WOW! Where'd the time go?

It's been longer than long since I last posted on my blog. I got a little caught up in daily life with 6 boys and facebook was just more efficient. I'm going to try blogging again. Things have been SUPER busy as you can well imagine. (With 6 boys, it's sort of a given) The boys are growing like weeds and soon enough, one of my children will have reached adulthood! Honestly, I think this must be a mistake because I'm nowhere near old enough to have an 18 year old. It's just all sorts of wrong. But, it's happening. The boys are 17, 15, 13, 9, 5 and 2. Very busy and oh so handsome. I don't have a whole lot to report just now but thought I'd post a little something since I'm confined to the house with cootie riddled kids. So, I'm back, I'm busy but I'm going to try to keep up the blog.....

Did ya miss me?

I know it's been nearly for-EVER since I've last updated. I would say I'm sorry for that but I'm really not so much. WHAT?! I've been busy! The boys are just pretty much a force of nature....only about 4 weeks left of summer (there IS a light at the end of my tunnel!) Jon is now a licensed driver. His car isn't running yet so he's not gone on many solo drives. He has been busy with Boy Scouts, work, and his girlfriend. He staffed a leadership training camp already and tomorrow he heads down south to Catalina Island (LUCKY!) for a week of scuba diving where he'll get his certification and then a week of regular scout camp. In between camps, he's been working (minimally) for the organic farmers he worked for last year and been hanging out with his girlfriend (every waking moment!)

Jake has really formed an awesome relationship with my sister in laws father (can you follow?) He makes awesome pens out of wood and other materials and he also does a lot of wood working. Mike has taken Jake under his wing and is teaching him the trade. It's been awesome for the both of them because Jake desperately needs the positive male attention and Mike only has 2 daughters and 2 grand daughters so this is like the son he never had! Jake's been really loving it and even gave me the first pen he made. He's still struggling with the unstructured time of summer and he does have some doozy days.

Tucker's been fairly easy. He's getting to that teen stage which tends to be a bit snotty but overall he's pretty mellow. He's had quite a few play dates with one friend in particular and he's been LOVING that special time. He's currently in Disneyland with my mom! He's been there all week and they're having a blast.....just the two of them. This wouldv'e been his year to go to Alaska fishing with my dad but there was a group of 15 men that were going and my dad didn't want Tucker to be the only kid and end up bored. I think Tucker is pleased with the alternate plan my mom made.

Tanner's been hyper as can be. He always is and I don't really expect anything less. He's not hyper in a naughty way, just doesn't listen because he's too busy jumping around. Tanner really is easy going for the most part. He doesn't complain much even though he's not done much this summer. He has done a couple of jobs for Pottery Barn Kids and you should be able to find him in the Fall issue!

Brennen has been a terrible listener lately! He's driving me crazy! I think it's just the age but boy oh boy....I just want to duct tape him to a chair some days! He's also become an incredibly picky eater. He tells me what he wants, I make it and then he never eats it. Of course and hour later he's claiming to be starving. I've cut him off. No more snacks if he won't eat his meals. I feel bad doing this but I'm so tired of throwing away food! He had a bit of an accident about 3 weeks ago where his foot slipped going up the stairs. He fell and hit his mouth. He ended up knocking one front tooth back a bit! It was bleeding and he was crying but by the next day it was back in line with the others. Sadly, that tooth and one of the laterals is now turning dark! UGH! I'm really hoping it'll lighten up again instead of getting darker and falling out. I know that missing teeth can be cute on kids but he shouldn't be losing those for at least another 2-3 years! UGH!

Branson turned 9 months on Friday which coincidentally is the day he started crawling! He's now all over the place! In just one week, he's really picked up some speed! He's also now standing up in his crib and getting up on his knees just about everywhere else. He can reach the coffee table top which means that pretty much nothing is safe! He finally has 2 teeth....just the bottom front. He's by far the slowest teether I've ever had! It really doesn't even slow him down though...he eats just about everything like he's got a full mouth of teeth! He's a big boy at about 22lbs! Still happy as can be. Really a fun lil guy!

In other news......our business is slow but my hubby finally decided to kick it into high gear! This is great news since, you know, the kids want to eat and all! Hopefully we can build some business back up. This economy sucks though and people are cutting out services left and right. Why do we have to be providing a service? I'm confident that we'll be able to make it through. My kids like top ramen and mac n cheese!
My lil brother and his wife are expecting their first baby in February. She's so funny....it's gonna be a long pregnancy! Not in a bad way but she sure is milking it for all it's worth. My brother's already rolling his eyes at her! LOL
My lil sister is ENGAGED! Mike popped the question in front of everybody on Father's Day! It was so sweet and since we all knew about it beforehand, it was totally captured on film.....SWEET!They've set the date for 8-6-11! AND, I get to be the Maid of Honor! I'm so excited! I've never been a maid of honor before so I really hope I can do a kick ass job for her! We're going on Sunday to look at some wedding gowns and bridemaids dresses! It's going to be so much fun!

That's all we've got going on here. I will definitely post some pictures soon so you can see just how big and handsome my monsters are getting! I hope you're all enjoying your summer! Drop me a line sometime!

Last week

I am sitting here trying to enjoy the last handful of Sunday hours before the beginning of ANOTHER week. It's difficult because my mind keeps drifting back to the fact that this coming week is the LAST week. The last week of school. After which I will find my self being driven insane at an accelerated rate by my beloved boys. At times like these, I find my self asking "What in the world can I do to keep my kids busy while holding on to my last precious bits of sanity?" I do think this summer is going to be brutal. I will find myself wondering (often) why I do not apply for a full time job. Jon is easy as can be so I'm really not worried about him. PLUS, he will be driving in just 8 short days so, yeah, easy peasy. Jake is a monster if he doesn't have something constructive to occupy his time. I've already talked to his employer from last summer hoping he needs help again THIS summer. Jake working is KEY to my summer success. Keep your fingers crossed! Tucker is preteen and abnoxious as all get out. I find myself wanting to just duct tape him to a chair in his room quite often. He is going to be a "camp counselor" for the camping themed reading program at the library. Thank God! That should keep him a bit busy. Tanner is still as spastic as ever and I'm hoping to farm him out to some friends and family for play dates and general running around and tiring out. He's a good kid, just SUPER manic and hyper. Brennen is definitely becoming a handful. A jealous, poke the baby with a skewer when Mom's not looking, handful. I need to keep him busy and tired. Key to my sanity saving plan. Branson's easy as can be and hardly cries when poked with skewers. He's been keeping fairly busy with Pottery Barn Kids and modeling. You can look for him in this Fall's catalog! Hopefully the jobs will keep rolling in so we can fatten up his college fund. Lord knows that's the only way he'll be able to go! With THIS economy and 6 kids.... Send me all your summertime sanity saving tips. I am in DIRE need of help!

pics

Branson was AMAZED at the view when I turned his seat around! We were waiting on his brothers so I let him watch the movie with Brennen.

 

Poor Brennen played too hard at the park!

 

His brothers TORTURED him while he slept.....poor kid!

 

pics

I Love, love, LOVE this picture of Tanner.

 

Branson sure has a fat face!

 

He's not so crazy about peas though....
Hey, you tell me....doesn't he look like one of Shrek's babies? Don't get me wrong, I think he's super cute but so are Shrek's kiddos.

 

Say no to crack! LOL!

 

I only had one more....

For some reason, I find myself SO busy and it's been next to impossible to post anything on my blog. I really can't quite figure it out. It's not like I'm Octomom, having 8 babies at once. I'm not even Kate....I only had ONE! Why is it then that I'm so ridiculously overbooked and busy? Why is it that I don't even have time to post a quick one liner on Facebook even? When and how did life get so hectic? I can't reasonably blame it on Branson, he's a gem. Super easy. A peach. Brennen is a bit more "time consuming" but still, quite good. Tanner.....he's a spaz in a half. Medicated, yet on the wrong medication which means he might as well not even BE medicated. He's my lil hummingbird, wings flapping faster than the eye can see, flitting from one activity to the next. Actually, hummingbirds don't leave destruction in their wake like he seems to so maybe he's more like Taz. Tucker's been a chore and a half lately too. Then there's Jake. Ah, sweet Jake. If ever there was a difficult child, he is it. Spring break was hard to say the least. He doesn't do well with unscheduled time. I knew this going into it but I didn't expect the natural disaster that was Jake on spring break. It was really tough. I actually had to give him the choice of going back on his meds or me calling the police. Has anyone ever had to call the police because you're afraid of what your own child might do to you or one of your other children? It's NOT fun. It's not easy to dial that number. Luckily he chose the med route. Man, have you ever seen those wild kingdom type shows where they tranquilize a wild animal and then wait for it to drop? That was my house. Lucky for all of us, Jake was out for several hours and woke up MUCH calmer. The phone call was avoided....for now. Jon's been good. He always is. Not much to report on him ever. He's nearly 16 (I know I'm nowhere NEAR old enough to have a 16 year old!) He's got a new girlfriend. He's a texting machine. That's about it for now. I'll try to post again soon. I know you'll all be sitting on the edge of your seats waiting for that.....

Out and about

Here I go again, out and about, living my hectic life while my poor little blog sits here all but forgotten! So sorry. Life has been racing by and boy have we been busy. A lot has happened since I last updated. Jake turned 14 on the 1st of the month. HOLY COW! Already? We got him a really nice camera since he so wisely gave up the photography class in favor of a resource class (much needed to get homework done and for extra instruction) He'll be a high schooler next year. Wow. So, we got him a camera so he could still persue his interest even though he won't be taking any formal training just yet. He's been photographing everything! Branson just turned 5 months. I've yet to start him on solids but boy is he ready. He actually grabbed Jared's fork the other day while Jared was eating and managed to get a little something in his hand. Luckily he wasn't quick enough to shove it in his mouth. I'm a bit leary of starting the solids since he seems to have so many allergies and sensitivities already. BUT, the poor kid watches me eat and licks his lil lips. It's quite pathetic. Brennen is still a ball of energy. He's been behaving a bit better. I guess the novelty of the baby has worn off. He's taking naps again too which I LOVE! It's a sweet deal when your 3 year old will take a 2-3 hour nap every day. Jon is driving everywhere with his permit and he's pretty good. My car is huge so it's quite impressive that he's not hit anything yet. Let's hope he never does. Tucker was just sick with an ear infection and sore throat but he's back to school now. He still can't hear but he didn't really ever tend to listen anyhow. Tanner's still spastic as ever. He had a photo shoot for Pottery Barn Kids on Monday. He was there from 2-5:45 but only was on set for 30-45 minutes. Luckily he gets paid for the entire time so he'll get a fat check for that. He's super excited because he wants to buy so many things but really struggles with saving money. I just take his money now and hold it for him no matter how much he begs, I don't give in. He'd blow it in 2 seconds if I'd let him. We took the boys camping last weekend and are going again this Saturday. It should be fun. With my dad's illness, I've really started seeing things differently and we're doing more with the kids. Even when they're naughty. Hope all is well with you and yours....I'm off to karate!