last day of national foster care month

To celebrate foster care, here is a blog hop. Feel free to stalk these blogs for some foster care stories.

Enjoy and happy reading!!!!

Picture this . . .

An elementary school hallway,
lovely greenish,
during lunch time,
noise coming from the cafeteria,
kids running to the bathroom.
and the swings.
and the jungle jim,
then here is a girl,
with long blonde hair,
swinging as she runs down the hall,
with tears streaming down her cheeks,
into the office,
to get help getting the fork off her lip.


Yes, my Annie managed to get her fork stuck on her lip while eating mandarin oranges.  The tines on the fork were squished together.  Trust one of my kids to get their lip stuck.  Thank heavens for secretaries that pry the tines open and soothe my baby with ice.

Honest Monday

Alright, here is todays confession.

My number one regret in life.  Are you ready?

Drum roll please . . .




Not staying caught up on printing off my photos.

Years ago, I had an old fashioned film camera.  I would get those pictures printed off

1. because I was super anxious to see if my photos turned out and what was on each roll and

B. I would lose the film if I didn't take care of it quick.

But now that I have the past 7 years on a hard drive, I tend to leave them there. So when there is a sale on photo printing, I get a bunch.  Recently I developed 1095 and I am still not caught up. These are just the ones I want to scrapbook.  I need to get busy,  ahhhhhhhhhhh.



How about you, what do you do with you photos?  Do you print?  Store on a hard drive?  or digital scrapbook?  Regular scrapbook?  Totally curious.

P.S.  Did you catch my tribute to the sitcom Mad about You?  I loved the show.  I totally miss it  :(

Ew, lice

Yeah, I got my first question. (From someone other than me, that is  ;)




So I have a question for you Miss. I'm sure it's not something many people want to ask, but with how many kids you have I'm sure you would know what to do... What do you do if your child comes home with lice? What are some of the best things to do to get rid of those stupid bugs?
No we do not have lice right now, it's just a question!!!!  Kim


Kim,
     Ew, Ew Ew,  luckily, only one of our foster sibling groups brought in lice.  And we have been super lucky to not have gotten it at school.  knock on wood.  But this is the best way to get rid of it.  


1.  Coat your kids head in Mayo at least for over night.  I know, disgusting and hard to wash off.  But coat their entire head with it.  Goop that crap on.  Then cover in plastic wrap and stick on a shower cap.  
Put a towel over their pillow and let them sleep away.



When they get up, comb out the mayo into a bowl then wash away.  It might take a few shampooing to get all the greasy out, so use a kind shampoo.  Make sure you comb out all the nits.

Meanwhile, wash everything.  I mean everything.  If you can't wash it and dry it on the hot setting, stick it in a bag, tie it tight and leave it for at least 2 weeks.  Then vacuum.  Vacuum like you have never vacuumed in your life.  Vacuum from the ceiling to the floor. Even matresses.  (I never realized what a strange word vacuum is.  If you write it over and over, it looks like a made up word.  ha ha)  It makes you feel like your house is clean after the bugs make it feel like your skin is crawling.

Well, there you have it.  I bet we will now get lice, at least my head is itching like I have it.  How about yours?

2 tip friday

Okay, now another category for you.  How about 2 tip tuesday.  I will give you 2 tips that have helped me with my kids.

1.  Coffee filters instead of paper plates.  When you have lots of little kids and it is snack time, forget the paper plates, go for coffee filters.  They are way cheaper and thinner so in my little mind, they are better for the environment.  :)  Not really for wet things, like canned fruits, but for crackers or raisins or things like that, go for coffee filters.

2.   Magic erasers.  Maybe this one isn't new, or maybe it is just a reminder, but Mr. clean magic erasers are my best friend.


Seriously, My BFF.

Mark Zuckerberg is crazy.

So, I just read that Mark Zuckerberg said he wanted to get rid of the law that makes it so children under 13 could have a facebook page.  Right now, the children's online privacy protection act states that no one under 13 can be a part of sites like facebook.  I know there are parents that feel it is okay to let their children have facebook at a young age.  I have always felt that if the rule says 13, it should be 13.  I even had a hard time letting my 13 year old get one.  They are at school all day with their friends, why do they need to stay connected after school also.



 I used to call my friends and get a busy signal  Now my kids don't even know why the phone is making that funny noise.  If something happened to me, I had to wait until school to share the details.  I went to a Jr High awards night and texts were going off congratulating each other before they got a chance to sit down.  It is crazy.  Maybe I am old fashion or something, but it seems like kids are growing up way too fast.  Educational or not, there are too many scary people out there that can harm kids and use their info.  Kids don't have the capacity to know what  info to share and what not to share. Please protect your kids as long as possible.  Thank you, I will now step off my soap box.

Oh, and I would love to talk to Mark again after he has kids.

Wacky Wednesday

Okay, so I ws just talking with Kim and telling her about the awesome idea for this blog you were so kind to come and read. We were thinking of other themes for days. So what about wacky Wednesday. (Have you ever thought of what a weird word Wednesday is ? I don't even know if I am spelling it right. Where are my elementary kids when I need them?)

Faith started us on this webpage called wimp.com. It is super interesting. It has clips from all over the web, some funny, some interesting, some awesome. This one made me crack up.

I am sorry, you will have to click on the link to watch it. It is worth it.

http://www.wimp.com/japanesemob

Ha ha ha. What would you do if that happened to you. Halarious.

This next one is the one that Faith sent. Also super funny.

http://www.wimp.com/animalvoiceovers/ Totally worth a click.


I could sit here all day showing you clips off this site, however, I have got to get my house clean. My cleaning window is open and it is not open for long, so I gotta go. But this would be so fun to do with the kids.

http://www.wimp.com/icebubbles/

Hope you enjoyed Wacky Wednesday.

Happy News

Guess who is making a show with disney?  




How happy is that!!! It sounds like a cute show. Couldn't you watch him dance for hours?

"Set in present day, the comedy follows Gulliver Quinn, a grown man enrolled in the seventh grade after his family returns from a 15-year research expedition. The character Heder plays was living in a remote northwest India cave with his parents while they created a documentary film on a rare tortoise.


Jon Heder in NAPOLEON DYNAMITE.
Credit: Fox Searchlight Pictures
The Quinns return to their suburban home, with its 1990s décor intact, and years of stacked-up mail. At elementary school, Gulliver’s principal is far from his pal and his childhood crush is now the school nurse and, with budget cuts, head of the history department.

Disney XD is a basic-cable channel of live-action and animated programming targeting children in the 6-14 age bracket." (You can read the full article at http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=15664844).

Guess what? I have lots of kids in the 6-14 age bracket. I am so looking forward to this show already!!! Yes, I am a kid at heart. Who is with me?

Honest Monday

So, I thought I would jump on that bandwagon.  It seems like people have themes for days.  Like "what I wore Wednesday".  This great website http://www.lisaleonardonline.com/blog/2011/05/18/what-i-wore-wednesday-37/ does it.   I know for a fact that no one cares which pair of pajama pants I am wearing today let alone which old and stained t-shirt I am sporting.    There is also this one that is "what is on your workdesk"  http://stamping-ground.blogspot.com/2011/05/whats-on-your-workdesk-wednesday-101.html.  So since I am so dang clever, how about honest monday.  What do you think?  Pretty lame, right?  Oh well.

So here is my honest moment.   I love decorating.  I love how much is my house worth and decorating shows.  I also like my house to look good.  However, I have trouble finding the energy, money,and childless time.  So far my decorating is - photos of my children, quotes I can make with my cricket, gifts, or super clearance and dollar store.  I know, pretty sad.  In fact, I have adopted twins.  Blogger land people it seems, would run out to the nearest store and paint and decorate before their twins came. Now, I only had 2 days to get ready to bring my babies home from the hospital.  (They were not alone, I also brought their 2 year old sister.)  I have had the babies for almost 11 months and guess what?  Their bedroom is pink and purple with a Jonas Brothers poster on the wall.  Along with vinyl disney and a quote about dancing. Yep, my babies are boys.  I know, I am awesome.  I would love to have an unlimited access to money and just go buy what is cute.  Maybe when I win that lottery that I never play.

 I really want to make my house look like a model home, but I can always find excuses why not to do it. (such as braces or fixing a car)  My bigger boys room is decorated in BYU.  Well, there are no BYU bedspreads for sale.  So what do I do?  nothing.  Jason bought a spiderman bedspread with some birthday money and James just sleeps with what ever is on his bed at that moment.  The big girls picked out some cute bedspreads when we redid their room.  It is pretty cute.  Since I was forcing them to share a room, I did redo their room to say thank when we found out these kids wouldn't be going anywhere. And their room is not, I repeat, not very big.

Wouldn't it be cute to do the babies room like this?


http://pregnant.thebump.com/pregnancy/nursery-ideas/slideshow/baby-boy-nurseries.aspx?page=6

Oh well, maybe someday I will catch up and get done what I want to get done.  Do you have any confessions for Honest Mondays?

My first Question

Okay, so it is from myself, but I totally have a question


Dear Miss,
     I was wondering when the appropriate time to rid your child of a unibrow.  No joke.  There are children out there with a unibrow and I don't know how or what to do?
                                                                               Sincerely,
                                                                                  Yourself



Dear Yourself,
     My opinion is 6th grade.  I would pluck in 6th grade.  It is hard for me since I don't really worry or care about my eyebrows.  The only time I have plucked was by my sister at haircutting school.  I was her test dummy (no comment).   But I think 6th grade is around the age that kids start knowing thing and caring about what they look like.  But then, you know, if it doesn't bother your child, then who cares?  Looks aren't important.  As long as they think they are pretty, who gives a flying rats anything.
                       
                                                                                Good luck,
                                                                                        Miss

Okay, so that was my opinion.  What do you think? Do you agree with me?

Advice to new mothers of girls

I have 2 words for you. . . ELMERS GLUE

 

That is how you get those cute little bows to stick on precious baby girls heads.  Like this.

You probably think I am kidding, but I actually keep a glue stick in my diaper bag when I have baby girls.  Unfortunately, right now I have baby boys. Okay, so not unfortunately, I love my boys, but there is something sweet about bows and frills.

So, back to business.  I glue the bows on then they just come off with a little water.  If they get too gummy, you can soak the bows in water for a few mins. and the glue comes right off.  Awesome possum, right? You only use these bows for a few months anyways, unless you have a sweet little bald head, then maybe a bit longer.  ha ha. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

First order of business

For my first piece of advice. . .
     If you have kids close together, double stroller.  I can't tell you how much I love my double stroller.  When I only had two kids, it took both of them and a weeks worth of laundry to the laundry mat.  I have gone through many, many strollers.  Some are better for little babies, some for older kids.  I just depends on your situation.  Mine now holds 2 car seats since I have twins. That has been my lifesaver.

or even one like this

It depends on what your use is for, but I would definitely recommend a double stroller great stroller and that saved my life.  Thanks, Grandma.
My first 2 kids were 13 months apart.  My grandma was wonderful and bought me a
So, how did I do on my first piece of advice?

Here goes nothing

Alright.  So I am starting a new parenting blog.  You probably think it is stupid, but hey, I know a lot of about kids I thought I would help out others with it.  Here is a little bit about me.

My name is Melissa.  I have been married for 14 years.  I have 6 biological children and 3 adopted.  I have been a foster parent for almost 10 years.  I am heading down a new road now, with adopting special needs kids. So I guess the purpose of this blog is to answer questions and  share some things that have helped me.

I named this blog mom to 88 because that is how many kids I have been a mom too.  With 9 of my own and 79 foster kids, I have done a lot of parenting.  I have tried and failed with many things, but have succeeded as well.  Hope you enjoy.

Thanks for reading.