The Outspoken Mom Blog

You don't need to apologize for family time.

Good Evening Everyone!!

OH how I have missed all of you.  I am on vacation in sunny Florida and I haven't been able to get onto my blog.  Finally my husband has let his laptop out of his sight long enough for me to use it for a bit.  I was so sad to see that a couple days this week not one person read any of my blogs :-(

I know many of you read my blog daily so, apparently when I am gone and not writing I am out of sight , out of mind.  Oh how easily I am forgotten.  LOL.

So, we are on our annual family vacation in Sanibel, Florida and we are having a great time here and  reconnecting with each other.  It is wonderful not worrying about schedules and school, work or anything else.  Our family really relaxes and we spend time together just hanging out swimming, collecting shells, playing on the beach, playing games, just being together.

We often have to explain ourselves to our children's school each year as to why they are going to miss 2 weeks of school.  Last Friday when I went to pick up my son from his school, I told them he would be gone for the next 2 weeks.  My son then says, "Yep, I will be gone for 15 days."  Well, the office lady promptly looks at me and says, "15 days?  You can't be gone 15 days, we will have to release him from the school then."  Meaning, he will be expelled from school and need to repeat 2nd Graderk.  I looked at her and said, "Uh, we talked to the principal and he is only missing 9 days of school." 

Hello?!!!  Did she not think we had already talked with the Principal and told him and the teacher?  And since when is it too important for a 2nd grader and a Kindergartner to miss 2 weeks of school?  Now, I understand they will miss some things however, we do homework down here and we fully expect our children to devote some time daily to their studies while we are down here. 

But, we also believe it is just as important to reconnect as a family.  My husband tends to sometimes work long hours.  There are some days he never even gets to see the baby because he left before she woke up and came home after she went to bed.  Then, you add in family activities and school and just plain life and sometimes, family time is very little or non-existent.

We need this time each year to catch up with our family, to connect with the children and  frankly, just to have nothing to think about for a while.  As long as our children continue to excel in school and don't fall behind, we will continue to pull them out for 2 weeks each year to be together.

I think it will be especially important as they start to grow up more and spread their wings more and we get less and less of their time.  These are the formative years and frankly, I believe my husband and I are doing the right thing.  We want to be the biggest influence in their lives in these early years and we want our children to continue to value family time as they get older.  And if it takes them missing 2 weeks of school each year to do it, well, so be it.

Stand up for your family time!  Stand up for your children.  You are their parents...no one else is and sometimes, you can't always follow the rules when it comes to protecting that precious little time we have with our children before they are grown up and out of the house.

Now just so you all know, we do strongly value education and so do our children, however I believe sometimes education isn't only to be had in the classroom.  You can learn a lot from going other places too.

Blessings to you all and please excuse my typing...my husbands laptop has some really interesting'tricks' it does.  Like, when you are typingg and all of a sudden it pauses and starts typingg in some other random sentence up the page....yeah, it's neat but, at least I have a laptop to use on vacation!

Greetings to you all from Sunny Florida and I hope to be back to the blog for more soon!

-Liza

The Joys of Motherhood

Good Evening everyone!

I am just back from soccer and so tired but, the adrenaline is still pumping so, I thought hmmm, why not write a blog now.  I tried to surf the World Wide Web however, it seems the www has gotten smaller or I am just stuck looking at the same 4 or 5 websites over and over again.  Is it possible to be bored with the web?

Anyway, so here I am writing my blog instead.  So today I had another one of those, "Really?  Really?  This is part of being a mom." moments tonight. 

Wednesdays are our busiest nights as a family.  Many of you know we only have one car and it works 99.9% of the time.  However, on Wednesdays, it would be nice to have another one.  So, our 5 year old has dance at 545pm and our 6 and 7 year olds have church choir and club at 545pm.  Oh, did I mention they are on the opposite ends of town from eachother?  Thank goodness our little city is only 6 miles from end to end.

So, this afternoon the baby was struggling again.  She has been pretty needy lately, I am not sure why.  But, it has been hard.  I think she is in another 'ready for the next thing' phase.  I think she is bored with the phase she is in and ready to start moving around and being able to be more of a big girl instead of the 'baby'. 

Then, my hubby comes home and after a mis-communication on the phone and via text...oh again, for those of you who know us, I KNOW it is hard to imagine Steve and I not communicating super well :-)  Seriously, I don't know many people that talk to eachother as much as we do yet, we still somehow don't get all the facts.  Oh well, it is our charm.  So, anyway, Steve comes home a bit fussy.  Then, my son has decided since we are leaving on Friday for vacation, all rules are off and he can watch TV on a school night and doesn't have to do homework!

Oh yes moms, you get this afternoon don't you?.  So, we have breakfast for dinner..yum, yum and they all get ready to head off to their activities.

I bathe the baby and oh, she has a really neat new little trick she does now.  Her favorite thing to do is poop in the tub.  Oh yes, mmmm, pooping in the tub.  She loves it and is so happy afterwards.  Granted, it cuts her bathtime a lot shorter than normal!

So, now my other 3 yes, they all pooped in the tub however, they did it once, maybe twice, maybe 3 times but, none of them made it an almost nightly habit.  Steve thinks I should get the training potty out and when she starts grunting, put her on it.  I think that would be a good way to ruin her bath times but, I guess 8 months is probably an ok time to start potty training right?!  LOL.

So, I get her dressed, clean out the tub(oh joy) and then take her downstairs to play for a little bit.  I put the baby down, get a few minutes to myself and slowly, one by one, the children start coming home again from activities. 

I don't even get to see my husband as he granny dumps them off and takes off for his Bible Study night.  So, I put the children to bed and as I am getting one of them ready, Steve calls me to tell me that a couple weeks ago at church our 7 year old flipped off a teacher at church and tonight he was running around church and refused to participate or listen to anyone.  Oh joy. 

This is only a few days after I get a call from his Sunday school teacher letting me know that they were talking about 'enemies' in small group and they were asking the children who they thought might be their enemies and my son.....oh, yes, my son pipes up and announces 'black people are his enemies'.  I could just cry. 

Where this comes from in him I have no idea.  Especially since he has black friends!  Hello?!  We dealt with him doing this last year a little bit too.  We have figured out that when you ask him about certain people, he says, "oh no, I like them."  and when you ask him which 'black people' he doesn't like he can't name any and then goes back into the whole, he doesn't like black people rant.  I think we have figured it out that he doesn't understand why they have such dark skin and his is so light.  I don't think it is really that he doesn't like anyone with dark skin as he just doesn't get why they have different color skin.  Because when you see him at school, or on the playground or where ever, he doesn't treat anyone any differently.

Ugh though, it is horrible to get that call and to have to sit down with your child and try and figure out and explain things like that to a 7 year old.  It is hard and frustrating because nothing about my husband or I are like that at all and frankly, neither is anyone we know!  Plus, it just breaks my heart that my son is seeing a person that looks different and not only noticing it but, also saying bad things about it.

So, ugh, that is another 'oh joy' moment in my life right now.

Then, after I put everyone to bed, after a long sort of 'come to Jesus' talk with my son.  I get a little more quiet time in the house.  Ahhhhhh.  Then, I hear the footsteps coming down the stairs, oh come on!  I turn the corner and meet my son at the bottom of the stairs.  I do what every good mother would do and say, "Give me a break kid, what the heck are you doing?!"  Then, he tells me, "Mom, my butt hurts."  Again, in my great, lovingly way I say, "Get to bed!  Stop making excuses, I don't want to see you again tonight!"  He stands there for a second and says, "Mom, it really hurts."  I quickly realize he is telling the truth.  So, I ask him how he hurt it, he tells me he doesn't know.  Then, I ask him to show me where. 

Ok, thinking he is going to show me the lower back or a cheek or something I wasn't prepared for what he did.  He whips down his roos and bends over pointing right to the ole poop shoot.  Now, sort of taken a back by this.  I ask him, "Ok honey, where does it hurt?"  He stands up, looks at me like I am really dumb and bends back over and points right to 'the area'.  Hmmmm, ok. So in my nicest mom voice I tell him to move into the light and spread his cheeks. 

Oh really?!!!  Am I really doing this?  So I look, I move him some more, I look closer, I can't see anything!  I am half expecting worms or lice or something to come out and wave.  Is he going to fart in my face?  He could...he is his fathers son after all.   Again, can I say, oh joy?!

So, I look, I look, I look.  I don't see anything.  Not really sure if I am relieved or not.  He says it hurts and has hurt for a few days.  Again, silly me I ask him where it hurts.  LOL, this time he looks at me like he KNOWS I am dumb and points to it in a way I am definitely sure that is the spot.  Cringe.

I tell him I don't see anything and get even sweeter in my tone and ask him if he would like me to put some of the baby's lube on it for him.  (Baby lube is butt cream in the Schwab house)  He looks a bit mortified.  Then, oh joy, I remember that I have some leftover Tucks from when I had Libby (oh yes ladies, oh joy.) and tell him to quietly follow me.

I lead him to the bathroom, grab the Tucks and tell him what to do.  He looks at me like I am an alien.  I promise him it will help.  He still looks at me like I am nuts.  I give him a couple, tell him how to use them and then quickly leave but, not before telling him to wash his hands REALLY GOOD before he leaves the bathroom.

I think they worked because he went to bed without saying anything to me and I haven't seen him since.

Daily I am in awe of the things I see, hear, do, and say.  I think if people really knew what went on in motherhood, many people would decide against it or actually, I don't think people without children can ever really comprehend what really happens when you share a house with little people.

It is great, it is so rewarding, I love absolutely every minute of it.  Really, even the drop the pants bend over moments.  It is great and frankly, it keeps the job of a stay at home mom from ever becoming boring.  That is for sure!

Blessings to you all and a little FYI.  I am heading on vacation for a bit.  I am not sure if I will be able to write my blog because it seems I can't remember my user name :-)

Oh yes, I wrote down my password however, didn't write down the user name and can't figure it out so....I might write, I might not.  All depends on if I can figure out how I signed myself up :-/

-Liza

When I was younger, I walked up-hill both ways in a foot of snow....

Good Morning everyone !

Sorry it has been so long since I have written anything.  Our children had another long weekend this past weekend.  They had a 5 day weekend!  Do they ever have school anymore?

Seriously, after our 2 week vacation for Christmas and New Years, my children had school for one full week then, the next 2 weeks they had Mondays off.  Then, they had school for two full weeks then the week after that they had Thursday and Friday off and then this week they had Monday off.

Crazy that they have only had 3 full weeks of school since Christmas break.  Oh...then next week is a full week and the next week they have Friday off! 

Then, again, they have 2 full weeks of school and it is a week off for spring break.  Then, oh we have Good Friday off and the list goes on and on.

Seriously, even if I wanted to work, I don't think I could because of all of their breaks.  Now, for me, I don't really mind the breaks most of the time because I do enjoy having my people with me at home and I love being around them.  However, I worry about their learning being disrupted so many times.  I worry about them missing certain classes that only meet certain days.  I worry that the children that are behind academically really will never be able to catch up.

Or those children where their parents have no where to put them on days off.  I am sure there are some children that end up staying at home alone while their parents work.

And what about those ever present and important statewide tests!  How are children supposed to be prepared for them if they aren't in school very often?!

Again, I am not really concerned too much about my children, I love having them around and frankly, not too concerned about them academically either however, they go to school with many children that don't have the advantages we do.  They also go to school in a school district that has a very high percentage of Hispanic children.  How are these children supposed to catch up if they are home so often?!

These children need more schooling not less.  I think there should be optional study days that the parents run or that volunteers run instead of all of these days out programs that have the children eating pizza and playing video games.

In the poorer communities like mine, I feel the parents, teachers, school boards, and community need to band together and get these children the learning and study times they all need.  Form a vacation school or a place where children can go and learn and have fun that is either free or very inexpensive. 

A place where they are safe, watched over, and helped with lessons, or subjects they struggle in.  Then, let the children play OUTSIDE!!!!

Give them outdoor time that is longer than the 15 minutes of recess they get in school.  Let them play outside for an hour, maybe more!

Children need a bit more freedom in their play, a lot more structure in their lives, and more freedom in their ways they can express themselves.

Bring back Home Education classes like cooking and sewing, bring back shop, bring back classes that teach our children a vocation instead of just an academic education.

Frankly, I think we are doing our children a great dis-service not teaching them life skills that are so basic.  How many of our high schoolers or college age children know how to sew on a button, or hem a skirt?  How many know how to do basic woodworking?  Or how to even unclog a toilet?  How many know how to bake a cake, or make something other than noodles?  Can your high schooler/college kid make hard-boiled eggs?  Do they even know what an egg timer is?

I think we are so focused on 'education' we are forgetting that children also need basic life lessons.  Especially since so many are growing up in single parent homes, both parents are working or frankly, people are just too busy to teach their children life skills anymore.

How many of your children know how to knit, sew, bake, boil water, or make a bird house?

This are all just as valuable to know as math, science, reading and writing. 

Blessings to you all!

-Liza

Moms are nuts!

Hi everyone, hope you all are doing well.

Today, after reading some celebrity news, watching a bit of TV and really just thinking about myself and other moms, I came to the conclusion that mother's really are nuts!

Oh yes, we are.  I know we all have different ways of parenting, different ideals of a clean home, a good husband, raising children, even if we should work or not.  We are all very different and I think being a mom and hanging out with other moms, you start to realize, just how different everyone is in their parenting styles and really, what is considered normal in one family might be absolutely insane and crazy in another family yet, those moms might be best friends!

Like for me, before I had children if you would have told me I would let them eat off a filthy kitchen floor covered in dog and cat hair and who knows what else.  I would have probably been pretty put off and angry at you.  Well, hey, you would have been right!  There are sometimes dinner just needs to get made and it seems like those are the very same times the baby needs to be right by mommy so, you grab whatever snack you can find, put the baby down on the ground and hope they stay there just long enough for you to boil noodles.

Or some moms who are rabid car seat and booster seat users and others who pretty much pull them out of their cars as soon as their child can hold their head up....ok, maybe not that but, the moment they can buckle their own seat belt, gone are the car seats or boosters!  By the way, if you are wondering, I am the rabid car seat/booster user.  No one gets flipped facing forward until they are 20 pounds AND 1 year of age.  No one gets out of their car seat until they are 4 years old AND weigh 40 pounds and everyone is in boosters until they are AT LEAST 80 pounds.  Yes, I am a spaz and yes, I may let my child eat dog hair but, by golly, they are going to be in that car seat until they are 16 if I have to :-)

Or those moms who nurse until their baby weens naturally which in some people's case might be not until they go to Kindergarten and other moms who only nurse for the 6 weeks they have off for maternity leave or maybe not even at all.  Then, of course there are mothers that are everything in between when it comes to nursing.

There are even those moms who use wet nurses and those who are wet nurses.  There are moms who use donated breast milk and those who donate breast milk...then, there are those moms who just see a baby that needs food and just nurse it.  Oh yes, ladies, talking about Selma Hayek!  Have you all heard this, seen the pictures, the video?  She was in Africa visiting an orphanage and other places, villages and came across this baby that was malnourished and whipped out her boob and fed it.  Now, I do think it is great she was helping this baby out but, hmmmm, can you really do that?  Is that right?  I really have no idea how I feel about that!  Would I do it?  I am truly not sure.  Maybe I would, maybe I wouldn't I have never been in a situation like that to have to decide.

But, this is where I started to think mothers are nuts.  Truly nuts.  I know of a similar instance too.  My sister in law's children are both adopted and with her 2nd, they got stuck in bad weather at an airport with no bags, and ran out of formula for their baby.  A mother who was traveling without her children, offered to give them some of her breast milk she had just pumped for her child at home. 

What?!!!  Again, would that even occur to me to do?  First of all, let me tell you, if I wasn't nursing my children, there is NO WAY I would run out of formula as I am a spaz about making sure my children don't go hungry and if they were on a bottle, I would probably bring a whole can of formula with me.  Just how I am.  However, if I saw a mother with a hungry infant I wonder if it would even occur to me to offer my breast-milk and if it did occur to me, would I ever get the nerve up to ask them if they wanted it?!

Then, we can go even a step further and talk about the crazy lady who had 6 children without a husband, without a job, IVF, and then decided to have 8 more.  Hello, what was she thinking?!  She definitely gets thrown into the nuts mom category but, as I was watching her interview, my husband said something pretty interesting.  She thinks she is 'saving' those babies by having them.  She thinks that they will be born anyway type deal and she is helping them out by giving them life and raising them.   Hmmmm, sounds interesting, not sure if that is the case but, could be.

Now, as a mother, I am appalled.  I am saddened to think about those 6 older children, especially because one is Autistic and 2 others have special needs and more than likely some of these 8 babies will have some sort of special need.  How can one person truly give these children all she has to meet their needs.   She kept talking about how she would have money once she graduated and got a job...which by the way, she has a year and a half left of school.  But, what will she do with those children while she is at work?  How will she make sure all 14 children get what they need from her if she works?

Now, oh yes, here comes the controversy....what happens to children when their mothers work?  I personally think mothers are nuts that choose to work instead of choosing to be at home with their children.  I was raised by a working mother and for me, it sucked.  I felt alone a lot and frankly, I believe that is a strong reason why our relationship is strained so much. 

I think many women have ambition which is good.  However, if you are going to continue to work after having children, how much of your children's lives are you going to be involved in?  And if you want to go to all of those games, parent/teacher conferences, ballet recitals, play dates, etc.  How can you work, attend to your children, your husband, your house, and yourself not to mention your activities the family has and not be stressed out, tired and really be able to give your children your best instead of your work?

I truly believe women try to have it all and frankly, you can't.  I don't believe you can be the wife, mother, friend, worker you are truly meant to be if you try and do all of them.

Just looking at all of the school days off my children have had this year, the numerous activities they are involved with, the play dates, sports teams, lessons, homework, conferences, teacher lunches, school lunches, school breakfasts there are in a school year, how can you work?!  You will either end up sacrificing your marriage, your friends, your self, your children, or your job.  You can't have it all!

Now, for those of you who HAVE to work, I truly feel for you and think you are doing an amazing thing.  It is hard work and frankly, I don't know how you do it.  I am so tired all the time, I couldn't imagine trying to have a job too.  But, I struggle with women who choose to work after they have children.  That is hard for me.  Yes, send me all of your hate mail....I deserve it!

See, I told you mom's are nuts!  How could I not be nuts and write something like this blog?!

But, truly, some more examples of nut mothers.  Did you ever think you would/could change a diaper, talk on the phone and make dinner at the same time?  Ok, maybe this one is a bit extreme but, seriously, you have done something similar I know!

Mother's are nuts, we are crazy, I think you have to be just a little bit to do the things mothers are expected to do in life.  If we were all sane, we would crack under the pressure of life and trying to balance it all.

I love being a mother, it is the greatest thing I have ever done in my life!  I only pray I am doing justice in raising my children and I pray I am honoring God in how I am raising them.  So, here I sit, a little more crazy than the day before and on my knees praying we will all make it through :-)

Blessings to you all,

-Liza

*  So my husband read the blog this morning and made the best comment.."yes, moms are nuts but, they have to be nuts otherwise they would all quit."  Well said my love!

All is forgiven

Good afternoon everyone!

I am just home from Bible Study and it is a wonderful and rainy day.  Oh yes, raining in February in Minnesota.  Yuck.  Plus, almost all of our snow is gone now.  I can see the piles upon piles or dog poop in my backyard now...BLECH!  Seriously, that is so gross!

Why can't dogs be potty trained like cats to just poo in a box of some sort.  Can't I train our dog to just go in a large sandbox type deal in the backyard?!

Anyway, that is not my blog today, phew I am sure most of you are saying.  Today I am actually writing about something I have struggled with for a long time and I am so grateful I am learning more and more everyday about God's grace and love.

Being raised Catholic and in a non-Christian home was really hard I think.  Yes, I was Catholic and yes, a non-Christian too.  I didn't have a relationship with Jesus Christ and I didn't think that Jesus was my Lord and savior and I knew he died on the cross but, it didn't feel like it was truly for MY sins.

Today in our large group at Bible Study I learned something I needed to hear.  Since the day I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, I am reborn.  I have been saved and I am born again.  The sins of my past life before I knew the Lord no longer define who I am.  I am new in the eyes of the Lord and I should be new in the eyes of myself too.

Well, it has taken me until today to figure that out.  I have heard it before but, for some reason it didn't take hold until today.  I am new, I am reborn, I am born again and my past sins do NOT define who I am in the eyes of the Lord.

Praise God!  I have let the sins of my past still linger in my life today.  I have struggled with feeling like a hypocrite in raising my children to be strong in their faith.  I have often wondered how I can raise my children to be strong, to follow the Lord and life the life he wants them to lead if I didn't do that growing up. 

I thought I was the pretty typical teenager/young adult until I met my husband, started surrounding myself with believers and realized nothing I did growing up was as my husband likes to say, "anything to write home about"  That is a very mild way to put it.

I did it all, I smoked, I drank, I did drugs, I had sex, I lived a pretty rough lifestyle for someone who for all intensive purposes was still a child!  I thought I was above the law many times.  I thought I knew more than my parents and I fought authority.  I didn't want to be a 'goody-goody'.  I pressured my friends who were living a better lifestyle than I was to come to the dark side.  I pressured them hard.  I fell for every lie that was told to me.  I did it all.  I fell for all the lies and I told all the lies.

That lifestyle has haunted my brain for a long time.  No more.  I didn't know about God's love.  I didn't have a relationship with him.  I didn't have guidance and I didn't understand the freedom that comes from knowing the Lord and living in his word.  I had always known I wanted to know the Lord but, he had a plan.  He always has a plan.  I believe that.

I know that we all have free will and God gives us that free will because he wants us to choose him.  He will always be there for us, actively pursuing us, just waiting for us to turn to him and accept his never-ending love.

My life hasn't been perfect and I don't expect it to be.  God doesn't promise us things will be easy or things will always be good.  But, he does promise us his love.  He gives us freedom from this world.  He gives us grace and with his grace, he gives us peace.

I have that peace.  I have had it for many years now.  I just didn't necessarily believe I deserved that peace because of my past.  Now, I am willing to accept that peace and continue to follow God and the paths he chooses for me and my family.

I don't know what tomorrow will bring but, I know that my yesterdays are all forgiven in God's love.

Blessings to all of you today.

-Liza

Getting older

Good morning everyone!

I first have to tell you all, my baby, she went to bed last night at 7pm and got up for her normal 11pm feeding(a very quick one) and then slept in this morning until almost 8am!!!!!!!  Plus, then she went back down for her morning nap at 9am.  My husband and I have always said, "with sleep, you get sleep".  So true.  I am so pleased with my beautiful baby girl.

Isn't it amazing how your children sleep can affect your mood/day?!

The world looks so good to me today :-)

Ok, on to my subject....getting old...ok, sorry, I should be a little kinder and say, getting older.  However, frankly, I am just getting old!

Those laugh lines aren't going away anymore when I am not laughing, those frown lines in the forehead are getting a little deeper, there are more spots on my face, it takes a lot more to lose those couple pounds, and the most dreaded....the boobs just don't seem to be as 'perky' as they once were.  Oh ladies, you all are going through similar things, I don't think this is too shocking.  Except for, I never really thought it would happen to me.  Yes, I guess I was living in lala land.

I think the ultimate thing that might just throw me over the edge is when the gray hairs start coming in and I am going to have to start dyeing my hair.  Blech.  I was telling my girlfriend this the other day, there are NO good red head dye jobs...none!  They all look fake and they all wash out so fast or fade really bad.  Plus, you can always tell when someone is dyeing their hair when they have red hair.  So, do I go back to being a blond then?  Do I try and defy the odds and dye my hair red, or do I go with that dreaded gray?  I don't know, I sort of predict myself changing hair colors a lot as that is what I did for years when I used to dye my hair.  By the way, dumb but, I used to dye my hair blond!  How dumb is that when I have a really pretty color of red naturally?!

Oh, all the things we need to start thinking of as we age.  Long gone are the days of me getting carded.  Yep, gone.  It actually was just a couple years ago that I used to get carded every time my husband and I went out or I went to the liquor store...now, nothing.  The only time they ask for my ID is to compare my credit card.

I have also been studying my girlfriends faces a little bit more in photos...rest ladies...just the people I have known for years!  I keep an eye on their faces now more than I ever look at their figures.  I need to see how I am aging compared to them and if I need to take drastic measures.

Oh, by the way, I AM that shallow.  Sorry, it is true.  I am very vain.  You would never know it as I am the last one to actually spend time trying to do my hair, put on make-up, or even find a great outfit....that is all pure laziness on my part.  But, that is it.  If I wasn't so lazy and so gosh darn cheap, I would out-dress you all!  LOL.

I have quietly started looking for glimpses into my friends faces, are they having anything done yet, do they look the same?  Yep, they look the same, aging terrifically, oh gosh, I need to do something about myself!

So, I keep applying my creams, wrinkle reducers, lotions, make-up in just the right areas.  All trying to disguise or put off those dreaded wrinkles and saggy skin.

Now, I know I am horribly naive.  Really, always have been!  You could get me to believe just about anything because I am truly a very trusting person and it rarely occurs to me that someone could be lying.  So, I believe, I believe, I believe that none of my friends are doing anything to their bodies or faces.  And then......

....the 25 things you didn't know about me post hits face book.  OH MY GOSH!  Some of my friends are doing stuff to themselves!  Oh I feel cheated!  I feel robbed!  I feel....oh no, I am behind the game!  See, this is where my vanity comes in.

So, I inquire, I ask questions, I need all the information I can get.  Because as plain Jane as I seem to be, act, and look, I really have all intent of having work done eventually.  I just didn't expect people to be doing it in their 30's.  I was hoping to put things off until my 40's at least!

I will say also, I am A LOT of talk.  Yes, in my head I think I will eventually have that tummy tuck, a little bit of lypo here and there, Botox, laser hair removal, face rejuvenations, and such.  Nothing too drastic, nothing too major, just little things here and there.  Nothing that will change my look as I like how I look but, just a little 'refresher' here and there.  However, I know me too well.  I am a scaredy cat.  Totally.  Plus, again, the cheap factor comes into play here too.

But, I am interested, very interested in Botox....seems intriguing.  I am OVERLY interested and actively looking into Laser hair removal...oh yes ladies, you know.  After having children, all of those extra hormones running through your bodies, especially after having boys....there is a lot of hair sometimes.  It needs to go away!  Plus, it changes and frankly, I want it to go away.  Plus, I am a red head, shaving doesn't do my skin any justice.  Neither does waxing.  So, removing things forever, YES!

However, I hear there is a pain factor to consider and yes, I had 4 children but, not sure if I can handle the pain of hair removal.

So, back to Botox...could I, should I, would I?  These are all questions I have been asking myself.  There really is only one wrinkle that bothers me enough to put fake things in my body.  Yes, that is one of my major hurdles in plastic surgery too.  I don't want anything fake in my body. 

However, the day they come up with a way to put (pardon my words here) my a$$ into my boobs, sign me up!  I would love to go from an A-/B+ (a's too small/b's too big) to a nice full C, maybe even a small D!  Bring it on!  Why do you think I keep having babies and nurse them so long?!  hahahaha, ok, that is a joke but, really, who doesn't love their 'nursing boobs'?!!  I love being a C/D when nursing, it is fun and I actually can 'fill out' a top now with more than just my belly :-)

But, back to reality here...I don't think I could ever actually do a boob job as I don't like things in my body.  I feel like I have a responsibility to my children and frankly, I have 3 girls, what sort of an example am I setting for them if I have big ole boobs?  Now....for those of you who have them, don't get me wrong, I DON'T see anything wrong with them, just not for me....yet.

Besides, I try to limit plastic as much as I can from our home, and our lives, why would I put it inside of my body?!

So, the tummy tuck, I would be all over but, another thing comes into play here....how can I justify the risk of surgery just for something cosmetic?  I can't.  Granted now, if anything happened to me, I would be dead but, still....I could never forgive myself for depriving my children of their mom just for dumb selfish thing like a tummy tuck.  However, oh, I would really like to have one! 

I already have it planned how I would do it.  I would take a 'trip' a spa trip and stay at one of the places that do the surgery and then help you after wards.  I would more than likely have my face worked on a little bit and maybe even do some of the laser hair removal while I was under.  I mean, if I am going to be under, do as much as I can safely so I don't have to deal with the pain!

So, now most of you know I have NEVER, EVER been away from my children...ever!!!!  I have never taken a trip without them and have yet to spend an entire 24 hours away from any of them.  So, if you see me take off for a week some day...you will be able to have a little giggle to yourself knowing I am probably on my spa trip.

I know that this entire blog is so wrong and I am sorry.  I really am not consumed by all of this, or really that vain.  However, it has been something in the back of my head and after hearing of some of my friends doing little things here and there, I became a little more curious.

I am very curious to see if I would actually spend the money, the time, and the pain and effort to do something or if I will just do what most people in the past have done and just try and grow old gracefully.

I don't know, only time will tell.  Will I be that crazy old lady with the horrible dye job?  Will I have boobs down to my knees?  Will I have more cracks and crevices in my face than the Grand Canyon?  Again, I don't know but, it is interesting to be in this place in life where these things actually are becoming a reality.

I need to get my 5 year old to the Y for swimming lessons.  Blessings to you all!

Love your horribly vain friend,

Liza

My ode to housekeeping...expiration dates: 101

Good Afternoon everyone!

I am back.  Sorry I haven't written much, life has been throwing curve-balls and I have been striking out a bit.  However, things are coming back around and feeling a bit more normal again so, here I am writing to you all.

Today I thought I would write about expiration dates.

I am the kind of person that would rather throw something away than ever take the chance of getting food poisoning or anything so, very often our food gets thrown out WAY before it could ever make any of us sick.  However, like everyone, I do once in a while have a science experiment in my fridge, or under our kitchen sink or in our medicine cabinet.

I also married someone who was raised in a house that NOTHING ever gets thrown out!  My mother in law is the best, seriously the best.  I love her so much and she is really all I could ever have asked for in a mother.  However, like most moms, she has one or two faults and hers would be ignoring expiration dates.

Just to give you all a few examples...if you have ever been to our family cabin, you know that we have spices in the cabinets that came with the cabin when they bought it in 1972.  Now, we all know NOT to use those and even my mother in law never touches them but, they are there.  Or the bar of soap that has sat in the same dish under the sink since I have known Steve.  Or the feminine hygiene products under the sink from 1988.  Or the same bottle of Perma-Press from when Steve was in high school...OH or the box of Dreft laundry soap from when his sister had their babies(who are now in high school).

You know, cabins, they tend to have things like that in them.  Well, every once in a while I realize some things in my house are in danger of becoming like the cabin.

So, I am a rabid date checker and if something doesn't have a date on it, I usually throw it.  Doesn't matter what it is or how much it cost or sometimes even if it is open.  We only keep band-aids for a year or two.  Yes, I know they are supposedly sterile until opened but, have you ever noticed that many of the packets start browning and start peeling open by themselves after a year or two anyway?  Toss them!

So, I did some research of some food items and some household items and their recommended use by dates. 

First of all, a little FYI for all you summer cabin people...if you leave fresh food in the car even for 30 minutes....the storage times are greatly reduced for those foods.  Sometimes as much as 50% reduced.

Always follow your expiration or use by dates however for those things that might not have expiration dates on them, here are some guidelines:

Food:

Beer- 4 months

Brown Sugar- indefinite shelf life if stored in air-tight container(who knew?!)

Chocolate bar- 1 year (so yes, you can eat that Halloween candy you find in March!)

Coffee..(.ok, this one, I had no clue about.  I don't drink coffee but, always buy my hubbys at Costco....he doesn't drink that much...I will go back to buying the smaller containers after reading this....)  ground canned unopened 2 years, if opened 1 month! 

It gets worse for gourmet people...beans 3 weeks in paper bag, ground 1 week.

Dried Pasta:  1 year

Frozen veggies:    18-24 months unopened, 6 months if opened

Honey:  Indefinitely

Bottled juice:  7-10 days after opening

Ketchup:  4-6 months (opened)

Cherries(the jarred kind):  3-4 years if unopened, 6 months if refridgerated, 2 weeks if room temp.

Mustard:  2 years

Olives:  3 years unopened, 3 months opened

Peanuts:  1-2 years unless frozen, 1-2 weeks if opened

Peanut Butter: (another one I didn't know) Natural 9 months, processed 6 months if refridgerated after 3 months)

White rice:  2 years

Salad dressing: 9 months after opening

Steak sauce: about 3 years

Tabasco: 5 years

Soy Sauce:  3 months (oh...I need to throw mine out!)

Vinegar:  3 1/2 years

Wine:1 week after opening if corked and refridgerated

Now for household items...this is where I really need to purge!

Aerosal air freshner:  2 years

Anti-freeze: 1-5 years

Batteries:  alkaline 7 years, Lithium(you need to NOT use these...bad, bad, bad..whole other blog there Prius owners!) 10 years

Bleach: 3-6 months

Dish Soap(powder, liquid, gel) 1 year

Fire Extinguisher: 6 years

Laundry Detergent:  unopened 9-12 months, opened 6 months

Metal Polish: (silver, brass, etc) 3 years

Miracle Gro (liquid) 3-8 years (doesn't that seem like a big gap?)

Motor Oil:  if opened 3 months

Mr. Clean:  2 years

Paint: 10 years if unopened, 2-5 if open

Windex: 2 years

Beauty Products

Bar Soap: 18 months -3 years

Bath Gel 3 years

Bath Oil: 1 year

Body Lotion:  3 years

Body bleachers/hair removal(ie Nair) 2 years if unopened, 6 months if opened

Conditioner: 2 years

Deodorant: 1-2 years  (if it takes you that long to use up a thing of deodorant...you aren't using it enough!  You smell, use more!)

Eye Cream: 1 year

Face lotion:  w/ SPF check exp date(usually 1 year), all others 3 years

Foundation: oil-based 2 years, water-based 3 years

Hair Gel:  2-3 years

Hair Spray:  2-3 years (throw away that Aqua-Net from high school ladies!)

Lip Balm:  1-5 years

Lipstick: 2 years

Mascara: 3 months

Nail Polish:  1 year

Perfume:  1-2 years

Shampoo: 2-3 years

Tooth-whitening strips:  1 year

Phew, that was a lot of typing!  Anyway, I am sure there are a lot more I could have found but, though these were the basics.  If you have any you want to add to the list, I would love it!  I am always looking for a good excuse to throw things away.

I need to go, baby just woke up and I need to get SOME house work done while Steve and the 3 older ones are skiing.

Blessings to you all and remember to pray for your friends and family, they always need it whether they know it or not.

-Liza

A guest Blogger

Good Afternoon everyone,

Today I have a guest blogger!  My 5 year old daughter has asked if she could write my blog today so, I said, "of course you can!".  I will be dictating what she says as she still can't read which means, she can't type either.

I have absolutely NO idea what this will be about so, here goes....

Lorelei's Blog:

Lorelei was standing on the top.  A boy or girl was crying because they got the flu mist. At the doctor.

(writing about school)..I do crafts there, we are learning about China and I am learning to speak Chinese.  I made a China firework and I was born in the year of the sheep.   1 is 'e' in Chinese and to say 'hi' in Chinese you say, "nee-how".  I want to go to China some day and see the Great Wall...the Great Wall is really long.  I am learning how to do chopsticks too.  My mom is teaching me but, I don't like Sushi.  Yuck.

I am allergic to wheat but, I love it when daddy sneaks me Pop Tarts.

(about what she wants to be when she grows up)...I want to be a baby person.  I want to take care of babies in the hospital.  I want to be a doctor that takes care of babies in the hospital. 

I want to be on the swim team too.  I want to be in the Olympics for swimming.  I swam in a marathon at the Y and I swam 600 yards.  It was fun.  I got a swim bag and swim cap for doing it.  I want to swim on the swim team.

This spring, I am going to be in a gymnastics meet.  I need to practice my cartwheels and handstands to move up to advanced. (from beginner to advanced in Gymnastics)

Seth has a trophy from Cub Scouts because he builded a boat and it was the best one.  So, he won a trophy with clay in it.

-Lorelei

Ok, it is me Liza again, wow, that was wow.  For those of you who don't have children, I am sorry for this super random, going no where blog!  What I have learned in being a parent is it is NOT about you.  It is all about them.  Which, I am completely ok with.  I love everything about being a parent.  Children are the funniest people you will ever meet if you actually sit down and talk to them or just listen to their conversations with each other.

I do have to tell you all the funniest thing I have heard in a long time, my husband heard it too and we both laughed and laughed!

Last night our 6 and 7 year old were heading to church choir and our 5 year old was heading to dance class.  On the way out, our 6 year old noticed something 'weird' on top of a table in our entry.  (She was looking at a ladies feminine hygiene product that had slipped out of its wrapper in my coat pocket...I did that as walking out the door earlier in the day...forgot it was still sitting there.)  So, our daughter picks this thing up, sees the different parts of it and is examining it.  Before I can tell her to put it down or what it is my son blurts out, "CHARLIE, put that down!  That's for mom's butt.  B-U-double T spells Butt."  (yes, he did the spelling just like that!)

My husband laughed so hard and of course had to add his own commentary to that by saying, "yea, for mom's leaky butt."  So, they all left the house last night laughing about how mom has a leaky butt and all that great stuff.

So, as parents, again I will say, if you can't laugh at yourself, your life is going to be pretty miserable because your children and husband will definitely be laughing at you!

I will say though, the best way to find out how your children are doing at reading and writing isn't from making them read to you or seeing how well they did on their spelling tests that week.  The best way is to see how much of your adult conversations they pick up on by you spelling everything and them catching you or them finding notes or products or something around the house that they shouldn't have found and reading them and coming up to you and asking you questions about it.  Oh yea, that is when you know, you child can read and spell!

Take care everyone, remember to cover your friends in prayer and be grateful for your loved ones.

-Liza

I am still here.

Hi Everyone!

I am sorry I haven't written in a long time, I just haven't had the time and when I did have the time, I wasn't so inspired to write about anything in particular.

I am still not really inspired however, it has been so long since I wrote that I thought I better find something to write about!

Hmmmm, still searching for that something to write about....searching, searching, searching....

Ok, I have to tell you all, I have not been very focused lately as all I can think about is our upcoming trip to Sanibel Island, Florida.  I love this trip and really for the month prior, it is all I think about.

Usually the day the Christmas tree comes down, the suitcases come out and the packing starts.  This year however, between baby, hectic schedules and all of the new rules about luggage on the airlines, I am just starting my packing now.

As many of you know, I am cheap, I mean really cheap!  I just don't like spending money and I really don't like getting nickled and dimed.  So, this year, it is making me crazy trying to decide, do I ship a bunch of stuff, do I make everyone carry as much stuff on the plane as possible, maybe each person wears a couple layers?!  OH, I like that idea, that is a new one for me :-)

Now, we are flying Sun Country so, the baggage fees aren't nearly as high however, they have changed the size suitcase you can have...62 linear inches.  Ok, that may sound big but, linear inches is height/length/width added together!  That isn't very big.

If it was a box...it would be roughly 20x20x20.  So, we have 6 people, we normally bring 2 large suitcases and my husbands old hockey bag and then the children bring whatever toys, books, games, and homework in their little roll on carry on bags.

Well, this year, I am making them carry their clothes and stuff in their carry on bags and we have one duffle.  So, that means, no beach toys, no lifejackets for the ocean, no boogie boards, no beach towels!

However, I am discovering that it also means, no toys for the children for the 15 days we are gone, beach or otherwise, and no homework...hahahaha, that is not going to work.

So, I am back to the drawing board of how to get our things down there without spending a ton of money either on new luggage or on luggage fees or on shipping fees.

It is crazy and driving me nuts.  Plus, now we have to pay for the food our children are allergic to instead of getting it for free.  We can't really bring our own food on board anymore unless we buy it at the airport however, we are flying out of HHH (our little airport) so, there is only one place to get food and it is usually sandwiches, muffins, and bagels.  Great stuff however, not good when you can't eat wheat or dairy.

So, I hope that explains a little bit as too why I am so pre-occupied right now.  I promise, however, I will get some good blogs up and soon.

Stick with me :-)

-Blessings to you all,

Liza

Super Bowl commercials and good books

Good Afternoon everyone!

So, how great was the Super Bowl last night?!   I do have to apologize to all of the Arizona fans though.  I am a jinx.  Always have been, I am sorry.

I couldn't handle watching the game anymore because I felt like Arizona was losing because I was cheering for them so, I left the game and went upstairs to put 3 of my children to bed.  I stayed upstairs until my hubby ran upstairs and told me I HAD to come down.  For Arizona had gotten a safety and were just about to score.

I was very excited and ran downstairs just in time to see the amazing run by Fitzgerald.  Well, I should have left after wards and I am sorry I continued to watch and cheer. 

Now, my husband doesn't believe me about me being a jinx however, for all of you from Minnesota....how often has Minnesota been in the playoffs and gone to the Super Bowl?  Yep. 

Seriously, I think my hubby is finally starting to believe me.  As last night he admitted, he doesn't believe I am a jinx however, it is a bit freaky how often a team I am cheering for falls apart when I am watching and does so well when I am not.

So, I guess I should probably apologize to all the Vikings Fans out there too.  As I bleed purple and gold and gosh darn if our boys can't pull it together!

So anyway.  I do have to say the commercials were some of the best I have seen in a long time.  I am a HUGE Super Bowl commercial person.  I will say though, some flopped BIG time.  I LOVE Budweiser and they usually have pretty good commercials but, the one last night about the two horses being in love and running away together, that was dumber than dumb.

I also wasn't too impressed with GoDaddy's commercials however, I bet it got A LOT of people to their website!  So, from a marketing stand point, I think they blew everyone else out of the water however, from a parental stand point...I had to send my son out of the room every time one of their commercials came on!

How about that great Bud Light commercial with Conan?  Wow, was that funny.  Also, I LOVED the 1 second High Life commercial, I think more companies should do stuff like that.

We really liked the 3D commercial for the new movie coming out from Pixar....can't remember the name but, cool commercial.  OH, the Sobe water commercial in 3D after wards was really funny too.

I think Pepsi blew Coke out of the water with their great commercials!  However, one Coke commercial rocked....the Coke Zero one...that was super funny.

What were your faves?

I also finished my book club book and am about 1/2 done with my Bible Study for tomorrow so, I feel like I am on task there.  Now, if only my house were in order again...Blech.

I will say, I highly recommend the book, "Beneath the Marble Sky"  great book.  It was hard to read at the same time doing Bible Studies though because I was finding myself mixing up the two.  Oh yes, I am very capable of that!  In the book they had very strong religious beliefs and it was set around the time of the Taj Mahal and they were Muslim, seriously, hard to read while reading the Bible too.

But, a good love story based on fact but, fiction about the building of the Taj Mahal and the family and empire around it.  So, check it out if you can.

Our next book is Revolutionary Road which is also a movie right now.  I wanted to see that movie before we picked out the book but, now I can't until I read the book and that is our Feb/Mar book.

Anyone have any other really good book ideas for our next books for book club?  At our next meeting in a couple weeks we will pick out another book and I would love to suggest something!

Oh, I need to go, my daughter is just about to get off the bus. 

Blessings to you all,

Liza