almost like nadya's house

Undoubtedly you have heard of Nadya Suleman, right? Our home had just about as many children here tonight. We are babysitting for our friends Rose & Jason who have 4 and our friends Marlys & Rob who have 2. Add that to our 4 and we got 10 baby! And now you are wondering how I can be on the computer while we have 10 kids, right? T.V. my friends. Wonderful T.V. They are downstairs watching Tom and Jerry after wearing themselves out doing this:







We started tonight off with supper...and I tell you what these kids are very polite. Please and thank you to everything! This is delicious, this is so good....compliments were flying all over the place. Except from my children. So I'm thinking of asking Jason and Rose if I could drop off our kids for a couple of weeks and see what they can do with them.

This was the little people table. They had so much fun. Constant laughing all around.

Quote of the day:

From Micah (Rose and Jason's 3rd child)

"Ummm...Mrs. Bontrager may I be excused? "

Me: "Not my last name but close enough...Yes, You may be excused."

yes ma'am

This week has been a craft week sort of....

I help on the shower planning committee for our church. And we had a baby shower to host. One minor problem.....we have no funds. Our church has been cutting back in some areas of our expenses due to the economy. So this got my creative juices flowing. I called the mama that we were hosting the shower for and asked her if she could email me some pictures of her sweet little baby boy. I then printed and cut the baby face into circles. I taped some scrap card stock in her nursery colors to the back of the picture and cut around it with pinking shears. Then used some wooden craft sticks and hot glued them to the the circles. Used some left over ribbon from another project and made a bow, hot glue again. Waaaa laaaa....Cupcake toppers.

This is William's baby blanket doubling as a table cloth. Some tea lights and silver letters I had from home. The picture is also emailed from the mama, printed off on our printer, & taped to some card stock I had from another project and the frame I had at home. How fun to try to do the decorations from things you have already and have them turn out better than you thought.

I felt so bad I asked to hold her baby Hudson and he started crying from the moment I held him. At the time of this picture his grandma was still walking him in the halls trying to settle him down. So sorry Amber.

Here is Amber finally getting that cute little Hudson calmed down after I made him so mad. The shower was fun, and I was glad for the opportunity to get to know Amber a little better.

Quote of the day:

Me: "Suzy when your done going poopy, call for mommy and I'll come wipe your bottom"

Suzy: "Mommy, when I call you to come wipe my bootie, you can say, "Yes ma'am."

turning 34

My birthday this year started 4 days early...which was really sweet action! Because let's be honest...who doesn't love to celebrate their birthday? My sister Holly took me to dinner and a movie on Friday night last weekend. We saw...He's just not that into you. Uhhh...I would probably wait for that one to come out on DVD if you thought you wanted to see it. But fun fun fun to be out with Holly spoiling me left and right.

After the movie we went to Papa Vino's for a yummy supper, and then to Target to promptly spend a gift card Holly had just given me. Because why waste time when there are birthday gift cards waiting to be spent??

The next morning was Valentines morning...and this is what I got in the morning.....

Pancakes and sausage cut into the shape of hearts. How very very sweet of hubby. Sorry by the way for the bed head.



That night we went to a Valentines banquet at church.




This is just a small sample of what was to offer that night. It was so beautifully done....and we had such a fun time. I loved the speakers we had and it was a good way to get to know people at our church better.

For Donovan's gift this year we had a little after hours chocolate fondue.....after the kids went to bed that is.
I bought little mini cheesecakes, coconut cookies, marshmallows, and peanut butter crackers for dipping. And that's all for the pictures of that night. tee hee.

My birthday morning Donovan gave me the gift of sleeping in until 9 a.m. & then breakfast in bed...again. I could really get used to this kind of treatment. Birthday hugs from the 2 kids that didn't have to go to school. After I got ready for the day I went to an appointment that Donovan had made for me to get my eye brows done. Something I had been wanting to get done, but not finding the time to do. From there I went to polish off the rest of my Target gift card.....ahhh I heart Target so much!!!

From Target I met up with this lady for lunch. Her treat. Yummy....Thanks so much Rose. We never lack for conversation and what a blessing to have a friend like you!

After lunch I came home to this sweet cousin. Rosetta brought me 1/2 dozen of roses!!! They are so beautiful! She also brought me several other sweet gifts. It was nice to catch up with you friend.

Then....still later that day we took the kids to my sisters and went out to dinner at Carrabbas! Yummmy!!!

I know how very un-original of me...because we go there sooo much! But hey I just love it. I always get the same thing...chicken and pasta. But last night I lived on the wild side and got something I haven't tried yet...their Sirloin. And let me just tell you...I've never had better. We shared that meal and it was just perfect.

After dinner we went shopping for some new jeans for me for my birthday gift from my hubby. Which in itself is an act of love....waiting for me to find the right fit for jeans is no small task. Someone might have been a little bored in the dressing room...hence the picture in the dressing room.

After we got home that night...This sweet thing brought over a birthday cake for me. At 9:00!
Now that is love. Or so I thought....

Ornery!! That girl Brooke is ornery!!! Look what was hiding in the middle of the cake....A trick! When babysitting one day for her kids, her little son fell in love with this stuffed animal. So I let him have it. I guess she didn't want it, because it ended up back at my house...via my birthday cake.

One more birthday gift to share. An apron made for me by my mother in law. Isn't it sweet? I love it!!! I think it would be extra sweet to have 2 small matching ones for my girls. :) hint hint.

Wow...no wonder I am so tired today. All the love going around by so many made me exhausted. In a really great way. :) I had so many facebook birthday well wishers too. It was just so sweet to get so many wishes!!! I feel so special and loved!!! Spending the day doing all my favorite things. Loving 34 already!!

quote of the day:

Valentines morning Isabella was scratching my back for me while we were snuggled in bed.

Isabella: "Uhhhh, Mom why aren't you wearing a bra?"

Me: "No I don't wear one to bed Isabella."

Isabella: She looks at me with a puzzled look on her face. "What if daddy sees down your shirt?"

Me: "Isabella, that's o.k. when you are married."

Isabella: "What about when your not married?"

Me: "NO! It's not o.k"

Isabella: "What about 1 week before you get married?"

Me: "No."

Isabella: "What about 10 minutes before you get married?"

Me: And...."No"

And here the questions come......

new cut

This little girl still had baby hair, and it had to go. It was so stringy and thin. So it went. I cut about 3 1/2 inches off. This is Suzanna's 3rd hair cut in her little 2 years.

I love it. It is naturally curly, so this is just perfect for her little self...I think.

Her favorite things right now are her blankie, her baby Katie (that she stole (adopted) from Isabella), and books.




Happy Valentines Day. Show your love.

making them earn their keep

When things are quiet during the day...I worry. For instance last week I was finishing up cleaning up breakfast and noticed things were quiet. Too quiet. So I went into my bathroom to find this....

I asked Suzy...."what are you doing?" Suzy replied, "I got my cozy pants on and I'm cleanin'" Luckily I found her before she used the entire roll of paper towels. I love that she wanted to help. I love that she wants to serve. I love that she can get her jammies off and kinda dress herself. Even if she forgot to change out of her jammie shirt or comb her hair. I cut her a little slack...she is just 2.

Later that week....I put them both to work. I find it helpful to give them little jobs like loading the washer and drier just to keep their little hands busy. Sometimes I think it would be so much easier just to do it myself and faster. I actually separate my loads and put them into baskets, then Suzy and William empty that basket into the washer. It would be so much quicker just to do it myself. But there's something about making them feel a part of what makes this house run. They love to help and be hands on.

It's hard to believe this little sweet boy will be starting school in 6 months!!! William is so cheerful (most of the time) and eager to please. And just thinking of him not being here during the day....reminds me this time is so short, even though at times time consuming and frustrating.

The funniest thing about my cleaning routine is that they both fuss to clean the toilet. REALLY??? So I let them each do one. Not saying that they actually get it very clean...but they love to swirl the cleaner around and make bubbles. And hey, it keeps them occupied for a good 15 minutes. When I went to get William started on his toilet....I came back to find this little girl multi-tasking....scrubbing the toilet while talking on her pretend cell phone. Wow, where did she learn such talent? I give you one guess my friends. :)

Quote of the day

Isabella was putting soap in the dishwasher.

William: "WOW!!! Isabella you're really good at that!!!"

What can I say?...The girl has talent.

My favorite part is that William was being such an encourager.

can I have a bone?

Thank you for all the uhhhh.....suggestions for the home coming party. :) I loved all the comments of ways to make my man feel loved and appreciated. I loved that Ben "came out of the closet" and shared his thoughts for the day. You made me laugh out loud. And made others blush.

So anyways....we went with a low key evening. Jack had an idea to make large welcome home signs for the garage and kitchen. Then I made one of Donovan's favorite dishes, Kristin Chicken. It's actually called Sam's choice Chicken...but that is such a boring name for such a delicious dish that I re-named it after the person that gave me the recipe. The kids and I set the table, with the table cloth and even the fancy stemmed glasses. We lit candles and it was a fun evening.

I think I've posted this recipe before but it deserves another debut.

Kristin Chicken

4-6 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 can cream of mushroom soup

6 oz. sour cream

Topping:

1 cup Ritz crackers, crushed

1/4 cup melted butter

3/4 T. Worcestershire sauce

1/4 t. onion salt

1/4 t. garlic powder

Mix cream of chicken soup and sour cream; pour over chicken. Cover and bake at 300 for 1 1/2 hours. Mix ingredients for topping and crumble over chicken breasts. Bake 10-15 minutes longer.

This goes wonderfully with baked potatoes, because as you bake this dish it creates a sauce that goes well over the potatoes.

As you can see the sick boy was looking pretty good at dessert time. Shock. The breathing treatments of albuterol made him so hyper...it was unreal. And after 3 treatments by supper time he was practically bouncing off the walls.

For dessert I made chocolate pudding, but put it into coffee mugs to resemble hot chocolate.

For the quote of the day....

William, Suzanna and I were at the bank in the drive thru and William notices that there is a bowl of bones in the window but no candy visible.

William: "Mom, can I have a bone?"

Me: "Why do you want a bone?"

William: "Because I see no candy."

Me: "William, the bones are for dogs when they come in the car to the bank"

William: "You can't have dogs in the car-they fritz around and poop."

Fritz is a name his dad uses for screwing around. :)

Fritz is also Jack's nick name that my uncle Leonard gave to him. And it has stuck.

city cat moves to the farm

This week started with a super bowl party that I never watched. Which doesn't surprise me because I really only go for the food and friends. So this year was no different. My friend Marlys hosted the super bowl bash and invited one other family which are equally just as fun. The guys headed downstairs to the basement and settled in the kids ran and played and us women folk....we talked. And ate. Then talked some more. I looked up at the clock for the first time all night and thinking it would be around 8:30....was shocked to see it was 9:50. I'm not sure how time went that fast!!! So we headed out shortly after that and got the kids home and tucked into bed.

I landed in bed around midnight Sunday night. And then woke up about 1:30 a.m. hearing my phone vibrate in the kitchen. I pretended I didn't hear it. It buzzed again. And again. So I come out to see 3 text messages from someone I didn't know, saying things I didn't like. So I politely asked this "person" to please stop sending text messages, I do not know them. They must have the wrong number. They sent me another text message telling me to blank blank off and blah blah blah. Thank you so much I just wasted another 50 cents on someone who I don't even know, saying things I don't like, and getting mad that I'm up so late. So I went back to bed, and listened to my cat moan and groan because she is in heat. It was useless. I lay in bed for 30 minutes and could not go to sleep. Then Donovan started snoring. I knew it was over at that point. So I got up and started answering emails and playing around on facebook. And then Isabella started talking in her sleep, and as if on cue Suzy started talking in her sleep about 30 minutes later. REALLY??? Should I also reveal that I had cramps or is that TMI? I finally went back to bed about 4 a.m. What a way to start the week off.

The best part of this week is we found a new home for the cat in heat. She had to go. There was just no action for her here...and seriously she had been in heat since around Christmas. She was a good outdoor cat...but all good things must come to an end. Last night a guy from our small group took her home-- to his dairy farm which has lots of milk, lots of mice, and ahhhhh...male cats. She will be so very happy in her new home I am sure.

Today Jack our 6 1/2 year old woke up crying of ear pain, sore throat, and as he put it, "my brain hurts." So I took him into the Doctor, and on the way I was thinking he isn't acting sick at all now. We were listening to the radio and he was playing the air guitar and told his brother, William, "you're on the drums." So they are back there in their seat belts with their imaginary band and Suzy is playing right along with them. It brought a smile to my face. But then thinking that why am I taking Jack to the Dr. when he will probably tell me he has something viral, to get plenty of fluids and rest. Blah, blah, blah. Well I was wrong. The appointment was worth the drive and the co-pay. He has an ear infection and walking pneumonia. How lovely. Since I already have cabin fever. So here we are with Dr. orders for Jack to be off of school again tomorrow. Hmmm...the walls are closing in already.

Along with an antibotic the Dr. also had me put Jack on a nebulizer for breathing treatments. Which he has to do 4 times a day. Which he hates. Which made him throw up after the first one I gave him today. So wow…I’m hoping it goes better tonight. Because daddy has to be gone overnight tonight for work. And wow...How I totally hate to clean up throw up. And I'm already missing hubby thinking about him being gone ALL night long. Absence (even if only for one night) makes the heart grow fonder right? And makes you appreciate all the things your spouse does for you without any sort of gratitude. So I'm already formulating a surprise for tomorrow night when he gets home. But need some help...any ideas?????