Another School Year Begins..

I can't believe how fast this summer went, 3 months seems to get shorter each year!! The kids were more than excited to start school this year and I was ready to let them go..HA! It has left things a bit quiet for Janaya and I but in 2 short weeks she herself will head to her last year of pre-school, ya I know, crazy!!

Julia started 5th grade with Mrs.Sims as a teacher, she was also my 5th grade teacher. She was a bit nervous but said her first day was ok and it would be fine!

Jordon started 3rd grade with Mrs. Nelson and for SPED Miss. Gabriel. He said he had a great day and he likes his teacher!!

Jackson started 1st grade with Mrs. Hojer and LOVES her. She was also Jordon's 1st grade teacher so I already know how awesome she is!!

This was our group on Thursday...CUTE bunch tho!

And here is Friday...where did all the kids go??!!

Camping and Rowdy

300 Posts!!

For my 300 post celebration I thought I'd bring out a little Hanna Montana singing...

5 years!!

Today Brit and I celebrate 5 years of marriage!! So many things have changed since that day and we've done so much together! It was a rough start and the odds were against us but today we are stronger than ever and still going!
I'm not sure we'll go anywhere tonight but will probably go to the Olive Garden with the kids tomorrow night when we take them school clothes shopping!


Happy Anniversary Brit, I LOVE YOU ALWAYS AND FOREVER!!

Weekend Recap

This weekend was my 10 year High School reunion. I can't believe its been 10 years already but when I look around at all the people and my own life I see so much change and growth, I know it must have been! It was fun and a good time, now working on the next 10!
Friday night we headed to Sioux Falls after work and ate supper with the kids plus Brae and Nat. (they came down Thursday noc for an overnight stay) Then we took all 6 kids to Auntie Courtney's place for the weekend! She has a pool at her complex so they were super excited. We stayed awhile and then headed to Walmart to make our bi-weekly contribution! It was a late night and then we just watched a movie until 4 am.
Saturday we were up at 9am and ready to go but had no "specific" plans..HA! We went and visited some friends and checked out their new cows and messed in the garden for awhile. When we got back to town we did what seemed like an overhaul on the interior of the van and she looks new again!! We came home and relaxed until it was time to go to the reunion supper. We carpooled with another couple out to Geno's and had dinner and some drinks on the patio. The plan then headed to town and visited a couple places in town but mostly The Stadium. That was the first time I'd been there and thought it looked pretty nice. Another late night of fun!
Sunday we slept in and then got up cooked breakfast together and then went to get the kids in SiouxFalls. We took them to Walmart for a new Playstation controller and out to lunch and came home. Now it's time to hit the laundry for me. Hope you all had a good weekend!!

"Crawbad" Fishing

When you were kids did you fish for Crawdad's?? I did with my brother and sister at Memorial Creek, we used string and liver or hot dogs. Jordon and Jackson have spent much time at the creek by our home and at G-ma's trying to catch them. Today a guy that lives over here and I went to school with told them the best way to get em was the way I used to do it...oh ya DUH mom! So after lunch I "hooked" up 7 strings with meat and off they all went to fish for "crawbads" (this is what Jordon calls them). About 30 mins later Janaya came in and some how accidentally fell in the mud,or so she says. Another mess...another fun time at the Boedecker's!!

Make Up My Mind!!!

I'm getting a haircut Friday...from a famous hairstylist...

I have my 10 year HS reunion Saturday..

I'm 28 and want to look it...

my hair is in the middle of my back...

PLEASE HELP ME DECIDE WHAT TO DO WITH IT!!!

It Has Arrived...

Julia playing the basic notes!

Practice...Practice...Practice!!

Julia is very proud and very excited to be able to learn!!!

BIG Lesson Learned...

Julia learned quite a lesson this week or maybe a few?! She learned the VALUE of a dollar, the VALUE of hard work and your earnings and a bit about friends and how FORTUNATE things can turn out! Ok ready for the story??
Julia has spent much, much time in the last 6 months or so babysitting and earning money to buy things she wants and go places . She did alot of work watching Brae and Nat overnights for Auntie Courtney and alot for me as well. She bought herself a Nintendo DS ($140) and also has 7 games ranging from $20-$30 all on her own and LOVES to play with it. It is very special to her as she worked so hard to get it!
On Monday her and her friend "K" took some of the kids over to the park and "K" had brought Julia's DS along and Julia didn't know about it. When they were on the way back they stopped at the batting cage to play and "K" sat it down by the cage and Julia noticed it then. They played and came home. Later on that evening Julia realized that it was gone and remembered seeing it there, we rushed over and it was GONE!!! She panicked and we called "K" to see if she grabbed it, NOPE!! Now we had noticed 2 boys over there earlier and knew who they were but left it at that.
For 2 days she looked and "K" began to act different and avoided us and didn't want the mothers to talk and things were not good for them. Finally on Wednesday I said "Julia you know the boy at the cage from school lets call and ask if he happened to see it there"? We did and he was gone but she left a message with his mom and that was that. We went on and just before supper the boys mom called and we talked, he had come home and asked for money to buy this DS that the other boy found at the park!! His mom quickly called me and we got stories straight and she gave me the name of the boy who had it. I looked them up as we know them from bowling and called only to find their number is no longer in service...UGH! I wrote down the address and talked to "K" mom and the girls did some mending of the friendship.
Supper we drove over and her and Brit went to the door to speak with the Father of the boy, just wanting to look to see if it was hers! To their surprise the girl who answered the door was PLAYING it !!! Brit asked for a parent and told him the situation and the Dad said yep this is it no problem and told the girl to give it up and get the case and games...and to make sure it was ALL there!!
Julia was so lucky to have this end this way, she got it back totally unharmed and in working order. Also all the games were there and the case!! She was in tears and so overwhelmed, she said she knows now and will always take care of HER things!!

Band??

I was never in band in school, were any of you?! I did play the Piano for a few years and took lessons which was fun! Julia announced at the end of school last year she signed up for band and was gonna try the Trumpet! I decided to not buy one this summer in case she changed her mind! They had told us we could rent them from the school so I planned on that. Band started yesterday for the 5th grade and I went up with her wanting to "rent" one, nope you have to go to 1 of like 10 places..confusing! So I took down a website and headed home and for a reasonable price you can rent to own them from Taylor Music in Aberdeen and it will be here hopefully within a few days. She stayed for the lesson and has it again today and Thursday this week. Will post pictures when it arrives!!

On Average...

So I had a thought today while cleaning the kitchen about how much of everything we use or go through. I thought I'd share with you.

On average I or we go through...
1 gallon (or more) of milk every two days
2 gallons of juice a day
2 bags of garbage a day
10 paper plates per meal (excluding supper)
2 loads of the dishwasher
2-3 loads of laundry a day
1 11 pound box of powdered laundry soap every 2 weeks
1 pack baby wipes week
I change about 12-14 diapers a day
GALLONS of water
we go grocery shopping (including household misc) every 2 weeks and average $$$
I/We sweep 3 times a day
I vacuum daily
and I find time to raise and love children and receive on average 100 hugs and kisses from smiling children DAILY
I find that life is busy and expensive but in that I find LOVE AND HAPPINESS!!

HAVE A GREAT DAY!!

Dr.Visits

I know I mentioned a few weeks or posts ago that Janaya and Jordon had some upcoming doctor visits but didn't give a report.
Janaya saw Dr. Karmazin at Sanford Children's on July 25th for what was suspected to be Hypothyroidism and we were quite nerved at the thought of her starting medication at 4yrs old that she would have to probably take the rest of her life! When the doctor came in he was so cheerful and about laughing at her case, I a bit alarmed didn't understand his humor?! It turns out to our benefit the lab made a "mistake" and that she in fact has no Thyroid problem and the 2nd test showed her to be absolutely normal!! YAY!! So we just discussed ways of helping a child with "eating" behaviors to control it! Most of the time I was finishing his sentence or saying "Ya we already do that" because of the program we did with Jordon when he was having such trouble! Anyway GREAT doctor and a healthy girl!

Jordon saw Dr. Blake again on Monday the 28th of July. He is down 7 pounds!!!!! Huge accomplishment for him, and he is 52 1/2 inches tall now! He looks very good and well proportioned! Dr. Blake was very pleased with how the summer is going as opposed to how most of our summers have gone. Jordon needs complete STRUCTURE and if you sway so does he! I am spending my 2nd summer home with the kids and notice quite the difference.
Jordon still continues to struggle with a few behaviors that we can't seem to find a way to stop them completely. Sometimes they are not so frequent and sometimes daily. The first problem which is also our most troublesome is bed wetting! This happens about 5 out of 7 days and is not pleasant for Jordon or I. We wash bedding DAILY and usually replace it quite often. Now to help we have plastic on the mattress and he is limited on drink in the evening and always goes before bed! We talked a bit about medications to help but the side affects are not pleasant and Jordon has always had issues with side affects, if they are possible he gets them!
The second behavior is Stealing. If Jordon wants something he will focus on it (OCD) until he gets it. He loves money, tools and cars and trucks. He takes money from me on a regular basis but I almost always catch it and retrieve it. He has on two or three occasions taken from a store ranging from candy to a toothbrush (it was a spinning one)! We are constantly working to teach him the consequences of his actions. Dr. Blake put it quite frank, " if he steals and gets caught they aren't going to always say oh he has a disability so its ok" ! I have often thought of trying a "mock arrest" but don't know if I can get that done or how to do it, I just know Jordon learns from experience and hands on, words don't phase him and thats just how his mind works?!
On the other hand doctor says Jordon is better than he ever hoped he'd be and to keep up the good work!! I'm not perfect and I don't really know anyone who is so he can't be expected to be either!! We will start the school year and see him again in January 2009. I'm interested to see how school goes as he will not only have a new classroom teacher to deal with but also a new Special Ed teacher as well.

It is a month from school starting and time to start shopping for school supplies and clothes and shoes and oh my goodness!! HA! I also have my 10 year HS reunion this month and my Anniversary as well. Fun and busy thats my motto!!

Braedyn and swimming

This weekend we took the kids fishing and swimming out at Lake Herman. They love doing both of these alot. My sisters kids are still staying with us and its looking like they will go this weekend to visit there Dad and will either come back on Sunday or start a new daycare in Sioux Falls where they will live. They have been with me 60 plus hours a week for the last year and now constantly for almost 2 weeks, we are VERY attached and I'm just like mommy to them and Brit daddy so I'm not looking forward to the seperation and trying to find a way to handle it smoothly for them. I got some hurt feel bads about it though!
Other news Daycare is still full, and even though Brae and Natalye will be going I have 2 more 3yrs and 1yr starting within the week. Its a full house, it took some time but I feel satisfied with how I am doing!!
Would like to share an idea Brit and I have been talking about and maybe get some input from others?! We are thinking about trading this mobile home in for a new and double wide model? I have been eyeing one from Iseman Homes in Sioux Falls that is 28X70 4 bed 2 bath and would have 500sq ft extra room and has a family room in the middle plus a more formal living room. That room could be for daycare to keep it more seperate from our personal space and things. My children really do well with sharing there things and letting kids play in there rooms but they would like some "private" space and should its their home! It also would have all brandnew GE stainless steel appliances. It can be checked out on line its New Moon model. Any input would be helpful!

I also am posting a video from the lake swimming, a few weeks ago Brae would play mostly on the beach and not in the water much or without help!

It's Monday...again..

I always dread Monday's as they are forever BUSY and things just seem to be in dissaray. It takes all morning to get it right and then it's better. Today is Monday...and once again it's just off and the phone started ringing at like 8:30 and didn't stop for like hours. I had doctors to call and doctors calling me, friends and family needing help and one more thing...oh ya 10 kids. Thats another paragraph though. HA! For starters Jordon't meds, he takes 2 of them daily every month and on Friday we hit a glitch. Anyway after mix ups it got straightened out and we have the meds. Even one day honestly throws him off!
Then the clinic called about blood results from Janaya that were taken Friday at her pre-school physical. We discussed concern for her CONSTANT hunger and weight. She is 43 inches tall and 59 pounds at 4yrs old?! The problem: her Thyroid! Her levels are low and Dr. Beecher said she will need to check again this week and she needs to see a Pediatric Endocrinologist. That is all set up for July 25th! She said she may need medication to help, YIKES at 4!!! We will meet the doc and see what happens, my mom has issues with hers as well so I might wanna have mine checked, Julia's has and is fine.
Also have two house guests for the week, my sister is looking for a new place in Sioux Falls and in a bit of a struggle so they are staying with us!

OK, onto all these kids, 4 of them are mine to start! Then I have a family of 3 baby Tray's (6 months) 5 yr old brothers started daycare last Monday, they are twins! Then I have baby Camden (2months), a 3 year old boy and my niece (3) and nephew(2). Last week all 11 for the whole week, this week it will be just 10 now till Friday. I went from sort of busy to BUSY, HA!

We had a very relaxing weekend. We hung out alot and did some fishing with the kids. Julia got to go to Wild Water West again on Friday with her Godmother and her daughter all day...Oh I wished it was me...HA! I hope everyone has a good week!

Change of Plans...

Many times in life plans change and sometimes in a hurry! Thursday evening we had to make some big changes in our weekend!! It came to my attention during Julia's party that my step brother Jason was coming for the 4th and we don't see him much ! And then I found out that my sister was going to be having her baby that night!! WOW!! So we had to weigh some things out and decided to not go to Rapid. We instead went to Wild Water West Friday and then shopping in Sioux Falls during the day and then watched fireworks here in Madison with family!

The big news is Rowdy James Meyer was born Thursday July3rd, 2008 weighing 10 POUNDS even and 20 inches long, a very BIG BOY!! He and mom are doing well after a c-section as baby was breech. They released them on Saturday so they came directly to Madison from Yankton and everyone is enjoying the new baby!! I posted 3 slide shows from the last couple days! It was a totally great weekend and everyone had a great time!!

Check out my Slide Show!

Check out my Slide Show!

Check out my Slide Show!

Happy 4th of July!

I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy 4th of July! I hope everyone has a fun and safe holiday weekend! We will be leaving for Rapid in the early am and looking forward to some FUN STUFF!! This afternoon we have a b-day party for Julia at Gigglebee's! Will post pictures and all the other fun stuff when we get home!!
Happy Birthday to the USA!