Homemade Ice Cream-Wordful Wednesday

Recently, I was honored to care for my friends pets while they were on vacation. On the way to her house we saw a sign for homemade ice cream. So on the second trip we stopped to get ice cream. There was no denying that it was homemade. I am so glad that we do not live close to her or I would be in real trouble. Pamela

34 Weeks

I cannot believe I will be 34 weeks this week. I had our first daughter at 35 weeks. I saw the OB this week and he said things look good. Said he would see me in 2 weeks. This OB is really funny. He really takes his time with me. He always walks in and checks the heart rate and then sets down and talks and then has to come back and check the heart rate again because he forgets what it is. He is a older man. I really respect him because he stands up for what he believes but does not judge. Like he does not believe in getting your tubes tide. So he will just tell you someone else has to do it. He told me this week that he cannot work late every night. So so cute. Sadly, I am not guaranteed to see him. Actually my next visit is with someone else. And who knows who will deliver this blessing. I am definitely feeling pregnant. I get up at least twice a night but most nights it is more like 4 or 5 times to go to the bathroom. Then I am usually up for a hour trying to fall back asleep. What I would not give for a night of full sleep. Sadly, I did not sleep before I had the baby. We pulled out the basinet but I need to get it out of the box and cleaned up. I also got my Ergo. I cannot wait to try it out. I would love to have your opinion of the Ergo and any suggestions you might have. I only have 4 more shots left. While I am glad they are working I will be so glad to not have the reactions to them every week. I have a question, did you take something for the labor and delivery nurses when you went in? I had never heard of it before but am thinking about it now. I may make some cookies and put them in the freezer. That way I can just pull them out and by the time we got to the hospital they would be defrosted. I guess I should start thinking about packing a hospital bag. I am telling you this pregnancy is getting away from me. On a funny note, this afternoon I went to a neighbors and there little girl asked me what was in my stomach. I told her it was a baby boy. If you had seen her face you would have thought she thought it was a alien or a growth. She then asked me how it got in there. I told her to hold on and went straight to her dad and told him he could answer that question. Pamela

5 Question Friday

1. What is your best secret cleaning tip? Several times a day we stop and pick up. It does not make for a clean spotless house but it helps us really clean when we need to. And it gives us a path to walk through 2. What is your favorite food to snack on during movie night? Movie theatre popcorn is my favorite snack ever. I will go to the movie theatre just to pick up popcorn. Actually tonight I am making Oreo popcorn. Which means I pop popcorn and cover it in crushed Oreos and white chocolate. 3. If it was up to you, what would you have named the royal baby? NOT ALEXANDER, because we picked that name 8 months ago and I am sad that people will now think we chose that name to match his. Seriously, I do not know what I would have named him. I cannot imagine the pressure this young couple is under. 4. If you could be any Disney character who would you choose? Hmm, is Mary Poppins from Disney? If not let’s pretend she is. Oh to snap my fingers and my house be cleaned up or to jump into the side walk. Or even better to not have to pay for my children to ride the merry go round. 5. What's the most important part of a healthy relationship? Communication is the number one thing to have a healthy relationship. If you cannot talk then you have nothing. No amount of money or objects can make a good relationship. This is across the board in relationships. Relationships with your spouse or your children or your friends. Pamela

Feeling Beachie

This week’s statements: 1. I don’t have a lot of _tolerance for children who feel entitled and not willing to work for things they want._____ 2. When it is a _Sunday afternoon_____ I hate when it _means I cannot take a nap and relax_____ 3. When I was little, my dream job was _to be a nun (I was not a nun) or to be a teacher_________. 4. I could write a book about _how to get up and get kids out of the house in 20 minutes or less or how to be on time for every occasion.

33 Weeks and a baby shower

I will be thirty three weeks this week. I am feeling amazing. Well as long as this stinking allergy issues are gone I am feeling great. I am getting bigger by the day. Actually we were eating out the other night and this stranger looked at me and said “YOU ARE HUGE”. Most people would be offended but I love it. I love looking pregnant. Last weekend my friends hosted a baby shower for my new blessing. To say that I was over whelmed with love is a understatement. Most people do not get a baby shower for their seventh baby. They spent a ton of time making sure every detail was thought of. Everything from the decorations to even getting new mom necklace for me to wear. The food was amazing; the love that came from each person was amazing. I still can hardly believe the amount of work that was put into this shower. Let me explain something about my 2 host. One recently found out that her mom has cancer (for the second time) and had just returned from 3 weeks of visiting her mom. The other hostess recently lost her driver’s license because she is having seizures and the doctor cannot seem to get it figured out. We are not talking about two ladies who have nothing going on in their own lives. We are talking about two amazing women who although they have so much going on in their personal life they made sure that I felt loved. Another funny thing happened, although no one was told it turned out to be a monkey themed party. I had everything from a monkey diaper cake to monkey outfits. This baby is definitely loved by the ladies of my church. I will never forget how special this day was for me and my girls. Actually only two girls came to the shower. Grace was concerned that her finger nails and toes nails did not match. Hope on the other hand had no desire to go. She said why I would want to brush my hair and get dressed for a baby party. I love how each child is different. I have another appointment with the OB this week. Not expecting anything exciting but excited to hear his precious heartbeat. If the books are correct this little blessing is 18 inches long and weighs about 4 pounds. I just cannot imagine. I guess I need to decide if I am going to tour labor and delivery. Part of me is scared that I will not like some of their policies. On the other hand I should probably at least know where labor and delivery is in the hospital. Pamela

Five Question Friday

1. What is one thing you have too many of in your house? Too many school books, too many toys, too many unfinished cleaning projects. 2. Did anything go not quite as planned on your wedding day? Nothing went as planned. I should so write about this. We had a hurricane hit 20 minutes before the wedding. My in laws were over an hour late making the wedding an hour late. We had no electricity and it was crazy hot. I even had the words obey taken out of my vows. Oh how I would love to be able to renew our vows and start fresh. 3. What is your favorite summer smoothie recipe? Bananas and chocolate or banana and oranges because I do not love fruit. But with the kids anything goes and I love making them. 4. What is the weather like where you are? HOT HOT and HUMID. I honestly am rarely outside. Last summer it was hot and I still walked every day because I was trying to lose weight. This summer for whatever reason I cannot breath and I am pregnant so I stay inside. 5. What is your favorite book to read to your kids? I love you forever, because I can sing it to them. I just can’t skip a week so here are last week’s questions. 1. Would you rather pay for house cleaner or spa day? Oh a house cleaner, please someone send me some help. I mean someone who starts at the ceilings and works their way down. Someone who changes the sheets and re folds everything in the linen closet. Oh please send someone. Someone who will not go tell everyone how un organized my bathroom closet is or how much dust is on my ceiling fan. Don’t get me wrong a spa day would be great but the next day I would tense back up and it would not be worth it. 2. Who plans what gifts you get for holidays, you or your spouse? Sadly my spouse, he ask what I want but then either does not get it or has me do all the work to make it happen. He is not a gift giver. 3. How many hours of sleep do you get? Do you need more? Oh man, after my last daughter my thyroid went into crazy mode. Between that and being in the hospital for 5 weeks my body does not know what sleep is. Rarely do I get a whole night’s sleep. I normally sleep a couple of hours and then am up for several and then asleep just as the kids wake up. Now that I am pregnant I am up every 2 hours to go to the bathroom. That makes it worse because once I wake I am up for a while. 4. Do you like your hair long or short? Long because it is so curly. I have dreamed of short hair. My husband actually wants me to try short hair but NO WAY. I am a 20 minute shower and dressed person. So the thought of actually straightening it daily would never happen. 5. When was the last time you were pulled over and what was it for? Oh man, I think I wrote a blog post about it. A few months ago I was pulled over for drinking and driving. Only here is the thing. I have NEVER had more than a drop of alcohol in my life. I have always wanted to be able to have a glass a wine before bed but the taste is nasty. The guy even questioned my sticker that said I had 6 kids. He said “you really have 6 kids and do not drink”. It was horrible and in the end he admitted that the light over my license plate was out and he just needed a reason to pull me over to check for drinking and driving. Pamela

Feeling Beachie- 2 for 1

I was crazy busy last week and did not get to link up so this week you get a 2 for 1 deal. This week’s statements: 1. Lately I have been _dealing with allergies that cause me not to be able to breath__ and it is driving me crazy 2. I sometimes have a _reality check that a new blessing is coming to our house and I remember to start getting ready for it___ 3 .My favorite type of music is _praise and worship___ because _it puts me in the right frame of mind and i do not have to worry about my kids hearing it. Although when my husband is deployed and I am missing him I turn on some country patriotic music and sing away.__ 4. I’m always amazed by how much _laundry__ my _children ____ can make. Last weeks: 1. I never _sleep in, I may lay in bed until 8 or 9 but I am never asleep past 7 and even that is late for me.__ 2. _Pedicures are hard for me, I love how my feet look afterwards but I never relax while getting them. 3. My favorite place is _somewhere that fits all of my children___ to vacation in the _country___because I dislike going to a place that is not a age appropriate for all of my children. I want someplace that everyone can enjoy without separating. 4. The best concert I’ve seen was _Chonda Pierce__in _Alabama___because__she is so honest and so funny and touches my heart.__ Pamela

Boys will Be Boys

Boys will be boys. I have to first admit that my friend Lindsie took these pictures. She is one of the very few people I let take care of my blessings. James loves her house. Not because she feeds him constantly like the other kids. Not because she lets him clean up the kids rooms like Hope does. Not because she braids there hair or paints the nails like the girls do. James likes her house because she has dirt in the backyard. I think James and Eli are determined to dig under there way out of the back yard. Who cares that there are bubbles and a trampoline and playground equipment in her back yard. All they care about is dirt and digging. I think the reason I like Lindsie keeping my blessings is because she does not care if they get dirty. She let’s them be kids. Pamela

Thirty-Two weeks

Thirty-Two weeks this week. I cannot tell you how amazing that will feel. I had a amazing pregnancy week. My amazing friends threw me a baby shower. A baby shower for my seventh child never would have expected it. I will tell you more about it later because it was to amazing not to give its own post to. This baby boy is wild I tell you W-I-L-D. I told my husband I think he seriously has a blunt object in there and he is scraping it around. His movements are almost painful sometimes to the point of startling me sometimes. I read at 32 weeks he should weigh 4 pounds. I can hardly believe it. As tired as I am I refuse to complain. I saw the OB this week and things look great. I will tell you now because I had kept it a secret. I was nervous that my water was leaking. It is not so I can relax. I have washed most of the clothes and have them put away. This week I am shopping for the car seat and baby carrier. Then honestly I am pretty much done. We received a TON of diapers. I love this picture because my belly totally photo bombed my friends picture of our daughters. I love having a big belly. Okay honestly I do not think it is that big. Can you believe I only have 4 more weeks of shots? I think I need to do something special for the nurses who shoot me up every week. Or wait maybe they should do something special for me. Pamela

Weird Animals

My animals are crazy. I do not know if animals realize I am pregnant or not but they sure act like it. The cat is on my lap every time I sit and this is not like her. The dog is just crazy. The other night my husband was putting cocoa butter oil on my stomach. As soon as the dog saw it he started licking my stomach. I think it is pretty gross if you ask me. It was so funny that I could not stop her until I took a picture. Even my baby boy has become snuggly with my belly. It is so cute, he just walks over and smells my belly and lays his head down. Then a few minutes later he walks away. One of the things I always wanted was for the dog to sleep with me. Sadly, until recently she would not calm down enough to lay there. She is a crazy dog. Maybe they all realize how much I love being pregnant. Did your animals go nuts when you were pregnant or are my animals just weird? Pamela

Can you burn a crayon

We have all seen the post that you can burn a crayon when you need a candle. I have seen it say that it burns for 30 minutes or 3 hours. So I had to try it. We did not use a Crayola brand crayon. It burned for 20 minutes. So I know two things. If there is a emergency and I am out of candles and batteries I can burn our crayons. I may have to put a box in our first aid kit. Please take a minute and vote for this little blog. It is the first time I have been nominated and then I lost the e-mail (I know not very professional). It does not require you to register. Just find my little blog. Probably down towards the bottom and click vote daily. Pamela

Dangled Carat

I am so excited to share with you something that I have been working on. I have talked about my hero often but not given a lot of details about how we met. As of this morning our love story was published on Dangled Carat. I cannot wait for you to read our story and hear what you think. I am thinking I will work on a part two to share what the last 18 years have given us. Pamela

31 Weeks and Growing

Grace said from day one that she wanted to be in the delivery room with me. Grace is 7, no wait, make that 7.5. When the subject first came up it was because I thought maybe my 13 year old would want to be there. She did not; she was very serious about not wanting to be there. But Grace was very serious that she wanted to be there. So we started talking about what would happen and what to expect. She was sure she wanted to stay by my head and understood she may have to leave at some point if the doctor wanted her to. The funny thing is that honestly I would be okay not having anyone in the room with me. I know that sounds weird. But I am someone who does better on my own. The other day I was driving down the street and discussing with my 16 year what his options are for when the baby comes and who he could stay with. From the back seat Grace said “WAIT, you did not say that I could go to my friend’s house”. I reminded her that of course she could spend the time at her friends. She quickly decided that she wanted to be with her friend and not at the hospital. I had to laugh, Rob says often that her cord was never cut and she is still attached to me. I assumed that she wanted to be the first one to see the baby. When really all she just wanted was not to stay home with a sitter. This child of mine cracks me up and keeps me guessing all the time. I cannot wait to see how things go with this baby. Will it be fast like the last three or will it take hours like the first one. Will he make it to 40 weeks like Michael or even 42 weeks like Hope. Or will he come at 35 weeks like Faith. I am just glad that he has not decided to come early like Grace and am enjoying every minute of being pregnant. This week I am 31 weeks. This baby moves a ton and I really think he is jumping around because my stomach bounces. He also has me up several times a night going to the bathroom. Pamela

Father's Day!

This year instead of Father’s Day, we celebrated Father’s weekend. On Friday my hero went fishing with friends and then spent the night in a hotel and going ocean fishing on Saturday. On Sunday my son took him to the movies to see man of steal. Father’s Day is not quite over because my daughter still has plans to take him golfing and has already paid for it. I like the idea of him doing things alone with the kids. It is a great time for them to bond without other people around. It is amazing what they have to talk about when no one is around. How did you celebrate Father’s Day! Pamela

Feeling Beachie

This week’s statements: 1. I don’t like _clutter, it seriously sends me over the edge. __ 2. I have a difficult time using _anything new, I want someone to stand beside me and teach me how to use it as I ask questions and only answer the questions I have. ___ 3. I love _documentary___ movies because _I do not have to feel guilt when I put the kids in front of the TV___ 4. I prefer to read _setting on my porch with a hot drink___because it is quiet and I can watch the animals run around the front yard and relax. Pamela

Singing

I do not know what is going on with my husband but he has started singing with my kids. Not beautiful songs but singing. The kids love to sing with dad because he sings silly songs. Every Wednesday night they fight over who is going to ride home with dad. And every Wednesday night he turns on something from the 80’s and they sing and dance all the way home. Faith and dad spent time picking out what songs they would sing and dance to at her wedding. As much as I cannot believe my baby girl will get married one day I love that she wants her daddy involved. I really feel blessed to have this man as my husband and the father of my children. Pamela

Wordfull Wednesday

Recently I went to dinner with friends. After dinner we were not done talking so we went to a local coffee house. It was nice and quiet upstairs. I did ask a waiter to take our picture but we came out looking weird. It was neat because while we were setting there a local band came and played. I was too embarrassed to walk downstairs and take there picture. And for some reason my phone was not taking good pictures. Have you voted today, today is the last day to vote. Pamela