Not Intentionally Neglecting You

I'm really not trying to ignore all of you faithful readers.  Ha!  I've just been busy.  Mostly with schoolwork.  MY GOODNESS!  I didn't realize how much effort it would take to go back to school!  I spend most of my free time studying- it's good though.  I think my brain was turning into cornmeal. 

It's all better now. :) 

Aside from studying, I've been doing my normal mothering things like:

Making sure Spidey doesn't break any limbs.

And...

Fool acting in the van while we wait for the other kids to come out.  We have some "fish face" pictures and such, but I just couldn't bear to post them.  oh my goodness...they were bad.

Watching sleeping 'babies'  Okay, he's 3, but he's my baby.

Cuddling with savage beasts. (the kids, not the dog)

Making sure another Spiderman doesn't break any limbs- who knew kids could climb walls?!? Mine have made it an art form. 

Playing in the lawn with afore mentioned savage beast.

And finally, putting people to bed.  

(...whew...)

My Sweeties.

I am a far cry from an "expert" gardener, but I have grown a few things in my life.  I really do enjoy home grown veggies and fruits, although I have found fruits quite difficult to grow.  Yes- we could get into the whole A TOMATO IS A FRUIT debate...but I don't want to go there.  In my book, it's a veggie.  Fruits are sweet.  Anyway...

Late last fall my dad and step mom gave the kids some sweet potatoes that had been cut up.  These sweet potatoes had toothpicks stuck in them and were placed in a mason jar of water. 

Interesting.

 They told me the sweet potato would form a massive root, and then start sprouting out little chutes.  

By golly, it happened.  

So here is my step by step tutorial on what to do should anyone ever give you a sweet potato stuck with toothpicks.  

First, keep water in the jars.  Very important.  You don't want your little girls to die. (all cute plants are girls to me) Water has this funny quality of evaporating, so you'll want to check on your potatoes regularly.  Keep them in a sunny location, and after a few months, this will be your result.

Note the massive root that has grown out of this seemingly dead sweet potato.  Snip the chutes close to the base of the potato, until you have a small bunch.

This is about what your snipped chute will look like.  Some will be longer, others shorter.  

Place snipped chutes back in the mason jars.  I have about 8 or so in each of my jars.  Fill with water.  In about 12 days, your chutes should start to develop a root.  

\

Continue to hydrate your chutes, even after the 12th day...remember- all living things require food (sun) and water!!  When it is warm enough, (typically after Mothers Day) plant each little chute in a nicely fertilized section of your garden.   Allowing for plenty of space, because sweet potato plants do take up some room.  (you can find all the info about that you need online)

Hopefully my garden will do better than it did last year.  What a disaster!  With the drought I found it impossible to give my plants enough water to sustain them.  I eventually had to give up.  I salvaged some flowers, tomatoes, and cucumbers, a few strawberries, and about a serving of green beans.  

Thanks to my dad and Julie for introducing me to this fun project.  It's been interesting to watch our dead looking, dried up sweet potatoes in jars blossom into lush, green, life-giving chutes.  I look forward to having a lot of sweet potatoes this year!  

   

Activities

All is going well in the Masquelier household.  Isaac and Christian have been busy with basketball.  One has practice on Mondays, the other on Thursday and games every Saturday.  Abigail will be performing in the Spring Musical for school.  She has been working hard rehearsing, but since she has a lead role, she often has to stay after school.  Thankfully not as often as Elijah did for the musical he was in!  Elijah recently performed at Solo & Ensemble.  He got a gold for both his trumpet solo, and his piano solo.  And Jeremiah is POTTY TRAINING.  Need I say more... I've been busy with school.  My life revolves around math- but that's okay.  I still manage to accomplish all of my other responsibilities :)    And it won't last forever.  Josh has been very busy with work (thankfully) And we are all looking forward to SPRING!!!

Heidi is adapting well to the family.  Everybody loves her, but I think she thinks she is one of my children.  

I gave all the boys a haircut.  I really didn't want to give one to Jeremiah because his curls are just so sweet, but he insisted.  Now he looks like a big boy.  He'll be 3 on March 25th and is really looking forward to his birthday.  He wants me to make him a dinosaur cake.  One that looks like a REAL dino. We'll see buddy, we'll see...

I still haven't removed the crib from the boys room, but I took the front off of it so it's kind of a couch for their room.  They like to pile blankets and stuffed animals in it.  But today I found a large dog.  Again, she's not supposed to be on the furniture...like I said, she thinks she is a kid.

I told Abigail from now on she is going to be my "shadow" and do all of the things I do- helping in the kitchen, folding laundry, etc...Her response to that was "Mom, have you ever read the story about the shadow by Hans Christian Anderson?"  I said I couldn't remember...she then told me maybe I should reconsider the shadow idea.  That peaked my interest, so I looked up the story.  Apparantly the shadow ultimately kills the person...What's up with those fairy tales anyway?  She has been helping me a lot lately though.

All of the kids are continuing their piano lessons.  Isaac has moved up a level, so he was happy to play his new song for me. 

And for some reason, Elijah really enjoys peeling and chopping potatoes.  Go for it young man!  Here he is showing off his fast peeling skills.

Little Christian is becoming such a good reader!  It's fun to watch him develop his skills.  He is a sweet little guy.

That about wraps things up for a while.  :)  

Few and Far Between

It's not that I don't love you guys. (my loyal 5 or 6 regular readers)  But I have found with the onset of school, trying to maintain my home, tending to my family, and keeping my sanity, my blogging days are going to be limited.  As if I'm a consistent blogger anyway, but you know.  I feel like I need to explain myself should I be absent for a while.  I wouldn't want you all to feel like I'd abandoned you, or  I had fallen off the face of the earth.

About 3 weeks ago, Josh announced to me that I was going to be a mother again.  Okay, maybe he didn't say it quite like that- but I knew what was going to happen as soon as he made the announcement that he found some German Shepherd pups and he wanted to adopt one.  (NOOOOO!  THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING TO ME, IS HE SERIOUS??)  Josh has talked for years and years and years about getting a dog, especially a German Shepherd, but I never thought he'd actually follow through.  I figured he'd do a little research, daydream a bit, and that would be it.  

3 weeks ago this Sunday, a little (big) pup entered our lives.  At first I was very resistant.  I said I would take care of "the dog's" basic needs, but I would have nothing to do with it other than that.  No brushing, bathing, potty duty, and certainly no petting, belly rubbing or sweet talking.  I have enough kids.  I don't need a dog.

Well, my tune has changed since then.  Actually, I haven't felt those negative feelings since the minute she came into the house.  She was just so cute and lovable.  I had no choice but to become her mommy.  

Sure, she's a handful.

She's wild.

Disobedient sometimes most of the time

And she steals Jeremiah's lunch.  

Daily

But Abigail finally has the sister she has always wanted.  

Here is a picture of the girl. (Heidi)  This was only a few days after we got her.   I was attempting to take her for her first walk- it didn't go so well, as she didn't care for being on a leash.  But, we took a walk this afternoon and she actually made it around the whole block!

She has grown a lot already.  She is now about 31/2 months old and is larger than a lot of full grown dogs!  I hear her running through the house chasing the kids, and I can't imagine what it will be like when she is full grown!  Below is a picture of her waiting to steal my lunch. (note the huge ears...listening for the tiniest morsel to hit the floor)

Aside from the new dog, nothing terribly exciting is going on around here.  But in my opinion, adding a dog to the mix is enough excitement for me! 

School & stuff

School, school, school!  I dream about equations, writing & critiquing papers...

I forgot how much work it is!  I am managing things, but I couldn't do it without the support of my family!

I am so thankful to my dad and Julie for watching Jeremiah for me so I can attend class- I don't know what I'd do without them!  He's enjoying himself as well, and getting to know his cousin, Luke.  (because they watch Luke certain days of the week)  I think they'll be good friends, especially since Jeremiah pointed out that they have something in common- Jeremiah's middle name is Luke.

I am also thankful to my kids for understanding that I need to study & do a lot of work, and Elijah for helping me with some things.  He likes to help me, and I enjoy his help.  I'm also thankful that Josh is encouraging and supportive of this endeavor. He's actually the one who prompted me to go back to school.  While I don't like to miss church, we have decided that he'll take the kids to church alone on Wednesday nights so I can have a chunk of time to get some work done (which is great!) This is a big deal- taking 5 kids anywhere alone is huge! Added bonus, I don't have to cook dinner, because our church offers dinner every Wednesday night- and it's usually pretty good.  Josh will just get mine to go :)    But don't worry- I haven't turned into a pagan because I don't go to church on Wednesday night!  I have a good friend Gretchen @ www.extraordinaryordinarylife.blogspot.com to hold me accountable.  She has been a blessing to me, encouraging me to memorize scripture and stay in the word.

There is a balance though.  I never want school or work to supercede my duties as a wife and mother.  My plan is to get through school very slowly- my family needs me.  I plan to take 2 classes at a time- no summers- until Jeremiah starts kindergarten.  When he is in kindergarten I will go full time (only because I have to- at that point I'll be in clinicals, so I don't have a choice)

My ultimate goal is to become a hospice nurse.  I know it may be an odd thing to desire,  but it is something I've always wanted to do.  Perhaps I'll change my mind as I get further along, but for now, that is my goal.  And we all need goals.

Speaking of goals, and on a completely different subject, I have two other goals:

Potty train Jeremiah
Potty train Heidi

For those of you who don't know- we adopted a doggie.  She is wonderful (I was AGAINST the idea, but Josh thought it would be good for the kids & family protection)  I vowed I would do nothing to HELP HIM IN ANY WAY in regard to the dog, but I find myself loving her- and I can't help it.  She is so sweet.  She is a 3 month old German Shepherd.  She's obviously smart, and easy to train- but I don't know much about dogs, so I'm going to have to do some research.

Jeremiah on the other hand...
I know ALOT about kids.
I've potty trained 4 people, but this guy is giving me trouble.  Typically he sits on the potty and does nothing.  Then as soon as he gets a diaper on, he does something.  I've never had potty training issues before, so this is new to me.  He'll be 3 in March, and I'm tired of buying diapers.  But I won't be too hard on him- I know all kids are different, and he is my baby. 

This picture does not do her justice, but it will have to do for now.  She is so good with the kids, I can already tell she has the desire to love and protect them.

Okay- better get back to my 'real' work.

Little House on Floyd Drive

Sometimes I wish we had a bigger house.  I think about the fact that I have 5 children, a husband, and a mother who live in the same small home...and I think about all of the grandchildren I could potentially have and start to wonder where on earth they will sleep when they come to visit!

In it's traditional fashion, it was a 3 bedroom 1 bathroom brick ranch, appx.  950 square feet.  Give or take a foot.

When we first moved into our home, we were struck by it's sturdiness, the amount of land, the price, the full basement, etc...and we only had 2 kids!

As our family grew, we knew something must be done!  Thankfully I was blessed with an industrious husband who was able to transform our completely unfinished basement into a working part of the home- with 2 bedrooms, a family room, office, and full bathroom.  We can't put carpet down though because we live in a flood plain, and that might be an expensive mess.

I have grown quite fond of my little house over the years.  So many memories. Sure, it's difficult to fit a Christmas tree into my living room- but we manage.  I suppose we could move, and maybe we will some day, but for now, I am thankful for my little house.  We may get slightly cramped in the winter, but I think it just makes the kids a little bit tougher.  And it makes me a little bit crazier, but that's a different story.  You try having 3 little boys running through your house playing hide and seek or cars, a pre-teen daughter, and a teenage son all living under the same roof!

Our living room- the tree is decorated with things the kids have made over the years, and some of Josh's grammie and papaps handmade decorations.


Christmas morning- so many gifts!  The kids were so excited- and patient.  They all got up early, but waited very patiently for nearly 2 hours before unwrapping gifts.  Even Jeremiah was able to withstand the temptation.  


We had a great Christmas.  I have a great family.  I am truly blessed.

life lessons

I start a lot of posts and don't complete them.
I have set a goal- and I'm going to complete this post.

Life is quickly passing by- as always.  It's already November.  It sure is beautiful outside for November.  It may not be the warmest day of the year, but the sun is shining and it's in the mid 50's.  Blue skies with a few puffy white clouds.  Lovely.

After I pick the kids up from school they will rush to change their clothes, run to the neighbors house and hope the neighbors can come out to play in our back yard.  Where they will busy themselves by raking leaves, making forts, playing house, or zoo...or some other childhood game.  Of course, Elijah will still be at school practicing for his upcoming play. (he is a teenager, you know!)  While he still occasionally plays outside with his siblings, he is a little too old for their kind of play. :)  My kids are growing up fast- inevitable for sure, but it seems like I closed my eyes for a moment and POOF-  One day I'll close my eyes and fall asleep in a home where only Josh and I reside ( & possibly my mom:) I'll awaken to an empty house...nobody crawling under my covers to warm their tiny bodies...nobody asking me to make breakfast, or if they can watch a cartoon.  And it won't be because they're at a sleepover.  Or at camp.  Or off to college.  They'll be gone, living their own lives, pursuing their own dreams.  I only hope I am equipping them to do those things.

Equipping.  Now that's a word not to be used lightly.  How do we equip our children to live decent lives?  I don't fully know the answer to that.  Today Abigail participated in the 4th grade spelling bee.  She is so smart.  She has common sense (usually, unless it comes to obeying the first time)  she has a sense of humor, she sometimes beats me at scrabble (I am NOT kidding- either this girl is smart, or I am just a lousy scrabble player...she is only 9!)  Most of her spare time is spent reading, writing poems or short stories, helping take care of Jeremiah, practicing piano, or practicing her part for the church play.  She likes a challenge, and loves to learn.

So it came down to the wire at the spelling bee...4 kids left.  Abigail got the word accountant.  She knows how to spell this word.  She had never spelled it wrong during our practice for the spelling bee.  I was watching and I thought "well, she's got this one!"  She approached the microphone.  In a confident voice she said "ACCOUNTANT.  ACO...( a look of shock and horror spread across her face- she knew she forgot a 'c', but she knew she couldn't retract her letters.  In a spelling bee, once you say a letter you have to use it) She completed the rest...UNTANT.  ACCOUNTANT.  She knew.  She looked at me to see if I was pleased, or displeased.  I smiled at her.  She came down from the stand, sat next to me and turned her head away from anyone who might see her. Then she started to cry.  My heart hurt for her.  I knew how badly she wanted to win. She wanted to go on to the next round- and possibly Washington DC!  Big dreams, and now they had evaporated.  I tried to tell her I was proud of her, and she did a great job, but she wanted nothing to do with that.  She felt like she had failed herself, her class, everyone.  I didn't know how to help her.

We sat and watched the rest of the spelling bee (Jeremiah was very well behaved during all of this, and tried his best to comfort his sissy)  Abigail's friend Kyrsten ended up winning the round.  I know Abigail was happy for Kyrsten, but sad for herself.  It's so hard to balance such emotions.  She ran off to the bathroom because it was nearly time to go back to class and she didn't want anyone to know she had been crying.

Neither me nor her teacher could find her.  I checked the bathroom and found her crying in the stall.  I told her it was okay- I wasn't upset- she should be proud of herself for making it this far,  she had done a good job, etc... But nothing helped.  She said she didn't want people telling her she had done a good job because she hadn't.  She had failed.  I eventually walked her back to her class, her teacher came out to meet us.  She is so compassionate and loving towards the kids.  And it was what she said (so SIMPLE) that made things just a little bit better- a little bit more bearable for Abigail.  She told Abigail that sometimes we have plans, but those plans don't always work out.  And Gods plans are much bigger than our own.  He uses EVERY SINGLE THING in our lives to teach us, mold us, and make us who HE wants us to be.  Now, I know these things, and I say these types of things to other people- and eventually I probably would have said the exact same thing to Abigail.  However, sometimes when I say these types of things to the kids, the words fall on deaf ears.  (You're my mom- you have to say that!)   Hearing it from her teacher really seemed to help.  Her spirits lifted- and she no longer felt so terrible about losing.  

I am so blessed to have other people surrounding my children, lifting them up with encouraging words.  Equipping them for the future.  Josh and I have a lot of equipping to do- and it's nice to know we have a community of loving, Christ followers around us to help us in this journey.