Ode To....ME!

Today is the day, the big 40. Though people have tried to tell me that I'm "old", I refuse to believe it. Really, how different is the day I turn 40 than any other day of my life? When I was 39 I was changing 8 diapers a day, when I am 40, I will be doing the same. Life goes on despite my birthday, despite my age. What I really wanted to share with you is a quote I read from Tuesdays With Morrie:

As you grow old, you learn more. If you stayed at twenty-two, you'd always be as ignorant as you were at twenty-two. Aging is not just decay, you know. It's growth.

Aging hasn't bothered me ever since I read that quote. I am grateful for life. I'm grateful for each day that I can learn and grow. So today, I will celebrate my life and be grateful for everyone who has been a part of my life and everyone who is a part of it today.

I picked up a bag of these this morning to celebrate the day. Yum!

O Bug Leavest Me

I've been updating my Facebook page about this cleanse that I did but I thought I'd put the real- meal- deal here on my blog. The cleanse I did was to kill the yeast in my body. I was constantly having yeast infections and thought I'd try to take off a couple of pounds as well. The whole object of the cleanse was to starve the yeast in my body. This meant I could not eat yeast products, sugar, or fruit. I was really intrigued how my body would react to this cleanse. I thought it would be great to rid my body of all sugars and toxins. I was told that I would start feeling sick due to the yeast dying but I should start feeling better and then I would feel amazing. My friend mentioned her mom and sister did the same thing. I called her mom and she gave me some good food ideas. She told me how great she felt and that her mind felt clear whens she cut sugar out of her diet. The first day was okay. By day two I was gagging down meat and vegetables. I was surprised at the ingredients found in foods. Like this packaged pot roast had yeast extract in it. Why would pot roast need yeast in it? Anyway, by day three, I was feeling pretty sick and thought the cleanse was doing it's job. I was anxiously waiting to start feeling better. Day four, Thursday, I was ill. Nauseated, tired, dry heaving, hungry, and weak. I even took a pregnancy test just in case (thank you very much it was negative!) By Thursday night I felt so rotten I decided to get off the cleanse and hoped by eating a bowl of cereal I'd start feeling better. Didn't happen. On Friday I was so weak I couldn't get out of bed. Becky took the babies AGAIN and Mariana took Maggie. The boys stayed home with me. Poor kids kept asking what they could eat and I think they ate fruit snacks all day. In the meantime, Andy has had a terrible sore throat and finally went to the Dr.'s. Now you know, when a man goes to the Dr. he has to feel like he's dying. The strep test came out negative. I'm laughing right now as I write this because I think about how pathetic this is. Poor Andy, who is feeling rotten, has the kids right now because he feels better between the two of us. Today, Saturday, I can't leave the house because the bathroom and I are buddies. And Andy is a zombie making sure the kids are entertained.

After talking to a friend, Carla, she said it probably was not the cleanse that made me so sick. I probably wasn't eating enough which caused me to get a bug. And it's a bad bug! But, let's just say that I'm certainly clean!

What's up with catching a bug in the middle of July? Aren't these things supposed to be dead because it's so stinking hot outside? Oh well, hopefully in a couple of days I'll have my strength back and I'll be posting pictures of the fantastic summer we are having.....

Wednesdays Whatnots...

*On Sunday two of my college roommates dropped by. I was SO thrilled to see them. Melanie made a sign to let our other roommate know we were thinking of her. THANKS for the visit!!!!

*Monday morning was so chaotic. I finally got in the shower and suddenly heard the babies screaming and pounding on the bathroom door. I was shouting to the kids "someone open the door so the babies can come in!" No response. I jumped out of the shower (no towel), threw open the bathroom door and my 10 year old nephew was right there, playing with the twins. Crap! I leaped back into the shower and, my poor nephew, I guess he walked away. I didn't have my contacts in so I have no idea what he saw. I called his mom, totally mortified, and told her I had scarred her son for life. I told her I would pay for one counseling session when the event comes back to haunt him.

*Two more members of my family have the flu: Michael and Andy. I worry about Michael because I know that this strain of flu hits people hard who have asthma. I'm staying on top of his breathing treatments and hope he remains in control.

*My wonderful friend, Becky, has had my twins for two nights in a row. Yes, she is an angel from heaven. She was out of town for two weeks and is making up for it by taking them for two nights. After being without Becky for two weeks I realized I can barely make it without her. Thanks a bunch!!!!




*Finally, Maggie has been on the rampage. She's quite the spunky girl. Yesterday she was yelling out the car window at some neighborhood boys, "suucker!!" and "stupid head". So much for the pretty princess. The kids mom was outside as Maggie was yelling. Oh well...

Don't you love it when....

Michael said to me the other day:

Michael: Mom why do perfect people want to lose weight?

Me: What do you mean?

Michael: Well, you are already skinny so why do you want to lose weight?

Gotta love that!

Gotta love when you get a big smile! (look at Kate wanting to be right by her sister)

My cute neighbor, Morgan, took this picture:

Today is Thursday

This morning I thought I'd create a mental log of my day and post it on my blog. I thought maybe if you read it you could tell me you understand why I am moving towards the point of insanity....

Woke up at 6:20 to make it to my exercise class. Great class, worked on abs, had some good laughs, some needed tears, went on my way.

Came home around 7:45 (gosh I guess I was talking a little too long with my AM friends).

Max is sick, I think he has the flu.

By 10 AM I showered, shampooed and shined. I made two Dr.'s appointments (which are for Kate). I changed 3 poopie diapers, made breakfast for all three kids, made sure everyone was dressed for the day, fed the babies, and headed out the door to take Michael to his clay class.

We picked up some friends to play with Maggie. This means I had 4 of my kids home with 2 others. Once Michael got home at Noon, I made lunch for everyone and tried to contain the babies.

I got the babies down for their nap at 1 PM. Everyone seemed to be playing fine. I tried to work on the laundry but learned that the kids had filled the doorway to our basement with water. Yeah, the whole basement flooded because the kids were outside playing with water. I didn't think they would try to turn the doorway into a pool.

The next three hours were spent moving furniture, soaking towels, asking neighbors for their shop vac, and vacuuming the basement.

Are you tired yet?

The babies wake up from their nap which means the rest of my day I'm keeping my eye on them. Thankfully, my neighbor brought over his rug cleaner and spent 3 + hours sucking up water.

Wait, did I mention dinner? Yes, after dealing with the basement drama I had to make dinner. The kids went to my neighbors to make cupcakes. That was a needed break.

Claire only fell off of something once today. She didn't poop in the tub which is always appreciated. By the end of the day I changed 7 poopie diapers. I think it's the watermelon I fed them.

I sit here exhausted, grateful for the help I received from my neighbors, and very much ready for bed.

The End

Don't you hate it when...

Don't you hate it when you throw away something and the garbage smells?

I pulled out the full garbage bag but the garbage can still stunk. I took out the garbage cans and filled them with bleach water...

To my dismay I realized that the space that holds the garbage can was totally disgusting. To make a long story short, I ended up pulling apart the kitchen cupboard, getting out the scrub brush, and dissecting the thing.

An unplanned afternoon project only because I went to throw something away. No, I'm not nesting. If you happen to stop by, ignore the mess all over to the house and go straight to the clean garbage area. Thanks.

Oh, and a special thanks to Kate who took out the loaf of bread and threw it all over the kitchen floor.

4th of July Bash 2009

One word to describe this 4th of July is BLAST!!! Really, it was SO FUN! My neighbor asked how we had the energy to pull off such a thing. It's easier than staying home with my 5 kids all day. Plenty of hot dogs, chips, snow cones, water balloons, and water. It even rained a little but nothing stopped us. Here's some pictures of the day:

Mike was the life of the party.
Michael on the way down

Remember these two last year?

Cute Elsa. Do I dare mention the water behind her? If anyone gets sick, don't sue me!

I'm glad Matt and Zach got to stay longer. A party isn't a party without the Williams. Where's the pie Annemarie?

Non-stop snow cones for Maggie.

Here's the story. Mary (on the left) is a photo addict. She forgot her camera so she and Maren begged me to take a picture of them. "Take one of us! Take one of us!"

SPLASH! They soaked me. Yeah, with that water...

On Sunday Andy and I changed two diapers of Claire's that had water balloon remains in her poop. I guess she got plenty of food as well.
Can't wait to see you next year!