the back door

as the morning progressed princess and mapboy did their chores....i called princess down for breakfast. mapboy quietly said, "i can't have breakfast b/c i didn't drink my milk." i replied, "if you drink your milk, you may have some breakfast," and walked away. a few minutes later i found him sitting at the table with his milk. he didn't cry, didn't whine, didn't get sassy, he just sat there and looked at it. every so often i would catch him taking a drink. he was still working on the books of the Bible. after about 20 minutes it was gone!! he had swallowed it all and asked nicely for breakfast!! WOW!!! that was much quicker and easier than i anticipated...so will we battle again tonight??!?! i guess we will have to wait and see!!!

over the course of the past year, mapboy has developed a strong dislike for milk. i'm guilty of being an indulging mom who flavors the kids milk. it is a long story, but i do it for them. princess drinks milks by the gallons, but mapboy is required to drink one small glass of chocolate milk at dinner each night. most nights i end up putting it in the fridge and having to pull it back out for him the next day. eventually it gets dumped and we start the cycle over again. recently we started making him sit at the table until it was gone. that works pretty well because he wants dessert or an evening snack. after a week on vacation it was time to return home and enforce the rules yet again. so last night, mapboy clearly stated he was NOT drinking his milk. he sat at the table until bedtime - a full 90 minutes he sat. to add to my frustration he enjoyed every minute of it. he also recited over and over the books of the Bible. isn't that sweet!?!? i'm trying to make ...

we have been on vacation this past week. we visited 2 state parks to enjoy some hiking. we had a great time, but i'm trying to figure out why i try to call it a vacation!! although i enjoyed the hikes i still spent all week finding snacks for the kids, fixing their plates, entertaining them, listening to them fight, enjoying the moments they got a long, trying to get them to go to sleep in the bed they shared, etc...you know, basically all the things i do at home without the convenience of being at home!!! i need a vacation!!!!!!!! honestly though, we had a pretty good time, and i'll share some adventures later this week. but for now, there is laundry to be done!!!! and oh yeah, i think my family is wanting some food in the house!!!

i know, i'm posting a lot here - i've been a little busy and stressed out this past week. hubby and i have a great deal going with our dear friends. the girls like to scrapbook and they guys enjoy guy movies so every so often on a friday night we put our kids to bed and us girls go to their house and the guys come here. it is a great way for everyone to get time with friends yet not have to pay a sitter or leave a spouse home alone! we all love the arrangement!! well, hubby had been gone last weekend for about 4 days but wanted a movie night. he asked if i cared. now, i really appreciate his asking, but i'm pretty sure he knew it was a safe bet because why would i not want to spend time with my dear friend while kids slept!! so we were on for friday night. usually we scrapbook, but neither of us were in that kind of mood. it was a bit chilly outside and although we would have said an instant no if our kids had asked, we decided swimming sounded like a lot of fun! ...

we all have them don't we - the days when we just aren't right. it doesn't matter what anyone says you aren't going to agree. or you just want to stomp your foot and scream. or you want to be left alone, but not really. and if someone told you to sit down and eat the whole tub of ice cream you wouldn't do it - just because they told you to! well, friday was one of those days for mapboy and as a result for me as well! i'm not sure what it was but he was going to be difficult no matter what i did! gotta love those days don't we! needless to say, while he was having one of those days, i was having a garage sale with a friend and my sister-in-law. her 3 kids were here and i just couldn't figure him out!! at the end of this very frustrating day i just wanted to cry!! of all days why did he have to pick today to be like this? was it the garage sale (you know, the fact that mom had something to do)? was it the fact that there were people to play with ...

well, he did it....it took only one person telling him he should give it a try and he started a blog! i think it is supposed to be therapeutic for him, but it is guaranteed to make you think. i know he always makes me think!! anyways...check out my hubby's blog hoosier happenings . now you can all hear his side of the story from time to time!

you may notice i have added and deleted a blog from the blogs i read column. well, in actuality the old one was just given a new name. my cousin at mom in action was learning that there were interesting hits coming her way. some sickos were looking for a mom in action if you catch my drift. so anyways...check her out at her new and improved sight like i was saying.....you'll enjoy it!!

hubby had been gone for about 4 days on a backpacking trip. i had never been alone with my kids this long! i know most of you out there can't believe it, but he had only ever been gone for a 2 night trip. i'm blessed....anyways this is not at all related, well not really... so we had actually had a great time home alone. we played, visited friends, and hung out with family. but yesterday i had to run some errands and get ready for real cooking again. i also needed to pick up some things at wal-mart!! i despise walmart and dread going there until i absolutely have to, but hubby was coming home and needed his protein bars. i can only find the kind he likes at wal-mart, so i load up the kids and promise dinner out if they will hang in there while we are out and about. all is going well. i decide to take a walk through the women's clothing section and see what might be on clearance. as we are in the section, princess asks to get out of the cart so i agree and put her ...

okay....so i was taking my shower and suddenly remembered that the one unusual thing i wanted to share i completely forgot. so i'm going to indulge my self and share an extra one just for the fun of it.... i had 6 different majors (yes, i declared them all!) and still graduated in 4 years from college. did anyone out there declare more than 6??????

well i was tagged by my dear cousin at Don't Make Us Stop This Car! tagged me. this means i need to share 8 things about my family you don't know. so here goes nothing.... 1. i have the same first and last name as my hubby's brother. we also held the same career for a short while. 2. mapboy is named after his great grandfather. i agreed to this only knowing that the family called him stinky pa. i must have really been in love with hubby to agree to that one!! mapboy is affectionately called stinkpot! 3. hubby and i dated for 6 weeks and were married in 5 months. i spent 3 of those months in europe. i think most people thought we were crazy!! 4. my family wanted to name me after my father's seed company - i'm thankful my mom is a wise woman! 5. hubby NEVER disobeyed his parents. his mom confirmed this when i called doubting my husbands bragging. i wonder why our kids didn't inherit that trait? 6. my closest friends are all people i at one time ...

...mapboy and princess!!! the kids wanted to go to the library this morning. i let them know we would not go until their chores were completed. all was going well!! they were buzzing right through the chore list. then they both got to the final chore: 15 minutes of tieing shoes!!! this is a chore because neither of my kids have mastered this skill! princess is still 4 but we are working on it now. mapboy just turned 7 and should have been doing this for a few years, but no, he cannot! this is how the 15 minutes went: princess: mom, i made the first cross all by myself! mom, i made a bunny ear! mom, my thumb is stuck! mapboy: i don't know how to make a cross (stomps foot) princess: oh...there is my thumb! now, i chase my bunny right? around and around and around i go!!! mom to mapboy: sweetie, just take this end and loop it through. mapboy: there is no loop, i can't hold the end, i'm not going to do this! prin...

that is when it all started. it was blueberry picking time here in northern indiana. my sister-in-law and i headed out to pick blueberries early in the morning. i think i picked about 14-15 pounds like usual. it was a great morning! i arrived home around 11:30. brought all the blueberries into the house and noticed i had a few phone messages. i decided i should listen to them and after the first 2 was shocked to hear our dear friend and my doctor suggest i plan to arrive at the hospital around 5:30 that evening. he was planning a vacation and i had hit my due date (5th) so he was willing to induce me. if i didn't have plans he'd love for me to come in and they would insert this little pill on my cerix and then i'd sleep through the night there and they would start the induction early am. that sounded great...but i have 14 pounds of blueberries to freeze! so i do what every girl does and call my mom!!! mom agrees to take the berries to her house and freeze them ove...

this was the question posed to me at the end of my devotions last week. the verses were from matthew with the whole ask, seek, knock thing. as i journaled and prayed through the suggested topics, areas, etc...i was struck by the final question of what are you asking for. now, i'm sure that this is supposed to be about spiritual matters but i started thinking about a variety of things. understand this about me - i often start going on a rabbit trail because i like philosophy and debating doctrinal issues. i was a bible major so i get it honestly - if others are out there you understand that. so here was my train of thought, and i'm sharing only so you too can ponder. God tells us to ask. He also says He has many blessings in store for us. He also says that we have not because we ask not. now i'm sure those are all supposed to be about spiritual matters, but i got to thinking - do we lack some material possessions because we simply don't ask. right now we are tr...