I mean unless of course you are the other half of a couple or my Doctor. But since when is it OK to just blatantly ask: When do you plan to get a vasectomy? Do you plan to have more children? WOW! Is all I can say. Are you seriously asking these questions? But perhaps the MOST appalling about it, was the tone. It wasn't like: "Wow your children are so well mannered and beautiful. When are you gonna bless the world by having another?" (LOL!) It was more like.... (looking down your nose) "So when exactly are you gonna get a vasectomy? You don't want to have a (*gasp*) accidental Pregnancy?" Wow. All I can say is WOW, You really have some gall to ask that.

I know that I have opened myself up to scrutiny by posting my personal struggles to conceive here on the web, but I was (perhaps naively) looking for support and love, NOT criticism for making the decisions and even less than that I was NOT looking for someone to question my relationship with Tim. So last night, somehow in the conversation it was brought up that I was wanting to conceive another child. Someone asked me very rudely, "why?" I said with a smile on my face "have you seen how BEAUTIFUL my children are and what a blessing they are? Why wouldn't I want another one?" Then the same someone said in a very direct way "well enough is enough". I not so politely said "well I think that is for Tim and I to decide" to which this person responded, "I think Tim HAS said enough is enough". Wow. Again WOW WOWZA.

Who do you think you are????? I had no idea that Tim was discussing our family size plans with YOU. I had no idea he was consulting with YOU every month for the past 9 (nine, yes 9) that we have been TRYING TO CONCEIVE. @@ (eyes rolling). I am pretty sure *I* have been on the receiving end of those conversations with MY husband. Not YOU. How rude of you to make a statement in which you imply I am FORCING my husband to have another child with me. You speak of what you DO NOT KNOW.

Here are a few etiquette tips that I think even Miss Manners would endorse:

• Don't ask about someones form of Birth Control unless a) you are their sexual partner b) you are their health care professional



• Don't offer your negative opinion of a person's chosen family size unless a)you are one of the parents of said family b)you have been asked to financially support said family c)you have been asked to do midnight feedings or diaper changes on a daily basis for any of the children d)you are paying for their college fund.



• Don't make comments about another person's relationship. Period. You are not in the relationship, you do not know what is happening inside that relationship. You don't get a vote.



• Don't hang out with me and my children if my kids bother you. I can sense your attitude and so can they. It is upsetting to me and my kids see right through you. You look silly. If you want to hang out with just me, then invite me to places I wouldn't bring my kids....To the spa, the bar, to coffee. But if you are at a KIDS birthday party. Guess what.... the kids are gonna be loud, eat too much candy and have melt downs.



• Do compliment parents on how well mannered their children are. Believe me... My kids are well mannered. They say excuse me, your welcome, please and thank you. They cough into their elbows. They don't climb on adults they don't know. They don't even talk to you if you don't talk to them first and act welcoming. They sit at the table and eat politely, they are disciplined and in control. If they step out of line we quickly get them back in line or we leave.



• And lastly, if you have no children of your own.... please please reserve your opinion on someone elses family size to yourself. Trust me, you look really silly passing judgement on someone else when you have NEVER walked in their shoes.

AWWWWW I feel so much better. I got all that off my chest. I am sure I am not alone in my thoughts and feelings. I didn't name any names because if you made the comments...you know who you are. If you didn't make the comments to me, but you have in the past to someone else.... be warned that if you say something like that to me... You might just be featured in my next blog!

Pumpkins & Apples

We have made a family tradition out of going to Green Bluff. It is an area of farms to the north of us. You can get lots of different things up there. In the past we have picked Pumpkins, Strawberries, and Christmas trees up there. We have gone to the same farm for Pumpkins I think for 3 years in a row. This year we also visited another farm up there to pick Apples. It was a new and exciting experience for the kids. And we are all about new experiences, especially ones as cool as picking a real apple from the tree, taking the apple home, peeling, coring and then making applesauce to eat. Or an Apple pie. But more on that later.

First the pumpkin patch!

Now at the farm we visit they usually have lots of activities like a corn maze, train ride, and big inflatable slide (yeah nothing says "Harvest" like a big huge inflatable slide. LOL). But we went during the week since Tim's work schedule is a bit crazy these days. So none of the regular activities were available. But it turned out just fine since it pushed us to explore another farm and pick apples instead.

So we arrived at the pumpkin patch and selected a wheel barrow to carry our kids...er I mean Pumpkins!

Then we began our hunt for the perfect pumpkins.

Mason mostly just wondered around and played in the dirt.

Jasmyn & Mason tried to make "sandcastles". No moats, but they sure did get DIRTY!

We called Mason "Pig Pen" for awhile there...

Then we propped the Camera up on a bin of Pumpkins and got a family picture.

I love the self timer on my camera!

Then we headed back to pay for our pumpkins and stopped along the way for a photos.

Kaleb is getting so Big!

Next we drove down the road a bit and found an orchard full of Apples. At the main entrance to the apples they had these cute red wagons and a pumpkin patch set up.

So we took this cute picture of the kids.

Then it was off to pick apples. Some of the apples were high up in the tree. With no ladders in sight we decided to improvise. Tim put Jasmyn on his shoulders first. But she like her Mom is afraid of heights. So she wanted DOWN right away, hence the no pictures of her. LOL! But the boys were more daring!

Kaleb

Mason

Once our apples were picked we loaded the apples and the kids up and headed back to pay for them.

Kaleb wanted to walk. Good thing since there was no more room in the wagon.

When we got home I realized I had a big box of apples and no clue on how to put them up. The kids wanted to just eat them, but I feared that they would go bad before we could consume them. So I called my Mom. She recently made applesauce with a group of ladies from her church. She happily agreed to come help me. I foolishly thought we could just peel and core the apples by hand. Mom agreed and started working straight away. She had half a big bowl peeled cored and sliced when I joined her. I peeled about 4 apples and thought.... there has to be a better way! LOL! So after spending some time looking around we found an apple peeler, corer, slicer at the local hardware store. That thing works so slick! And thankfully the kids LOVED doing it. Tim and the kids peeled the rest of the apples. Here is Mason and Tim working diligently!

Applying the apple to the contraption

Peeling, coring and slicing all in one!

If you ever decide to pick apples and want to borrow our peeler, let me know! It works awesome with minimal waste. Mom and I made 1 batch of applesauce and a batch of apple butter. I am nervous that I over spiced the apple butter, but only time will tell. The applesauce is wonderful. I also made a pie! It was the most beautiful pie I have ever created. I went to go get my camera and while I was doing that Mason decided to "taste" the pie. Yeah. Finger holes in my perfect golden brown crust. He did say "yummy mommy", so I did have to forgive him! LOL! But I did not take a picture! *sigh* at least I know it was perfect!

Abygail Elizabeth

Abygail Elizabeth was born on October 16, 2008 to my cousin Brent and his wife Emily and their son Micah. Abygail Elizabeth weighed in at 7 pounds, 8ounces and was 20 1/2 inches long.

She has very long toes!

A Doting Dad
An ecstatic Mom
She seems pretty happy with her family!
Congratulations Brent, Emily & Micah!

Welcome to our family and the world Abygail Elizabeth.

We have been waiting for you!

Halloween Crafts

We have been gearing up for Halloween. Both Kaleb & Jasmyn have trips to the Pumpkin Patch planned. We have costumes figured out (whew! Huge load off my mind). So the next step is to decorate the house. Our friends Sierra, Keagan, Rowan and Sara came over last week and we decorated foam pumpkins to help get the kids ready for all the festivities.

Keagan & Jasmyn

Sierra & Kaleb
Mason & I
Sara & Rowan
Our final projects

I made the kitty cat. Jasmyn got very creative with some scrapes and came up with the other two. They kinda look like Modern Abstract art! She is so creative.

Every year before this one I have gone out and bought new Halloween T-shirts for the kids. Last year each kid had a T-shirt and PJs. LOL! This year they have outgrown last years shirts or they are not appropriate gendered, etc.... I went shopping for new ones, but I could not justify spending the $ on them at the price they were asking. I had planned on skipping the whole idea, until my Family Fun Magazine arrived in the mail. This is the cover:

I figured I could make those for way less than what it would cost me to buy premade ones. So I bought Rit Dye ($3). Salt to add into the Dye ($0.53). Mason needed a white shirt ($3.50) Rubber bands($.049). Black Fabric Paint ($0.44) For a total of: $7.96 before tax. That is about what 1 shirt would have cost me to buy premade. Using white tees we already owned, I made 6 Halloween shirts for $7.96.

I tie dyed white shirts in orange dye. Once the shirts were dry I used cardboard that was around my house to put inside the shirts to prevent bleed through. I painted the Jack o Lantern faces inside the tie dyed circles. I added stems to some of them. 2 of the shirts I put just 1 big Jack O lantern face on. The other ones I put faces on the front and back of the shirts so I had to do those shirts in stages so the fronts would dry and then I could do the back (Wow sorry about the run on sentence. LOL).

Here are some pictures

I made 6 shirts in total. 1 for me, 1 for Mason, 1 for Jasmyn, 1 for Kaleb and 2 extras that may end up being gifts for some respite kids or cousins.

The kids love the end product!

Tea Party for Terrie

My Aunt Terrie celebrated a birthday on Sept 29th. I have no idea how old she is because I didn't ask! She just so happened to be hanging out with my Mom at her house on the 30th with her granddaughter Trinity. My Mom invited the kids and I over for a Tea Party to celebrate Terrie's birthday. This was Trinity and Terrie's first Tea Party. My children have done lots of tea parties with Grandma, so they knew just what to do to show Terrie and Trinity the ropes. First on the menu was of course Tea. Tea for the adults and milk for the kids. No Tea Party is complete without something sweet. I made mini cupcakes and a mini Heart cake for Terrie. She loves hearts. Red is her favorite color.

Terrie & Trinity blowing out the candle

We also had cookies, grapes, and bear shaped cakes.

My kids really enjoyed the time spent with Grandma and Aunt Terrie. I hope this Tea Party is followed by many more to come! Happy Birthday Terrie. We love you!

Babysitters Homecoming

I have been blessed with some really great babysitters. It started with Roselyn, she lives across the street from me. She started watching Kaleb & Jasmyn while I was pregnant with Mason. Roselyn watched the kids so I could go to my midwife appointments and my physical therapy sessions. Not to mention she helped me do grocery shopping, bathing the kids, and anything else I needed when I was close to my due date and couldn't move around the same. My children just love Roselyn. As our family grew with the birth of Mason and Future coming to live with us, we needed a team of sitters when I had to leave all 4 kids with Roselyn. She introduced me to her friends Katie H. and Shadea (pronounced Sha-day-a). Katie H and Shadea started to watch the kids and build a relationship with the kids as well. All 3 girls would stop in and say hi whenever they could and soon they built a friendship with me as well. This past summer when Roselyn, Katie H, and Shadea were unavailable Roselyn reintroduced me to Katie P. I had met her previously but she had never babysat for us. Once she started coming to help with the kids our relationship with her grew and she has become like one of our family. She has spent family holidays with us and many family dinners, events, etc... I just love all my girls! I am so blessed to have these young ladies to help me with the kids. They are a lifesaver and a godsend when I need them most. And it is even cooler that they are all friends and work well together. I know I can count on them to take good care of my kids working together or by themselves.

Last weekend was their high school Homecoming dance. Katie P got ready at my house and then went over to Roselyn's when the rest of the girls got there to help do their makeup and get everyone else ready. I got to do Katie P's hair in hot rollers and help her get dressed etc... It was very fun. Once everyone was ready the girls came outside and I got a few pictures of the whole group before they went to the dance.

Here is all 4 girls. L to R: Roselyn, Katie H, Shadea, & Katie P.

Roselyn

Katie P

Katie H

Shadea

Katie H and Shadea
Roselyn & Shadea
Roselyn & Katie P

Roselyn & Katie H
They all look absolutely beautiful! And from what I hear they all had a great time at the dance!