OK, so we're NOT moving to Idaho...yet. We still want to and we will try to later on in the future, but for now, the job is not coming through and we told my parents to let the house go. No sense in dragging them financially through the mud! Right? So we are looking to move into a rental in the next couple of weeks (so long as we can get into one!) and our house is currently, officially, in foreclosure! ( you're still waiting for the exciting part aren't you?)
Quincy may be up for a promotion which IF he gets it, we will be receiving a pay raise, which with 8 kids would be WONDERFUL!!! But that's not the exciting part. He and I, yes, I said me...we are going back to college to finish what we started! OK, you are all scratching your head, chins dropped, asking yourself, "what the heck? How?" Allow me to answer you.
2 of my classes are online, and the other 3 are during the hours when I have a respite worker available, and they are only 1 hour 30 minute classes! (Thank you Jesus, because I don't think I could do 3 hour classes right off the bat!) His classes will be half online and half at school too. We are trying to go at the same time so we only have to have one parking pass, but that probably won't happen like I plan. So, you wanna know what I'm going for?
Well, I am going to take child development classes, special education courses, and music (piano and voice) classes. I have a desire to help other families like ours get the help they need, and I also want to MAKE SURE that my kids get the help they need from me. If they can't get it anywhere else, at least they'll get it from me! Plus, later in 5 years when my house is empty of little ones, I can get a job (a paying one) on campus as a special ed aid/tutor and be close to my kids where I can keep an eye on them and the system that's teaching them, while getting a small income to help us out. (We'll need it..we'll have 8 teenagers at one point! 4 proms, 3 graduations, 5 driver's licenses, etc.,etc.,etc. all happening at the same time same year). I'd like to have a little money for when they move out to take care of our needs too. I mean we'll have college expenses and our retirement to care for.
So, anyway, I am excited at what my future holds, and the help I will be able to give others through this! Just wanted to share my happiness with the great cyber abyss!
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Saturday, June 28, 2008
"happy we're a family" day
My kids love to celebrate any holiday, birthday, accomplishment..you name it. We are planning for our son's birthday coming up here very shortly, and our kids were just not understanding that we were NOT having the party today, but in a few days. (note to self: 3 days to a 6 year old means tomorrow after nap time). So I decided to surprise them with a new holiday to celebrate... we had a "happy we're a family" celebration! Sounds funny, but here are the rules! It was so much fun!
We pick any day we want, can even be more than once a year. We get some streamers, color pictures, make decorations, etc. We (meaning mom) make a feast (i.e. we had bbq ribs, corn on the cob, baked beans, and mashed potatoes with salad...at least one thing that everyone really likes). We made desert, chocolate brownies with M & M's on top. We had 7 up (because everyone has to have a special drink, and well, that one's clear when it spills on to the carpet.). Everyone had their own part to play. Someone helped clean and set the table, clear the table, vacuum, make mashed potatoes, make the brownies, serve food, serve drinks, etc. Then we played board games (which is chaos with 7 who are all very young like ours...be warned!) and then they got ready for bed, laid down for a "camp out" in the playroom and fell asleep together watching a new movie never seen before. It was hectic, chaotic, and a little stressful...but all in all...it was a great night. They even gave their own reasons for why they are happy to be part of this family and what they enjoy most when spending time as a family....those were notes worth taking, let me tell you. You can learn so much from a child, just by giving them room to celebrate something that they never knew was so special!
It may not be everyone's forte to make up holidays, but it certainly gave us a great night together and brought everyone closer to each other. I had fun, and they did too! Try it, it was literally the cheapest holiday we've ever had! Our meal and decorations was less than $30 for a family of 10 people!!! We spend more than that per person at Christmas!!!
We pick any day we want, can even be more than once a year. We get some streamers, color pictures, make decorations, etc. We (meaning mom) make a feast (i.e. we had bbq ribs, corn on the cob, baked beans, and mashed potatoes with salad...at least one thing that everyone really likes). We made desert, chocolate brownies with M & M's on top. We had 7 up (because everyone has to have a special drink, and well, that one's clear when it spills on to the carpet.). Everyone had their own part to play. Someone helped clean and set the table, clear the table, vacuum, make mashed potatoes, make the brownies, serve food, serve drinks, etc. Then we played board games (which is chaos with 7 who are all very young like ours...be warned!) and then they got ready for bed, laid down for a "camp out" in the playroom and fell asleep together watching a new movie never seen before. It was hectic, chaotic, and a little stressful...but all in all...it was a great night. They even gave their own reasons for why they are happy to be part of this family and what they enjoy most when spending time as a family....those were notes worth taking, let me tell you. You can learn so much from a child, just by giving them room to celebrate something that they never knew was so special!
It may not be everyone's forte to make up holidays, but it certainly gave us a great night together and brought everyone closer to each other. I had fun, and they did too! Try it, it was literally the cheapest holiday we've ever had! Our meal and decorations was less than $30 for a family of 10 people!!! We spend more than that per person at Christmas!!!
Thursday, June 26, 2008
UCLA is over
Kiki had her surgery on Monday, and is home doing fine. Other than being hungry all the time now (probably from not eating for 30 hours), she is healthy. So far no fevers, no discomforts outside of incision pain, and she appears to be eating just fine. She tries to play, but is still not wanting to play around too much (could have something to do with her brother's obsession with wanting to play "Kung Fu Panda" withe her...ouch)
Thank you very much for keeping tabs on us. I am sorry I am not very good at keeping up with this thing. I promise I am trying. I will come back again later to update you on everything else, but for now, it is almost lunch time and the natives are getting restless.
Thank you very much for keeping tabs on us. I am sorry I am not very good at keeping up with this thing. I promise I am trying. I will come back again later to update you on everything else, but for now, it is almost lunch time and the natives are getting restless.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Kiki's update
well, sorry for the long delay...been a little crazy here. Her surgery was canceled at the door of the OR due to her frantic crying causing her to cough, which left potential open for an asthmatic episode and possible onset of pneumonia following the procedure.
We are rescheduled for 530 am Monday June 23rd....two days from now. Needless to say I am a little stressed out. She is doing well, and honestly I was glad they canceled it because the following day, we took the kids to dinner and a movie (yes, we do that once in a LONG while) and she fell asleep at the restaurant and then she was sleeping in the movie, unless she felt me move....all the while, we get her home only to find out that our precious little one has an unexplained fever of 103! I took her to her pediatrician the next morning, only to hear the usual, "it's probably the flu or a virus, we've seen a lot of that lately" which in normal English means..." I have no idea what's causing this, so just load her up on Motrin and hope for the best." Ok, so I'm a little sarcastic. Wouldn't you be? She has a gal stone, and a hernia...could that be what's causing the unexplained fever, since in a home with 8 children, who sleep together (like on the floor in the playroom every night because it's a "sleep over Mama") and eat off each others plates (in case someone didn't want something, they don't want to waste it...ok so it's really that they are little thieves and love to irritate each other, but I like my way of thinking about it better than reality.) and NO ONE else has ANY symptoms of ANY kind..... you tell me?
It's been an crazy month! We are not sure about moving as a job has not presented itself to be "solid" as of yet. We are very close to "foreclosure proceedings" and I just turned 30. My birthday was nice, but the week prior to.....was emotionally horrendous! And now here we are, yet again, on our way to UCLA and another wonderful visit to the OR.
I will update as I can when we get back home. Please continue to pray and we'll look forward to hearing from you all when we return home with our little one.
We are rescheduled for 530 am Monday June 23rd....two days from now. Needless to say I am a little stressed out. She is doing well, and honestly I was glad they canceled it because the following day, we took the kids to dinner and a movie (yes, we do that once in a LONG while) and she fell asleep at the restaurant and then she was sleeping in the movie, unless she felt me move....all the while, we get her home only to find out that our precious little one has an unexplained fever of 103! I took her to her pediatrician the next morning, only to hear the usual, "it's probably the flu or a virus, we've seen a lot of that lately" which in normal English means..." I have no idea what's causing this, so just load her up on Motrin and hope for the best." Ok, so I'm a little sarcastic. Wouldn't you be? She has a gal stone, and a hernia...could that be what's causing the unexplained fever, since in a home with 8 children, who sleep together (like on the floor in the playroom every night because it's a "sleep over Mama") and eat off each others plates (in case someone didn't want something, they don't want to waste it...ok so it's really that they are little thieves and love to irritate each other, but I like my way of thinking about it better than reality.) and NO ONE else has ANY symptoms of ANY kind..... you tell me?
It's been an crazy month! We are not sure about moving as a job has not presented itself to be "solid" as of yet. We are very close to "foreclosure proceedings" and I just turned 30. My birthday was nice, but the week prior to.....was emotionally horrendous! And now here we are, yet again, on our way to UCLA and another wonderful visit to the OR.
I will update as I can when we get back home. Please continue to pray and we'll look forward to hearing from you all when we return home with our little one.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Little Red Spots
So today was starting out wonderful. Got up, got laundry going, got Hunter off to school...while doing the breakfast dishes, I hear, "Mo-oom, look what Kiki's doing". And, CRASH< style="font-style: italic;">Good morning mom, any hallucinations that you may have had about this being a wonderful day are officially brought to light, and the truth will now set you free....Kiki is "curious George" today!
We then then head down to UCLA for Kirsten's "pre-op" with the anesthesiologist's office...only I notice Kiki's covered from her head to her mid-line with little tiny red bumps. She's allergic to something!! Of course I'm stressing because this is the final appointment that says yea or nay to the surgery. Where's my benadryl when I need it? We get through the appointment just fine, explaining that she got into something she shouldn't have and given her high allergy to gluten and casein it could be anything she ate that I didn't see her sneaking....all the while, I'm thinking "I .hope that's it" . Sounded good! Right?
So we get home to pick up the rest of the kids, I'm in the kitchen making dinner when Quincy notices that Gracey is broken out and needs benadryl now too. Now I'm scrambling trying to think of everything....sun block, bug spray from the yard, a snack I didn't see....I'm wiggin' out a little bit. So I give them both their dose, and decide to check everyone else out just in case, all the while praying it's not a virus!! The twins have a mild break out on their bellies too. Break out the benadryl once again. Then I notice, it's on Quincy's back too!!! So he's now medicated and I am officially stressed.
After hours of searching for answers and checking for fevers or any other signs of illness, I finally found the cause!!! The taco seasoning, which we always use, is normally diluted before we eat it so it doesn't bother us...BUT in pure form in the air without any buffer like water....their bodies can't handle it!!! It's foreign in that form. Weird I know, but honestly, that was it! THANK GOD!!! I don't think I could hand;e one more thing this week!
We then then head down to UCLA for Kirsten's "pre-op" with the anesthesiologist's office...only I notice Kiki's covered from her head to her mid-line with little tiny red bumps. She's allergic to something!! Of course I'm stressing because this is the final appointment that says yea or nay to the surgery. Where's my benadryl when I need it? We get through the appointment just fine, explaining that she got into something she shouldn't have and given her high allergy to gluten and casein it could be anything she ate that I didn't see her sneaking....all the while, I'm thinking "I .hope that's it" . Sounded good! Right?
So we get home to pick up the rest of the kids, I'm in the kitchen making dinner when Quincy notices that Gracey is broken out and needs benadryl now too. Now I'm scrambling trying to think of everything....sun block, bug spray from the yard, a snack I didn't see....I'm wiggin' out a little bit. So I give them both their dose, and decide to check everyone else out just in case, all the while praying it's not a virus!! The twins have a mild break out on their bellies too. Break out the benadryl once again. Then I notice, it's on Quincy's back too!!! So he's now medicated and I am officially stressed.
After hours of searching for answers and checking for fevers or any other signs of illness, I finally found the cause!!! The taco seasoning, which we always use, is normally diluted before we eat it so it doesn't bother us...BUT in pure form in the air without any buffer like water....their bodies can't handle it!!! It's foreign in that form. Weird I know, but honestly, that was it! THANK GOD!!! I don't think I could hand;e one more thing this week!
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