Big Families

  It is so funny to me that even after multiple children it still thrills me the first time my babies kiss me or tell me they love me. It never gets old. People who are skeptical about big families should just experience that overwhelming feeling of love.
A great friend of mine sent me an article about the intolerance of large families in our society. It was about how people stare or think we have a disease or whisper questions of "why?
How come people who choose not to have kids are not scrutinized for their choices? I respect their decisions. Hey I know I am old and a little bit nuts and no I don't use birth control and yes I have a big enough car and the reason we don't go to mcdonalds often is more about fitness and health than money. Any more questions? You can forward them to mindyourownbusiness.com
PS.. My kids all wear new shoes.
That should just about cover it.

St. Anthony

I am not sure if praying to Saint Anthony works everytime but it did today. I lost my keys today or should I say yesterday. It was 5 minutes before I had to leave today that I realized they were gone. Joey spent alot of time searching through toy boxes and drawers before finally calling the dealer to order new keys. Yes I am one of those dumbasses who only has one key to my car. Everyone said pray to St. Anthony, it works. After the third person told me I did just that. The dealer couldn't recognize my vin to order a new set of keys. (strange, it isn't like my car is a knock off from a NY alley) Then the locksmith never showed up after 4 hrs. I was getting ready to pay $175 plus never hear the end of it from my husband and then I
just opened the cabinet for a pretzel and there it was... A box of crackers that I took in the diaper bag the day before. The only thing that I took out of the diaper bag that I had not looked inside and I picked up the box and there they were, my keys tucked inside the box of kiddie crackers.
It was then that I thought all the crappy things that happened were for a reason. I was saved from spending unnecessary money and obviously was given a little tip to look in that box.
I am however going to get an extra key made. I am not sure St. Anthony will help stupidity twice.

Charzilla...again

Charlotte was an out of control 2 yr old tonight. I was the only person who brought kids to a bridal shower this evening. My girls were dressed sweetly and as always got a lot of coos until everyone got a taste of Charzilla. She ran around, terrorized the dog, broke something. Let's just say all were eager to help me pack them in the car. Thank God she is cute! Oh and let me mention that on the car ride home she announced how fun her night was. Really!!

NO TV

What happened to the days when TV shows started their new seasons in September and ended in May? I know I am not dreaming that this existed. It is very disheartening to get settled in front of the television only to scroll through the guide and see that all of the shows are repeats and it is March. Oh that's right.. now there is such a thing called sweeps week so they all need a break to get prepared. wtf?
What did people do in the days of no TV? Can you all imagine how many children I would have then? Oh and I gave up shopping for lent so it is a good thing I am already knocked up. No online shopping+ no TV=????

childhood, champions and chopsticks

It truly never crossed my mind that it would be emotional to clean out my childhood home. It didn't take long after entering the house that the emotions hit me hard. It is amazing how many things bring back memories of years past, such as a comb or tin can that used to house cookies. There is still so much to do that it makes me tired just thinking of it. My boy Aaron was a great help and nice distraction today.

After the clean out, Aaron and I headed to mother/son bowling. This is a school event and it was really kind of fun. We bowled two games with 2 other families and I won the first and Aaron won the second. Very impressive considering how unathletic we both are. Just goes to show that bowling shouldn't be listed as a sport. LOL.

To end this busy, busy day we went to mass and then Kyoto. Charlotte loved the fire and cooking right at the table and even used her cheater chopsticks for the whole meal.

cloth vs disposable

I just added myself to the list of crunchy moms. Well sort of... I just entered the world of cloth diapers recently. Gone are the days of diaper services and folding dipaers and adding plastic covers. Cloth diapers have evolved in style and cost. For a mere cost of 400 to 500 dollars you can diaper your baby from birth to potty. It may be a lttle late for me to worry about my carbon foot print. It took 5 babies to get here. Maybe I have had so many kids that I need a new challenge. ( Vi is having severe diaper rash). So here I am adding more laundry to the piles I already have but I have to say the diapers are so cute. I will let you know how flushing poop and rinsing and washing soiled diapers goes. One thing is for sure I have spent enough money that I have to stick with it now.
For anyone willing to give it a try visit http://www.nickisdiapers.com/

Marriage

Marriage is for better or worse, richer or poorer, sickness and health. 20 couples renewed those vowels at  church tonight after they attended a  marriage retreat today. As I sat there wondering what drew those couples to such an event I was also feeling a little sorry for myself. I was at mass without my husband which is a usual occurance these days. See I got married with those same vowels but I also was hoping for a partner to share evening dinners with and weekends,holidays and trips with the kids.I had that for awhile and then my husband just stopped. He married his job and abandoned us. I was wondering if the marriage retreat handled such problems today as everyone looked so happy as they renewed their vowels. I know God wants us to be thankful for our blessings but I can't help but want dinners, weekends, holidays and family time added to those vowels. At 41 I feel like I will probably spend the better part of the rest of my life alone and my kids with a part time father.
Life is full of bad choices and the worst one ever was to buy into a restaurant. If you ever think you want to just call me and I will change your mind. If your daughter ever comes home with a man who aspires to own a restaurant, send him packing. Worst thing about choices are that not everyone views them the same. Some peoples dreams are other peoples worst nightmare.
My dream is a normal family life. Joey's is a succesful restaurant. Stay tuned to see how this one plays out!