Oh Where, Oh Where Has My Little Blog Gone

The lap top finally bit the dust. I can't even turn it on, which is a problem because all of my pictures are still on it. I am happy to report that Christian gave me my Christmas present early, and I now can blog from my IPad. I haven't totally figured it out yet, but at least I can now get some of the crazy things that have happened around here down before I forget!


Christian built a swing set for someone and generated a little cash for Christmas. We never give each other Christmas presents, so I was pleasantly surprised when he told me that I could go buy myself an IPad. I know that everyone knows our electronics issues...we have none. Oh, we have a tube TV and a VCR, but nothing manufactured after 1989.

I could not bring myself to pay the full price wanted at the Apple store. I flirted with the idea of buying a refurbished one. One fateful day, I searched Craigslist...just to see if there might be something there. SCORE! A man was selling one, new in the box, for $120 less than they are at the store. I got my cash, loaded up the kids in the van, and set out for the Target parking lot.

As we are driving down the road, Aaron says, "Mom, let me get this straight. We are going to the Target parking lot to buy an IPad from someone you talked to on Craigslist?? I have seen this on TV...this is NOT going to end well!" At that point, I started second guessing my involving the kids in Operation Buy iPad on the Black-market. The boys then proceeded to plan out what they would do if the guy was some crazy killer. Jackson was going to have the phone ready to call 911 if needed, and Aaron said he would hop in the driver's seat and drive the kids to safety.

Thankfully, the guy was normal. His wife was inside shopping for their 2 kids. I commented on how glad I was that he wasn't a Craigslist killer and he agreed. I told him about the plans the kids were making and as we turned to look at the car, all I saw was Aaron's very serious face staring out the driver side window with his hand on the horn. He was ready to sound the alarm at the slightest hint of trouble!



A few random pictures of what is going on around here these days...



Levi reminds me so much of Christian. We'll be sitting at the table eating and he will jump up and get his bb gun and rush outside. I am sure my "precious" neighbor would love to know that He has a bb gun pointed in her field.



I totally busted Jackson watching Miss Patty Cake!





Because I don't want to get into trouble, the man in this photo shall remain anonymous. It looks as though the elastic in the waist of the Adidas wind pants that I got out of the lost and found at Lakeside High School some 20 years ago has finally given out. Most people would just toss them, right? It takes a special gift to see the life still left in these pants...this man, who shall remain a mystery to you, put a belt on to hold up said pants and proceeded to leave the house to run to CVS for a few essentials. His t shirt was a Goodwill gift from a friend. He also had on crocs and socks. If he had gone to Walmart, I feel certain he would have ended up in the next 'People of Walmart' feature.

5K and Trot to Adopt

I ran in my first 5K with some girls from church. It was really fun. I have heard people say that before and wondered how in the world running could ever be enjoyable. Training with friends and race day totally took my mind off of all the hard work. It felt really good to know that this time last year I was about to give birth to my 6th child, and this year I ran a 5K in under 30 minutes!! It was a great feeling.

My next run is the Trot To Adopt in January that will help 3 of my dear friends bring home their girls from Africa and China. You can visit their blog to learn more about them. www.trottoadoptaugusta.blogspot.com If you would like to join me, you can register there. If you want to sponsor me, send me an email and I'll get your info. I am so excited to be able to help these families with the costs of bringing home their children. Won't you help, too? Even $5 will be a big help!

Miss Pattycake

Rebekah and Sarah LOVE Miss Pattycake. A friend of mine was getting rid of some old VHS tapes and she passed them on to us. I had never even heard of Miss Pattycake, but Sarah was hooked! The first time that she watched it, I was cracking up at how she just sat there and smiled with this goofy grin on her face the whole time.





Rebekah will sit and watch it forever. I don't think any of the other kids watched anything this young. Sarah didn't like Diego until she was about 2.

Miss Pattycake kind of creeps me out. She has really bright red lipstick and her voice is really screechy. The other day when I put my lipstick on, Sarah said, "Oh, momma! You look just like Miss Pattycake!"






Not exactly the look I was going for!!

Welcome to Wahl-ffle House

Levi had two of his buddies spend the night for his (belated) birthday party last Friday night. A friend of mine was in the process of an out of town move and needed some last minute help with a few of her kiddos, so her two little ones ended up staying the night, too. Aaron was spending the night with a friend, so we had 9 kids at the house...10, 7, 7, 7, 4, 2, 2, 19 months(ish), and 11 months.

This is what our table looked like the next morning! Christian and I cooked the whole gang pancakes and bacon. Christian commented that this must be what it is like to be a Waffle House cook. I told him that a Waffle House cook just cooks. We were taking orders, cooking, serving, and cleaning up!

Halloween

A few years ago, I put my foot down about paying for Halloween costumes. How ridiculous is it to spend money on something they will wear for just a few hours? When I was little, you just figured it out...we dug through the closets and used our imagination.

This year, Jackson went all out. I did buy him some hair color, but it was really cheap. He came up with his costume all on his own.

The best part was that he rigged his Guitar Hero guitar to play Sweet Child of Mine. He taped his MP3 player to the back and turned it up so that you could hear it. It was pretty ingenious!

Sarah was a princess, and she loved putting on makeup. I dug an old tiara out of the attic and she thought that was so awesome.

Caleb was a hobo again this year. I love hobo costumes...it just means you are pretty much ready to go when it is time to trick or treat. You don't need to clean up and those holes in your jeans are perfect! I just added a beard, a hat, and a sign that said "Will work for candy!"

Levi was a security guard and Aaron was a Georgia fan. Easy peasy...

We had our usual crowd over for chili and trick or treating. We may or may not have eaten more candy than we gave out. It was a fun night!

There's A Mouse About the House

I was painting a table in my garage one night. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something move. I looked over to see a tiny mouse sitting there staring at me. I tried to calm myself by thinking, "It's ok, Ashley. It's just a little brown mouse. He is kind of cute...right?" The mouse then decided he would come in for a closer look which sent me into a TIZZY! I was screaming and carrying on and that poor scared little mouse ran under the freezer. I called Christian on his cell phone (he was in the house) and told him to come save me from the mouse that was in our garage. He has zero patience with me when I get in squealy girl mode. He came out armed with a bb gun and sunglasses on.

I was told that if I was going to scream that I could just go back inside. I promised that I wouldn't and even put my hand over my mouth to keep in any squeals that might try to escape. The little mouse made a run for it and hid behind some stacked up lawn chairs. Christian started to move them one by one and I was standing back armed with a broom. Eventually, the poor mouse was cornered and it didn't end in his favor.

Christian put the mouse on my neighbor's truck handle, so the next morning when he was getting into his truck to go to work...he got a nice little surprise.

Rebekah

Someone is turning one this month!

Rebekah is pulling up and cruising around furniture. She actually let go today and stood by herself for a second. Six teeth have broken through and she prefers table food over baby food. She can't quite figure out how to drink from a cup yet, so we are working on that.

She saves her "help I'm on fire" scream for special moments these days. If she is feeling ignored, she will certainly let me know, but I don't usually have to deal with it as much as I used to.

The boys love her. If I start to put her to bed, everyone has to come and give her a kiss and a hug. Aaron always wants to hold her and she lays her head on his shoulder. It is so precious. He is definitely her favorite.

She has found her nose and LOVES to put her finger in there. Of course, she gets many laughs from her siblings which makes her want to do it all the more.

Christian caught a lizard and handed it to Rebekah. She just took it right out of his hand and wasn't the least bit freaked out. Then he had to take it back from her because she kept trying to put it in her mouth! Ugh...

Then someone decided that it would be funny to put it on her head and let it crawl all over her. She was totally fine with it. Poor thing...